Posted on 12/30/2014 9:15:09 AM PST by BenLurkin
Indonesia authorities said divers and sonar-equipped ships headed to the site, about 100 miles southwest of the coast of Borneo. The top goal is recovering more bodies when operations resume at first light on Wednesday — an effort that has been complicated by waves up to 10 feet high.
But officials also sought the plane’s voice and flight data recorder, the so-called black box, in hopes of gaining clues on the cause of the crash.
A former accident investigator, John Cox, said the recorder — if found — would likely be sent for analysis by other countries, such as the United States or Australia, that have more advanced decoding technology. It could take several days to fully study the data, he added.
“In those boxes will be story of what brought down the AirAsia flight,” said Cox, a former captain for US Airways and now chief executive of the Washington-based consulting firm Safety Operating Systems.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
When this is all said and done, not that I know much or anything about piloting a plane...IMO this is gonna be among the stupidest and easily avoided accidents of all time.
One air accident investigator I heard on the radio said that the one single thing you do not want to do is to fly into a thunderstorm. I can certainly accept that, though it surprises me to find out that it can bring down a plane.
But if that’s the case, and all it would have taken to avoid this disaster was to make a 90 degree turn and be an hour late for arrival, that seems completely insane not to place into the captains’ hands.
The captain had requested permission to fly around the storm but was denied due to heavy traffic in the area.
That storm he flew into was probably a Supercell with extreme downdraft and huge hailstones.
Perhaps I can help you to understand this phenomenon. Inside a thundercloud, the air is extremely turbulent, meaning it is moving in multiple directions violently. Every aircraft has a structural limit that the aircrew has to operate under, these are G (gravity) forces and are different for every airframe (an F-16 can handle more G forces than a 747). A civilian airliner can handle -1 to +2 G forces and a thunderstorm produces G forces in excess of that, often reaching +6. When an airliner encounters these turbulent winds, airframes break, starting with the weakest point of the aircraft and cascading to structural failure.
I understand that he still took the plane up a bit even though he was not authorized to do that.
ATC flunkies are NOT ON SCENE so screw them!
What he needed to do was turn back when his request to fly around the storm was refused. Flying higher would still take him into the front or rear flank downdraft and that or huge hailstones killed the airplane.
The investigator I heard said one would be stunned at how busy the traffic is in that general area. But....generally speaking, air traffic is separated by altitude, is it not? So my ignorant question would be, couldn’t the pilot maintain altitude yet turn to avoid the storm? If the storm is a definite no-no then....?
I realize I am asking a know-nothing question but still, this seems like to would have been an easy accident to avoid.
I wonder how much of the flight crew’s decision to fly into the storm could be due to east Asian culture. They’re not as independent minded and tend to obey authority more than we do. From what’s been reported this was a very big storm.
As I posted on another thread....
I was relaying last night, just such a situation I had with controllers, when I was flying.
Freighter 808: “ABC Center (made up), Freighter 808 needs 10* left , deviating for weather.
ABC Center: Ah Freighter 808 can’t do , due to traffic”
Freighter 808: Ah ABC Center , be advised 808 IS deviating 10* left due to weather avoidance.
ABC Center: Negative, I can’t comply due to Traffic
Freighter 808: Center You get paid to sort out the traffic, I get paid to bring this thing back in one piece. You do your job and I’ll do mine.
That, too, was brought up by the investigator. This was in line with additional discussion over the plane that overran the runway at SFO some months ago. Although by hour-counter...many of these pilots have lots and lots of hours....most of those hours are in essence sitting by as a computer does the work. So those autopilot hours mean almost nothing in terms of gathering actual real-world piloting chops.
True... Couple that with the fact that most all of their flight training in type comes from simulators, and only line checks are required to certify.
Simulators are great for emergency training where doing so airborne is a risk to crews and equipment.
Plane old seat of the pants flying is what gives the real world experience.
Now,I'm a gray old bird retired from the blue, I learned in taildraggers using needle,ball,and airspeed to maintain control. I cut my teeth in A-1’s in the Navy, flew air cargo in DC-3’s and finished up flying boxes in B-747’s and those basic skills never left me. Prob. saved my tail than a few times.
Interesting!
“This was in line with additional discussion over the plane that overran the runway at SFO some months ago”
That’s the crash I had in mind. IIRC it landed short and knocked the tail off of the plane. The senior captain made an obviously bad decision and the rest of the crew sat there silently and let him do it. East Asian culture deferring to authority.
And when pilots with your real world experience become a rarity we all better find another way to travel.
All things in their time, but anyone who likes airplanes has to love the DC-3. Just a wonderful classic shape.
The insides of WW2 bombers are just so primitive in their way. The idea that US kids flew those things over Germany and could (and did, in large numbers) get blown out of the sky is just astounding to contemplate. Before those bombers had fighter cover, the courage those guys must have had is beyond imaginable.
“words cannot express my sorrow”.
But money always helps soften the pain.
LOL! You were way nicer than I would have been;)
What Carrier did You Fly for?
Thank for Your Service!
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