Posted on 08/01/2015 9:30:53 AM PDT by SZonian
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., the manufacturer of the business jet that crashed on takeoff last year and killed Philadelphia businessman Lewis Katz and six others, has acknowledged to investigators that a key fail-safe system on the plane has a flawed design.
Gulfstream tested its fleet of GIV jets after the fatal accident and found a widespread problem: The planes could travel down the runway at takeoff speeds even when they had no ability to leave the ground.
To win safety certification, the firm had promised the Federal Aviation Administration that its fail-safe design would prevent pilots from getting the jet above a low speed if the elevators were locked.
Yet in the deadly crash of the Katz jet, pilots managed ground speeds of up to 187 m.p.h. even though the elevators were immobilized.
(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...
But ultimately, the crew is not absolved of their responsibility to perform their checks...sounds like these guys got a bit complacent and that coupled with what is being argued as a design flaw results in 7 dead people.
Aviation ping...
It’s easy to get complacent when you believe with all your heart that the computers check everything for you.
That’s a biggie.
The question is is when did they become aware of this flaw, and did they only admit it after the govt started asking for answers.
Yep...being “old school” and performing walk around and pre-flight checks properly is sometimes viewed as “lack of confidence” in the aircraft, maintainers or systems...
Agreed, I’m sure the lawsuits that have been filed will help fill in the details, unless the families are only seeking $$ compensation and settle out of court...
Taking off with your control surfaces locked is one of the dumbest things a pilot can do. They either didn’t do a walk around or they did it without looking up. The fact that the fail safe didn’t work was their fault.
Checking for freely moving surfaces is part of every take off check list.
Popped off an access panel, pointed inside and said 'That's why!' The control cable had been frayed down to a single strand.
I trust his student took the lesson to heart...
Wow...
I'll never forget getting told that. ;)
/johnny
It’s why we always performed flight control checks during every launch...I tend to agree, sounds like these guys didn’t.
Checklists are your friends.
He said the elevator ‘felt a little spongy’. He’s lucky that way...
At a glace, the red stands out:
From the sounds of it, (the article has a pretty detailed explanation of who the system works), appears to be internally controlled, not a piece of “red gear” on the aircraft.
Unless your post is just a bit of sarcasm, then I get it.
“The question is is when did they become aware of this flaw, and did they only admit it after the govt started asking for answers.”
Having been in on the design and testing of major and minor systems for 30 years, I can give some insight. The engineers design it to work however it’s supposed to. But people in the field do things that were not intended and you can sometimes get spectacular and even deadly failures. Today companies test for unintended functions and accidental combinations of events that can lead to failure. For example, on the SR-71 the flight control for the x axis had the same pin-out as the y axis with no connector keying. A crash just after engaging the auto pilot lead to all future connectors being keyed so connectors can’t be interchanged.
‘Course ifin’ yer colorblind red may as well be green...
Luck or just very experienced and wise?
I’m leaning with the latter...
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