Joking Pilots in Commuter Jet Crash Wanted to 'have a Little Fun' by Climbing to 41,000 Feet

AP ^ | AP-ES-06-13-05 1117EDT

[Treeless Branch]

Great thread.
I am reading in an attempt to overcome my fear of flying.
I rountinely fly a 2 propreller regional plane, a Beechcraft I think, and find it be scary.

Maybe you all can help answer a question from a recent flight?

We were approaching the landing. Maybe about 15 minutes out. Clear skies, no turbulence. Out of nowhere, we make a sudden, sharp dive. The plane makes an alarm like noise when the proprellers start up. Well, it made that noise in the air during the dive. Felt like a five minute dive, but was probably only a few seconds. Rest of the flight was routine.

Any ideas on what it was? I think someone said the pilot told her it was wake or wash from a big jet.

Is there an aviation section I can post this in? Thanks.

[Textide]

The best advice I can give to overcome the fear of flying is to take flight lessons. Understanding what's going on with the airplane can go a long way towards eradicating your fear. Go to your local small airport and ask for a discovery or intro flight and explain that you're a little anxious about flying in general. If the weather's good that day, they'll likely take you up right then and there. If not, they'll probably schedule you for a calm day. Total cost shouldn't be more than $50-75 depending on where you are.

Can't say for certain based upon your description whether the incident you experienced in the Beechcraft was wake turbulence from a big jet, but if that's what the pilot said, it's certainly possible. Most planes carrying passengers follow specific published routes that are controlled by Air Traffic Control, so your plane could have been behind a 747 that flew the exact route a few minutes earlier. Here's an FAA brochure on the subject.

It's unsettling, and I'm not going to say that the pilots of your plane weren't white-knuckled on their controls, but unless you're close to the ground or above/below certain speeds, it's usually recoverable.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

...the issue may be reckless pilots rather than inadequate training or improper recovery procedures.

I would say all 3 are a factor. The pilots should not have had the skylark attitude that they did, but why couldn't they get a restart when they were descending? I would say that training and recovery procedures are an issue here. The airline is more than happy to label it pilot error, which absolves them of liability and they won't have to fight the aircraft manufacturer on any issues, but that doesn't tell the full story.

[Shazbot29]

Forrest Gump time: "stupid is as stupid does."

[Shazbot29]

Ping.

btw, Mike, you keep doing it right on TV!!:)

[Hand em their arse]

ok, wait a sec... you have a wtf ping list??

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

I agree with you. The pilots, knowing they were being recorded, should have had their game faces on but it isn't wrong to go to max altitude for training. I'm curious as to why they couldn't get a restart after descending.

I'm also wondering if the pilot's manual had proper cautions and warnings published for flying that high. And what about that max altitude of 41,000 feet? Is that the max given in the flight manual, a rumor among pilots, or what some veteran test pilot got it up to?

[Checkers]

It's Bush's fault.

[jpsb]

8 miles high and glided almost 100 miles, what's that about 12 to 1? That seems like a very good ratio to me, to bad nothing was closer then 102 miles out.

[Xenophobic Alien]

yes but I put it on hold for a bit because of N.O. and the disaster

[Hand em their arse]

Ok XA, this sounds like a Ping list I must be added to... : )

Dave