Posted on 08/28/2006 5:45:49 PM PDT by CedarDave
The FAA has added a second controller to the weekend overnight shift at Bluegrass Airport, following the crash of Flight 5191 Sunday.
Only one controller was in the tower early Sunday morning when the CRJ100 attempted to take off a runaway too short for it to gain enough speed to become airborne.
FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown declined to give a reason for the decision.
Brown says two controllers are in the tower on weekdays but only one controller was scheduled for the weekend overnight shift because traffic was significantly lighter.
How does a Jet fly for 1 mile after take off and NOT be airborne?
More correct to say that the runway was too short for the aircraft to build airspeed sufficient to climb to an altitude soon enough to avoid the hill it crashed into, but the aircraft WAS airborne.
One controller. What happens if he needs to use the restroom during his shift? Oh.
Classic 'Closing the barn door after the horses escape'
Could be seen as a tacit admission of ATC failure in this situation (not due to an individual; just not properly staffed for a commercial airport). Raw meat for the attorneys (though not sure who can be sued here -- can't sue the FAA can they?).
I understand he went through the fence at the end of the runway, so he wasn't airborne in any real sense, even if his wheels tehnically got off the ground briefly. It probably took half a mile for the plane to stop from say 150mph.
The news indicated that ATC and the pilot discussed only the longer runway during taxi and takeoff clearances. So it's hard to find fault with ATC.
There was quite a bit of discussion on the thread yesterday that a second controller might have allowed one of the two to notice the plane was lined up on the wrong runway. I would doubt that it would have made any difference as it was dark and it may have been difficult to see the plane's orientation some distance from the tower.
However, at some point the system must have confidence that the pilots know what they are doing. Again, it is their responsibility to follow checklists and for the two pilots to check each others actions during takeoff and landings.
Ok, that's definitely not airborne. My misunderstanding, thank you.
Does Bluegrass Airport have ground radar indicating to the ATC the plane's exact ground location? I have not read if it has this?
I've read that the runways themselves were poorly marked, and that in their X configuration, both the long and short runways shared the same taxi ways. Houston's Hobby has runways that are in an X configuration, and the flightplans clearly state to "check your compass heading before takeoff at the end of the runway".
I'm guessing both the ATC and the pilots were at fault. If the pilots had done a compass reading, they might have realized they were on the wrong runway.
Goes in a bucket?
There is absolutely no excuse for this mistake. If I were an instructor, I would be upset if a student of mine made such an error.
First of all, the pilot has a responsibility to know the layout of the airport runway and taxiway system.
Runways all have large painted number designations at each end.
All runway numbers approximately equal the magnetic heading of the runway itself. For instance Runway 22 would have a heading of approximately 220 degrees and 26 would be approximately 260 degrees. The pilot should confirm that his aircraft heading equals the runway he been cleared for takeoff on.
The guy in the tower should have been able to see which runway the plane was lined up on, even in the dark. He was probably not paying attention because there was not likely any other traffic around.
But in the end, it is the pilot's responsibility to take off (or land) on the proper runway. So sad to lose all these lives on such a dumb mistake.
Oh, and I held it. Seriously. :-)
Did you see the pic of the clipped fence and trees at the end of the runway?
Perhaps they were sort of airborne for a time, but it wasn't optimal or sustainable.
I saw a guy in a high-speed chase the other day. He went airborne, too, briefly, before flying into the trees at the side of the road.
Forgot to mention that the real irony might be that the guy who survived could well have been the guy flying the airplane. I think the pilot and copilot usually alternate flying each leg.
Typically, if a guy/gal really needs to go on one of these shifts, they'll wait until there's no current traffic and nothing immediately pending, and hurry up and go. You're not supposed to leave your post, but we're really left with no choice.
Personally, I think "one-man mids", as they're called, are dangerous and shouldn't be allowed. What if you get sick or hurt?
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