Posted on 02/19/2009 5:19:10 AM PST by GBA
Flight Data Show Response to Loss of Speed Resulted in Deadly Stall That Downed Plane
Investigators examining last week's Continental Connection plane crash have gathered evidence that pilot commands -- not a buildup of ice on the wings and tail -- likely initiated the fatal dive of the twin-engine Bombardier Q400 into a neighborhood six miles short of the Buffalo, N.Y., airport, according to people familiar with the situation.
The commuter plane slowed to an unsafe speed as it approached the airport, causing an automatic stall warning, these people said. The pilot pulled back sharply on the plane's controls and added power instead of following the proper procedure of pushing forward to lower the plane's nose to regain speed, they said. He held the controls there, locking the airplane into a deadly stall, they added.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
They allowed Swaggert, and he's a player.
As long as you don't dance to them.
I don't know who you think is suggesting that one believe what one feels over what one's instruments are saying. We're not talking about a JFKJr here. Pitot tubes can ice, and if they do, your airspeed isn't going to be particularly reliable. It's hard for me to believe that military pilots don't learn to crosscheck what their instruments are telling them.
ML/NJ
Then the answer is maybe.
Well there is a difference between $18,000 annual income and a six figure one, but I don't fault the airline per se. They got what they paid for; a flight crew unable to handle an icing condition one might expect around Buffalo in the winter, a crashed multi-million dollar airplane, and 50 dead people.
But that's my point. Every pilot is taught about icing; any airplane, large or small, can ice up and drop out of the sky. Pay and experience have nothing to do with it.
It's a deadly mistake pilots of every pay grade can and do make.
“The pilot pulled back sharply on the plane’s controls and added power instead of following the proper procedure of pushing forward to lower the plane’s nose to regain speed”
I don’t fly commuter jets, but is there any possibility that a typical stall procedure is different in them? I mean, lower the angle of attack and add full power would seem to be standard on any aircraft.
“They got what they paid for; a flight crew unable to handle an icing condition one might expect around Buffalo in the winter, a crashed multi-million dollar airplane, and 50 dead people.”
As someone else already pointed out: So did the passengers.
People want cheap even if that puts the lives at risk. There are still people wanting all the defective and dangerous Chinese products they can get because they are cheap. They are wanting airline tickets for less than a train ticket or gas to drive the trip in a car. If that places them at risk and the odds are in their favor, they take it. Wanna bet the 4+ airline crashes these past few months haven’t troubled very many people at all?
The comfortable 6 figure income and senority system for senior pilots of national carriers are also driven by the Airline Pilot’s Union. And, at least according to airline management, the big union labor cost and hard to fire high cost labor senority system of pilots, mechanics, flight attendants is a big reason why U.S. airlines are always in financial dire strait.
Capt. Sully said as much himself in his congressional testiomny on the subject (was it today?).
The scary secret inside the pilot community is this - the only benefit to a pilot flying regional jets is adding to their experience and the amount of flight hours one can place on one’s resume. Flying a regional jet earns a pilot, *maybe* the same salary as that of full-time burger flipper at a fast food joint.
So you're saying that experience and ability aren't worth paying for?
Evidently he didn’t realize driving in the snow and flying in the snow are two different things.
No she's not. They explain that the horizontal stabilizer is an upside down wing.
>>They explain that the horizontal stabilizer is an upside down wing.<<
You mean when there is an ice buildup?
You mean when there is an ice buildup?
No. The main wing does the lifting, and the center of gravity is located there. There is a slight tendency to tip nose-down by design. The horizontal stabilizer is an upside down wing to produce downward lift, countering the tendency of the nose-down from the CG being slightly forward. This helps stabilizes pitch.
Make sense?
Yes it does, but I built an entire 1/72 scale air force of WWII aircraft back in the 1970’s and never noticed that the profile was reversed.
I guess one really CAN learn something new every day!
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