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Pilot’s body found still clutching joystick of crashed plane
FreeMaylasiaToday.com ^ | February 6, 2015 | AFP

Posted on 02/07/2015 8:19:25 PM PST by Reverend Saltine

The bodies of Liao and his co-pilot were retrieved from the almost-new turboprop ATR 72-600's cockpit still clutching the joystick, with their legs badly broken, investigators said.

UPDATED

taiwan-crashTAIPEI: The pilot of the crashed TransAsia plane was still clutching the joystick when his body was found in the cockpit, after he battled to avoid populated areas, reports said Friday as the airline faced sanctions over its second fatal accident.

The TransAsia Airways ATR 72-600 crashed shortly after take-off from Songshan airport in Taipei on Wednesday, hitting an elevated road as it banked steeply away from buildings and into the Keelung River.

Pilot Liao Chien-tsung, 41, was among at least 35 people who lost their lives in the accident. Fifteen people survived and rescuers are still searching the river and submerged wreckage for another eight who remain missing.

Liao has been hailed as a hero for apparently making a last-ditch attempt to steer the turboprop plane, with 53 passengers and five crew on board, away from built-up areas during its steep descent, avoiding more deaths and damage.

(Excerpt) Read more at freemalaysiatoday.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Foreign Affairs; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: planecrash; transasia
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To: UCANSEE2
From the Mandarin, it's more correct (gooder) to say, "The yoke are,/i> on Yu."
61 posted on 02/07/2015 11:19:54 PM PST by Reverend Saltine (Saltines are dry and make you thirsty. And then you want more and you get thirsty-er....)
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To: blackdog

The misinformation on this thread is epic. With few exceptions, twin engine airplanes can have an engine failure shortly after take off at or near sea level and if properly flown safely return for a landing. The ATR certainly can. It has plenty of power and features like auto feather and rudder boost. I’m a very active multi engine flight instructor. One of the common mistakes pilots make is to misidentify the failed engine and shut down the “good” engine. It’s happened before and it will happen again.


62 posted on 02/07/2015 11:31:58 PM PST by PilotDave (No, really, you just can't make this stuff up!!!)
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To: blackdog

The misinformation on this thread is epic. With few exceptions, twin engine airplanes can have an engine failure shortly after take off at or near sea level and if properly flown safely return for a landing. The ATR certainly can. It has plenty of power and features like auto feather and rudder boost. I’m a very active multi engine flight instructor. One of the common mistakes pilots make is to misidentify the failed engine and shut down the “good” engine. It’s happened before and it will happen again.


63 posted on 02/07/2015 11:32:31 PM PST by PilotDave (No, really, you just can't make this stuff up!!!)
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To: PilotDave

I suspect that when the Japanese Army Air Service built Matsuyama Airdrome in the 1930s that the field had open country around it. Now as Songshan it is in the middle of a large city.

One can speculate that maybe the crew might have had better luck if they were not dodging big buildings and urban infrastructure.


64 posted on 02/07/2015 11:59:32 PM PST by Rockpile
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To: PilotDave
One of the common mistakes pilots make is to misidentify the failed engine and shut down the “good” engine.

If it is not to much of an epic typing session: How does this miss identification occur, it baffles me.

65 posted on 02/08/2015 2:23:36 AM PST by moose07 (The Camels have reached the parking lot. Shields up!)
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To: Reverend Saltine

Confucius say man who fly plane sideways not level-headed.


66 posted on 02/08/2015 5:14:56 AM PST by bunkerhill7 (re (`("The Second Amendment has no limits on firepower"-NY State Senator Kathleen A. Marchione.")))
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To: jim_trent

You’ve almost got it.

All the speculation about intentionally shutting down the good engine to maintain controllability is nonsense. All FAR Part 25 aircraft (virtually all western airliners) can climb with 1 engine, and maintain controllability. These aren’t light twins, where it is all somewhat guesswork and blue-line discipline. Part 25 aircraft guarantee every take off can achieve second-segment climb at V2 to V2+10, or the takeoff does not begin.

The reason the good engine was shut down should be obvious: in their hurry to restart the flamed out engine they shut down the good one in error.

This illustrates differences in training at airlines outside the U.S. Here, the only time you can troubleshoot is ABOVE critical altitude, usually 1,000’ above field elevation, and possibly with a fire. We train pilots that unless they are sure a fire is uncontainable, they must WAIT until above critical altitude to do ANYTHING except fly the aircraft. That way, the emergency can be handled in a methodical and disciplined way.


67 posted on 02/08/2015 5:38:36 AM PST by Tzfat
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To: UCANSEE2; blackdog
A plane, flat and level flight, will start dropping if you bank (turn) it. When you do it at low speed(due to engine loss) and climbing as well.... you are screwed. The pilot knew. I would say that it is amazing he managed to ditch it in the water and avoided hitting anyone on the way down. That's my opinion, anyway.

It seems like he was trying for a "Miracle on the Hudson." As it was, he managed to miss plowing into ten-story apartment buildings, and he put her into the softest acreage he could reach, a warm, shallow river. Kudos at least for not plowing into an apartment building.

68 posted on 02/08/2015 5:44:24 AM PST by Travis McGee (www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)
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To: UCANSEE2

Wow, thanks.


69 posted on 02/08/2015 5:46:23 AM PST by The_Media_never_lie (The media must be defeated any way it can be done.)
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To: PilotDave

Epic ignorance on this thread is right. Sheesh, some of these posts remind me of Shepherd Smith breathlessly telling his audience that the Air Asia A320 may have had “both engines stall,” after reading expert discussion of aerodynamic stall.

Simple explanation, flameout, too-quick hands below EO critical altitude, cycled the wrong engine off/on.


70 posted on 02/08/2015 5:46:50 AM PST by Tzfat
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To: moose07

On light twins, it is “dead foot, dead engine” (which rudder is not needed to maintain direction of flight). On airliners, it begins with maintaining direction, WITHOUT concern with which engine failed, until above a critical altitude, where a discipled two-pilot confirmation of which engine failed (engine instruments) process correctly identifies which engine has failed to prevent this very occurrence.

So, the confusion comes when “little airplane” pilots fly big airplanes, and forget big airplane training and disciple, and instead doing stupid things.


71 posted on 02/08/2015 5:54:17 AM PST by Tzfat
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To: Mastador1
I think of Sopwith Camels when I hear joystick, aren’t the controls in modern aircraft called yokes?

Perhaps the joystick didn't belong to the aircraft...

72 posted on 02/08/2015 6:07:50 AM PST by trebb (Where in the the hell has my country gone?)
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To: Tzfat
Thanks for that.
The 1000ft rule makes a lot of sense.
Could our old friend Panic be added into the equation?

73 posted on 02/08/2015 6:10:12 AM PST by moose07 (The Camels have reached the parking lot. Shields up!)
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To: moose07

How do pilots do the “wrong” thing and crash, in a few short sentences? Well, there are technical answers, and there are human factors. On the technical side the short answer is, it’s not always easy. There have been accidents where an engine has failed and the pilot NEVER realized he’d had an engine quit. Sometimes an engine only partially fails. It can be tough to tell which engine is rough?
On the human side, things get even more complex. Panic sets in. Pilots get “task saturated” and just can’t process what they are looking at. Sometimes in haste they just grab the wrong lever.
The bottom line is, it takes a lot of training and then a lot of practice after the initial training to be ready when the time comes.


74 posted on 02/08/2015 6:34:22 AM PST by PilotDave (No, really, you just can't make this stuff up!!!)
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To: PilotDave

Case in point is the pilot that dropped that airliner in the Hudson.

That guy deserves every accolade the nation can give him.

That took balls of steel and nerves of iron.


75 posted on 02/08/2015 6:38:34 AM PST by eyedigress
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To: moose07

Yes, panic is common in inexperienced crews.

Chelsey Sullenberger has been praised by some for his skill in landing an A320 on the Hudson river. I know him, and he was a fine pilot, but frankly most US airline pilots could have done the same with similar results.

Where Sullenberger and US airline pilots distinguish themselves is in maintaining cockpit discipline in an emergency. It requires experience (or specific training) to keep your cool in an emergency. US airlines specifically train that kind of discipline.


76 posted on 02/08/2015 6:54:48 AM PST by Tzfat
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To: ltc8k6

If you are competent in how to fly an aircraft you can keep that from happening even with a t-tail.


77 posted on 02/08/2015 7:04:45 AM PST by Jack Hydrazine (Pubbies = national collectivists; Dems = international collectivists; We need a second party!)
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To: PilotDave

Brilliant, Thank you. :)


78 posted on 02/08/2015 7:29:30 AM PST by moose07 (The Camels have reached the parking lot. Shields up!)
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To: blackdog

I have some time in a Seneca III. Nice airplane to fly. I think perspective pilots should learn to fly in airplanes that require that you have to really pay attention all of the time. I love flying the Hawk XP, it is one of my favorite single engine planes. It too expensive for me to fly, 100 LL is liquid gold these days.


79 posted on 02/08/2015 7:45:09 AM PST by wjcsux ("In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." - George Orwell)
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To: trebb

That might help explain the crash.


80 posted on 02/08/2015 8:38:53 AM PST by Mastador1 (I'll take a bad dog over a good politician any day!)
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