Conspiracists can try to blame “Putin” all they want to for this, but the FACTS point to this being yet another in a long line of “Get-There-Itis” tragedies.
“Get-There-itis” has killed an awful lot of people since man began flying airplanes. It’s what killed John Kennedy, Jr., and it has killed a few of my friends over the years, including my first flight instructor.
Think about the situation. Plane-load of VIPS, all on a tight schedule. Bad weather, at or below minimums, and pressure to “get there”, so he shoots an approach in conditions he should have avoided.
It’s the same “Disease” that persuades a small plane owner, (or a corporate pilot wanting to keep his job), that the icing really isn’t “that” bad, and he could make it home tonight.
The same story can be repeated over and over, all over the world.
Protect yourself from ‘get-there-itis’
May 20, 2013 by General Aviation News Staff —Leave a Comment
By BRENT OWENS
It’s a fancy name for “get-there-itis” — plan continuation bias, which is an unconscious cognitive bias to continue the original plan in spite of changing conditions — and it can be deadly for general aviation pilots.
Plan continuation bias was identified in a NASA Ames human factors study from 2004 which analyzed 19 airline accidents from 1991 to 2000 that were attributed to crew error. Out of those, almost half involved plan continuation bias.
The problem is in how it can manifest itself. The study offered that it becomes stronger as you near completion of the activity (e.g., approach your destination). It essentially impedes pilots from recognizing that they need to change their course of action and, because it’s unconscious, it often goes undetected.
It can also block subtle cues that conditions have changed. Situational awareness can become compromised in these scenarios, blinding the pilot from the outcome he is rapidly marching toward. It is probably no surprise that rapidly changing conditions also played a major role in many of these cases.
http://generalaviationnews.com/2013/05/20/protect-yourself-from-get-there-itis/
If he went below MDA “Minimum Decent Altitude” and did not execute a “go around,” it would be pilot error, period. What did the cockpit recorder say was going on during the approach?
In an American Registered Aircraft hits MDA the second in command would immediately take control of the craft if a go around was not being executed. On an approach down to minimums the second in command would be monitoring the approach even more closely than normal. Your ass depends on it!