Overloaded plance caused Aaliyah crash NTSB says

South Florida Sun-Sentinel News | 9/9/01 | Ken Kaye

[KirklandJunction]

The Cessna 402B that crashed and killed R&B singer Aaliyah and eight others in the Bahamas was substantially overloaded, out of balance and tail-heavy, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report released on Saturday.

While the report provides few new details, it does confirm investigators' primarily suspicion that improper loading caused the Aug. 25 accident.

"The total weight of the luggage, fuel on board at the time of the accident, plus the weight of the passengers showed that the total gross weight of the airplane was substantially exceeded," the report says.

[KirklandJunction]

My apologies if this was posted earlier, but I couldn't find it.

Doing the math, with that wieght, the allowable weight per passenger would have been a bit less than 90 lbs. each person?

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Are they sure it wasn't a spontaneously-combusting center fuel tank?

[SGCOS]

I'm sure the half ton of pot in the tail didn't help either.

[DoughtyOne]

Sounds like the pilot and his firm was breaking about every rule possible. Perhaps the people boarding made demands. But it is the pilot's ultimate responsibility to fly within the flight safety margins. This is a tragedy that should never have happened! What a shame.

[pabianice]

This is an awful story. According to initial information, the pilot was unqualified to fly the 402 under Part 135, his medical had been revoked for possession of crack cocaine, his standard quals are unknown (BFR, 90-day currency, etc.), the aircraft was 500 pounds over max allowable gross weight, and the CG was aft of the rearmost allowable CG.

This is a perfect analogy to the gun-grabber situation. A person commits multiple unlawful acts and people die. The FAA's standard response? Punish the law-abiding and issue reams of new, restructive regulations that will do zero to prevent a recurrance of the accident.

If you REALLY want to understand HCI, study the FAA.

[KirklandJunction]

I've been accused of being overly strict about wt and cg, but at least I'm still alive.
...even if I can't spell or format!
RIP

[DoughtyOne]

Well I would certainly hope they didn't take any witnesses' word for anything!

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Well I would certainly hope they didn't take any witnesses' word for anything!

Darn. That's even better. Wish I'd thought of it.

Of course, from now on, I'll pretend like I did. 8^)

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Perhaps the people boarding made demands.

The original story was that they raised a stink, so the pilot took off anyway.

I guess he showed them.

[KirklandJunction]

I don't think your accusation of pot is founded by any fact, is it? Since carrying pot is a felony, I believe false accusation of committing a felony is also a crime.
Of course you may have been making a gallows humor crack, right?

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I believe false accusation of committing a felony is also a crime.

Quick. Call the BATF. Tell them to bring plenty of CS gas.

[KirklandJunction]

Has the FAA issued anything? I haven't seen anything. Have you seen any FAA comments adding restrictions? Bulletins? Directives? A.D.s? NOTAMs? Cessna bulletins?
Even without such, I'll bet more golf bags have been weighed since this accident.
And that ever fun question: "ma'm, how much do YOU weigh?" "Won't tell me?" "OK, I'll assume you and that gentleman weigh 200 pounds each which means YOU get to pick which piece of luggage you leave here, or I and the ignition keys are going back inside, period!"
Been there, done that.

[DoughtyOne]

No, you were the straight man this time. I'll try to return the favor later on. My line wouldn't have worked without your setup.

Well, I guess there's a reason why the beautiful people should listen to the commoners once in a while.

[garyhope]

I've been predicting something like this for a long time when people start to believe in words, wants, demands and desires over the laws of physics. All the politically correct words and beliefs in the world won't keep a plane in the air or the lights and phones on. In the war between reality and fantasy, reality won this skirmish. Like DUH!!

Hubris, hubris and their own inflated and narcissistic egos killed these people. That and a lack of knowledge about aerodynamics.

Call me callous, but if all of the "celebrities" in the world dropped dead tomorrow morning, it wouldn't bother me one bit.

[DoughtyOne]

I viewed his pot comment as a light-hearted joke. I thought it was rather humorous.

[LeftyStomper]

You know, this reminds me of that Kennedy who got killed playing downhill football on skis.

They knew it was risky and were told this by the instructors there, but "They're the Kennedys" who had to throw their weight around. The slopes had to be cleared of the commoners so they could play their little game.

*SPLAT*

[KirklandJunction]

OK, but some of us weird people are a bit touchy about such things.
I don't like it as a pilot, as a traveler, and I don't care what problems/skills/lack of skills those dead people have, death is not pretty. Only a wee touch of luck kept that overloaded overfueled airplane from crashing on somebody.
My intent of this post was a morbid warning, a sharing of sad lessons learned. If there is one, just ONE student pilot out there that might be a little more careful about wt & balance, fine, just great.
....course this FreeRepublic crowd is not known for civility and manners.

[blackdog]

A Cesna 402 cannot fly with a passenger load if it has full fuel. Fuel management in aircraft is the most common cause of accidents. Not that I will admit to flying over gross, but the aft CG is the killer. Stalling behind the power curve @ take-off is a sure killer. Full fuel on any airplane limits your useful load when considering passengers..

[SGCOS]

My apologies.

In the future, I will be sure to use my '/sarcasm' tags.

[Snickersnee]

It is my understanding that the two pax seated rearmost, a bodyguard of Aaliyah's and a video-producer, each weighed in excess of 300lbs. How's that for a CoG problem? But where can you find a C-130J at that time of the morning?