Commuter Plane Crash @ Charlotte NC Airport (BREAKING)

www.msnbc.com ^ | 8 Jan 03 | MSNBC

[Howlin]

Is it cold where you are this morning? We're suppose to be {{{warm}}} today!

[agincourt1415]

Density Altittude, Its a Cold day, long runway, Charlotte is the Flatlands I think, and the Beech 1900 will climb on one engine, but ICE or PROP REVERSE is another story.

BEECH 1900 - VMCA is 92knots, this is with Flaps up or down.

What is VMCA -These are the lowest airspeeds at which the airplane is directionally controllable when one engine suddenly becomes inoperative and the other engine is at take-off power.

Single engine Climb wasn't listed at the site I looked up the specs.

[Howlin]

That being said, though, it WAS cold here last night......I just cannot find the figures. I remember somebody on our local cable news channel making the remark we were in for an extreme temperature change from yesterday to today.

[F16Fighter]

"NO reason to suspect terrorism."

Unless the passenger list included someone named Muhammad or Rasheed.

[Bella]

Yes, I heard the same report..seems someone's lax on checking the planes out..

[Amore]

Yes, Brava!

[Mamzelle]

High in the Blue Ridge, it's chilly (in low forties now), but not as bad as yesterday, which was cold (low in twenties) and windy.

[Howlin]

My niece is in Boone; man, is SHE whining!

[agincourt1415]

I have never flown a Beech 1900 but I thought this might be interesting for comment by those that have. The first paragraph could describe any aircraft I have flown. BEECH 1900D

Operating NOTAMS: The Beechcraft 1900D will lose altitude at bank angles greater than those used by the autopilot. To prevent loss of altitude, apply slight back pressure, as needed, to maintain altitude. The Beechcraft 1900D needs only small and smooth control inputs…if large or abrupt inputs are used, the aircraft will react abruptly. Use elevator trim to hold desired body angles on approach and landing.

[TinkersDam]

Terrorists target larger airplanes so as to get more bang for their buck. And with so little fuel on board just where were the terrorists going to fly the plane?

Icing would be unlikely under those conditions and would be unlikely to have such a catastrophic effect.

Its hard to imagine the engine developing full power on the take off roll and then suddenly developing severe icing that caused fuel starvation to the left engine.

Asymmetric thrust on loss of an engine should not bring the twin down, although its true that having it happen just after takeoff is the worst time for it to happen. But pilot training and responses should have dealth with it if it took place.

At this point in time, I'd favor a Loss of Control due to overloading, but do acknowledge there are other possibilities.

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

DH? I thought you were supposed to be flying? LOL!!!

Thanks, MB26 -
LOLa! Gosh, that sounded just like my dh on his first attempt trying to explain physics to me! (whew...calming down to a chuckle now)

What I didn't make clear...shouldn't Trace have said "Angle of *ascent*?" "Angle of attack" sounds like the pilots were flying a combat mission or something. You'd think I could get this straight one of these days... :)

[Mamzelle]

But the skiing is fine. Blowing Rock is my vote for the prettiest place in NC.

[Dead Dog]

Great find. I would think 92 knots IAS is quite a bit slower than a normal climb speed, even rotations. I bet it was/should have been climbing at 110-130 KIAS.

[Dead Dog]

Other than using trim to hold an attitude as opposed to airspeed, that seems pretty trivial. Must have been an FAA pub.

[IFly4Him]

The flight attendant is only required in aircraft with more than 19 seats.

[Amore]

Maybe it was in this thread somewhere, but just before I read your post, I went elsewhere and looked up VMCA (Minumim single engine control speed). So what do the initials exactly stand for?

[MindBender26]

VMC = Velocity, minimum control.

More, such as VNE = Velocity, never exceed (redline speed)

[MindBender26]

AOA is Angle of Attack.

Think of the wing "attacking" the air.... The pistures posted here are good.

[Betty Jane]

Thanks for the info.

[IFly4Him]

Also said that witnesses heard bangs and crashes when the plane took off...

Ice definitely not a factor here. But the "banging" noise could be a compressor stall. The compressor is the first section of the engine through which the air flows after intake (in this engine it's in the rear). It is made up of several vanes (some moving, some fixed). When the airflow over the vanes gets disrupted, a stall can occur which can lead to power loss or failure. It sounds like a backfiring car but much worse. The only thing we don't know is if was the cause of the problem or an effect of it.