NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman’s recent testimony before congress concerning the mid-air collision over the Hudson raises more questions than it answers. She stated that the Teterboro controller instructed the Piper pilot to switch to frequency 127.85 to contact the Newark controller. But before leaving the Teterboro frequency, according to Hersman, the pilot read back to
Helicopter – Airplane Mid-Air Collision Over the Hudson: NTSB Boots It
place inMid-Air Collision Over The Hudson: Airplanes and Helicopters Don’t Mix Well
Compared to pilots in other countries, pilots in the US have extraordinary freedom. Of course, to keep commercial airliners safe from collisions, pilots of small aircraft are excluded from certain 
airspace near major airports unless they have first obtained a clearance from air traffic controllers. If a pilot obtains the necessary clearance, controllers will dictate the
More on the Hawthorne Plane Crash
The G36 Bonanza’s closest competitor is probably the Cirrus SR22. Would the outcome of this accident have been different had the Beechcraft been equipped with a ballistic parachute system, like the system installed in the Cirrus, depicted here? Probably not. For the Cirrus’ ballistic parachute to work, the plane needs at least 400 feet of altitude.
Beechcraft G36 Bonanza Crash At Hawthorne
Bonanza N618MW, a Beechcraft like the one pictured below, was doing "touch & goes" at Jack Northrop field in Hawthorne. "Touch and goes" are practice landings where the pilot does not stop on the runway. Instead, after the wheels touch down, the pilot advances the throttle, takes off again, and then circles around for another landing. Everything appeared to be fine until, on one ofContinue Reading Beechcraft G36 Bonanza Crash At Hawthorne
NTSB Releases Animation of Crash of US Airways Flight 1549
Two months ago, Scene Systems — a litigation support firm — released its animation of Flight 1549’s crash into the Hudson. I posted here that, in all likelihood, the animation would not be admissible in court. The legal objection would be that the animation “lacked foundation.” For example, without information from the Airbus’ black boxes
Pilatus Crash at Butte Montana and Occam’s Razor
The pilot’s original destination was Bozeman, Montana. But the pilot amended his flight plan and diverted to Butte. The pilot did not tell air traffic control why he was diverting. About 25 minutes later, as the aircraft approached for landing at Butte, it went out of control and crashed.
The NTSB is now investigating two things: (1) why the pilot diverted to Butte, especially when he was so close to Bozeman, and (2) why the pilot lost control and crashed so near the runway at Butte.
Some possible explanations for diverting include:Continue Reading Pilatus Crash at Butte Montana and Occam’s Razor
Weather Analysis Suggests Air France Flight 447 Penetrated Thunderstorms
Tim Vasquez is a meteorologist with Weather Graphics in Oklahomoa. He has plotted Flight 447’s flight path against GOES-10 satellite and other weather data. Vaquez’ work suggests Flight 447 penetrated two thunderstorm cells.
The image below, according to Vasquez, is similar to what the Flight 447 crew would have seen on its weather radar screen, assuming
Air France Flight 447: Lightning, Thunderstorms, and the Airbus
Did the Pilots Attempt to Fly Through a Thunderstorm Intentionally? That’s very unlikely. Pilots avoid thunderstorms at all costs, because they know a thunderstorm can destroy any aircraft. Pilots use the aircraft’s on-board weather radar system to make sure they keep a safe distance. During the day, they can see the towering thunderstorms rising up to 50,000 feet and avoid them that way as well.
Did Lightning Destroy the Aircraft? Probably not. Lightning strikes are common. On average, each airplane is the US commercial fleet is stuck by lightning once per year. To protect against strikes, airliners are designed to route the electrical charge along the aircraft’s outer skin from one end ofContinue Reading Air France Flight 447: Lightning, Thunderstorms, and the Airbus
NTSB Animation Suggests Continental Flight 3407 Pilot Error
I blogged here on whether it was icing that caused the crash of Flight 3407, or whether the pilot simply pulled back on the yoke when he should have pushed forward. The NTSB’s animation, using data gathered from the aircraft’s black boxes, makes a strong case for the latter.
The video is 2