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Definitely a weak Captain who wasn't familiar with his aircraft. Then to top it off he had a FO who thought he knew it all. Either one could have said let's go around but i wonder if egos got in the way. I feel sorry for the passengers.
Not to mention the final NTSB report that just came out showed that the stacks may have been obscured by her windscreen until the very last moment, and the steam combined with the snowy conditions may have messed up her perception of what glide slope she was on. You combine that with flying into the steam plume, which may have affected aircraft performance (thanks to Blancolirio for that one) and the Swiss cheese all lined up.
From what I understand, the stacks were enlarged a couple years before this accident and the approval was never actually given by the FAA for the higher stacks on the approach end.
These are the types of case studies that have me going through Instrument training. Not because I want to go flying in inclement weather but because if I find myself in an unplanned spot like this I want to have extra room in my safety envelope. That being said I’ve asked my instructor to take me up in actual IFR to get a feeling for it before I exercise this rating very much.
My first questions. Why was the captain made a Capt? He has low type hours, cant program his stuff and needed more leadership training.. The FO? He shouldnt have been on that aircraft and needed a attitude adjustment. Clearly was not fit as well
May God Bless You in Jesus Christ's might name. Forgive yourself. Do not let the enemy have one more inch in your heart, mind & soul. There is only so much a man can do, then it in God's hands. We are all, everyone that's ever lived, in his hand. I give you my condolences for your loss Arturo, and I Pray peace over you. Thank you for sharing, I understand this is a war in your mind; You have saved lives by giving your testimony, and the way you articulated the events is beautiful. These things happen to everyone, it's not a matter of if, but when. I Love You brother. ❤🔥
A classic example of how, when in a panic over an urgent threat to safety - in this case the rapidly approaching airliner - trying to micromanage every little detail, and not having the wherewithal to trust the other parties involved to know what they're doing, can also be detrimental to safety.
I love to hear stories about professional pilots that are cool under pressure, think on their feet, and do everything by the book. This is clearly not one of those. I have to wonder how people who shouldn't be pilots due to their attitude toward procedure manage to get so far. I'm not the most detail oriented person, but I choose not to work in a field that puts others at risk.
Didn’t the spotter receive advice to “stay put if weather deteriorates”? Was this advice from ATC ever reported to the rescuer?? The decision should not have been his alone
Im just wondering what made the non ifr rated pilot think he could make the cross country flight of over 1,000 milesin non vfr conditions and overweight. He had to burning fuel like no other especially being overweight then you add in the weather conditions that all has an effect on the engines.
It's just heartbreaking to hear her radio communications before the accident. I have no knowledge of aircraft or air flight, but to my untrained eye and layman's sensibilities, it just makes no sense to have a runway lined up like that near a manufacturing/processing facility that routinely produces steam in that volume with those potential effects on aircraft. It just doesn't make sense. This kind of risk stacking with those structures on the ground in that configuration should never be allowed in non-military, non-emergency situations. I wish someone would have stopped it long ago.
Hope Ken's doing well. Can't blame Darren for declining the interview - would've wanted to hear it, but he's probably already been "all interviewed out".
The First Officer should have taken control a long time before.He was way more experienced on the type of aircraft. Had way more situation awareness. But deploying spoilers in that attitude........
This really sounds like the FAA dropped the ball badly. It feels like they were very dismissive of the risk such an obstacle would represent, especially in poor visibility.
