Com-Central.net

I came across the following in an email newsletter I received today from flightaware.com. While I certainly am not posting this as any type of "entertainment value" I think it may at be of interest to the seasoned aviation & simulator crowd around here; It's a frightening example of the effects of density altitude - as the air gets warmer, and thinner, as the day goes on. I won't say anything more as there is already plenty of armchair quarterbacking on the youtube comments.


"This is unprecedented footage of a small airplane crash from inside the cockpit from two different views. Miraculously, everyone survived. The pilot will make a full recovery and the rest of us escaped with superficial injuries and feel very lucky to be alive"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDu0jYiz-v8

Well OK I will say one thing - as I watched it the first time I found it surprising how much time elapsed between the time that it became apparent that no more altitude could be gained, and the pilot eventually running completely out of options to set down in a clear area. But, too easy to say without being there.

Not quite "unprecedented", sadly....

I saw this on MSNBC today and was immediately reminded of this classic video, found three years after the event, of a very similar density altitude crash which is still used in some training programs. Sadly, it did not end well for those aboard, but it well illustrates how easy it is to "fly yourself out of options". The pilot, who should have known better, continues to "fly uphill" and seems oblivious to the fact that, though he is at the very margins of lift while flying straight, tries to turn his way out of trouble, which is bound to fail. The plane oscillates three times between lift and stall during the right turn, with the stall warning buzzing each time.*

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfPr_gZzHRw

I had a co-worker in San Diego who made a very similar miscalculation while flying in the Grand Canyon area on a hot day with several passengers, not all of whom survived, including his wife (and he had permanent leg injuries himself). He was very direct and honest about his mistake.


*Way back when, in the "bomber dogfights" at Interlaken in CFS3 I used to arrange, I would set up opponents like this intentionally. Nearly half of my "victories" were due to opponents failing to make the turns and stalling out into the mountain walls. Of course, there was no credit for the "kill", but we'd both know what had just happened. What's just for laughs in-game is serious business in Real Life™.

Sorry for your co-worker. Density altitude was indeed the cause, and the aircraft was a Stinson by the way (I had thought a 4-seat Piper Pacer or somesuch). There's some lucid and insightful (i.e., non-Youtube-like) commentary by some members of the flying community here FWIW:

flightaware.com/squawk...de_cockpit