Air midwest crashes into hangar @ CLT??

[Huck]

I've also seen some drastic changes in commuter accident statistics when you take Alaska flying out of the mix.

 

[JumpJetter]

The press needs to compare apples to apples. But in their defense, the NTSB is not helping them. Look at this link: http://www.ntsb.gov/aviation/Paxftl35.htm

On the NTSB website they have two links to summarize accidents entitled "Airlines" and "Commuters". What the lay person misses (or in this case, rock head reporters), is that the NTSB defines these two sets of statistics this way.
Airline = Part 121
Commuter = Part 135

The press doesn't understand that almost all of the "major" regionals in this country operate under Part 121 (sometimes with some grandfathering of rules to 135). Look the the Airline link http://www.ntsb.gov/aviation/Paxfatal.htm I only see one regional airline crash listed!

The Commuter crashs are composed of mostly C-402s, B-99 C-208 etc. This is not representative of the regional airlines.

Bottom line, we need to place a little blame of this "misreporting" on the NTSB. There statistics are not clear and do not represent the "change" we've have seen in regional operators over the past 10 years. Time to update you site NTSB.

 

[got_jumpseat?]

speculation

I flew N233YV for 5 days in a row once, and have 1500+ hrs in Mesa and Air Midwest 1900's. I dont even remember 233. I had to check my logbooks. Most of my time was in the high desert of NM and AZ. I have flown these birds on hot days heavy with 19 cowboys and indians in back and .... I think we can rule out it being a CG or performance problem. Especially in cold and low CLT.

Much of Air Midwest training was done in the actual aircraft and Johnathan Gibbs was probably initially trained by Dave Powell in the Beech 1900D. If he was initially trained by Dave I assure you they did a few REAL V1 cuts with all the wheels still on the ground. That was Dave's thing. In hot and high Farmington no less. 1900 type ratings were probably given in the ICT sim. The sim could easily be configured to simulate an engine failure at MTOW. I have no doubt both these pilots knew exactly what to do to keep 233 flying. My GUESS is something catastrophic happened.

Godspeed friends, see you on the other side. This is not a goodbye, only until we meet again.

 

[RightPedal]

ANN News Alert: Commuter Plane Down in Charlotte, NC
Updated Through the Day:
A commuter aircraft has gone down on takeoff at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, NC, and impacted a US Air maintenance hangar. US Airways Express officials report that "...the preliminary passenger list indicates that the aircraft carried 19 passengers and two crewmembers, although these numbers are subject to revision."

The aircraft crashed into the US Air facility, on the airport, at approximately 0840, EST. One eyewitness (whose credibility and expertise we haven't been able to confirm) says the plane had achieved about 1200 feet of altitude, when it appeared to have stalled; it seemed to recover with about 200 feet of altitude left -- then it went sraight in.

The affected flight was confirmed as Air MidWest commuter, Flight 5481, enroute to the Greenville-Spartanburg Jetport in South Carolina. The aircraft is a Beech 1900D twin turboprop, operating on a US Airways Express flight. A police source is now reporting that they have found no survivors and that there has been at least one injury to someone on the ground, though all personnel are accounted for. Some witness reports indicate the aircraft rolled to an inverted attitude prior to impact.

Crew Identified:
The crew was composed of a Captain & First Officer. The captain was Katie Leslie and the first officer was Jonathan Gibbs, both based in Charlotte, NC. "Our deepest condolences go out to the families of these employees who were exemplary members of the Air Midwest family," said Greg Stephens, President of Air Midwest, Inc.

The aircraft was 8 years old, had logged 15,010 hours, with 21,000 takeoffs and landings. This accident is the first fatal commercial US air accident in more than a year. A quick search of NTSB records indicates that the Beech 1900 series has a history of at least six accidents, involving fatalities, in the last dozen years.

The aircraft was registered as N233YV. Air Midwest has turned over to the FAA & NTSB all records relating maintenance and history of the aircraft.

US Airways President and Chief Executive Officer David Siegel said, "All of us in the US Airways family are deeply saddened by today's Air Midwest accident in Charlotte, N.C., and I wish to express our deepest personal sympathy to the families and friends of passengers and crewmembers aboard the aircraft. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

"We do not know and cannot speculate about what happened to Flight 5481, which is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Members of both US Airways' and Air Midwest's accident investigation teams are cooperating fully with the NTSB, the Federal Aviation Administration and other agencies. They have our complete support.

"A specially trained team of US Airways employees is traveling to Charlotte and the flight's destination city of Greenville/Spartanburg, South Carolina, to assist the families and loved ones of those on board Flight 5481. We are also working closely with the American Red Cross, which will be providing support.

"Our first priority is to provide a supportive and responsive environment for family members, and while we cannot lessen their sorrow, we will do everything in our power to assist them during this difficult time.

"I would also like to express our deep appreciation to those people in the emergency units who responded without hesitation and with great care. We are grateful to all of them."

Jonathan Ornstein, Chairman & CEO of Mesa Air Group, said, "We are deeply saddened by today's event. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and crew of flight 5481. We are working with the NTSB and other agencies in the investigation of this accident."

[Mesa has established a special toll-free telephone number to call for information about those on board Flight 5481. The number is 1-800-679-8215 --ed.]

Watch for irresponsible/incorrect reports, too:
Unfortunately, the usual aero-ignorant media feeding frenzy is fully underway with "Scary Mary" Schiavo already engaging in wild speculation as to the causes of the accident (mind you, this while the wreckage is still visibly smoking on our TV screens) and CNN is posting specs for the Beech 1900--using a picture of a KingAir... God Help Us...

Confusion About Who's Who
Timothy E. Hoeksema, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Midwest Express Holdings, had to issue a statement, as well: "The employees of Midwest Express and Skyway Airlines express their sincere condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic crash of US Airways Express Flight 5481. Our airline - Midwest Express Airlines - has received many inquiries today regarding the Charlotte accident, apparently because of the similarity of our names. Other than a codeshare partnership with Air Midwest that only pertains to flights to and from Kansas City, there is no relationship or affiliation between our airlines."

FMI: www.mesa-air.com; www.air_midwest.html

 

[JayDub]

I remember. This kind of insensitive behavior inspired the hit song Dirty Laundry, done by Don Henley, if I am correct. Local news is by far the worst offender in this area.

What inspired this hit song was an individual reporter. She did an investigative report on Mr. Henley and his girl friend at the time. It seems Mr. Henley liked young girls, and this one was no different. I think she was @ 17 and he was early thirties.

Any how, Mr. Henley didn't like this story, but couldn't refute much of it either. This reporter had made a name for herself by being aggressive. The incident mentioned in the song was actually her signature piece of work.

Do you remember the (I think) DC-9 that hit the Cherokee over L.A. back in the early Seventies? The one that led to the current restriction of 250 kts. under 10k? The cherokee busted the TCA (Class B for all neophytes) and this DC-9 hit it and rained people and parts everywhere.

The police and other emergency workers requested everyone stay out of the crash zone. It was rather spread out and hard to patrol. This lady (who happened to be blonde) did a live remote from amongst the carnage inside the "ropes", while every other reporter honored the wishes of the emergency workers, not to mention common sense. After this, she got a real reputation.

That was the reference in the song. She was gunning for a network slot at the time. The aircraft accident made her too controversial to hire, according to legend. Sorry, I don't remember her name. Just that she was a local L.A. reporter.

Thoughts and Prayers to all involved.

JayDub

 

[ultrarunner]

NTSB brief

I just caught the last few secs of the NTSB brief. Some details are:

The flight lasted 37 seconds.

Max Alt reached: 1200 feet (i'm asuming msl)

Max ANU 52 degrees!

IF (with my emphasis) there was an engine failure, I would suspect the VMC would have been reached very quickly, and a very quick VMC roll with that ANU.

 

[Timebuilder]

JayDub-

Actually, what I said was "This kind of insensitive behavior inspired..." the song.

Don's personal experience is what brought it all to a head. There was also some reference to cocaine and a sixteen year old, and charges of prostitution were mentioned in the wire stories. It's a little foggy now, and hard to follow a conversation one had over drinks twenty years ago while at a party with the band at Windows, atop the WTC. Gone are the days...

I don't recall her name, either his girlfriend or the reporter.

 

[greg20]

This one?

JayDub said:

Do you remember the (I think) DC-9 that hit the Cherokee over L.A. back in the early Seventies? The one that led to the current restriction of 250 kts. under 10k? The cherokee busted the TCA (Class B for all neophytes) and this DC-9 hit it and rained people and parts everywhere.

Was it this one? A PSA 727 had a mid-air with a C-172 over San Diego in 1978.

AirDisaster.com Detail

 

[El Cid Av8or]

ultrarunner (or someone else)

Forgive my lack of experience, but please elaborate on what "Max ANU" stands for. I'm guessing the maximum upward pitch that the aircraft attained? Thanks.

On another note...
I really like the last line of got_jumpseat?'s post. I don't think I've ever heard it put that way and I like it.

 

[FL000]

I think this might be my favorite quote of the whole investigation so far. It says so much about how the media just throw crap out there without even so much as a cursory investigation of facts, knowing it will stick with the general public:

"No flight attendants were on the plane because it was a short flight."

It is from this cnn story.