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Air midwest on court tv
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missed it but found this on the court tv website.. still one of the saddest days in my aviation career...
Mondays at 11:00 & 11:30 pm
"Final Takeoff"
On January 8, 2003, Air Midwest Flight 5481 took off into clear skies above Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, in North Carolina, with 21 people on board. Seconds after take off, all that remained were unrecognizable pieces of charred debris. It was up to the nation's most expert airplane accident investigators - the NTSB - to root out the cause. After examining the evidence, the NTSB determined there was a maintenance error but even with this error, the pilot should have been able to save the flight. So who or what was the accomplice to this catastrophe? The key clue would lie in the cockpit voice recorder, in crew records and shockingly - America's growing obesity problem.
Mondays at 11:00 & 11:30 pm
"Final Takeoff"
On January 8, 2003, Air Midwest Flight 5481 took off into clear skies above Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, in North Carolina, with 21 people on board. Seconds after take off, all that remained were unrecognizable pieces of charred debris. It was up to the nation's most expert airplane accident investigators - the NTSB - to root out the cause. After examining the evidence, the NTSB determined there was a maintenance error but even with this error, the pilot should have been able to save the flight. So who or what was the accomplice to this catastrophe? The key clue would lie in the cockpit voice recorder, in crew records and shockingly - America's growing obesity problem.
So much wrong information.
Court TV. What a joke.
If they took the time to read the NTSB findings they would not have made this assinine statement.
Lets see. For the record. I am personally familiar with it.
Elevator completely out of rig. No down elevator travel left.
And this was the pilots fault. Yes sir, J.O. loves this publicity.
Time for another 2 million dollar house.
One problem. So many lawsuits the lawyers can't keep up.
Airplanes averaging 4-8 MEL's a DAY. Oh well. I need another motorcycle. I only have 17.
Good luck my brothers.
Court TV. What a joke.
If they took the time to read the NTSB findings they would not have made this assinine statement.
Lets see. For the record. I am personally familiar with it.
Elevator completely out of rig. No down elevator travel left.
And this was the pilots fault. Yes sir, J.O. loves this publicity.
Time for another 2 million dollar house.
One problem. So many lawsuits the lawyers can't keep up.
Airplanes averaging 4-8 MEL's a DAY. Oh well. I need another motorcycle. I only have 17.
Good luck my brothers.
Last edited:
SiuDude
Internet tough guy
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- Sep 9, 2004
- Posts
- 969
Just watched that episode.
In their reanactment, they show a person wearing 3 stripes flying the plane in the left seat, with no one in the right seat.
Otherwise, I think the show was fair. They blame the lack of supervision at the maintenance facility for letting a trainee perform the elevator adjustments. They also blame the over-gross condition of the B1900.
In their reanactment, they show a person wearing 3 stripes flying the plane in the left seat, with no one in the right seat.
Otherwise, I think the show was fair. They blame the lack of supervision at the maintenance facility for letting a trainee perform the elevator adjustments. They also blame the over-gross condition of the B1900.
I personally have over 3000 hours in the 1900D.
Every day hundreds of airplanes takeoff right at or over gross weight.
We don't weigh everyone. We use averages. I have flown that particular airplane right at max gross. It has plenty of excess power.
I personally know the ALPA reps that investigated the accident.
The FAA believes that adding 5 pounds to bag weights and pax makes it all better. Interesting.
Once again. My two cents.
Every day hundreds of airplanes takeoff right at or over gross weight.
We don't weigh everyone. We use averages. I have flown that particular airplane right at max gross. It has plenty of excess power.
I personally know the ALPA reps that investigated the accident.
The FAA believes that adding 5 pounds to bag weights and pax makes it all better. Interesting.
Once again. My two cents.
jetfueljunkey
Well-known member
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- Mar 3, 2004
- Posts
- 87
SiuDude said:
THE AIRCRAFT WAS NOT OVER GROSS WEIGHT! I worked on the investigation team.....Even when the bags were weighed post crash soaked with water/jetfuel....The plane was still under gross weight. THE elevator/maintenance was all at fault. Both the Captain and the FO were excellent pilots. I cannot speak personally for the FO but I can tell you as for the Captain she was a Stellar pilot she was my Fo for several months on the 1900 and I also did her upgrade training/type! I even showed the FAA/NTSB a bagsheet and load manifest I had saved from a flight many years ago where I was overweight by close to 600# and was several numbers past aft CG on the load manifest (found out after we landed in MCI). A few notches down trim and she flew fine! I guess that was not good enough for the FAA! Everyone suddenly gained a few extra pounds!
spitfire1500
Well-known member
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- Apr 8, 2005
- Posts
- 836
SiuDude said:
I was on that investigation with the systems team and there was no over gross situation...they were a few hundred pounds under and did not count a half weight. The plane only had 5 degrees of down elevator available when they should of had 14.7 deg. If only Mx would have used a elevator travel board and done the sweep before releasing the plane.
Bluestreak
Fitty-Six F100's rock
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- 375
NEDude
yada yada yada
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2001
- Posts
- 1,611
The weight limit for the 1900 is not a structural limit, it is a single engine performance limit. Some additional testing was done a few years ago which allowed operators to up the gross weight from 16,950 to 17,120. But for the record, the Air Force runs the C-12 at weights greater the 19,000 lbs and the airplane flies just fine.
Apparently though the FAA can't leave well enough alone. They added five pounds to the pax weights a couple of years ago in response to the CLT crash, and most operators have revised their pre-flight checks with regards to checking trim. Now the FAA has an AC that becomes effective Aug 11th that reduces summer weights down to 183lbs, adds five pounds to checked bags (gate cheecked remain the same), and severely limits forward and aft CG.
Apparently though the FAA can't leave well enough alone. They added five pounds to the pax weights a couple of years ago in response to the CLT crash, and most operators have revised their pre-flight checks with regards to checking trim. Now the FAA has an AC that becomes effective Aug 11th that reduces summer weights down to 183lbs, adds five pounds to checked bags (gate cheecked remain the same), and severely limits forward and aft CG.
CitationLover
Aw, Nuts!
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2003
- Posts
- 3,316
http://www.justplanenews.com/pnews/headlines/117412515.html
Air Midwest apologizes for 2003 crash
Posted by News Staff - Just Plane News.com
05/06/2005 02:56 PM
ELIZBETH LELAND
Charlotte Observer
Staff Writer
Air Midwest and its maintenance company publicly apologized Friday and accepted responsibility for their roles in the crash that killed 21 people in Charlotte two years ago.
"Air Midwest and its maintenance provider, Vertex Aerospace, acknowledge deficiencies, which together with the wording of the aircraft maintenance manuals, contributed to this accident," Greg Stephens, president of Air Midwest, told a gathering of family and friends of the victims. " We are truly sorry, and regret and apologize to everyone affected by this tragic event."
Stephens made the statement at a memorial on a remote corner of Hangar Road near the US Airways maintenance hangar at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, not far from where the airplane crashed on Jan. 8, 2003.
Over the past year, as other families settled lawsuits against the airline, Doug and Tereasa Shepherd maintained their resolve: Either the airline publicly apologize, they said, or face a public trial. No amount of money would bring their daughter, Christiana, back; a public apology and public accountability, they believed, might save someone else's daughter.
Christiana Grace Shepherd was 18, the second of their five children, and lived in the Azore islands off Portugal, where her parents work as missionaries. When the plane crashed, she was on the last leg of a long trip back to Bob Jones University in Greenville.
The National Transportation Safety Board ruled in February 2004 that sloppy maintenance, poor federal oversight and excessive weight in the back of US Airways Express Flight 5481 doomed the airplane.
The board blamed three parties: Air Midwest, which operated the plane and and was responsible for its maintenance and loading; an inspector for maintenance contractor Raytheon Aerospace; and the Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees maintenance and sets weight and balance guidelines.
Two nights before the crash, a mechanic reset the elevator cable tension that controls the pitch of the plane. It was the first time he had ever performed that job, and he skipped several steps with his supervisor's knowledge.
Afterward, investigators believe, when the steering yoke was pushed all the way forward, the elevator went only partway down. The plane flew fine on nine flights with lighter loads. But on the morning of Jan. 8, the plane was so tail-heavy, investigators say, the pilots needed full control of the elevator to keep the nose from rising too sharply.
Flight 5481 shot up at a dangerously steep angle and the pilots could not correct the pitch. The Beech 1900D crashed 37 seconds after takeoff.
"The horror there really was that they had someone who never did it before, trained by someone who never trained before, and they almost conspired with each other to eliminate steps," said attorney Ron Goldman of the Baum Hedlund law firm. "As it turns out they eliminated crucial steps, several of which would have saved this accident."
Air Midwest apologizes for 2003 crash
Posted by News Staff - Just Plane News.com
05/06/2005 02:56 PM
ELIZBETH LELAND
Charlotte Observer
Staff Writer
Air Midwest and its maintenance company publicly apologized Friday and accepted responsibility for their roles in the crash that killed 21 people in Charlotte two years ago.
"Air Midwest and its maintenance provider, Vertex Aerospace, acknowledge deficiencies, which together with the wording of the aircraft maintenance manuals, contributed to this accident," Greg Stephens, president of Air Midwest, told a gathering of family and friends of the victims. " We are truly sorry, and regret and apologize to everyone affected by this tragic event."
Stephens made the statement at a memorial on a remote corner of Hangar Road near the US Airways maintenance hangar at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, not far from where the airplane crashed on Jan. 8, 2003.
Over the past year, as other families settled lawsuits against the airline, Doug and Tereasa Shepherd maintained their resolve: Either the airline publicly apologize, they said, or face a public trial. No amount of money would bring their daughter, Christiana, back; a public apology and public accountability, they believed, might save someone else's daughter.
Christiana Grace Shepherd was 18, the second of their five children, and lived in the Azore islands off Portugal, where her parents work as missionaries. When the plane crashed, she was on the last leg of a long trip back to Bob Jones University in Greenville.
The National Transportation Safety Board ruled in February 2004 that sloppy maintenance, poor federal oversight and excessive weight in the back of US Airways Express Flight 5481 doomed the airplane.
The board blamed three parties: Air Midwest, which operated the plane and and was responsible for its maintenance and loading; an inspector for maintenance contractor Raytheon Aerospace; and the Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees maintenance and sets weight and balance guidelines.
Two nights before the crash, a mechanic reset the elevator cable tension that controls the pitch of the plane. It was the first time he had ever performed that job, and he skipped several steps with his supervisor's knowledge.
Afterward, investigators believe, when the steering yoke was pushed all the way forward, the elevator went only partway down. The plane flew fine on nine flights with lighter loads. But on the morning of Jan. 8, the plane was so tail-heavy, investigators say, the pilots needed full control of the elevator to keep the nose from rising too sharply.
Flight 5481 shot up at a dangerously steep angle and the pilots could not correct the pitch. The Beech 1900D crashed 37 seconds after takeoff.
"The horror there really was that they had someone who never did it before, trained by someone who never trained before, and they almost conspired with each other to eliminate steps," said attorney Ron Goldman of the Baum Hedlund law firm. "As it turns out they eliminated crucial steps, several of which would have saved this accident."
capt. megadeth
Metal Momma!
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