Controller & WN Pilots suspended.....

[ultrarunner]

1000 feet separation. Don't we do that all the time?

 

[Redmeat]

or scaring the crap out of all your passengers..you know how they freak out when they see someone 1000' below you; imagine if they see two guys inside a cirrus waving at them

This reminds me of the Northwest 747 formation flight back in 99 or so. The son (also a NW pilot) thought it would be great fun to surprise dad on his final leg of his retirement flight by forming up on him with a Collings B24 as they were on approach to Minny.

Unfortunately ol' dad got an emergency revocation as a retirement present for it. Oops.

I don't know about you...but that should have been one of those gut-check moments.

With regard to this incident, I think my first thought after the ATC request...and before I tried to form-up on a spam-can...would have been..."Wait a minute. There's ANG fighters on ready standby JUST FOR THIS SORT OF THING!"...

 

[tankerhead]

...and the SWA Captain may very well fly one of those fighters, hence his apparent comfort level with a little bit 'o wingwork.

 

[Redmeat]

...and the SWA Captain may very well fly one of those fighters, hence his apparent comfort level with a little bit 'o wingwork.

Unfortunately he doesnt get to do "a little bit o' wingwork" with grandma and grandpa sittin' in back...

And an F-16 is a whole lot better tool for the job than a Transport.

DUMB.

 

[SEVEN]

anyone have the link to the atc audio/tape of the event?

 

[Amish RakeFight]

Must've been those cowboy boots the captain had on.

Wear'em with caution.

 

[Fly High]

This reminds me of the Northwest 747 formation flight back in 99 or so. The son (also a NW pilot) thought it would be great fun to surprise dad on his final leg of his retirement flight by forming up on him with a Collings B24 as they were on approach to Minny.

Unfortunately ol' dad got an emergency revocation as a retirement present for it. Oops.

I don't remember that happening but from what I found it must have happened around the summer of 1998. This is from an artilce from the spring of 1999.
"The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed substantial fines and certificate suspensions for at least two of the participants in a formation flight staged between a passenger-carrying Northwest Airlines 747 and the Collings Foundation's Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber last summer. The airliner's captain, who was flying his last flight before retirement, had pre-arranged the formation, and Northwest had approved it. The FAA, however, took a dim view of the proceedings and has begun an investigation into the matter."

 

[SLUF4]

from what I read they were closer than 1000'. the article said the SWA was initially at 12,000 and the SR22 at 11,000 and the SWA descended to get a better look-it didn't say how close they got.

 

[dougdrvr]

The Feds don't seem to get all bent out of shape when we cozy up to each other on closely spaced simultaneous visuals such as 28L&R at SFO?

 

[Redmeat]

I don't remember that happening but from what I found it must have happened around the summer of 1998. This is from an artilce from the spring of 1999.
"The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed substantial fines and certificate suspensions for at least two of the participants in a formation flight staged between a passenger-carrying Northwest Airlines 747 and the Collings Foundation's Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber last summer. The airliner's captain, who was flying his last flight before retirement, had pre-arranged the formation, and Northwest had approved it. The FAA, however, took a dim view of the proceedings and has begun an investigation into the matter."

Yeah that's it. That article wasn't accurate though.

It later was determined that the first the 747 crew knew of the plan was when ATC informed them that they were vectoring the B24 to join up with them. It was to be a surprise for the captain.

The FAA put a NW dispatcher thru the ringer for going along with it as well. Pretty amazing lack of judgment all around.