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Severe case of Get There-itis?!?

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Av8trxx

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 10, 2001
Posts
225
That crashes thread had me looking into the NTSB site, and this one was just incredibly......unnecessary! How about this-

NTSB Identification: DCA87MA010B.
Scheduled 14 CFR Part 121: Air Carrier operation of PAN AMERICAN (D.B.A. PAN AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAYS )
Accident occurred Thursday, November 06, 1986 in TAMPA, FL
Probable Cause Approval Date: 3/7/88
Aircraft: BOEING 727-235, registration: N4743
Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Serious, 2 Minor, 20 Uninjured.

AT APRX 0612 EST, AN EASTERN AIRLINE CAPT (OWNER OF PIPER PA-23, N2185P) DEPARTED A RWY NEAR HIS HOME IN VFR CONDS TO COMMUTE TO WORK AT TAMPA, FL. SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, HE CONTACTED A FSS & UPDATED THE WX INFO HE HAD OBTAINED ON THE PREVIOUS EVENING.

AT THAT TIME, THE CURRENT TAMPA WX WAS, IN PART: INDEF CEILING, ZERO OBSCD, VIS 1/16 MI WITH FOG, RVR FOR RWY 36L WAS 1000' TO 1600'. BEFORE N2185P ARRIVED, 2 OTR FLTS HAD DIVERTED FM TAMPA DUE TO THE WX BEING BELOW MINS. DRG ARRIVAL, THE PLT OF N2185P MADE 2 ILS APCHS TO LND. DRG HIS 1ST ATMT, HE MADE A MISSED APCH & ELECTED TO 'GO BACK & TRY IT AGAIN.'

WHEN CLRD FOR THE 2ND ILS, THE RVR WAS 600' IN THE TOUCHDOWN AREA & 1000' AT MIDFIELD. SUBSEQUENTLY, THEPA-23 TOUCHED DWN ON A PARALLEL TAXIWAY & COLLIDED WITH BOEING 727, N4743, WHICH WAS BEING TAXIED FOR TAKEOFF. THE 727 CREW DID NOT SEE THE PIPER UNTIL IT WAS APRX 500' AWAY. THE CAPT OF THE BOEING STEERED RGT, BUT WAS UNABLE TO AVOID A COLLISION. THE DECISION HEIGHT (DH) & MIN RVR FOR THE APCH WERE 200' & 1800', RESPECTIVELY, FOR CATEGORY A, B & C ACFT.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

IN-FLIGHT PLANNING/DECISION..IMPROPER..PILOT OF OTHER AIRCRAFT

Contributing Factors

PREFLIGHT PLANNING/PREPARATION..INADEQUATE..PILOT OF OTHER AIRCRAFT
WEATHER CONDITION..LOW CEILING
WEATHER CONDITION..FOG
WEATHER CONDITION..BELOW APPROACH/LANDING MINIMUMS
OBJECT..AIRCRAFT MOVING ON GROUND
 
Factors not mentioned in the report

An unnecessary accident? Sure.

But we have no idea what was going through that poor man's head that day. In other words: What was motivating him that morning?

Did he just have a fight with his wife?
Was he on thin ice with his chief pilot?
Eastern, in the late '80s, was just about to go belly up...

And by the way, what about the propriety of stating the company he worked for in the accident report? Surely they could've just mentioned his qualifcations. I don't think they needed to mention he was an Eastern pilot.

Fly safe.
 

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