NTSB Accident Reports... anyone else browse them?

[KrautFed]

I don't know why, and yes it can be morbid, but I enjoy going through the accident reports in my state every few months. Some are pretty good, while some are tragic.

Post links to some of your favs.

Sikorsky 92 w/ 18 on board doing 72 knot roll landing, possibly due to a missing nut: http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/br...20X65144&key=1

Balloon pilot "in ballooning, it is a common practice to scrape against the tops of trees" : http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/br...22X83304&key=1

[David@vwvortex]

When I was in aviation law... all TOO frequently. I worked for Piper Trust among others manufacturers.

Geesh.. some of the shiznit people would do then turn around and sue Piper were just out there. Cases were forced into mandatory arbitration so it was interesting talking to the lawyers and "victims" looking for $$$ from the Trust.

Now USAir, Sikorsky and Parker-Hanafin(sp) those were pretty interesting cases.. but I digress.

Some interesting stuff out on their site.

[Gern_Blanston]

It's always amazing to read those reports. 99% are stupid pilot tricks, and 1% are just Aww Sh** moments.
I always go crazy over the lawsuits though. A guy flying an airplane that hasn't had an annual in 13 years, with an engine that's a thousand hours past TBO runs out of gas and crashes. He sues the engine manufacturer because the engine quit, he sues the guy who did the annual 13 years ago because he was the last mechanic to touch the airplane, etc., etc., etc.
There was a case here in Oregon that just closed where GE had to pay damages to the victims of a helicopter crash. The pilots took off 3/4 ton over weight on a hot day in a 50-year-old helicopter, and somehow it was GE's fault that the damned thing wouldn't fly.
Millions an millions of dollars. Aughhh!!!!

[DonL]

Now... Parker-Hanafin(sp) those were pretty interesting cases.. but I digress.

Some interesting stuff out on their site.

Is the Parker Hannifin the one with the Senator or Governor, Callahan, Carlahan, something like that?

[joness0154]

I have a passion for aviation safety and read accident reports fairly often. I got lucky enough to have an internship with the NTSB in the summer between my junior & senior year of college. Plenty of good stories.

Navion Accident (VFR into IMC):



Citation 550 Accident (lots of contributing factors - the caravan in the background is from a different accident):

[David@vwvortex]

Is the Parker Hannifin the one with the Senator or Governor, Callahan, Carlahan, something like that?

Newp.. TWA Flight 800(fuel probes and pumps) and USAir 427(rudder controls). Worked on both cases.

[DonL]

Newp.. TWA Flight 800(fuel probes and pumps)...

TWA 800. Oy...

[Brendan@bwalkauto]

I minored in Aviation Safety when I was in college, and picked it due to my fascination with large scale engineering disasters. When I get bored, I tend to cruise through the NTSB database and read for hours on end.

JP had it mostly right. It's more of an 80/20 rule of stupid pilot tricks and some legitimate Sweet Baby Jesus what's happening moments. That being said, plenty of the SBJ what's happening moments have a lot of stupid pilot tricks (or poor training) that lead up to them.

[theblur]

couple of favorites...

http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/br...13X33066&key=1
http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/br...84FA504&akey=1

[KrautFed]

couple of favorites...

http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/br...13X33066&key=1
http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/br...84FA504&akey=1

damn My CFI told me stories of him carrying a passenger regularly. The passenger only carried a briefcase or a small bag and was sometimes handcuffed to it. My CFI ran into him couple of years later and asked the ole "so I always wondered what was in the bag?" and he said that sometimes it was $200k in cash. He supposedly worked for a bank.

Permission to buzz the Sirrus : http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/br...30X05145&key=2

[Gern_Blanston]

This is my personal favorite. Happened just up the road at PDX. I knew the guy, and I just shake my head any time I think about it. Dumbest pilot ever? Perhaps.
http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/br...98FA047&akey=1

[Mtl-Marc]

Yes I do.

http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-re...tion/index.asp

[vwnut82]

This is my personal favorite. Happened just up the road at PDX. I knew the guy, and I just shake my head any time I think about it. Dumbest pilot ever? Perhaps.
http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/br...98FA047&akey=1

That's pretty bad. What ever happened to him? I still think Jim Inhofe is worse.

[AZGolf]

This is my personal favorite. Happened just up the road at PDX. I knew the guy, and I just shake my head any time I think about it. Dumbest pilot ever? Perhaps.
http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/br...98FA047&akey=1

Wait - what? Do I understand the information correctly that the pilot of a twin-engine airplane decided to take off with only 1 working engine and hoped that maybe the other engine would start once they were going fast in flight?

[Gern_Blanston]

Wait - what? Do I understand the information correctly that the pilot of a twin-engine airplane decided to take off with only 1 working engine and hoped that maybe the other engine would start once they were going fast in flight?

Yep. Idiots. He thought he could 'compression start' a jet! One of the guys at the FBO told me that the copilot had abandoned ship when the guy first decided to try it and then he put one of the pax in the right seat. I guess when the FAA showed up, the airplane was sitting gear-up in the weeds and the guy had his leatherman out trying to remove the CVR. It was pretty funny (since no one got hurt!)
The airplane sat on a stack of pallets over by FlightCraft for months afterwards while they tried to figure out what to do with it.

[kar_nut]

Dumbest passengers ever?

Fixed. When the co-pilot jumps out and says "eff this!", you should probably follow.

[Gern_Blanston]

Agreed!

[David@vwvortex]

TWA 800. Oy...

Yup.. my brain hurt after pouring over all the documentation from Boeing on that one. Same fuel pumps and probes were used on the 707/KC-135, B-52's and 747. Facinating case. Dealing with the personal side of it.. not so nice especially when dealing with causes of death for the folks that they recovered. Blah.

I also worked on USAir Flight 1016. Microburst on landing and the plane "landed" short. THAT was nasty b/c I had to handle all the autopsy photos and keep them under lock and key. The personal damages side of that was just a nightmare and was ultimately why I decided NOT to go into law.

USAir 427 was just horrible b/c I had to listen to the CVR way too many times. They were so close to catching it before it rolled over.

[fuquar]

a trip estimated by Microsoft's Streets and Trips to be about two hours and ten minutes long.

I wasn't aware that people were still using that program



On a side note, several of my roommates in college were (are) pilots and we saw some crazy stuff. There were a few times we almost ended up on those reports.

Here's one that happened just a stone's through from our Fraternity: http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/br...28X00371&key=1

Kid was out all night drinking, met a girl (older single mother), stole a plane, flew around in the fog, then crashed nose first just off campus.

[Brendan@bwalkauto]

Fixed. When the co-pilot jumps out and says "eff this!", you should probably follow.

Yeah, if someone who knows how to fly the plane wants out, staying there is monumentally stupid.

[kar_nut]

Yeah, if someone who knows how to fly the plane wants out, staying there is monumentally stupid.

The worst part is that the pilots' conversation with the passengers made it sound like they at least had some sort of basic aviation knowledge. Given that, I'm not sure how their response to seeing the copilot bail was "Shotgun!!!!"

[Gern_Blanston]

The worst part is that the pilots' conversation with the passengers made it sound like they at least had some sort of basic aviation knowledge. Given that, I'm not sure how their response to seeing the copilot bail was "Shotgun!!!!"

Yeah, can you imagine? Wacko.

[joness0154]

Does anybody remember the P-51 collision at AirVenture 2007? That was another one I had the opportunity to assist in the investigation. Unfortunately I also witnessed it.