Crashed US plane was on autopilot
February 16th, 2009 - 11:10 am ICT by IANSWashington/New York, Feb 16 (DPA) Amidst recovery efforts for the remains of 50 victims of last week’s New York airplane crash, investigators said the aircraft was on autopilot, a violation of suggested guidelines when icing on the wings is a danger but in keeping with legal requirements.
Steve Chealander, spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB,) described in remarks broadcast Sunday the sickening pitch and roll of Continental Express flight 3407 in its last 26 seconds before it crashed into a house outside Buffalo, New York, Thursday night, killing all 48 passengers and crew and one person in the house.
The information was gleaned from the flight data recorder recovered from the wreckage.
But Chealander added that it did “not seem like it was as severe icing event,” raising questions about whether the informal guidelines would have prevailed on the pilot’s decision-making.
The pilot of the 74-seat Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 twin-engine turboprop plane operated by Colgan Air had taken off from Newark, New Jersey and was headed to Buffalo in New York state.
The pilot had turned on the de-icing system 11 minutes after taking off from Newark, and kept it on for the rest of the flight.
Chealander said that the NTSB, after investigating a similar accident in the past, had recommended to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that it require pilots to turn off the auto-pilot system in severe icing conditions.
“It might be best to disengage the autopilot and fly manually so you have the … feeling for what might be changing” with the ice, Chealander said.
But he said the FAA, which is the only regulatory body that can set safety requirements, “sees things differently” and “believes for some reasons that you may need the autopilot” in icing conditions.
The heavy workload in “high intense weather situations” is the main reason the FAA has more confidence in the auto-pilot system, Chealander said.
The flight manual for the Dash 8-Q400 craft advises that the auto-pilot be disengaged during “severe icing conditions”, Chealander said.
- Before crash, expert says Continental plane was on autopilot - Feb 16, 2009
- Investigators locate key parts of Continental Airlines Flight 3407 - Feb 17, 2009
- NTSB criticizes pilots of fatal Buffalo crash Flight 3407 - May 13, 2009
- Flight 3407 Transcript : Last words aboard - May 13, 2009
- Three Indians feared dead in US plane crash Home - Feb 13, 2009
- Three Indians feared dead in US plane crash - Feb 13, 2009
- Recovery of bodies from plane crash to take days - Feb 15, 2009
- American Eagle Airlines fined $155,000 for safety violations - Aug 10, 2011
- Safety Board: Pilot is responsible for NY crash - Feb 04, 2010
- Pakistan PM's aircraft develops mid-air snag - May 06, 2011
- NTSB investigating wing clipping incident at New York's JFK airport - Apr 13, 2011
- U.S. FAA launches website for pilots and public about laser incidents - Oct 28, 2011
- NTSB head says FAA ignored recommendations on shared air space - Aug 11, 2009
- Plane crashes in upstate New York, 50 dead (Roundup) - Feb 14, 2009
- Safety Board Holds Pilot Error Responsible For New York Crash - Feb 04, 2010
Tags: auto pilot, buffalo new york, continental express, crash investigators, dash 8, de icing, federal aviation administration, fligh, flight data recorder, national transportation safety, national transportation safety board, new york airplane crash, newark new jersey, ntsb, pilot system, recovery efforts, regulatory body, transportation safety board, turboprop plane, weather situations