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Originally Posted by candyflip
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I have red it. That article puts the blame on ice conditions before any investigation is done. Even IF the weather conditions are perfect for icing the surface of the aircraft, the dash 8 has an electric automatic de-icing system, unless the pilots didn't enable it i doubt ice build up that fast would be the cause for this crash.
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Originally Posted by Mutt
very interesting. ice no doubt was the problem - whether it was the errors of the flight crew or the de-icing equipment on the plane not functioning - still to be determined.
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Again, i have my doubts.
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Originally Posted by PR_Tom
Accidents suck, but they are by definition outside the norm..
I'm way over near syracuse, but the other day it was above freezing and it rained all day yesterday and changed over to freezing rain briefly then regular snow. I can't imagine flying in those oddball changing by the moment conditions.
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If they airport the aircraft is headed for isn't closed it is up to the captain to decide whether he is going to put it down or not. This decision is often a result of the type of aircraft he is flying, some aircraft take heavy weather conditions better then others. Although i have never flown a dash 8 myself i think the safety record shows this aircraft can take alot of heat. I myself have only 2 times in 14 years flying diverted a flight due to weather conditions, i'm talking about decision made by myself, not center or approach control. This doesn't mean i take or any other pilot takes alot of risks, this means the aircraft i or any other pilot was flying can fly within the limits of the current weather condition. That offcourse is without any sudden weather changes, it does happen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Furious_Male
"You have to wonder if Continental 3407 was flying on autopilot - carrying enough ice on its wings that its normal approach speed was simply too slow for it to stay in the air. So when it slowed down, it simply dropped out of the sky."
This is what a lot of people are speculating. I don't know a lot about how pilots think but one would assume with the conditions the way they were auto pilot wouldn't have been used. They should be able to tell that from the data recorders though. They are on the way to Washington now.
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I doubt that pilots are going into final approach on autopilot. I don't know if the airport he was bounded for has ILS but going in harsh weather conditions in final on autopilot just isn't very smart. I also don't know if the dash 8 has a TOGA system but even when a TOGA system is installed i personally never go into final on autopilot, exept if the weather is very good and i can go for full ILS.
Before anybody makes any conclusions i think there is more then just ice to take into account here.
- The aircraft was in approach so it was at relativelly slow speed.
- Dash 8 never had any ice problems knowing they also fly in switserland where the weather is much worse incase of icing.
- The aircraft took out 1 house, meaning it wasn't a controlled crash landing, the pilots where not flying the aircraft at the moment of crash, else they would have tried to crash land it and it would probably take out more then 1 house.
- The tail section was still visible and in 1 piece if i have seen it correctly on tv (was just a flash), incase of icing problems often results in a stall, close to the ground this often results in a "tail first" crash.
Alot of other things then ice might have happened, one example:
If on final approach you often are very close to the stall speed. You do a bird strike, loose one engine, a small windgust is enough to take you down like a brik
Just an example.
It could be ice but i won't put my money on it at this moment.