After two weeks in prison, Mahmut Arslan, the captain of the Pegasus Airlines jetliner that crashed killing 3, was released to house arrest on Monday, according to Turkish journalist, Didem Kuzu. Capt. Arslan was incarcerated after being discharged from the hospital where he was being treated for injuries sustained in the accident. Pegasus Flight 2193 sped off the runway after landing at Istanbul’s secondary airport, Sabiha Gökçen on February 5th. The Boeing 737NG hit two structures and then plummeted down a steep embankment. During his interview with the Chief Public Prosecutor, Capt. Arslan pointed out the many factors that were in play on the rainy… Read More…
Anyone who has ever watched one of those air disaster programs on television can be forgiven for believing that there is always an “ah hah” moment, the penultimate step to discovering what went wrong. From the disappearance of aviatrix Amelia Earhart in 1937 to the still-missing flight of Malaysia 370, accident probes are never easy and rarely are they independent. They are clouded with complications; The biases of the investigators, the agendas of interested parties and the pressures from industry and government. In his new book, Scapegoat, A Flight Crews’ Journey From Heroes, to Villains, to Redemption, author and airline pilot Emilio Corsetti III tells… Read More…
Having experienced its first fatal crash last month, the founder of ICON Aircraft Kirk Hawkins is understandably on edge. I’m to blame for some of that, apparently. In a previous post, I suggested he was pointing the finger at the pilot of the A5 that crashed on Lake Berryessa on May 8. Here’s why. On the day the National Transportation Safety Board issued its preliminary report into the accident, ICON published on its website, a statement that offered even more information than the NTSB. “We’re unsure why the plane flew into such a narrow canyon that had no outlet,” the company statement read. Knowing Hawkins’ off-stated… Read More…
Investigators don’t know what caused the fatal plane crash last week of the new and highly-anticipated light-sport Icon A5, but in a statement on the company website, Icon’s director of flight, Shane Sullivan suggests pilot error was an issue. “We’re unsure why the plane flew into such a narrow canyon that had no outlet,” Sullivan wrote. Such speculation by an interested party during the investigation is highly unusual and frowned upon by the National Transportation Safety Board. On May 8, aeronautical engineer and chief test pilot Jon Karkow was piloting the two seat amphibious A5 with Icon’s new director of engineering, Cagri Sever on board as a passenger…. Read More…
Credit to Paige Kelton of Jacksonville’s WJAX-TV, for doing the heavy lift and reviewing 2,400 pages of FAA incident reports on Allegiant Air. In her report last week, Kelton reveals that the documents show seventy-six flights into Florida over a two year period had safety issues grave enough to require they be reported to the feds. Where I’ll argue with the report is in the conclusion of her safety expert who credits the pilots for the fact that the airline hasn’t had any fatal accidents. Allegiant’s pilots may be fantastic but attributing the lack of a catastrophe on the flight crew is a two edged sword. When disaster arrives… Read More…
I’m starting a crusade for a more judicious use of the term “pilot error” and I nominate as my campaign poster boy…Tada! — Capt. Chesley Sullenberger. The newest member of the formerly obscure community of aviation safety commentators has a new gig on CBS News. From that platform he can say what many others who don’t have his good looks or American hero status have been saying, and he can make these points to the very people who have recently been given a somewhat mangled version of what happened on Air France Flight 447. By that I mean that when Capt. Understatement said on television… Read More…
