Month: December 2012

Improper use of NEXRAD radar data proves fatal

General Aviation News will often reprint excerpts from National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident reports, including one from October 2010 that involved a Cessna 210 in Aiken, South Carolina, where there was one fatality because the pilot relied on outdated weather radar imagery. The pilot who crashed also did not have an instrument rating nor were there any records of him obtaining a weather briefing or filing a flight plan for a VFR cross-country flight.

During the flight, the pilot had been advised by ATC that there was a broken line of weather with moderate-to-heavy precipitation which extended almost to his destination airport. The pilot told ATC that he was underneath the weather plus he had weather radar on-board.

According to radar records from the time of the accident, various witness statements and surface station measurements, the aircraft was most likely in instrument meteorological conditions during the final two minutes of flight. Radar data also showed that the pilot’s altitude control became erratic after entering the weather system with the aircraft making ever-tightening right turns  – a sign the pilot was experiencing spatial disorientation. The aircraft completed roughly two and a half 360° turns of progressively smaller diameters before impacting terrain.

Examination of the wreckage revealed that on-board weather radar was not installed but the remains of a portable global positioning system (GPS) receiver were discovered. However, the receiver was not certificated for use under instrument flight rules and the manufacturer intended for it to only be used as an aid for VFR navigation. The GPS receiver was capable of displaying weather data and images from the NEXt-generation RADar (NEXRAD) ground radar network, but this data was not transmitted in real time with the manufacturer cautioning that the lapsed time between the collection, processing and dissemination of the images could be significant.

Moreover, the FAA says that NEXRAD data along with any radar data should not be used to penetrate hazardous weather as its intended to only be used in an early-warning capacity during pre-departure and for en route evaluation. In addition, NEXRAD images consists of radar data from multiple ground sites displayed as a single mosaic image that could be up to 15 to 20 minutes older than the age indicated on the image.

For the above reasons, the probable cause of the crash was ruled the pilot’s inadequate weather planning and improper decision to continue a VFR flight into IMC leading to spatial disorientation and a loss of control. Contributing to the accident was the improper use of radar imagery for short-range weather avoidance.

The conclusion that the GPS not being certified for instrument flight and the NEXRAD feature not giving real time information being the reason for this crash is total BS.   The cheapest handheld GPS works just as well as a panel mounted IFR certified one, I’ve used supposedly VFR only handhelds to fly all over the world for over twenty years and they work just fine.  And to blame the NEXRAD is also more piling on in regards to somehow trying to blame the equipment for the crash.  Nope, sorry the reason for the crash is as old as flight.  If you don’t know how to fly in the clouds then DON’T FLY IN THE CLOUDS!  The pilot didn’t accidentally hit a thunderstorm,  he  flew into instrument conditions without the proper training, got vertigo and spun in.  The FAA estimates a pilot in this situation will be dead in ninety seconds, this guy lasted two minutes.

LOW PASS LED TO FATAL CRASH

 

The NTSB says a misjudged high-speed, low-altitude pass led to the crash of a Piper Malibu that killed the pilot and two passengers last year in Monroe, Mich. (PDF) The board said pilot Rick Howell, 58, of nearby LaSalle tried to raise his flight instructor on the radio to alert him that he was doing a high-speed pass before aiming the big single at the runway on March 29, 2011. The NTSB counted 37 propeller gouges in the runway in its investigation. The gear and flaps were retracted. The aircraft stayed airborne long enough to crash into a neighboring soccer field, narrowly missing a children’s playground and tennis complex, where a high school team was practicing.

 

Also killed were Nate Brahier, 30, and Jeremy Tate, 40, both of Ohio. The three were returning from a business trip to Pennsylvania. The NTSB said it found nothing mechanically wrong with the airplane but it did find evidence of the use of unapproved cough and pain medications in the tissues of the pilot. Toxicology tests also found the prescription drug Nortriptyline in his system.

Flying the aircraft is more important than radioing your plight to a person on the ground incapable of understanding or doing anything about it.