Continental Connection Flight 3407 Crashes Outside Buffalo, 49 Dead

Continental Flight 3407 crash outside Buffalo NY. February 13, 20092. Photo AP.

All 48 On Board Dead Plus 1 On Ground
No Warning To Controllers Before Crash

On final approach, commuter airplane Continental Connection Flight 3407 crashed early this morning outside Buffalo roughly five miles from the airport. There was no unusual communication to ATC controllers prior to the crash.

ATC Recordings grabbed live at the time.

Listen for "Continental 3407" or "Continental Connection 3407" talking to ATC. It's a few minutes before you hear the pilot and a solid ten minutes or more before the plane falls off the channel and ATC starts trying to figure out what happened -- which happens FAST. All this while dealing with all of the other traffic on channel... as it isn't as if anyone knew an incident was about to occur.

Yahoo

"The whole sky was lit up orange," said Bob Dworak, who lives less than a mile from the crash site. "All the sudden, there was a big bang, and the house shook."

The 74-seat Q400 Bombardier aircraft was carrying 5,000 pounds of fuel and apparently exploded on impact, Erie County Executive Chris Collins said.

Firefighters got as close to the plane as they could, he said. "They were shouting out to see if there were any survivors on the plane. Truly a very heroic effort, but there were no survivors."

The twin-turboprop operated by Colgan Air was flying from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey to Buffalo Niagara International Airport in light snow, fog and 17 mph winds.

Prior to the crash, the voice of a female pilot on Flight 3407 could be heard communicating with air traffic controllers, according to a recording of the Buffalo air traffic control's radio messages shortly before the crash captured by the Web site http://www.liveatc.net. Neither the controller nor the pilot shows any concern that anything is out of the ordinary as the airplane is asked to fly at 2,300 feet.

A minute later, the controller tries to contact the plane but hears no response. After a pause, he tries to contact the plane again.

Then the controller asks the pilot of a nearby Delta Air Lines plane to see whether he can see the Continental flight. The Delta pilot says no.

About three to four minutes after that, he tells an unidentified listener to contact authorities on the ground in the Clarence area.

"You need to find if anything is on the ground," the controller says. "All I can tell you is the aircraft is over the marker (landing beacon), and we're not talking to them now."

Later, he tells all aircraft monitoring the same frequency: "We did have a Dash 8 over the marker that didn't make the airport. He appears to be about five miles away from the airport."

I watched an Apache helicopter burn at a refueling station. It went up FAST.

AP reports 5,000 pounds of fuel exploded with the plane. Wouldn't be nothing left of nobody. Or anyone anywhere nearby.

It'll be months till we know. My guess -- icing. Listening to the ATC tape, pilots were reporting ice. Those little commuter jobbies, if you get a buildup of ice, you can get screwed really quick. Second guess, a localizer failure (guides you into the runway) or trouble with the plane's auto-land feature.

Problem with all this technology is if it fucks up on you, you are truly fucked. It can fly you right into the goddamn ground or aim you straight into another plane on the same jetway 41,000 feet in the air and you hit them head on as you've both got perfect GPS down to 10 foot accuracy well within the wingspan of both aircraft. So if your jets get programed to fly on the wrong routes, kiss your asses the frack goodbye. This actually happened down in South America about a year ago; took out one plane completely when the wing ripped off after the collusion...everyone on that plane died, duh. The second plane, a business jet survived, barely. The drivers got charged locally with criminal charges which is pure bullshit. Finally they got out of country. I don't remember their current status. VF did a wonderful piece on it a few months back.

My point is, we don't know what happened here. It could have been a short on the localizer flying them into the ground. Could have been a flame out with no time to deal. Could have been... we don't know. They came up short by five miles and everyone died.

Yes, the pilots on the commuter flights are well trained. They go into the box just as often as anyone else. They know what they're doing. There is a pilot and a first officer on each one of these aircraft, BOTH of whom are fully qualified to fly the plane under any conditions.

Given the choice between flying out of Buffalo or getting in an SUV and driving down to New York City through a storm, I pick flying. Massively safer.

Tat Tvam Asi.

There's more...

Cockpit Tape - US Air Flight 1549

FAA Releases Audio Tape and Transcript

The transcripts are amazing. As are the audio tapes.

Especially

• New York Tracon
• Teterboro Tower Local Control
• Cab Coordinator Position

I read them all. The calm professionalism blew me away.

I've been in air emergencies -- low fuel, inside a hurricane, lost communications in IFR conditions, and worse. It can get VERY hairy up there very damn fast.

These people were SO damn fine.

There's more...

US Airways Flight 1549 Crashes in Hudson River

US Airways Flight 1549, AirBus A320. Crashed in Hudson River. January 15, 2009.
photo Brendan Modermid/Reuters in The New York Times.

“Brace for impact because we're going down.”

EVERYONE'S ALIVE: 150 passengers, 3 flight attendants, 2 pilots

The New York Times

Moments after the plane, a twin jet Airbus A320 bound for Charlotte, N.C., crashed into the river, at least a half-dozen small craft converged on the crippled aircraft and rescued the freezing passengers, two pilots and three flight attendants.

“It would appear the pilot did a masterful job of landing in the river and making sure everybody got out,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said at an early evening news conference. “I had a long conversation with the pilot, he walked the plane twice and made sure that everybody was out.”

Some of the passengers were taken to hospitals in New York and New Jersey, and several were treated for hypothermia after being plucked from the wings of the aircraft. It was one of the coldest days of the year in New York City, with the air temperature in the 20s and water temperature about 40 degrees.

A spokeswoman for the F.A.A., Laura J. Brown, said that a flock of birds might have been sucked into the jet engines, but several aircraft manufacturers said such occurrences are rare.

Stunned and shivering passengers who were rescued from the jetliner described a frightening scene in the three minutes from takeoff to a hard landing into the river, and then a surprisingly controlled exit from the partly submerged aircraft.

Jeff Kolodjay, 31, who was traveling with his father and a brother and was seated over the left wing, said he heard the left engine blow.

"The left engine just blew and there were flames,” Mr. Kolodjay said. “It started smelling a lot like gasoline. The pilot got on and said, ‘You guys got to brace for a hard impact.’ That’s when everyone started to say their prayers. I got to give it to the pilot, he did a hell of a landing.”

Most witnesses on the Manhattan side of the Hudson recalled an eerie sight of a plane flying too low over the Hudson River, sending chilling reminders of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

MONTHS to know what happened.

Great landing, great crew. (As the saying goes, any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. Or in this case, float/swim from. *laughs*)

What airport do you want to land at in New York City?

Newark's fine. JFK's alright.
How many times does a plane end up in Flushing Meadows? Or worse.

This morning I flew in (to JFK) on the A320. We didn't take a swim. I did however, as we crossed the outer marker, reach under my seat and touched my life-jacket. Then the life-jacket in the (empty) middle seat. And finally, I checked the jacket for the 75 year-old Chilean woman on the aisle.

When the FAA report comes out in 6-8 months, I give 2:1 odds the captain has trained today's precise scenario (or one so close as makes no difference) in the Box, within the last three months.

Clean evolution. Well done to all hands.

Bravo!

Updated 9:40 PM

Sara wrote the following in comments:

Group News Blog (Sara Robinson)

According to MSNBC, the pilot is one of the FAA's senior safety instructors and trainers -- exactly the guy you want in that seat on a day like this. And they way he did it was the stuff they'll be teaching in textbooks for decades to come.

The flock of geese that they flew through was apparently so large it showed up on air traffic radar.

Apparently, the trick to this kind of landing is 1) smooth water (he probably wouldn't have made it in open ocean) and 2) landing with the tail down and nose up, which ensures it doesn't turn into an instant submarine.

The plane was completely evacuated within 90 seconds. The pilot was the last one off, having walked the length of the plane down and back to make sure it was completely empty.

Because the plane went down right in front of a major marina/landing area, there were boats arriving on the scene almost as soon as the plane was empty -- a good thing, because the water was near-freezing, and even a few minutes' more delay would have subjected the passengers some serious and possibly fatal hypothermia. Only one major casualty: a woman who suffered two broken legs.

The plane has been dragged to the bank of the river, where it's still floating. It appears to be salvageable.

In the moment, the body acts.

• jerking one's hand back from the hot stove
• smelling gas
• evading a car pulling into your lane
• responding to a problem while teaching a class
• answering your child's question

Instant. Reflexive.

The actions are so clear and perfect that to an outside observer the actions could appear to be reflex. They are not. These acts are TRAINED PRACTICES which as a result of long practice, operate at the level of spinal-reflex for some people...and not for others.

One can perform both body practices:

• flying a plane,
• cardiovascular surgery,
• flight paramedic during an emergency,
• another car pulls into your lane at 85 and there's only the median available,
• reacting to a physical attack with the martial art(s) you're trained in

And linguistic practices:

• being a judge
• a teacher
• a parent
• a social worker
• a clinical psychologist
• a politician giving the speech of her life

Practice, practice, endless practice.

Eventually practice takes the physical possibilities and the linguistic possibilities, and embodies them -- embodies: puts the possibilities into a body at a reflexive level all the way down into the nervous system -- such that when the moment comes one doesn't THINK through the issue; one ACTS, one flies, one BE's without needing to think (or the thinking is happening at a level WAY FASTER than any possible thinking you thought possible...) yet the checklist of essentials remains.

This is where martial arts experts get their blinding speed, where warriors live and cherries die, where virtuoso surgeons save patients which people who are only competent sometimes do not...

Practice produces embodiment.
Embodiment allows results which appear perfect.
Miraculous, even.

We know how to grow a super-athlete.
We know what works and doesn't with smart kids.

Today, as Sara points out, the practice paid off. Check it...

The plane was completely evacuated within 90 seconds. The pilot was the last one off, having walked the length of the plane down and back to make sure it was completely empty.

Yeah.

That's the real deal.

*smiles*

There's more...

To the Highest Bidder

I am sure it will surprise you to know that there is a scheme a foot to auction off the runway take off and landing spots at high traffic airports like JFK in New York. And of course it will surprise you even more to know that George Bush and Co. are behind the new plan.

Apparently this new competitive runway plan has to do with busy flight schedules but even more it has to do with having not enough air traffic control staff.

The Bush administration’s decision to impose caps on flights at the three major airports in the New York area, and its plans to auction landing slots at the three airports in a first-of-its-kind experiment to handle congestion, are the subject of intense debate at a House subcommittee hearing in Washington.

Senator Charles E. Schumer, a New York Democrat who has been a persistent critic of the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration, excoriated both agencies on Wednesday morning, saying the Bush administration had resorted to “ideological, market-based theory,” while doing little to fill vacancies among air-traffic controllers.

“Instead of focusing on real, tested solutions to solve this problem, like upgrading decades-old technology and hiring an adequate number of controllers to staff New York’s towers, the D.O.T. continues to miss the point,” Mr. Schumer said. “To make matters worse, the F.A.A.’s treatment of controllers has lead to an unprecedented rash of retirements thus compounding the problem.”

At many air-traffic control towers across the country, more than one-third of the staff consists of trainees, Mr. Schumer said. Developmental trainees comprised 25 percent of all controllers nationally as of December 2007, up from about 15 percent in 2004, he said.

Ok, so far my airline/ airport reading and writing have turned up-- unsafe fueling practices, bad FAA leadership, and moves to privatize/ profit-ize critical airport systems as well as a lack of trained and skilled staff. This is in addition to new bag charges, water charges, seat charges and extra fuel charges. I think we are looking at some major impending crashes here. (pun intended)

There's more...

More on The FAA

Digging around now in the FAA as a follow up to my Running on Empty post yesterday...

Seems like we have had only an "Acting" FAA administrator since last year. And rumor says he's on his way out too after doing a "Heck'uva Job." His name is Bobby Sturgell. And on paper he looks like an ok choice. He got the head job in Nov. 07 in a recess appointment. Reason for that is that congress was not going to approve any appointee for the 5 year FAA term-- the Dems choosing to hold out to put their own person in place next year. So Bobby moved from deputy to head honcho.

Seems his performance, and attendance, has been questionable. (what a surprise) I can't understand why these guys can't at least SHOW UP to half heartedly do their jobs. Between the head idiot at the pig farm to the new Republican candidate missing most of his votes, the GOP have the work ethic of a three toed tree sloth. (no offense intended to sloths as they can't help it)

According to a reliable source from a position high-up in the aviation community, one Robert Allan ("Bobby") Sturgell recently verbally shared with at least two colleagues the following:

(1) Sturgell has ALREADY given notice that he will be leaving his FAA post as Acting Administrator, by, or in, November 2008; and

(2) Current FAA "Assistant Administrator For Regions And Center Operations" Ruth Leverenz will be "Acting" in Sturgell's absence - (which quizzically therefore will make her the "Acting, Acting" Administrator!).

***

Sturgell's shamed flight from his job, is corroborated by the 2 recent near-misses at JFK airport; FAA payment of US$100,000 bonuses to every Beavis and Butthead who is willing to say "I Was A Teen-Age Air Traffic Controller"; and most noticeably, Sturgell's apparent recent absence at key FAA events. For example, it is reported that in a recent press conference regarding FAA-claimed safety-related changes to exploding fuel tanks, John Hickey (FAA Aircraft Certification Service, Director, AIR-1) spoke for FAA, with apparently no sign of Bobby Sturgell present. Similarly, it is reported that the July 17, 2008 NY/NJ/PHL Airspace Redesign meeting in D.C. was headed by FAA COO Hank Krakowski, and not by Bobby Sturgell.

While we used to ask, "Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego" - we can now ask "Where in the world is Bobby Sturgell?". from John J. Tormey III via iReport

I want to check into the person Bobby "no-show" Sturgell replaced and see what other interesting FAA improvements have been made under the Bush and Co. team of corrupt and incompetent dunderheads.

There's more...

Pesky Pilots Complain About Safety Worries Because of Mandatory Low Fuel Loads

Those darn whistle blowers are at it again. This time via a system set up by NASA so that airline pilots and workers can register safety concerns without fear of being fired.

The current worry from many pilots is strictly enforced low fuel load rules that are making them fly with a dangerously low level of fuel for the distances that they are covering.

Less than a month after pilots at US Airways took out a full-page ad in USA Today accusing the carrier of skimping on fuel loads to save money, pilots at other airlines are continuing to sound the alarm and are expressing concerns about the safety of airline crews and passengers.

Pilots said that their airline bosses, desperate to cut costs, are forcing them to fly uncomfortably low on fuel. The situation got bad enough three years ago, even before the latest surge in fuel prices, that NASA sent a safety alert to federal aviation officials. Since then, pilots, flight dispatchers and others have continued to sound off with their own warnings, yet the Federal Aviation Administration says there is no reason to order airlines to back off their effort to keep fuel loads to a minimum.--AP

I feel so much more comfortable now preparing to fly the many thousands of miles from Tokyo to Denver in a couple of weeks. The care and concern of the FAA is gratifying. (this story brought to you from our continuing series "Don't Worry Be Happy" Or "Failure of Oversight Departments A Way of Life in the USA")

There's more...

Hold On!

THIS is why pilots are trained relentlessly.

And trained and trained and trained.

So in that sudden moment when everyone's lives are at stake, they will act correctly, reflexively, from their brain-stem out all the way to their automatic mental checklists, thoughts and actions.

March 1, 2008. Hamburg, Germany. Cross-winds gusting at 150 miles an hour.

The left wing strikes the runway, and the pilots still get the Lufthansa Airbus 320 (Flight LH44) inbound from Munich with 137 souls on board back into the air.

The plane landed safely afterwards on another runway.

The pilots are being hailed as heroes.

Bravo. Bravo. Bravo.

As flight crew, I've been in more than a few declared emergencies. These pilots have the right stuff.

Bravo.

There's more...