[Criminal Number 18F]

Losing the AI (also known as the artificial horizon) when in bad IFR conditions is just about the worst thing to happen, made worse because the gyro compass goes too if the vacuum pump fails.

1. He had a backup AI on the right side of the panel. He might have gotten a coriolis illusion going back and forth. But he had a backup AI, and...
2. The vacuum pumps didn't fail. If you're familiar with crash investigation the details in NTSB would be interesting. They both showed the sort of damage you see in a pump that's running at impact time.

And like you say, it's part of training. When the guy lost it, he was supposed to be straight and level, not on an approach. His airspeed gage indicated 300+, that should have been a clue.

No sympathy for this schmuck... I feel sorry for the pax that trusted him, and the companies that have their reputation smeared to give him an undeserved, posthumous social promotion and give the widow a warm fuzzy.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[expatpat]

Thanks for the extra information. I assumed the vacuum pump had failed since that has been a problem. I've had several letters from Parker-Hanefin about it and ours went a few weeks ago (tho' not while IFR, thank God).

If he still had the DG, you're right, there's no excuse since you can fly on the DG and altimeter without too much skill. On the other hand, sometimes the AI goes and you may not realize it, and believe in it 'til it's too late.

[USNBandit]

Good call on the spatial D issue. Depending on when he realized his primary failed he might have already been screwed up when he transitioned to the other instrument.

For the non-aviators out there, use of an attitude indicator not located in the center of the pilot's control panel is very apt to cause a bad case of vertigo. Depending on the pilot's experience level, and the lateral stability of the aircraft (the tendency to of the airplane to stay wings level) this can be a big problem.

It is even possible in some instances for pilots who are experiencing vertigo to input the opposite control inputs of what they want to do.