Posted on 04/10/2010 11:05:00 PM PDT by theanchoragedailyruse
AFP - Investigators scrambled on Sunday to determine if pilot error was to blame for the fiery crash of a Soviet-era airliner that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 96 others.
The presidential party was en route to a memorial service for Poles massacred by Soviet troops in World War II when its Tupolev Tu-154 airliner crashed in thick fog while approaching Smolensk airport, in the west of Russia.
The disaster sent Poland into shock.
(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...
Wreckage -- including the engines and a large chunk of mud-caked tailfin -- was scattered across a forest. While sections burned for more than an hour, the black-box flight recorders were found, news agencies reported.
Some 1.5 kilometres (one mile) from the airport, air traffic controllers noticed the Tupolev -- overhauled in December 2009, according to manufacturers Aviakor -- was below its appropriate glide path, Alyoshin said.
"The head of the (air traffic control) group ordered the crew to return to horizontal flight, and when the crew did not fulfil the instruction, ordered them several times to land at another airport," he said.
"Nonetheless the crew continued to descend. Unfortunately this ended tragically."
The crash site was 1.5 km out and the air traffic controller is trying to tell the aircraft that its glide path is off and the aircraft continues to descend....
Yeah right it was weather that caused this mishap...
Maybe he wasn't hearing anything?
Exactly.....
The ATC could have had a bad “can you hear me now” moment.
I am sure that there is some recording out there that shows the ATC was trying to communicate..
It just may have not gotten to the ears of the pilots in time...
Because if that info was relayed to the pilots they would have made the adjustments.
Roger... Roger
Check... Check
Roger, Over...
Roger... Roger that...
Roger...
One-Time Ping to some folks on the earlier thread today... Seems to be some information different in this report than what we were hearing earlier. Thought you all might be interested in at least seeing this...
According to this article, if I read it right, the pilot was approaching, and THEN they told him to abort the landing (go back up to “horizontal flight”), and then told him 3 times to go to another airport? That’s certainly not the same thing we were hearing earlier. It sounds from this article as if the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th “instruction” were in rapid succession after they told him to abort the landing...
There was talk about low fuel on the other thread and a small fire — now it burned for an hour?
Also this article confirms what another FReeper said on a completely different thread — that the plane was in Russia being fixed or updated, or something just this past December.
So, are the Russians per the headline saying it definitely WASN’T pilot error? Or that it doesn’t matter if it was?
Oh, forgot to say see Post #6 — some conflicting information in this report vs. earlier ones.
http://www.premier.gov.ru/eng/events/news/10179/
“...Alexander Neradko: We have confirmation that weather conditions were indeed bad - visibility was below the established minimum of 1000 metres. The plane first struck a single tree about eight metres tall at a distance of approximately 1200 metres from the runway. At that distance, the plane should have been at an altitude of about 60 metres.”
1200 meters from the runway the plane is hitting tree tops...
Tower are we good to go for landing?
No.
Was that go?
No.
Roger that, we go.
Thanks for the ping Liberty Rocks.
The story on the glide path is important... That is coming from the Russians...
1200 meters out from the runway, the plane is hitting tree tops.
According to the Russians the plane should have had an alltitude of 60 meters.
What was the altimeter and alstg on the weather observation?
Just a walk in the park Kaczynski, just a walk in the park...
You’ve lost me there! Not a pilot. I know what an altimeter is, I think; the gauge that tells the pilot at what elevation they are flying, correct? Have no idea what the alstg is, sorry!
I guess we will have to wait and see what the black box says as far as instrument readings, huh? I hope the Poles insisted on having those reviewed independently from Russia — I would have if I were them at least. Just to be safe & careful...
No problem, Cindy... Have a good night. :)
You too...rest well.
shill?
So many questions. . .and all need to be answered. (not sure they can remove all doubt, however.)
Alstg is the altimeter reading with correction on the actual weather observations at the airport.
That info is relayed to the pilot to make corrections.
The other issue is the Russians indicating ATC was monitoring glide path which indicates some type of ILS/DME apparatus.
One freeper has pointd to Wikipedia as proof that there is no ILS at the airport.
I think that this was an accident by design but it won’t be proven.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.