BNA Small Plane Crash

dustoff17 said:
Great news that you can launch from Canada, not talk to anyone and crash (either purposely or not) in the center U.S.

I'll sleep better tonight knowing our system is "working".
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The limitations of ground based radar are just that, limitations. There are a multitude of factors that come into play in regards to what you can and can't see as a radar return.

I used to work out on the top left coast. We every so often we would get phone calls about aircraft that we weren't talking to, and couldn't even see (no primary return). Sometimes, eventually there would be a blip or two - but most of the time there wasn't. Point is, they didn't want to be seen. And if they were, it was because they had made a miscalculation which allowed it.

That being said, just out of curiosity, what is your definition of a "working system?" I'm not trying to pick, I'm genuinely wanting to know. This community is comprised of mostly adult professionals who contribute to this system and want to make it safer and better. That being the case, what is a "working system" when there are people out there who use that system but don't share the ideals and goals of the majority of its users?
 
TripSix said:
The limitations of ground based radar are just that, limitations. There are a multitude of factors that come into play in regards to what you can and can't see as a radar return.

I used to work out on the top left coast. We every so often we would get phone calls about aircraft that we weren't talking to, and couldn't even see (no primary return). Sometimes, eventually there would be a blip or two - but most of the time there wasn't. Point is, they didn't want to be seen. And if they were, it was because they had made a miscalculation which allowed it.

That being said, just out of curiosity, what is your definition of a "working system?" I'm not trying to pick, I'm genuinely wanting to know. This community is comprised of mostly adult professionals who contribute to this system and want to make it safer and better. That being the case, what is a "working system" when there are people out there who use that system but don't share the ideals and goals of the majority of its users?
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I guess if nobody else is asking for clearances associated with BNA, there's no need to stare at the scope.

Which only leaves the problem of debris on an active runway.
 
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I'm working my way through LiveATC recordings from 3am local on up. So far I've surmised a few things:

Tower and App/Dep are combined
ATC is responsive to all aircraft
ATC is issuing RVR values as low as 700ft
ATC is continually telling pilots to report holding short of certain points and that he can't see the airport at all

I've not been able to find a record of the accident aircraft transmitting, nor ATC talking to the accident aircraft. I'm still pouring through the several hours of audio though (condensed of course).

Let's be careful with the pre judgments here.
 
The LiveATC.net archive file beginning 1330Z contains the pilot reporting the debris on the runway. I haven't found any communication from the accident aircraft on the audio recordings prior to that report.

Several minutes later, Ground asks an airport vehicle to report back with details on the debris but to do so on the telephone not the frequency. I'm guessing the LiveATC recordings won't tell me anything else useful.

http://www.newschannel5.com/story/23816780/ntsb-plane-was-scheduled-to-land-in-ontario
 
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NewsChannel 5 also uncovered that a Michael Callan of the same age and date of birth was arrested last year in Windsor in connection with one of the largest child pornography busts in Canadian history. We are waiting to hear from Canadian authorities on that part of the story.
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This story just keeps getting weirder...
 
SeanD said:
You got that right. Im curious how he entered US airspace from Canada without so much as a ping.
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The northern border hardly has the coverage that the southern one does, both on the ground and in the air and the US air defense radar has other places (Alaska, Hawaii, Washington DC, Mexico border) that it focuses on. Pretty easy to sneak in that way.
 
@Pilot Fighter I work a border sector. It is not ATCs job, nor are we trained, to identify potential ADIZ violations. If an unidentified aircraft is picked up on radar, we get a call from NORAD, and if we don't know who it is, they take over from there. We see many primary targets, some moving, some not. They could be anything from aircraft to boats to trucks to anomalous propagations or reflections. Identifying a primary target flying low at slow speed as a potential national security threat for a radar controller would be impossible. Sorry, but I don't like hearing about not doing our "jobs." It sounds to me like this guy was either trying to sneak in to BNA in the soup, or by coincidence his engine died over the airport. Another thing to consider is you don't need to be on an IFR clearance to fly by the instruments.
 
Here's my 1:45 odds scenario.

Facing life in prison for child porn possession - departs Windsor either with a cadaver, or picks it up along the way. Sets a distant airport into the GPS (BNV). Bails out along the route and lets the plane fly itself, imagining it will flame out somewhere along the way. Plane reaches BNV and circles until it finally goes down. Plane has to burn to destroy the remains to the point of non-identification. Maybe he switched it to one tank, or kept some fuel source in the cabin.

We've seen stranger scenarios.
 
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