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Pinnacle limits planes' altitude after fatal crash
Liz Fedor, Star Tribune
October 22, 2004 PINNACLE1022
In the wake of an airplane crash that killed two pilots on Oct. 14, Pinnacle Airlines said Thursday that it has imposed a policy prohibiting its pilots from flying above 37,000 feet.
On the flight that crashed in Jefferson City, Mo., the Pinnacle pilots had been flying the twin-engine CRJ-200 at 41,000 feet when both jet engines failed, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Pinnacle's new flight ceiling comes from "an abundance of caution," Pinnacle Vice President Philip Reed said. But he declined to provide further information about the crash or Pinnacle's operating policies because the NTSB is conducting an investigation.
Memphis-based Pinnacle operates a fleet of 108 Canadair Regional Jets (CRJs) on regional routes for Northwest Airlines. The flight that crashed was en route from Little Rock, Ark., to the Twin Cities when the pilots attempted to make an emergency landing and crashed just three miles south of the Jefferson City airport.
The plane was not carrying passengers; it was scheduled to be used later for a flight departing the Twin Cities.
The NTSB released an update on Wednesday that pays considerable attention to the plane's altitude when the pilots encountered problems.
The NTSB said the plane departed Little Rock about 9:21 p.m. The crew reported to the Kansas City Air Route Traffic Control Center that they were climbing to 41,000 feet. At 9:52 p.m., the crew acknowledged that they had reached 41,000 feet. Just two minutes later, the crew asked for a lower altitude. At 9:55 p.m., one minute later, the crew declared an emergency.
"At about 9:59 p.m., the flight crew requested an altitude of 13,000 feet," the NTSB said. "At 10:08 p.m., the flight crew stated that they had a double engine failure and that they wanted a direct route to any airport."
Both engines stopped operating "almost simultaneously at 41,000 feet" according to the flight data recorder, the NTSB report said.
The Kansas City center directed the crew to land at Jefferson City. "At about 10:13 p.m., the flight crew stated that they had the runway approach end in sight. The last radar contact for the flight was at 900 feet above ground. The plane crashed at about 10:15 p.m.," the NTSB report said.
Pinnacle CRJs, just like other commercial aircraft, are flown at a variety of altitudes. Typically, the higher you are flying, the less fuel the plane burns. On longer flights, pilots tend to fly at higher altitudes.
The day of the accident, two mechanics from Pinnacle's Memphis facility worked on the airplane. On the morning of Oct. 14, the plane was scheduled to fly from Little Rock to the Twin Cities at 7:45 a.m. when an alert system went off during takeoff and the pilots aborted the takeoff and returned to the gate. The 21 passengers on the 50-seat plane got off.
Later that day, the mechanics did a repair that deals with the system used to distribute engine heat into the plane. "On-scene evidence confirms that the repair was done in accordance with the aircraft maintenance manual," the NTSB said.
The agency is expected to spend months analyzing the engines and plane wreckage, and all aspects of Pinnacle's operations. It said investigators "traveled to Memphis to interview pilots who had flown with the two crew members and to interview some of the airline's training personnel and managers."
The pilots were Capt. Jesse Rhodes of Palm Harbor, Fla., and First Officer Richard Peter Cesarz of Helotes, Texas. Pinnacle said Rhodes had accumulated more than 6,700 flight hours, but the company has not released flight-hour information about Cesarz. Rhodes joined Pinnacle in February 2003, and Cesarz became a Pinnacle pilot last June.
Wakefield Gordon, chairman of the Pinnacle branch of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), declined to comment on the investigation. But he said pilots have reached out to help the families of those killed in the crash. Rhodes was married and the father of two children, and his wife is due to give birth in a few weeks, Gordon said. Cesarz was not married.
The Rhodes Family Support Fund and the Cesarz Memorial Fund have been established. Contributions can be sent to Wings Financial Federal Credit Union, 14985 Glazier Av., Apple Valley, MN 55124.
Liz Fedor is at
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Pinnacle limits planes' altitude after fatal crash
Liz Fedor, Star Tribune
October 22, 2004 PINNACLE1022
In the wake of an airplane crash that killed two pilots on Oct. 14, Pinnacle Airlines said Thursday that it has imposed a policy prohibiting its pilots from flying above 37,000 feet.
On the flight that crashed in Jefferson City, Mo., the Pinnacle pilots had been flying the twin-engine CRJ-200 at 41,000 feet when both jet engines failed, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Pinnacle's new flight ceiling comes from "an abundance of caution," Pinnacle Vice President Philip Reed said. But he declined to provide further information about the crash or Pinnacle's operating policies because the NTSB is conducting an investigation.
Memphis-based Pinnacle operates a fleet of 108 Canadair Regional Jets (CRJs) on regional routes for Northwest Airlines. The flight that crashed was en route from Little Rock, Ark., to the Twin Cities when the pilots attempted to make an emergency landing and crashed just three miles south of the Jefferson City airport.
The plane was not carrying passengers; it was scheduled to be used later for a flight departing the Twin Cities.
The NTSB released an update on Wednesday that pays considerable attention to the plane's altitude when the pilots encountered problems.
The NTSB said the plane departed Little Rock about 9:21 p.m. The crew reported to the Kansas City Air Route Traffic Control Center that they were climbing to 41,000 feet. At 9:52 p.m., the crew acknowledged that they had reached 41,000 feet. Just two minutes later, the crew asked for a lower altitude. At 9:55 p.m., one minute later, the crew declared an emergency.
"At about 9:59 p.m., the flight crew requested an altitude of 13,000 feet," the NTSB said. "At 10:08 p.m., the flight crew stated that they had a double engine failure and that they wanted a direct route to any airport."
Both engines stopped operating "almost simultaneously at 41,000 feet" according to the flight data recorder, the NTSB report said.
The Kansas City center directed the crew to land at Jefferson City. "At about 10:13 p.m., the flight crew stated that they had the runway approach end in sight. The last radar contact for the flight was at 900 feet above ground. The plane crashed at about 10:15 p.m.," the NTSB report said.
Pinnacle CRJs, just like other commercial aircraft, are flown at a variety of altitudes. Typically, the higher you are flying, the less fuel the plane burns. On longer flights, pilots tend to fly at higher altitudes.
The day of the accident, two mechanics from Pinnacle's Memphis facility worked on the airplane. On the morning of Oct. 14, the plane was scheduled to fly from Little Rock to the Twin Cities at 7:45 a.m. when an alert system went off during takeoff and the pilots aborted the takeoff and returned to the gate. The 21 passengers on the 50-seat plane got off.
Later that day, the mechanics did a repair that deals with the system used to distribute engine heat into the plane. "On-scene evidence confirms that the repair was done in accordance with the aircraft maintenance manual," the NTSB said.
The agency is expected to spend months analyzing the engines and plane wreckage, and all aspects of Pinnacle's operations. It said investigators "traveled to Memphis to interview pilots who had flown with the two crew members and to interview some of the airline's training personnel and managers."
The pilots were Capt. Jesse Rhodes of Palm Harbor, Fla., and First Officer Richard Peter Cesarz of Helotes, Texas. Pinnacle said Rhodes had accumulated more than 6,700 flight hours, but the company has not released flight-hour information about Cesarz. Rhodes joined Pinnacle in February 2003, and Cesarz became a Pinnacle pilot last June.
Wakefield Gordon, chairman of the Pinnacle branch of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), declined to comment on the investigation. But he said pilots have reached out to help the families of those killed in the crash. Rhodes was married and the father of two children, and his wife is due to give birth in a few weeks, Gordon said. Cesarz was not married.
The Rhodes Family Support Fund and the Cesarz Memorial Fund have been established. Contributions can be sent to Wings Financial Federal Credit Union, 14985 Glazier Av., Apple Valley, MN 55124.
Liz Fedor is at
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