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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123799985067139939.html
By ANDY PASZTOR
Ice buildup wasn't a major factor in last month's Colgan Air Inc. commuter-plane crash that killed 50 people near Buffalo, N.Y., federal investigators said.
In its latest update on the investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board said ice "had a minimal impact" on the performance or handling of the twin engine turboprop. Instead, the safety board said the latest evidence indicates the plane didn't experience any mechanical problems and that it was flying and reacting normally to cockpit commands when its speed bled off and it went into a fatal roll.
Mark Rosenker, the NTSB's acting chairman, said in the update that the "circumstances of the crash have raised several issues that go well beyond the widely discussed matter of airframe icing."
The twin-engine Bombardier Q400 went out of control and bucked violently on when it was a few miles out and descending toward the Buffalo airport on the night of Feb. 12. The onboard stall-warning systems alerted the pilots by shaking the control column and, according to Wednesday's update, the captain forcefully pulled back on the controls, raising the plane's nose and further lowering its speed.
All 49 people aboard the plane, and one person on the ground, were killed.
Investigators have believed for some time that this sequence of events automatically activated the "stick pusher," which pushes the control column forward to angle the nose of the plane down in order to regain speed. But at that point, according to people familiar with the details, the captain continued pulling back sharply on the controls and added power, instead of following the proper procedure of pushing forward to lower the nose to get out of a typical stall.
The new information indicates the investigation will focus on pilot distraction or mistakes on the night of the crash that allowed the plane to slow dangerously, along with broader issues of pilot training at Colgan and its parent company, Pinnacle Airlines Inc.
The safety board is looking at general training issues and the specific flight techniques Colgan pilots are taught to use in icing conditions or when an aircraft is entering a stall. In addition, investigators will look into why another Colgan-operated Q400 later experienced the beginning of a stall while approaching the airport in Burlington, Vt.
The safety board, as expected, said it will hold an initial public hearing on the crash in mid-May, focusing on icing, crew experience, pilot fatigue, stall-recover training and so-called "sterile cockpit rules" that bar pilots from extraneous discussions during critical flight maneuvers.
By ANDY PASZTOR
Ice buildup wasn't a major factor in last month's Colgan Air Inc. commuter-plane crash that killed 50 people near Buffalo, N.Y., federal investigators said.
In its latest update on the investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board said ice "had a minimal impact" on the performance or handling of the twin engine turboprop. Instead, the safety board said the latest evidence indicates the plane didn't experience any mechanical problems and that it was flying and reacting normally to cockpit commands when its speed bled off and it went into a fatal roll.
Mark Rosenker, the NTSB's acting chairman, said in the update that the "circumstances of the crash have raised several issues that go well beyond the widely discussed matter of airframe icing."
The twin-engine Bombardier Q400 went out of control and bucked violently on when it was a few miles out and descending toward the Buffalo airport on the night of Feb. 12. The onboard stall-warning systems alerted the pilots by shaking the control column and, according to Wednesday's update, the captain forcefully pulled back on the controls, raising the plane's nose and further lowering its speed.
All 49 people aboard the plane, and one person on the ground, were killed.
Investigators have believed for some time that this sequence of events automatically activated the "stick pusher," which pushes the control column forward to angle the nose of the plane down in order to regain speed. But at that point, according to people familiar with the details, the captain continued pulling back sharply on the controls and added power, instead of following the proper procedure of pushing forward to lower the nose to get out of a typical stall.
The new information indicates the investigation will focus on pilot distraction or mistakes on the night of the crash that allowed the plane to slow dangerously, along with broader issues of pilot training at Colgan and its parent company, Pinnacle Airlines Inc.
The safety board is looking at general training issues and the specific flight techniques Colgan pilots are taught to use in icing conditions or when an aircraft is entering a stall. In addition, investigators will look into why another Colgan-operated Q400 later experienced the beginning of a stall while approaching the airport in Burlington, Vt.
The safety board, as expected, said it will hold an initial public hearing on the crash in mid-May, focusing on icing, crew experience, pilot fatigue, stall-recover training and so-called "sterile cockpit rules" that bar pilots from extraneous discussions during critical flight maneuvers.