Pilots in Helicopter Crash Repeat Errors in Kobe Bryant Crash - Episode 209

Todd Curtis and John Goglia discuss the February 9, 2024 crash of a Challenger 604 jet on I75 in Florida. The plane landed on the road, but then crashed into a wall, killing the pilot and copilot. John and Todd discuss why a better outcome was possible.

The jet, which had three crew members and two passengers, was nearing the end of a flight from Columbus, Ohio, when the flight crew declared an emergency to air traffic control. They lost their engines and could not make it to the airport.

Little official information was available at the time of the recording. It was not known whether the aircraft was equipped with a cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder. The engines appear to be intact, which will help with the investigation.

John and Todd compare this accident to a 1997 Southern Airways DC9 crash in New Hope, Georgia. In that accident the crew was able to land on a road, and the aircraft caught fire after running into obstructions near the road.

In both accidents there were survivors among the cabin crew and passengers. Todd and John encourage pilots to assess their options for making an emergency landing so they are prepared to take action if an emergency occurs.

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The helicopter crash that killed the CEO of a major Nigerian bank and his family appears to be the result of similar pilot errors that caused the Kobe Bryant crash and other high-profile accidents. Greg Feith and John Goglia cite several recent accidents that show that poor decisions among pilots who fly for Part 135 operators may be the common contributing factor.

The Flight Safety Detectives explore the known facts surrounding the fatal flight. The forecast called for wintry mix along the flight path and witnesses reported precipitation at the time of the accident. The helicopter may not have been equipped for the conditions. The pilots were following roads, which can cause disorientation issues during night flying.

Greg calls for a new look at regulations that allow Part 135 operators of smaller helicopters to fly without either a cockpit voice recorder or a flight data recorder. The lack of recorders limits information available to accident investigators.

John and Greg discuss their experiences consulting for companies and high net worth individuals who use executive air transportation services. They have found an overall lack of due diligence to ensure the safety of these operations.

Related documents are available at the Flight safety Detectives website. 

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Most general aviation pilots hesitate to declare an inflight emergency fearing negative consequences. Greg Feith, John Goglia and Todd Curtis use a Beechcraft Bonanza plane crash to illustrate how declaring an emergency can be the safest move.

The fatal Beechcraft Bonanza accident in the spotlight of this episode is featured in the book, "Single-Pilot IFR Pro Tips" written by 2019 National CFI of the Year Gary "GPS" Reeves. Known as The Guy in the Pink Shirt, Reeves uses examples from several incidents to illustrate good general aviation pilot habits. 

Reeves uses the Beechcaft Bonanza event to highlight the advantages of not waiting to declare an emergency. The Flight Safety Detectives find that this crash is also a classic example of how oversights and bad habits by the pilot in command can lead to an avoidable accident.

They offer life-saving insights into this aviation disaster. The NTSB found that the cause was an improperly positioned fuel selector lever. Greg shares his own experience dealing with an improperly positioned lever. John recounts accidents involving fuel selector levers, including the crash that killed John Denver. 

Amazingly, John’s experience is that many general aviation pilots have problems with the fuel sector due to not using them at all and never getting a feel for how they operate.

“It’s not like jumping in the car to go to the grocery store,” John says. “Flying is not that simple. You need to do a thorough preflght, every time.”

If the accident pilot had followed Gary Reeves advice to declare an emergency when problems first develop, the pilot would have been able to land safely at an airport. The FAA would have looked at the scenario as prudent decision making and would likely not have taken any action against the pilot.

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Singer Jenni Rivera’s tragic plane crash was a tragic accident and not the result of a conspiracy. This special episode of the Flight Safety Detectives features the January 24 interview Todd Curtis gave on the KIQI radio show “Hecho en California,” about the 2012 crash that killed Jenni Rivera. 

Todd shares with hosts Isabel and Marcos Gutierrez the conclusions shared by the Flight Safety Detectives team after they analyzed the formal accident report that was released by the Mexican government. 

Todd, Marcos, and Isabel discuss several conspiracy theories about the death of Jenni Rivera, and how the facts of the accident report don't support those theories. 

They also cover the Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 plug door loss, an event that happened a few weeks prior to the interview.

Related documents are available at the Flight Safety Detectives website.

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The pilot of a Beech Bonanza F33A made an off-field landing when the engine lost power shortly after takeoff. John Goglia, Greg Feith and Todd Curtis dig into the information gathered by the NTSB and find this crash was caused by poor decisions made by the pilot.

Greg, Todd, and John analyze the information from the Public Docket of the crash investigation. They find that the pilot's lack of understanding about the aircraft and its systems contributed a series of decisions that led to the plane crash. 

The pilot took off with the fuel pump on to deal with an overheating problem in two of the six cylinders of the engine. He did this despite a placard advising that the aux pump should not be on during takeoff. 

In the Continental IO-520 engine in this plane, as in many piston engines, airflow cools the cylinders. Common and overlooked, baffles are critical for proper engine cooling. John details his experiences seeing damaged, cracked and improperly installed baffles on engines. 

Greg contrasts the good decision the pilot made top not attempt a return the airport with the bad decisions he regularly encounters when pilots make the hazardous and often fatal decision to make an impossible turn back to the runway.

Related documents are available at the Flight Safety Detectives website.
 

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The events that led up to the crash of a MD82 in Detroit are used to illustrate the critical role of operational discipline. Greg, Todd and John give insight into the issues that led to Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashing and disintegrating. This is just one example of bad decisions taking an airplane out of the sky.

This aviation disaster killed two people on the ground and nearly everyone on board. The sole survivor was a four-year-old girl who was seriously injured. Hear the experts dissect the chain of events that led to the crash, including multiple distractions and delays and the crew neglecting to complete the taxi checklist.

The report from the accident does not discuss crew resource management (CRM) practices of the accident flight crew. John discusses how CRM practices were adopted in the 1980s to reduce aviation safety risks by having flight crews become more consistent in managing aircraft operations.

Greg and John showcase other noteworthy accident investigations that are examples of behaviors that had to be changed in the cockpit and how not following basic CRM practices leads to accidents.

Checklist discipline is important in all types of aviation operations, including general aviation. Complex flight management systems that are now common even in single engine general aviation aircraft.

Hear also what passengers can do to improve their safety in flight.

Related documents are available at the Flight Safety Detectives website.

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Jenni Rivera was a huge celebrity at the time of her death. Was the plane crash that killed her an accident or do the conspiracy theories point to the real cause? 

In a continuation of the examination of this aviation incident that started in Episode 203, Greg Feith joins John Goglia and Todd Curtis to discuss why the conspiracy theories related to the crash are unlikely to be true. They use the evidence uncovered during the official investigation combined with their knowledge of the accident aircraft to get to the facts.

John, Greg, and Todd compare the Jenni Rivera accident to other accidents that have widely believed conspiracy theories. TWA flight 800 and Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 are two examples. They cover other plane crashes involving celebrities, including the crash that killed Ricky Nelson. 

Maintenance and operational issues were a factor in the Jenni Rivera crash. The same is true for other high-profile aviation disasters including the crash that killed singer Aaliyah. These events have common contributing factors including the involvement of less than reputable charter organizations and issues around bogus aircraft parts. 

Some charter flight operators ignore or violate aviation safety regulations and practices. Proposed safety improvements like better data recorders have been opposed by aircraft operators and manufacturers.

Related documents are available at the Flight Safety Detectives website.

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Todd and John analyze the plane crash that killed singer Jenni Rivera. The report from the Mexican accident investigation found that the Learjet 25 aircraft lost control during climb for reasons that could not be determined. 

Key items are missing from the report that concluded that the crash was a loss of control event:

• No analysis results of the flight controls
• No flight data recorder recovered
• No cockpit voice recorder found
• No formal analysis of the pilots 

The In the wake of Rivera's death, there have been ongoing rumors that this event was not an accident, a belief that has been supported by a number of television productions. 

Todd and John examine the facts, data, and analyses contained in the official report. John adds insight into the lax aviation maintenance and compliance common in Mexico.

The wreckage shows no evidence of an explosion or other deliberate action. The level of oversight that the US and Mexican governments typically have over aircraft that are registered in the US and operate in Mexico adds complexity to understanding exactly what happened. 

The Detectives plan a future episode that will focus on the conspiracy theories involving Jenni Rivera's death. They will look at how much, or how little, the facts of the investigation support those theories.

Related documents can be found at the Flight Safety Detectives website.

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Latest on the Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 737 MAX 9 aircraft plug door separation and rapid decompression. Todd, Greg, and John discuss recent developments, including the recovery of the plug door.

They talk about the value of having the plug door for inspection. They share the sequence of events that led to the door separation based on factual evidence.

The spotlight is now turning to Boeing. Will the company’s future actions keep the CEO’s promise that Boeing will be transparent about what happened?

Hear their insider take on the challenges Boeing may face when it comes to earning confidence that company will correct problems with the 737 MAX. The approach that Boeing has taken in the past may not be adequate to address the quality issues of the 737 MAX.

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Runway images show that the Coast Guard Dash 8 involved in the collision with Japan Airlines Flight 516 was in the wrong place. The crew was to hold on the taxiway, but were actually on the runway. The plane standing still on the center line would have been virtually invisible to the pilots of the JAL Airbus A350. 

The scenario is similar to a runway collision involving US Air Flight 1493 that John investigated as an NTSB Board member. That investigation made midfield takeoffs illegal in the United States.

John, Greg and Todd walk through the known details and the human factors that led to the plane crash. 

• Misunderstanding between the tower controller and the crew of the Dash 8
• Lightning conditions at the runway
• Dash 8 pilot not monitoring the Air Traffic Control radio frequency

Human errors and communication issues contributed to the crash. The episode also covers the role of aviation technology, including the heads-up display in the A350, surface radar/ASDI, and traffic collision avoidance systems (TCAS).

This is a follow up to Episode 198, Expert Insights into the Japan Airlines A350 Aviation Disaster, where noted airport rescue and firefighting expert Jack Kreckie discussed the firefighting response. 

Related documents are available at the Flight Safety Detectives website.

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