Weather related accidents

[spitfired]

Just completing an assignment on weather related accidents in aviation and was looking for some good accidents (aircraft under 5700kg) that have alot of information / formal reports available on them. E.g. straying into a thunderstorm or IMC, any help would be great.

Cheers

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

good accidents

??

Dr :8

[rioncentu]

Transport Safety Investigation Reports (http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/safety-investigation-reports.aspx?mode=Aviation)

Have a look through these. There are a lot to go through.

You can set the columns to search fatals. There are some weather related ones in there.

[spitfired]

Cheers for that, slowly making my way through those reports.
Mainly looking for quite well known weather related accidents that have a great amount of information available on them.

[rioncentu]

Lockhard River would have the most amount of data but over 5700kg.

Look for the Aero Commander that broke apart in recent years in a storm and the Cheiftan that came down at Raglan QLD a few years ago.

As nasty as these reports are, they are a "good" read in that I hope we can all learn something from reading them.

I heard someone say once, and it has stuck with me since then when flying, think about how you want your accident report to read. Eg. don't do stupid stuff.

[SeldomFixit]

Start with Kilmore Gap

[Nick McArr]

Mount Hotham

[topdrop]

VH-EFA Cairns

[bentleg]

Try these

http://www.atsb.gov.au/media/36438/Pilot_behaviours_adv.pdf
http://psy.otago.ac.nz/cogerg/VFR%20into%20IMC.pdf (http://psy.otago.ac.nz/cogerg/VFR%20into%20IMC.pdf)

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

VH-BST
http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2006/AAIR/pdf/aairIF200601640_001.pdf

VH-JDQ
AO-2008-063 (http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2008/aair/ao-2008-063.aspx)

VH-XMN
http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2007/AAIR/pdf/aair200705096_Prelim.pdf

VH-CHU
AO-2007-061 (http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2007/aair/ao-2007-061.aspx)

etc etc etc - totally avoidable tragedies!

Dr :8

[eocvictim]

What exactly are you after? CFIT related accidents or structural failure?

[ReverseFlight]

... think about how you want your accident report to read. Eg. don't do stupid stuff.

And if you're lucky enough to survive the ordeal, think about how you might crumple into a heap when cross-examined about every detailed aspect of your flying by the victims' barristers in front of a panel of judges in open court ... could be your most humiliating experience.

[rioncentu]

Well said Reverse !

[OZBUSDRIVER]

VH-PYM Inflight break up (http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2005/aair/aair200506266.aspx)

This one is particularly nasty. wx reports, non transmission of sigmet, non fitment of wx radar, no ground assets in that area....they literally flew straight into hell.

[MakeItHappenCaptain]

Started reading a book by Paul A Craig called "The Killing Zone". It discusses ways that low time pilots most commonly become unstuck after they get their PPL and before the build up sufficient experience to exercise better judgement. The first chapter discusses VFR into IMC. May be worth a read. (Mainly US occurrences though.)

[spitfired]

Cheers for the replies so far, looking through them at the moment.

As for CFIT or structural failure, it doesn't matter too much. I just have to base half the essay on the weather the related to the accident and half on the accident itself, although if possible i'd like to try and stay away from VFR into IMC unless one story really stands out, as it's already so well known.

MakeItHappenCaptain - Thanks, have just ordered the book.

[eocvictim]

Gees if you want a really well known VFR into IMC you cant go pass JFK Jnr. There would have to be heaps on that!

[bushy]

Many VFR into IFR or scud running accidents happen to people who have IFR machines, but no rating. Telling people not to do it has not worked, so we need to look at other ways to overcome this all too common problem.
This is very important, because it is so common. Is it really right to ignore this because it only seems to happen to those with limited experience or resources? I believe there are too many hurdles to jump to get an instrument rating, and some of the hurdles are unnecessarily high. This can be improved if our regulators want to improve it. The mindset that IFR flying is so difficult is another unnecessary problem which can be fixed.

Another important weather related feature is the broad forecasting of "severe turbulence" over a huge area. This "severe turbulence" is rarely encountered, so pilots tend to give this less importance than it deserves. The credibility of the forecast may be undermined by the lack of precise information. The loss of two aero commanders seems to indicate the seriousness of such forecasts, although it seems a strange coincidence that both were the same make and model of aircraft. I wonder if more precise locating of this "severe turbulence" can be possible.

[PlankBlender]

bushy, I believe Australia is actually ahead of the pack here as we have the private IFR rating where you can get a bare-bone IFR ticket to fly through cloud for a cruise on top and back down through the deck again for a visual approach, and then you can add approaches and stuff as you go along.

We won't ever cure CFIT and other weather related accidents completely as it's largely a function of people's attitudes, and despite best efforts in TEM/airmanship/human factors teaching, some people will just not be convinced that a pilot's licence comes with hefty responsibilities, and they will make the ultimate mistake.:ugh:

[bushy]

How many simulators are available in the N.T? I know of one organistaion that worked for many long moths writing and rewriting endless manuals for their simulator, and never did get it approved.
It worked fine.
Pilots have to make expensive trips to the other side of the country to get a rating or update recency.
The result is, they don't. They scud run instead. And some end up dead.
I think our regulating bodies want it that way. Otherwise they would not put so many hurdles in front of those who are trying to improve things.
If you don't have a Boeing you won't get going.
Unless you stay VFR.
It should not be this way. We should not have so many VFR to IFR accidents, and you cannot pass the buck for all of it to the pilots.

[Bunyan Wingnut]

Regrettably, Steve Fosset also lost his life, probably due to VFR flight into conditions where the downdraughts in proximity to mountains exceeded the performance of his aircraft. Yes, weather related. Plenty on NTSB website and elsewhere here on PPRuNe. :uhoh: