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Old 1st Jul 2022, 10:07
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what next
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Near Stuttgart, Germany
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Originally Posted by jonkster
All 25 souls survived a textbook ditching immediately following low level EFATO in an old aircraft, I recall only one person suffered injury - flight attendant (broken arm?), PIC was last to leave the aircraft after supervising evacuation, I would say all crew did a good job IMO. I would fly with that crew.
Yes, certainly. But this whole case is not about how the final stage of this emergency, the ditching and evacuation, was handled by the captain. It is about why there was no other option but to ditch after one engine failed shortly after takeoff. Because at the conditions of that day, a fully serviceable properly loaded DC3 flown by a competent pilot shold be able to continue flying and even perform a shallow climb. As the captain himself verified in the simulator. So why? To me it seems to be one of those cases where everybody involved tries to protect himself as much as he can and blame everything on others. Starting with the operator, their maintenance organisation and the authorities involved. In the end, as so often, the pilot in command, both the strongest link and the weakest link in the chain, is held responsible. Injust? Probably yes. But very difficult to prove, maybe impossible (I took the time to read the ivestigation report, it can be found following the link in the Wikipedia article above), especially after 25 years and with evidence that may have been tampered with.

What can we learn from it (this is the main reason why accident reports are published and discussed, isn't it)?
- Don't ever rely on others in our "industry" when problems arise. They will only look after themselves.
- Cover yourself as good as you can. Say "no" to your company if they ask you to perform impossible tasks.
- Don't trust anybody unless you know them very well. This includes maintenance and the other pilot next to you.
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