Originally Posted by
Bosi72
Sadly they crashed ~12nm from Farallon island (~400m long).
If they tracked directly from 10.000ft to Farallon island instead of Half Moon Bay, they would ended ~6nm away from Farallon.
I am seeing various speeds/rate od descents, I wonder whether they would be able to reach the island if they had different rate of descent?
Sure, a descent rate of , say , 50 feet a minute, and they probably could have also flown three legs of a circuit. GT move over, we have an expert analyst here.
Most ferry installations don’t have fuel dump, so despite media reports that they were short of fuel, they still may have been heavy and therefore faster than normal. Systems typically require take-off and climb on the aircraft’s main tanks, consuming a certain amount of fuel, before changing over to the ferry tanks, thus preserving enough in the main tanks for an approach at destination. If the aircraft also has auxiliary tanks, fuel system management can sometimes be quite complex.
85 knots just prior to touchdown may seem high for a Twotter, but bear in mind it could have been nearly 50% over normal gross weight. Ferry pilots are often working well outside certification values. Extrapolating charts for takeoff distances, engine inoperative, best glide, stall speeds etc does not work, so ferry pilots faced with emergencies may suddenly become test pilots.
Fixed gear, (or floats), high approach speed, no power, open sea….it’s not going to end well.