Originally Posted by
SASless
Start your clock.....at the time the Pilot is first aware of any kind of problem then check the time at which he notifies Tower of a problem....then check the time at which the aircraft begins a left turn to begin its return to airport (which is not far away at all)....consider the aircraft is flying fine on the remaining engine....check the time at which the aircraft is pointed back at the airport for Runway 06.
Consider the open areas available to the. pilot tend to be about 300-400 feet long and surrounded by wires....the highways are busy with traffic....city streets are a maze of wires and trees....and the runway beckons so close. What would you really do....especially if you were not aware of a fire that was going to cause the tail boom to fail and cause a catstrophic failure of control? In the meanwhile....trouble shoot the failure(s) and indications, brief your passengers, notify the Tower, carry out emergency procedures.....oh and fly the aircraft and devise a plan to cope with it all.
Now stop the Clock where the tail boom failure occurred.
Who would have the ability to even think the tail boom might fail?
Sometimes no matter how good we are it is still not good enough when the unthinkable happens.
We saw something similar in the Accident Report of the Stadium crash that resulted from a mechanical failure that made control of the aircraft impossible.
Fate hunts us all.
My condolences to the families, friends, co-workers of those lost in this tragedy.