Makes me laugh to read the 2 following opposing conclusions !
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Failed U-turn eyed in crash
Tough maneuver, say other pilots BY PETE DONOHUE, AUSTIN FENNER and GREG B. SMITH
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Pilot Henry Duran at Essex County Airport says route up East River poses problems because aircraft have to make U-turn in a narrow corridor below 96th St.
Evidence is emerging that Cory Lidle's plane tried to make a quick turn in a tight spot - and couldn't make it.
The plane was flying north up the East River
at 112 mph, staying as far east as it could go between Roosevelt Island and Queens, as if preparing to make a left turn.
Somewhere above the 70s, the plane "made a left turn back toward the south," said Debbie Hersman, lead investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.
The plane then quickly dropped 200 feet and was last recorded on radar five blocks north of the E. 72nd St. building at an altitude of 500 feet.
Seconds later it slammed into the high-rise.
Another indicator of possible pilot error is that at no time did the unique built-in parachute deploy. Investigators say the ejector apparently detonated on impact and that the parachute was found at the scene, still "tightly packed."
Then there is preliminary evidence that the propellers were still powered by the engine when the plane struck the building, investigators said, an early sign that the fueling system was functioning properly.Federal investigators won't make a formal conclusion about the cause of the crash for months, but so far have no evidence to support initial reports that the crew made a Mayday call.
"I would say that the limited evidence we have to this point tends to point to possible
pilot error - but it would be prudent to confirm that there were no issues with aircraft before concluding that's the cause,.....
.... (pilot) "I never went back in there again because I thought it was too tight."
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Expert: Lidle Crash Probably Due to Mechanical Failure or Other 'Distractions'
ABC's Nance Says Small Aircraft Are Not a Serious Terrorist Threat By ASHLEY PHILLIPS
Oct. 12, 2006 — The small plane crash that killed New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle, Wednesday, was
probably caused by a mechanical failure, ABC News aviation expert John Nance said Thursday.
"What
we probably have here is something catastrophic going on in that airplane," said Nance. "Fire, engine progressively coming apart and … something going wrong because we've got two qualified guys on a clear day who suddenly are unable to figure out that their airplane is headed [into a building]."
Lidle reportedly boarded a single-engine Cirrus SR20 plane Wednesday afternoon with flight instructor Tyler Stanger for what was presumably a flight around New York City. The pair took off from a New Jersey airport, circled around the Statue of Liberty, flew past lower Manhattan and then north above the East River.
After passing over the 59th Street Bridge on the reportedly 20-minute flight, the plane smashed into a condo building on the Upper East Side, killing both Lidle and Stanger.
Nance based his assessment on the reported flight path and eyewitness accounts. AA>> Eyewitnesses. Hahahahahaa <<
A Stalled Plane or Flight Distractions?
Because of the flight path and the fact that the plane did not end up in the East River,
Nance said he did not believe the plane had stalled.
......then the only thing left is distraction," he said. "How do you get distracted in a small airplane with a clear canopy? You get distracted if you're fighting for your life somehow, and that means either flight control problems or something else." ........