Some obvious errors in this piece, but here is the latest from the Tallahassee newspaper.....
Posted on Wed, Jul. 31, 2002
First officer was at controls
NTSB says no evidence of fire damage before crash
By Rachel Sams
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
The National Transportation Safety Board knows who was flying the FedEx plane that crashed at Tallahassee Regional Airport last week. But it hasn't talked to him.
First officer William Frye was flying the plane, senior air-safety investigator Richard Rodriguez of the NTSB said Tuesday.
All three crew members survived the Boeing 727's crash. Frye has asked that Tallahassee Memorial Hospital release no information on his condition, hospital officials said. But the NTSB has not yet interviewed Frye, saying he is "medically unavailable" for interviews.
"It's not uncommon for the first officer to be involved in landing planes," said FedEx spokesman Jim McCluskey on Tuesday. "They are fully trained just like captains are."
Frye was hired by FedEx in 1997, McCluskey said. Frye has 1,982 flight hours with FedEx, all in the 727.
In order to be hired for FedEx, all pilots must have 1,500 flight hours, with 1,000 of those as pilot in command. Pilots also undergo two months of intensive ground and flight training, and undergo recurrent training every six months, the company said.
Capt. William Walsh, who was in fair condition at TMH on Tuesday, has been with FedEx since 1992. Walsh has 3,891 flight hours with the company, and 2,751 of those are in a 727, the company said.
Second officer David Mendez, who has been discharged from the hospital, has been with FedEx since September 2001. He has 345 flight hours with FedEx, all in a 727, according to the company.
FedEx has declined media requests to interview the crew members, citing the ongoing investigation.
Flight 1478, a Boeing 727-232, was en route to Tallahassee from FedEx's Memphis hub. The plane crashed about 5:45 a.m. Friday, shutting down the airport for several hours. Fire damaged much of the airplane and its cargo.
"There was no evidence of fire damage prior to impact," the NTSB's Rodriguez said Tuesday.
There had been some reports of fog that morning, but Rodriguez said several people the agency has interviewed who were on the ground at the airport said there was no fog in the area. A weather observer at the airport reported some light mist in the wooded area to the west of the airport, but not on the flight path, Rodriguez said. Weather conditions were a few scattered clouds at 100 feet, he said.
The NTSB has talked to four FedEx employees in Tallahassee who were on the ground and saw all or part of the aircraft's approach. The agency has also interviewed a few people who were at the airport's air traffic control tower. The crash happened about 15 minutes before the tower begins operations at 6 a.m. The aircraft's crew was in touch with air traffic controllers in Jacksonville, agency officials said.
The airplane was built in 1974, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. FedEx acquired it in 1990, company officials said. The plane had no prior accidents, according to the FAA.
The aircraft last had a routine maintenance check April 23, FedEx officials said. The check, done every 180 days, includes a visual inspection and checking of aircraft systems. A more extensive maintenance check, done every 910 days, last took place in May 2000, officials said.
The 727 "has been a very reliable, safe aircraft for us," said FedEx spokeswoman Sally Davenport. "The safety and airworthiness of our fleet is of the utmost importance to us. We make sure our fleet meets or exceeds the standards set by the FAA."
An 'outstanding safety record'
The 727 "is a very fast plane, so it's well-suited to FedEx," said David Esser, professor and associate chair of the aeronautical science department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. The model was known as the workhorse of the aviation industry in the 1960s, he said.
"Considering the number of years it's been in service, I think it has a pretty outstanding safety record," Esser said of the 727. Many air carriers are phasing out the 727 because the plane requires a three-person flight crew and has three engines, which makes it more expensive for an airline to operate and maintain, he said.
The last time a FedEx plane was destroyed in a crash was in 1997, when an MD-11 crashed in Newark, N.J., company officials said. The five people on board received minor injuries.
The NTSB determined pilot error was the cause of the Newark crash. The plane experienced a hard landing, bounced and the right main landing gear collapsed on the second touchdown, according to the agency. A fire broke out after the plane came to a stop, destroying the plane. The agency said the captain's desire to touch down early to ensure adequate stopping distance contributed to the accident.
A FedEx MD-11 airplane also crashed in 1999 at Subic Bay in the Philippines, but the plane was not destroyed, company officials said. That plane apparently overshot the runway. The crash is still under investigation by the NTSB.