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Old 14th Jun 2016, 17:56
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eckhard
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: France
Age: 69
Posts: 1,142
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With the gusting easterly wind and the right-hand patterns she was flying, the base leg may have been affected by a tailwind which caused an overshoot of the final approach. A classic set-up for a stall-spin during the final turn.

Poor girl; it's heartbreaking to hear her last transmissions. Trying her best to comply with the ever-changing instructions/suggestions from ATC who were also just trying to be accommodating and helpful. It's a pity that neither party recognised when things were getting a little out of hand. If only someone had said, "look, it's quite busy right now. Why don't we just hold clear of the airfield for five or ten minutes and try again when there is less traffic?"

The difficult thing with regards to people's capacity is to recognise when an invisible line is crossed, especially when one is directly involved and trying to 'finish the job'.

I remember a cartoon which showed an airliner's cockpit. The only instrument was a large dial with a single vertical pointer on it. On the left was 'UNSAFE' and on the right was 'SAFE'. The pilots' job was to keep the pointer to the right. In most accidents there is a time when the pointer moves to the left. If only we could visualise that in our mind's eye.
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