Looking at the flight data, the hold pattern kept the airplane between 18 to 26 nm from the beginning of the runway.
The lack of fuel started while they were turning 26 nm from the runway, They entered the curve at 280 knots and FL210 and ended at 200 knots and FL 210. After that they start descending declaring they need to land.
So they were 26 nm away from airstrip and 2 nm above it. Gives a glide ratio of 13:1. Do you guys know what is the glide ratio for this plane full of passengers?
With a need of 13:1 I assume its tight but in a good scenario (not theirs) might be achievable.
nevertheles, he crashed 8nm away from it, so he did a glide ratio of only 9:1.
That seems very strange, right?
Which part? The whole thing seems strange.
But as far as glide ratio is concerned, and without knowing the best speed for gliding distance on an RJ85, I suspect it's much lower than the 200kt at which they exited the hold.