Steve Fossett missing - Final NTSB Report
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Its bewildering why Fossett thought that he could undertake such flight without the assistance of his retinue of paid experts who would normally do all his flight planning and navigation
The radar track reached 14900ft and there is no mention that he used oxygen.
If he did not, a loss of consciousness is quite possible.
With a climb rate of 300ft/min, the climb from 12000ft to 14900ft would have brought him over the legal limit for nearly 10 minutes.
If he did not, a loss of consciousness is quite possible.
With a climb rate of 300ft/min, the climb from 12000ft to 14900ft would have brought him over the legal limit for nearly 10 minutes.
It does appear that he was flying pretty close to the actual aircraft ceiling, so would have been going fairly close to Vs and it would not have taken much of a downdraught to bring him back down. However, in that situation and faced with celarly visible obstacles one would have turned around. The wreckage was of a very high speed flight straight into the mointain.
It doesn't make sense to me at all.
NTSB report SEA07FA277 out today:
SEA07FA277
In a nutshell:
--Bill
SEA07FA277
In a nutshell:
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot’s inadvertent encounter with downdrafts that exceeded the climb capability of the airplane. Contributing to the accident were the downdrafts, high density altitude, and mountainous terrain.
The pilot’s inadvertent encounter with downdrafts that exceeded the climb capability of the airplane. Contributing to the accident were the downdrafts, high density altitude, and mountainous terrain.
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Steve Fossett Crash final NTSB Report
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 9, 2009
SB-09-35
NTSB DETERMINES THE PROBABLE CAUSE OF THE 2007 PLANE CRASH INVOLVING STEVE FOSSETT WAS AN ENCOUNTER WITH DOWNDRAFTS
Washington, DC – The National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report on the aviation accident that claimed the life of Steve Fossett.
The Board determined that the aircraft, a Bellanca 8KCAB-180 (N240R) struck mountainous terrain near Mammoth Lakes, California following an inadvertent encounter with downdrafts that exceeded the climb capability of the airplane. Contributing to the accident were the downdrafts, high density altitude, and mountainous terrain. On September 3, 2007, Mr. Fossett, the only person aboard, departed Flying M Ranch, a private airport near Yerington, Nevada on a local, personal flight and failed to return. A month-long search by the Civil Air Patrol, state and county authorities, and friends of the accident pilot failed to locate the aircraft.
On October 7, 2008, a hiker found some of the pilot’s personal effects. “Once these items were found, the Safety Board launched a team to conduct the on-scene phase of the investigation,” said NTSB Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker. An aerial search located the airplane wreckage about 0.5 miles from the pilot’s personal effects, at an elevation of approximately 10,000 feet.
On the day of the accident, no emergency radio transmissions were received from the pilot, nor were any emergency locator transmitter signals received. After the wreckage was discovered, a review of radar data from September 2007 revealed a track that ended about 1 mile northwest of the accident site.
The Board's report, including the probable cause, is available on the NTSB's website at: SEA07FA277=
NTSB Media Contact: Terry N. Williams
terry dot williams @ ntsb dot gov
SB-09-35
NTSB DETERMINES THE PROBABLE CAUSE OF THE 2007 PLANE CRASH INVOLVING STEVE FOSSETT WAS AN ENCOUNTER WITH DOWNDRAFTS
Washington, DC – The National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report on the aviation accident that claimed the life of Steve Fossett.
The Board determined that the aircraft, a Bellanca 8KCAB-180 (N240R) struck mountainous terrain near Mammoth Lakes, California following an inadvertent encounter with downdrafts that exceeded the climb capability of the airplane. Contributing to the accident were the downdrafts, high density altitude, and mountainous terrain. On September 3, 2007, Mr. Fossett, the only person aboard, departed Flying M Ranch, a private airport near Yerington, Nevada on a local, personal flight and failed to return. A month-long search by the Civil Air Patrol, state and county authorities, and friends of the accident pilot failed to locate the aircraft.
On October 7, 2008, a hiker found some of the pilot’s personal effects. “Once these items were found, the Safety Board launched a team to conduct the on-scene phase of the investigation,” said NTSB Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker. An aerial search located the airplane wreckage about 0.5 miles from the pilot’s personal effects, at an elevation of approximately 10,000 feet.
On the day of the accident, no emergency radio transmissions were received from the pilot, nor were any emergency locator transmitter signals received. After the wreckage was discovered, a review of radar data from September 2007 revealed a track that ended about 1 mile northwest of the accident site.
The Board's report, including the probable cause, is available on the NTSB's website at: SEA07FA277=
NTSB Media Contact: Terry N. Williams
terry dot williams @ ntsb dot gov
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Tragic thing is a man of his experience should've known all that there is to know about mountain flying but had to push himself to the very edge. Winds near mountain ridges are not nice. Downdrafts especially.
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Not that it would have made any difference in the sense of saving life, but it's a bit odd that the authorities ignored a 20 minute radar track because of a single eye-witness report that put the plane elsewhere.
The eye-witness report was correct, but the time of the sighting was incorrect by 1 hour. The radar track was of SFs' plane.
From the radar track, the search could easily have been concentrated in a very small area and the the wreckage found.
The eye-witness report was correct, but the time of the sighting was incorrect by 1 hour. The radar track was of SFs' plane.
From the radar track, the search could easily have been concentrated in a very small area and the the wreckage found.
400 ft per minute downdraft would not make the aircraft uncontrollable. Turbulence might. But all he had to do to avoid a crash was turn away. The remains they found can give no information on whether he was incapacitated before the crash.
If the personal effects were found away from the crash site how long did he survive post crash? Seems a real shame the radar trace was ignored if he was alive but hurt on the ground.
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Lesson to be learned
An older aircraft probabaly running x% under its rated horse power, high density altitude, near aircraft maximum ceiling, down drafts and mountains below.
With these conditions pertaining, a day out in a light aircraft can become deadly for even an aviator as skilled and experienced as Steve Fosset.
With these conditions pertaining, a day out in a light aircraft can become deadly for even an aviator as skilled and experienced as Steve Fosset.
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From what I have gathered from news reports and reading the descriptions of the aircraft wreckage, death would have been instantaneous. The body parts were subsequently moved away from the crash site by scavenging bears etc
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Although not explicitly resolved in the report, it appears that as impact forces would have been fatal, any post-crash migration of personal items was by animals later attracted to the scene.
An excessive weight given to a ranchhand's recollection diverted the search area for both offiial efforts and private efforts. Unstated in the report is the time of the later analysis of phone records.
That radar track was located where the pilot had indicated he would be.
I know mountain flying is difficult and demanding but I think the report should have addressed the pilots knowledge of it and his skill level involving avoidance of pitfalls and recovery from them.
An excessive weight given to a ranchhand's recollection diverted the search area for both offiial efforts and private efforts. Unstated in the report is the time of the later analysis of phone records.
That radar track was located where the pilot had indicated he would be.
I know mountain flying is difficult and demanding but I think the report should have addressed the pilots knowledge of it and his skill level involving avoidance of pitfalls and recovery from them.
SkyGod
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The estimated 'downdrafts' of 300fpm were rather conservative,
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I would have thought, having worked for five years to set a record for altitude gained in a glider (via mountain wave), Steve Fossett would have known everything about flying in mountains and the risks of doing so.
The downdrafts mentioned - would this be related to curlover? How high above a ridge is it likely to affect you, at the quoted 30-50kts ?
The downdrafts mentioned - would this be related to curlover? How high above a ridge is it likely to affect you, at the quoted 30-50kts ?
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Remember he was close to Vs, a sharp turn means stalling or unloading the wings by a constantly accellerating down and it takes a considerable bearing turn (particularly in an arc shaped ridge - which is my recollection of the topography) to start increasing the distance from the hazard.
While probably not at the time of his choosing I guess he would have preferred doing something he loved up to his death than sitting around in a nursing home for years on end.
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Links to the search and recovery are at: Aircraft Wreck Finders Home Page Scroll most of the way down the left column.
The report on the Mooney M20 is a bit of comic relief. The pilot was known as Mooney Hank, although he never owned another Mooney. Pat Macha was puzzled by the wreckage they found, until I told him about Mooney Hank.
GB
The report on the Mooney M20 is a bit of comic relief. The pilot was known as Mooney Hank, although he never owned another Mooney. Pat Macha was puzzled by the wreckage they found, until I told him about Mooney Hank.
GB
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jammydonut
jammydonut
If you have any actual evidence that his piloting skills were weak, please share it with us.
Maybe it should just be accepted that he wasn't that good a pilot without a back up team to guide him.
Its bewildering why Fossett thought that he could undertake such flight without the assistance of his retinue of paid experts who would normally do all his flight planning and navigation.
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oversteer, in a glider, you simply don't want to go to the downwind side of a ridge.
As far as lift goes, it very much depends on wind direction and shape and height of the hill, but I'd get lift up to 1,500-2,000 ft above a 1,200 ft ridge in moderate wind that perpendicular to the ridge (that's maybe 15kts of wind).
Lift tends to move further out from the ridge as you get higher. I reckon that the downdraft does the same, but of course I have no first-hand experience from that side of the ridge
Now, if you have a huge mountain, and you're up where the wind is 50 kts or more (didn't read the report), go figure.
Glider pilots with mountain flying experience can probably say more about this...
But you know, someone like SF will have known all this a lot better than any of us here.
As far as lift goes, it very much depends on wind direction and shape and height of the hill, but I'd get lift up to 1,500-2,000 ft above a 1,200 ft ridge in moderate wind that perpendicular to the ridge (that's maybe 15kts of wind).
Lift tends to move further out from the ridge as you get higher. I reckon that the downdraft does the same, but of course I have no first-hand experience from that side of the ridge
Now, if you have a huge mountain, and you're up where the wind is 50 kts or more (didn't read the report), go figure.
Glider pilots with mountain flying experience can probably say more about this...
But you know, someone like SF will have known all this a lot better than any of us here.