Spatial Disorientation
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From: 58-33N. 00-18W. Peterborough UK
Spatial Disorientation
SPATIAL DISORIENTATION CITED IN CRASH OF AIRPLANE CARRYING OKLAHOMA STATE
UNIVERSITY ATHLETES
Washington, DC - The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that the probable cause of the crash of a Raytheon (Beech) King Air 200 aircraft (N81PF) near Strasburg, Colorado, was "the pilot's spatial disorientation resulting from his failure to maintain positive manual control of the airplane with the available flight instrumentation."
A contributing factor was the loss of alternating current (AC)
electrical power during instrument meteorological conditions.
The accident occurred on January 27, 2001, shortly after the
aircraft, operated by Jet Express Services, departed Jefferson County Airport, Broomfield, Colorado, for Stillwater, Oklahoma, on an instrument flight rules flight plan. N81PF, with two pilots and eight passengers aboard, was one of three airplanes transporting members of the Oklahoma State University (OSU) basketball team and associated team personnel after a
game at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The aircraft was destroyed, and there were no survivors.
The Board concluded that the pilot did not appropriately manage the workload associated with troubleshooting the loss of AC electrical power and establishing and maintaining positive control of the airplane. The airplane's estimated flight path in the final two minutes of flight was consistent with a steep spiral resulting from spatial disorientation. While the AC electrical failure contributed to the accident, the Board said, it was not a causal factor because non-AC-powered instrumentation remained
available for the duration of the flight for the pilot to use to safely fly and land the airplane.
The accident report, containing the Board's findings and
recommendations, can be found on the NTSB web site (www.ntsb.gov
<http://www.ntsb.gov>).
UNIVERSITY ATHLETES
Washington, DC - The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that the probable cause of the crash of a Raytheon (Beech) King Air 200 aircraft (N81PF) near Strasburg, Colorado, was "the pilot's spatial disorientation resulting from his failure to maintain positive manual control of the airplane with the available flight instrumentation."
A contributing factor was the loss of alternating current (AC)
electrical power during instrument meteorological conditions.
The accident occurred on January 27, 2001, shortly after the
aircraft, operated by Jet Express Services, departed Jefferson County Airport, Broomfield, Colorado, for Stillwater, Oklahoma, on an instrument flight rules flight plan. N81PF, with two pilots and eight passengers aboard, was one of three airplanes transporting members of the Oklahoma State University (OSU) basketball team and associated team personnel after a
game at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The aircraft was destroyed, and there were no survivors.
The Board concluded that the pilot did not appropriately manage the workload associated with troubleshooting the loss of AC electrical power and establishing and maintaining positive control of the airplane. The airplane's estimated flight path in the final two minutes of flight was consistent with a steep spiral resulting from spatial disorientation. While the AC electrical failure contributed to the accident, the Board said, it was not a causal factor because non-AC-powered instrumentation remained
available for the duration of the flight for the pilot to use to safely fly and land the airplane.
The accident report, containing the Board's findings and
recommendations, can be found on the NTSB web site (www.ntsb.gov
<http://www.ntsb.gov>).
Iconoclast
Joined: Sep 2000
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From: The home of Dudley Dooright-Where the lead dog is the only one that gets a change of scenery.
It can happen anywhere.
It happened on an L-1011 when the two pilots and the flight engineer got involved in the removal and replacement of an instrument light. The plane crashed and all aboard were lost.
Joined: May 2002
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From: Australia
An Air India B747 took off from Bombay, RW27 and flew out to sea. The Captain's Aritificial Horizon had a serious fault. It is thought the Captain, who was flying, followed his faulty instrument which resulted in the aircraft rolling over and diving into the sea inverted.
Was spatial disorientation given as the cause of this accident?
Was spatial disorientation given as the cause of this accident?
PPRuNeaholic
Joined: Jun 2000
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From: Cairns FNQ
BlueEagle... no, in this case, I don't think so. Memory is a bit scratchy on it, but I suspect the captain continued to believe his own instruments even after the FO pointed out that his were showing the real situation...
I don't think that "culture" received the appropriate amount of blame for that one...
I don't think that "culture" received the appropriate amount of blame for that one...
Joined: Jul 2001
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From: Belgium
There was the BE35 accident in NJ about two years ago where a highly rated CFII followed his faulty turn coordinator into the ground, thinking his AH had failed, while it was just fine.
The discrepancy between any two instruments must be resolved quickly and correctly by crosscheck with other sources, not by habit (AH fails most often, then follow the TC).
The discrepancy between any two instruments must be resolved quickly and correctly by crosscheck with other sources, not by habit (AH fails most often, then follow the TC).
Iconoclast
Joined: Sep 2000
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From: The home of Dudley Dooright-Where the lead dog is the only one that gets a change of scenery.
Is this spatial disorientation or is it situational awareness?
Many moons ago a group of US Army H-34s was on maneuver in Europe. They flew into a canyon in trailing formation. The lead helicopter entered into a thick haze and the lead told the following helicopters to stop and do a 180. The trailing helicopters exited the canyon but the lead helicopter was totally socked in. He brought his helicopter to a hover (no indication of airspeed) and tried to assess his situation. He had no indication of forward speed and no indication of vertical speed. However his Artificial Horizon indicated that he was in a climb and banking to the left. The rigging of the helicopter caused this. With high collective there is a bias in the controls to counter tail rotor thrust and the disc is tilted to the left. The helicopter will also try to hang under the disc due to the 3-degree forward tilt of the mast, which gives a tail low attitude. Which instruments should he believe. He tried turning on pitot heat thinking the pitot tube was frozen and that didn’t work. So there he is with no visual contact with the ground or the canyon walls and conflicting indications from his instruments. He eventually crashed killing all aboard.
Joined: Mar 2002
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From: Canada
We still await the final report on the 747 that crashed at Stansted in 1999, but the interim special bulletin makes interesting reading:
http://www.aaib.dft.gov.uk/special/hl7451/hl7451s.htm
http://www.aaib.dft.gov.uk/special/hl7451/hl7451s.htm
