Doomed Jet Took Off While Others Waited

[wakeme2008]

Source: AP

May 11, 2007
Doomed Jet Took Off While Others Waited
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 8:11 p.m. ET

DOUALA, Cameroon (AP) -- Three jetliners sat ready for takeoff at Douala International Airport, their crews waiting for a massive thunderstorm to move away.

Just a few minutes past midnight, all three radioed air traffic control to check the weather report. They were told the storm would take another hour to dissipate, and the Cameroon Airlines and Royal Air Maroc crews opted to wait it out.

But Capt. Francis Mbatia Wamwea of Kenya Airways Flight 507, already delayed for an hour and carrying scores of passengers with onward connections to catch, judged the weather had improved sufficiently to permit departure for Nairobi, Kenya.

Less than a minute after takeoff early on May 5, the Boeing 737-900 slammed into a jungle swamp during a raging storm, killing all 105 passengers and the nine-member crew.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Cameroon-Crash-Probe.html

---

"The Get-home-itis Syndrome" kills a lot of people... Normally in private planes.

[BlueCollar]

1. Probably couldn't stand the idea of whining passengers

demanding to be taken back to the terminal and put up in a 5-star hotel for the night because the airline couldn't re-route the weather system...

Happens all the time here in the U.S.

Thought he'd take his chances

:sarcasm:

[pitohui]

5. it never happens in the usa, you don't get a hotel for wx

nope, this doesn't happen, airlines don't control the weather, and if your flight is delayed or canceled for reasons of WEATHER then you don't get a free hotel room, not a five star, not an any star, nope, no way

kenya airways is a good airline and i have flown them but whatever criteria the pilot used to make his decision, it wasn't fear of having to pay to put people up in hotels

people DO whine when they find out that weather delays/cancellations don't mean free hotels, but too bad, you never want any airline to feel obligated to fly in shitty weather for economic reasons

the pilot made a mistake and paid the ultimate price, which is a shame, but the price of hotels (is there even a five star hotel in cameroon?) is not the cause

[BlueCollar]

12. I was just trying to make the point

that it's going to hapeen here sooner or later...

AirTran operated on the margins...and as more lowcost, bargain basement fares show up people are going to buy them...putting more pressure on everyone to "make the gate"...

it's inevitable...

unfortunately

[RamboLiberal]

22. It has happened here many times - pilots deciding to take off

or land in very bad weather, or trying to beat the weather. Most recent one I remember off the top of my head was 1999 American Airlines landing accident in a thunderstorm at Little Rock, AR.

But I do say our airlines have to come up with a better plan than letting people sit for hours and hours on a plane on the tarmac. Though I'd rather sit there than try to take off in a bad storm.

I do think that most pilots today have a very healthy respect for wind shear. It wasn't that well known in the past when many of the accidents occurred.

[malaise]

6. Air traffic could have closed the airport until

the storm had passed. Ah well he's responsible for a lot of deaths.

[tanyev]

9. Yeah, those whiners who can't deal with being stuck on the tarmac

for 8 hours with no food and overflowing toilets.


:sarcasm:

[BlueCollar]

11. those are the ones...

paid less than it costs per ASM for their flight and still expect to have their noses wiped for them.

[napi21]

2. That was obviously a bad decision, but I have a question.

Surely this massive thunder storm didn't majically appear AFTER those planes were boarded. WHY don't the airlines delay boarding and have the passengers just wait in the terminal instead of having to sit on a runway? Sure the passengers will still complain, but I bet if you asked anyone in any terminal anywhere, what they would prefer, they'd say stay in the terminal. At least you have a little more freedom to move around, go to a restaurant, bar, or shop. Sitting in an aluminum sausage for several hours, not moving, and not knowing WHEN you might move is definately no fun!

[BootinUp]

3. well, weather being unpredictable

they want to be ready to take off as soon as it clears. What a shame they don't put safety as a higher priority.

[karlrschneider]

4. Massive thunderstorms often do "majically" appear in minutes.

I have my suspicions about what caused this accident but speculation isn't a useful tool.

[pitohui]

7. well considering the pilot is not here to get his feelings hurt...

i am curious to hear your speculation, knowing that it is a speculation, if you don't mind

i think kenya airways is quite highly regarded, well, at least they seemed fine to me, so i'm just putting this down to a tragic error of judgment

[karlrschneider]

8. I -suspect- the captain let his first officer fly the departure and wasn't paying

close enough attention to either his performance or the radar. In this case, I'm inclined to think pilot error was probably responsible...which I'm normally reluctant to do but have to admit it does happen. But in any crash there are almost always mitigating factors that aren't discovered until much later. I'll DUmail my friend DemoTex about it, he might want to weigh in...he has more experience in accident investigation than I do. The airplane in question was apparently quite new - which doesn't impress me much; I'd rather fly a 5 year old plane than a brand new one for reasons you can probably deduce.
ks

[BlueCollar]

10. Checked out the rate of outsourcing of maintenace

to overseas repair stations by US carriers lately?

I'm guessing you have...

[karlrschneider]

Yes, and as abhorrent I find it as a business practice, I'm not at all sure it

really compromises safety. Not many people are more cynical than myself but I don't believe even the bean-counters with all their propensities for maximizing profit fail to realize that a crash is about as detrimental to the bottom line as anything could be. And we pilots are a pretty independent bunch...we know perfectly well that if the plane hits something we're going to be the first to impact. But I say that with a caveat: a lot of airline pilots nowadays are little more than button-pushing adjuncts to the computers that actually drive the machine. Few of them have actually flown by hand in true instrument conditions for more than a few hours and then mostly on auto-pilot.

[BlueCollar]

14. I'm seeing it from a wrench turner's perspective

and hearing about it from the line guys...

MELs are up...

We're seeing more and more pushing the limits in this industry...

Lorenzo's poison still exists in this industry...and I agree...some folks wouldn't know what to do in an analog cockpit

[karlrschneider]

16. I actually got an A&P ticket many years ago but never used it.

Well except on my own plane...

Not sure what you mean about the MELs...being up...? Do you mean there are more...or fewer items?
(I'm strictly Part 91)

[BlueCollar]

17. MEL - Minimum Equipment List

more placards on systems for longer times...

I'm not saying that the ships are flying dirty but I'm just hearing the minimums are getting more frequent...

on edit: It used to be having a ticket meant something...these days under Part 145 you can have everyone working without a ticket...just as long as they're working under the "supervision" of a certificated airman...whatever that means...

:shrug:

[karlrschneider]

20. Yeah, well, the MEL for VFR flight hasn't changed much in the last 30 years

or so. Or for IFR for that matter...I know there have been a lot of changes for the mechs working under 145 but I haven't kept up with that. I can't even work on a CAR these days let alone a plane. :D

[BlueCollar]

21. lots of mechs leaving to go work for the dealerships

pay's better, you don't spend half your career working graveyard shift, and the liability exposure is a hell of a lot less...

[wakeme2008]

23. I think you are part right :)

I agree the first officer may have been flying the plane, but I would bet the pilot was all eyes on the radar "thinking" he could steer the plane through the weather (see the part about them going right when directed left) .

[BlueCollar]

18. and the answer is...

"...already delayed for an hour and carrying scores of passengers with onward connections to catch..."

error of judgement...nuff said

[Liberal In Texas]

13. Get-there-itis kills a lot of pilots and crew. Passengers too.

Waiting out the blob on the weather radar is boring. And we have a 737 that's big and tough!

Wind shear will take down the largest of aircraft.

There is so much pressure to fly in bad weather. It might be from ones own ego. It might be from the boss.

The pilot gambled and lost.

[BlueCollar]

15. It might be from the boss

Truer words might never have been spoken...

[Jacobin]

19. thunderstorms and windshear

most pilots know not to try it