Short of a mechanical failure of some sort, I'd suspect icing, too.
The only "pilot error" I can see here is to not have switched on the
de-icing equipment soon enough, and the timing of that is a
procedural issue/training issue. Also, boot de-icing can leave a
large acreaction of ice on the upper surface of the wing (invisible
to the pilots in this case, since the aircraft has an overhead wing).
Again, this is EXACTLY the issue that caused a series of ATR-72
crashes 15 or so years ago -- upper surface icing, invisible to the
pilots, that caused a sudden stall at low speed. The Q-400 is about
the same design age, too.
Engine and propellor icing will also occur at the same time, and the
combination of stalling wings, tail, props, and reduced power isn't a
pretty thought.
Peter
On Feb 13, 2009, at 7:10 PM, Tom Hargrave wrote:
If you've flown, you know it's all about takeoffs and landings. And
someone
taking short hops is actually racking up more of the hours that
count than
someone taking only long flights.
The plane basically nose dived into one house with little damage to
the
surrounding houses. In other words, they had little foreword
momentum. If
the wings iced over & stopped providing lift, the plane would have
crashed
exactly as this one did. The pilot would have had no control over
the plane
and I suspect that pilot error was not the issue.
Thanks,
Tom Hargrave
www.kegkits.com
256-656-1924
-----Original Message-----
From: mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com [mailto:mercedes-
boun...@okiebenz.com]
On Behalf Of Allan Streib
Sent: Friday, February 13, 2009 6:59 PM
To: Mercedes Discussion List
Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT: thoughts on NY plane crash?
"Greg Fiorentino" <gf...@dslnorthwest.net> writes:
Hi all from a list noob:
Info from wife, admin in maintenance dept. at another airline that
flies
the
Q400:
The aircraft was nearly new, not old enough to have had maintenance
issues.
I really don't trust these regional/commuter outfits. Lots of short
hops, rather than fewer long flights. A lot of turnarounds at small
airports that probably have limited maintenance capabilities.
But, from what I've heard this plane was praised by pilots, and was
also
said to be a particularly good performer in bad weather.
Allan
--
1983 300D
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