Cause of C-130J Crash Identified

[xj220]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/19/politics/us-air-force-plane-crash-afghanistan/index.html

Sad and so easily preventable. There are a lot of lessons to be gleaned here. My guess is that this non-standard maneuver was "technique only" and may have been more common, or not. Either way, be careful out there and think through what you do. I don't know the details other than this article of what happened but how many times have you done something similar for ease?

 

[Pags]

Concur that "non-standard" should be read as "everyone was doing it we just never bothered to make a real procedure for it because it would've looked like whining."

 

[Gatordev]

General question, and not meant to direct ire upon this crew.... Does anyone startup/taxi/whatever and not do a control sweep? Even when things are Jesus crossed, I still do a control sweep, just to make sure everything is normal. Obviously not a C-130 guy, but would that simple act have identified the case blocking the controls?

 

[hlg6016]

Damn shame this happened, Used to use an unwritten procedure to do this. Pull the yoke back to your lap and hook your leg around like crossing your legs.
Not very comfortable but the FE's would not let the pilots stuff any thing down there to block it back. RIP.

 

[xj220]

General question, and not meant to direct ire upon this crew.... Does anyone startup/taxi/whatever and not do a control sweep? Even when things are Jesus crossed, I still do a control sweep, just to make sure everything is normal. Obviously not a C-130 guy, but would that simple act have identified the case blocking the controls?

In P-8s you do a full sweep with indicators on a screen to show you've got full range. In P-3s, during preflight you do it with the FE on the outside watching you for correct surface movement. That being said, if you do anything after the control sweep then it's a moot point and I'm sure C-130s have their own procedures.

 

[xj220]

but would that simple act have identified the case blocking the controls?

Of course, but like any mishap I'm sure there were a lot of things that could've stopped this from happening. I'd be curious to read the actual mishap report and see if there were any institutional problems, as well.

 

[ChuckM]

Noticed they used hard pelican type cases, where as ours are soft and crushable...

 

[SynixMan]

Noticed they used hard pelican type cases, where as ours are soft and crushable...

Some squadrons use the pelican cases.

 

[ChuckM]

Some squadrons use the pelican cases.

Good to know.

Do those just float around the tunnel? Wouldn't want to get hit in the head with one. As lame as the nylon bags are they are soft, and that little strap to throw over the seat post is gold...

 

[Gatordev]

In P-8s you do a full sweep with indicators on a screen to show you've got full range. In P-3s, during preflight you do it with the FE on the outside watching you for correct surface movement. That being said, if you do anything after the control sweep then it's a moot point and I'm sure C-130s have their own procedures.

I get that for your first start, but I'm talking about the next 3+ starts. C-130s, like many other aircraft, start up and shut down all the time. In helo land, lots of stuff is crossed out when you start up after the first time. Technically I don't have to do anything with the controls when I start back up. But as a habit (and most do this), I wipe out the controls.

I'm guessing others (outside of the helo community) do this as well, but was confirming.

Good to know.

Do those just float around the tunnel? Wouldn't want to get hit in the head with one. As lame as the nylon bags are they are soft, and that little strap to throw over the seat post is gold...

They're annoying. I think I would put mine in my bag or down next to the door. Sometimes they'd end up in the back in the tunnel. Personally I've only seen them on the West Side, but I think they're replacing the lunch box cooler cases as they age.

 

[zippy]

I get that for your first start, but I'm talking about the next 3+ starts. C-130s, like many other aircraft, start up and shut down all the time. In helo land, lots of stuff is crossed out when you start up after the first time. Technically I don't have to do anything with the controls when I start back up. But as a habit (and most do this), I wipe out the controls.

I'm guessing others (outside of the helo community) do this as well, but was confirming.

Its probably something they're supposed to be doing, but fatigue, night, numerous flights that day and cumulative time in theater etc. may have caused them to mis it (i.e. forgot to do it, or thought they already did it because they did it X other times that day).

Terribly unfortunate either way.

 

[Gatordev]

Terribly unfortunate either way.

Indeed.