For the third blog post for multi engine ground school we were given an article about at accident at Aspen Colorado. You can read the article here: Aspen Arrival.
Assignment: Read the accident report on Landmark Accidents: Aspen Arrival. Blog about what you thought of the accident. What ere the contributing factors? Where was the error chain? What should they have done differently? How would you deal with a passenger if your job was on the line?
Answer:
Honestly, I was expecting more from this article. Especially from the setup. You had demanding passengers and late departure into bad weather, and the accident boiled down to descending below minimums at night in mountainous terrain. Seriously. If I was in the aircraft, I would not have been comfortable descending below minimums at an airport like that. I understand that there were a lot of contributing factors, however, I think the real important thing on this error chain was simply going below minimums. If they would have flown the approach as published, then everything would have been fine. Shoot the approach, go missed, and head to the other airport. You can always refuel and try Aspen after the snow has passed.
Considering the error chain, the first mistake was the timing. Late passengers showing up, as well as no grace period for bad weather really put the pilots in a pressured situation. I would hope that when charters such as these are scheduled, that the customer is informed that this is flight is not a guaranteed thing. Weather and maintenance can de-rail plans. I would hope that we would have learned this lesson from back in the airmail days.
Allowing the passenger in the cockpit at such a crucial point in the flight was also part of the error chain. Hearing this was like nails on a chalk board! If I was going to shoot one the most difficult approaches in the country in the snow, I would prefer a sterile cockpit!
What would I do differently? Honestly, I probably would have taken off late. I would have taken grief from the passengers, and I would have probably shot the approach. However, I am fairly confident in saying, I would not have gone below minimums and I would have gone missed at the missed approach point when I was not certain to have the runway in site. The article is a bit confusing on what had happened. I am not sure why the first officer said the runway was in sight, when he obviously didn't see it. As the Captain, I would want to see the runway before I continued down. After going missed, I would head to the other airport. I could refuel and possible deliver my passengers later that night if weather clears.
I would attempt to deal with the passengers in as professional way as possible. I would try and educate them on the risks that there "boss" was proposing. I would tell them what the regulations state, and inform them that I will put safety and there lives first, and then dinner parties second. If they didn't want to hear it, I would not argue, however, I would not give in and fly dangerously. I never want to have a job that encourages me to break regulations and take risks. If my boss was saying, "you WILL fly to Aspen," I would be looking for another job.
Assignment: Read the accident report on Landmark Accidents: Aspen Arrival. Blog about what you thought of the accident. What ere the contributing factors? Where was the error chain? What should they have done differently? How would you deal with a passenger if your job was on the line?
Answer:
Honestly, I was expecting more from this article. Especially from the setup. You had demanding passengers and late departure into bad weather, and the accident boiled down to descending below minimums at night in mountainous terrain. Seriously. If I was in the aircraft, I would not have been comfortable descending below minimums at an airport like that. I understand that there were a lot of contributing factors, however, I think the real important thing on this error chain was simply going below minimums. If they would have flown the approach as published, then everything would have been fine. Shoot the approach, go missed, and head to the other airport. You can always refuel and try Aspen after the snow has passed.
Considering the error chain, the first mistake was the timing. Late passengers showing up, as well as no grace period for bad weather really put the pilots in a pressured situation. I would hope that when charters such as these are scheduled, that the customer is informed that this is flight is not a guaranteed thing. Weather and maintenance can de-rail plans. I would hope that we would have learned this lesson from back in the airmail days.
Allowing the passenger in the cockpit at such a crucial point in the flight was also part of the error chain. Hearing this was like nails on a chalk board! If I was going to shoot one the most difficult approaches in the country in the snow, I would prefer a sterile cockpit!What would I do differently? Honestly, I probably would have taken off late. I would have taken grief from the passengers, and I would have probably shot the approach. However, I am fairly confident in saying, I would not have gone below minimums and I would have gone missed at the missed approach point when I was not certain to have the runway in site. The article is a bit confusing on what had happened. I am not sure why the first officer said the runway was in sight, when he obviously didn't see it. As the Captain, I would want to see the runway before I continued down. After going missed, I would head to the other airport. I could refuel and possible deliver my passengers later that night if weather clears.
I would attempt to deal with the passengers in as professional way as possible. I would try and educate them on the risks that there "boss" was proposing. I would tell them what the regulations state, and inform them that I will put safety and there lives first, and then dinner parties second. If they didn't want to hear it, I would not argue, however, I would not give in and fly dangerously. I never want to have a job that encourages me to break regulations and take risks. If my boss was saying, "you WILL fly to Aspen," I would be looking for another job.
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