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| Europe |
| Crash Inquiry Is Focusing on Decision to Land Polish Jet |
| 2010-04-12 |
| MOSCOW -- Investigators examining the crash of the Polish president's plane appeared Sunday to be focusing on why the pilot did not heed instructions from air traffic controllers to give up trying to land in bad weather in western Russia. Their inquiry may lead to an even more delicate question: whether the pilot felt under pressure to land to make sure that the Polish delegation would not be late for a ceremony on Saturday in the Katyn forest, where more than 20,000 Polish officers and others were massacred by the Soviets during World War II. Officials have recovered the flight voice recorder, but on Sunday they did not release transcripts of conversations in the cockpit or the control tower. Still, attention has been drawn to the pilot's state of mind because of a previous incident involving the Polish president, Lech Kaczynski, who died along with numerous other senior Polish government and military officials in the crash. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #6 The pilot of the aircraft IS the Pilot in Command PIC. He or she can violate any regulation if need be for the safety of his aircraft and passengers. If he has an emergency, he can declare an emergency and sort it out later. Aviate, Navigate, Communicate. In that order. The PIC has the rights AND responsibilities that go with command. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul in Langly, BC 2010-04-12 23:35 |
| #5 Barbara, you're correct. If The Won™ were to board my aircraft I believe I'd find a mysterious mechnical problem that would prohibit me from taking Bambi to his destination. Although poorly made, my point was the A/C has the ultimate responsibility for the flight. Neither the elderly Tupolov nor ground controller were responsible for the terrible result, the A/C was in charge after being cautioned numerous times of the conditions. On the other hand, perhaps it would be best for all if I took him for a short ride. Nah, then Joe would be CIC. |
| Posted by: Flaper Scourge of the Algonquins4926 2010-04-12 18:53 |
| #4 Better not tell The Won,™ Flaper. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2010-04-12 18:35 |
| #3 As a former military pilot I feel justified commenting, the A/C, aircraft commander, is in total and has complete responsibility for, not only the aircraft but the passengers as well. No one, not President or even Nancy Pelosi, overrules the A/C. Period! |
| Posted by: Flaper Scourge of the Algonquins4926 2010-04-12 17:58 |
| #2 RBers must know this for certain - aren't pilots (and captains at sea) absolute commanders? Don't we want pilots with big egos just to avoid backseat drivers, no matter who they are? I learned from recent personal experience that the pilot signs the birth certificate for deliveries in flight, and gets to choose the country of birth for that matter. I doubt the mechanical failure aspect - this seems to be weather related pilot disaster. |
| Posted by: Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division 2010-04-12 14:30 |
| #1 Two elements that are at odds. 1. The pilot dumped fuel on third approach 2. A witness saw one of the wings pointing to ground before crash. Both indicate there was a problem, maybe a mechanical failure. One dumps fuel when there is an assumption the craft would crash. |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2010-04-12 05:37 |