Old 03-30-2009 | 03:25 AM
  #26  
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ZDub
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Originally Posted by all4114all
Quote below, only a few days after accident. This was a very irresponsible statement by him so early in the investigation.

"Chealander said Sunday that the pilot appeared to ignore recommendations by the NTSB and his employer that the autopilot be turned off in icy conditions. The autopilot remained on until an automatic system warned that a stall could occur, pushed the yoke forward and shut the autopilot off.
Chealander acknowledged that it was possible that the pilot overreacted by yanking the yoke back, further destabilizing the plane"


Buffalo Plane Crash: NTSB Member Says Pilots May Have Rejected Federal Safety Recommendations
Ok, mea culpa, I did not see this posted on your original post, only the link to a story in the Dallas paper. I understand where you're coming from, but finish the quote from the above story....

"Chealander acknowledged that it was possible that the pilot overreacted by yanking the yoke back, further destabilizing the plane, but he said that was one of an almost unlimited number of possibilities."

That he acknowledged an overreaction leads me to believe that he was asked the question, rather than soapboxing his own opinion. Yes, he should have given the standard canned answer, "This is an ongoing investigation, I'm not able to comment". But, he didn't and also didn't go so far as to say that the NTSB is convinced it's pilot error.

Look, at the end of the day, none of this really matters. It may be in bad taste, and we may not like it, but it does nothing to change what actually happened up there. You're looking for the media to do someting that they rarely do, show restraint during a time of tragedy. Doesn't happen. These are the same people who treated us to photos of people jumping out of windows on 9/11. Take a breath, mourn, and do your best to protect the memories of the crew and pax from unwarrented, premature ridiclue. I'm sure that thier legacies will offer someting for all of us to learn from.

The flying public wants to know if the skies are safe from this new menace to aviation called ice, so they're glued to this. Fankly, I think that the media is doing a halfway decent job on this one. It could be a lot worse.
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