ROFF

Reading that the radio transmissions were made by a different pilot got me wondering.

Did one of the pilots leave their seat? Upon return, entering turbulence while getting into the seat and thrown off balance.

I know it’s not the ideal time to leave the seat but some circumstances can warrant that.

Just a thought.

CaptDave

There was a passing cold front ahead of the precip areas ATC was referencing. You can see it just over and/or slightly east Anahuac on the GRAnalyst radar pic they have shown. I don’t know about you guys/gals but some of the worst turbulence I’ve ever encountered (outside of cargoing through CB’s) was traversing a cold front.

Not sure how that would affect the energy state of the 76, especially if they had the boards up for whatever reason.

F4E Mx

Well, we don't have any airspeed data as yet, just the groundspeed readouts. The next to the last radar hit shows a 9,986 fpm rate of descent at 3,025 feet of altitude. Five (5) seconds later they are at a 27,900 fpm rate of descent at 700 feet of altitude.

TiredSoul

Yes and no doubt a wrong assumption.
What is it with the radio?!
It is 100% normal for the other guy to take the call if you’re buried in the FMC, loading approaches or looking stuff up or verifying information.
It doesn’t matter who is designated PF/PM.
You see the other guy is busy you answer.
It’s THAT simple, nothing nefarious.

Winston

You’d be hard pressed to find those descent rates in a stalled aircraft. AF447 impacted the ocean, fully stalled, at just under 11,000 FPM. In free fall, the wing itself acts as a huge airbrake.

Only a wing flying through unseparated airflow could achieve that FPM.

ROFF

Wasn’t making an ASSumtion. Just a thought to an unknown situation.

Making a trip to the lav is nefarious? Unless you’re the type to take the mic to the can then the other pilot normally picks up the radio..

PeterGriffin

https://www.wsj.com/articles/pilot-error-suspected-in-fatal-atlas-air-cargo-crash-11552680411

Winston

For those without a WSJ subscription:

Pilot Error Suspected in Fatal Atlas Air Cargo Crash

Investigators exploring likelihood that crew accidentally increased thrust on approach to Houston airport, sources say

Andy Pasztor
March 15, 2019 4:06 p.m. ET

National Transportation Safety Board experts, these people said, are focusing on a likely sequence of events that started with the crew of the Boeing Co. 767 approaching Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Feb. 23 inadvertently commanding dramatically increased engine thrust. Turbulent air could have jostled the arm of one of the pilots, causing the engines to rev up to takeoff power, one of these people said.

The sudden surge in thrust, which the safety board disclosed in an earlier factual update, forced the nose of the plane to pitch upward and startled the cockpit crew, according to these people. Almost immediately, according to the preliminary data released by the safety board, the crew responded by sharply pushing down the nose of the aircraft.

The board previously said the nose was pointed downward at a 49-degree angle with the plane still about 30 miles from the airport, creating a much steeper descent than a normal landing approach.

The seemingly disoriented crew failed to regain control—despite commands to pull up from the jet’s high-speed dive—and the wide-body plane plowed into a marshy area.

The safety board said the crew had the required training and medical certificates.

The safety board hasn’t issued any final conclusions, and the leading theory currently pursued by investigators could change as more information is developed. A spokesman for the board said it had no comment beyond the factual update released earlier. Boeing had no immediate comment.

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. and the union representing its pilots both declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

But at this point, such cockpit slipups are considered the most likely cause of the crash. The plane was skirting around some storm cells before the plunge, but people familiar with the details said the turbulence didn’t cause any structural damage or lead any system to malfunction.

In its update, the safety board said the “engines increased to maximum thrust” as the plane was flying at roughly 6,000 feet. After a brief nose-up movement, according to the update, the Boeing 767 entered a steep descent in a “generally wings-level attitude until impact with the swamp.”

Many airline and aerospace industry officials have watched the probe closely because the 767 model is widely used as a passenger jet around the globe.

The Atlas Air flight, en route to Houston from Miami, was flying cargo for Amazon.com Inc.

The last fatal U.S. airliner crash also was a cargo flight. In 2013, a United Parcel Service Inc. Airbus A300 slammed into hill while approaching to land in Birmingham, Ala., killing both pilots. The safety board determined that a series of pilot errors and violations of safety procedures caused that accident. The aircraft descended too quickly toward a runway shrouded by clouds, and the pilots waited until the last seconds to try to initiate a go-around.

—Alison Sider contributed to this article.

Write to Andy Pasztor at [email protected]

TiredSoul

You really are clueless aren’t you?

Really?!
What a utterly stupid thing to say.

DownInPetaluma

I mean, when you think about it, it’s not hard to imagine this happening- especially if the PF didn’t have much experience with manually flying the type. Automations are eroding our skills as a group. Startle factor is a real threat too.