SR-22 crash Houston

[Guest SrPilot]

I would think "straighten up" would mean stop the turn. I doubt the controller would have any idea of whether the plane was flying balanced or not. Nev

During my CFII days, I had the occasion to say "straighten up" a few times myself when someone was going off heading and meandering into an area they were not supposed to enter or cross. KHOU is a busy airport with a complicated layout for a transit general aviation airplane. Hobby and Bush together form the 4th most busy airport system in the country.

 

I wasn't there, so I don't know why the controller said "straighten up." If the airplane started to veer from the runway heading, I would expect the controller to say something. There's one pair of parallel runways at KHOU. I would expect, for example, to hear "straighten up" (or something like that) if a plane landing at KHOU on 30 Right started wandering over toward 30 Left with a Boeing 757 on final for 30 Left. (see airport runway diagram below).

 

I once landed at KHOU in a single-engine general aviation airplane; personally, I prefer more laid back airports. Houston has something like 6-7 other corporate type airports in the metro area with another 8-10 "reliever" airports. I do not expect to return to KHOU in a single-engine.

 

I went into Hobby during a slack time, but I have landed at Atlanta, an even busier airport with parallel runways, in reasonably heavy traffic (and Oshkosh in "oh my gosh" traffic). I remember once being on an approach into ATL with instructions to "keep the speed up" in a C310 while an Airbus off my right wing approaching the parallel runway looked like it had his nose pointed to the sky trying to keep the speed down. Quite a mix in traffic possible in places like these so I now ask myself "what am I doing here"; actually, I don't - because I no longer go there. Not my cup of tea any more.

 

As I said, I wasn't there to witness this incident, but I once watched an airplane from the high country in Tennessee as it tried three times to land at a Florida beachfront airport. Highest pattern flying ("circuits"?) I've ever seen. On the third attempt, the airplane landed on the last third of the runway and smoked the brakes all the way to the end of the pavement. It was an uncontrolled field (no tower); two of us were in a C402 and decided to sit on the taxiway and watch the guy "get it down." The fellow was used to flying in a much higher traffic pattern at home and just could not "get it down" because he was flying the familiar home airport pattern numbers but was landing at a much lower MSL airport.

 

It may mean absolutely nothing, but I have to take notice of the controller's communication that "I think you're too high . . . ." and the pilot's response "trying to get down again."

 

The field elevation at KHOU is 43 feet MSL. The field elevation at Norman OK is 1181 feet MSL.

 

Here's the KHOU airport layout:

 

 

My condolences to and prayers for the families affected by this tragedy.

 

 

[Guest extralite]

Stall seemed very benign to me in a cirrus late model. And before stall all sorts of bells and whistles and control stick pulls forward. I wonder how too high on approach ends up as stall and spin. Recently deployed a reserve paragliding way later than I should trying to save it. Next time if I have a chute and things go pear shaped it will be instinct to grab the handle early. Very sad accident rip.

 

 

[Teckair]

I wonder how too high on approach ends up as stall and spin.

Yes somethings about this are a mystery. I thought the controller sounded he was yet to choose which runway to use. It also sounded like she had not got onto downwind yet. He says straighten up twice with urgency then nothing.

 

 

[alf jessup]

It might sound callous but at the end of the day it is pilot error 100%

 

Without a pilot there was never going to be an accident

 

As a PIC of an aircraft you destiny is in your own hands unfortunately and as we as humans we make mistakes and very costly ones at that at times

 

 

[Teckair]

Sad but true it probably ran out of fuel then stalled out of balance causing the spin.

 

 

[facthunter]

There's a fair chance the pilot was well into overload. Nothing good happens then. Nev

 

 

[cooperplace]

according to the TV program, NTSB says it took on 5 hrs fuel, and had flown for 3.

 

 

[dunlopdangler]

If there was ever a lesson of what can happen when things go pear shape, this accident is it.. Low hour pilot going into a very busy airport, getting instructions wrong and going into overload... flustered... maybe panicking and in the end (perhaps out of fuel) loosing control of the aircraft with dire consequences.. I can only guess that she froze at the controls in the last few seconds and whether the chute would have saved them if she only remembered to pull the handle.. Watching the video frame for frame, the only thing that seemed to be working was gravity. A very sad and tragic outcome for these three souls.

 

 

[Bennyboy320]

I can only guess that she froze at the controls in the last few seconds and whether the chute would have saved them if she only remembered to pull the handle.

How true is the above quote, unfortunately a total loss of situational awareness, a classic result when perceived ability exceeded actual ability.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

Hang ten, I thought she ran out of fuel. No sign of fuel at the crash site.

 

 

[David Isaac]

Hang ten, I thought she ran out of fuel. No sign of fuel at the crash site.

I read that as well FT. Doesn't change much, but might have been the fatal blow in the heat of the moment.

 

 

[pylon500]

Most likely.

 

 

[Teckair]

according to the TV program, NTSB says it took on 5 hrs fuel, and had flown for 3.

On one of the links there is an "aviation expert" saying the endurance of that plane could be less than 3 1/2 hours.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

If you look at the video from the security camera you can see the wings break apart and no fuel present. I'm guessing the pilot was distracted by the engine losing power was a big factor in the crash.

 

 

[Guest extralite]

I am not sure if this still holds true but read this about a Cirrus: Running out of gas is the most common cause of engine stoppage in planes of this class. The Cirrus is about average in the amount of assistance that it gives the pilot in avoiding running one or both tanks dry. Flying a stripped model without the Emax engine-monitoring option, the pilot must rely on float-type fuel gauges that aren't very stable or accurate. With Emax a disciplined pilot can record fuel burn from each tank and, using pencil and paper, calculate the fuel remaining in each tank. An annunciator lights up when both fuel tanks are below 8.5 gallons. This is based solely on the readings from the float gauges, not on an independent system. If a pilot gets distracted and runs one tank entirely dry, there will be no warning.

 

May not have happened here, but can imagine a scenario where autopilot on. Fuel allowed to run dry in one wing. Autopilot has held in aileron trim so that engine stops, pilot disconnect autopilot and then the whole aircraft would have felt very odd, trying to hold wings level would be easy to let speed decay. Wonder if they fixed up the low fuel level annunciation.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

I might be missing the point but there wasn't any fuel in either tank.

 

 

[shafs64]

Aviate navigate communicate. from what I heard on the tape and video, the young lady was not doing aviate.

 

 

[Guest extralite]

I read that the aircraft was fueled for 5 hours and had only flown 3. The point is that there was already a case where fuel imbalance in a cirrus caused autopilot to disconnect, aircraft to enter a spiral dive and chute deployed. But if you know for a fact there was no fuel in either tank than that rules it out and i defer to your greater knowledge.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

you wouldn't be on autopilot coming into land? I thought that autoland button was a gag.

 

Have a look at the footage, if there was fuel you would have seen it. 2 hours fuel is about 22USGallons + reserves + unusable fuel in tanks say 25+ gallons

 

there would have been some fuel found at the crash site if that fueling figure was correct

 

 

[dunlopdangler]

No, I doubt very much if she had the auto pilot engaged, she'd already carried out a missed approach on the wrong runway, come around to land and was too high and then it all went to crap going for another attempt. The model she was flying was the SR20. which is the 200hp version and very docile though out the flight envelope.. not that makes any difference really. . From tapes and news stories on this, it would not have made one iota difference what aeroplane she was in..

 

 

[alf jessup]

Whether it ran out of fuel or not is irrelevant im my opinion as you don't have to die just because the engine fails

 

3 things my instructor drilled in to me when learning to fly

 

1. Airspeed

 

2. Airspeed

 

& Airspeed in no particular order

 

You up the odds flying as far into the crash than you do stalling & spinning it in

 

 

[shafs64]

for those who have see the video. think the aircraft was spinning when it hit the car?

 

 

[Teckair]

Yes.

 

 

[alf jessup]

for those who have see the video. think the aircraft was spinning when it hit the car?

Looked like a flat spin to me Shafs64

 

That's my view on it as there was no forward motion so to speak

 

 

[Guest extralite]

Autopilot used by some to unburden during approach phase for those who fly single pilot ifr..I certainly have while I pull up new charts. But if she was trying to get down maybe not but then how do you spin from being too high?Anyway too many unknowns. Spin or spiral dive. Fuel or not. Certainly make intersting report. As for airspeed no doubt she was aware of it but who can say they haven't made mistakes when they knew better? It happens to us all. Those of us still here have got away with it but for some their mistake didn't forgive.