mtv wrote:hotrod180 wrote:Mountain Doctor wrote:As a doctor I wonder if this is the 'Forked Tail Doctor Killer' of our age, replacing the Bonanza?
I've thought that for quite a while now.
Ever since the Cory Lytle accident in NYC 10 or 12 years ago.
Cory Lytle had a flight instructor with him......that was a training flight in effect.
MTV
FWIW, it's Lidle.
I think the real issue in that crash was not the airplane or any unusual aspects of the airplane, but that neither he nor his instructor had any experience in canyon flying--and the East River corridor is really a form of canyon, with the buildings on either side of it. True that both were inexperienced in the Cirrus--Lidle only had about 12 hours in it, and the instructor had none recorded--but that doesn't seem to be a factor, as there would have been the same results had they been flying a Cessna 172.
There was a pretty fair wind, about 13 knots, from their right when they began the turn, so that widened the turn radius. They began the 180 degree turn from the middle of the channel, rather than moving to one side. They apparently tried to make the turn at essentially slow cruise speed (97 knots according to the NTSB report). However, according to the NTSB, at that speed and from that position, the turn could have been made had they maintained a 50 degree bank angle, but the report indicates that they began the turn with a 40-45 degree bank, then likely increased it when they realized their predicament and induced a stall after exceeding 60 degrees of bank.
So while I don't have any fondness for Cirri, having never flown in one, I'm more inclined to think that had it been flown like you and I would fly any airplane in order to make a canyon turn, i.e., by flying at a reasonable speed, by moving to one side of the "canyon" from the middle where they began the turn, and perhaps by moving to the left side and turning to the right into the wind, it would have been a simple maneuver. Alternatively, they could have easily climbed, which would have put them into the Class B airspace without a clearance, but having to answer to the FAA is a whole lot better than dying.
There are times when "doctor killer" is appropriate--low timers with too much money flying too much performance and trying to do things with that performance that exceed their skill. But in the Lidle case, it was just basic airmanship that was lacking, and that would have shown up no matter what they'd been flying.
Now moving to this accident, who knows yet? I think the speculation that they were heads down looking at the screens instead of looking outside has merit, but so does engine failure at this point. A sudden whiteout, possibly, so that they couldn't see the terrain. It'll be interesting to see what the investigation shows.
Cary
