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#254603 - Wed Jan 19 2005 05:33 PM Swissair Flight 111
Wallarobba Explorer Registered: Thu Dec 30 2004 Posts: 51 Loc: Sydney NSW Australia	Recently, where I live, there was a show telling the full story of Swissair flight 111. I've got 3 questions to ask everybody (like a poll) 1. Which airport do you think the pilots should have landed? Boston or Halifax? 2. Do you think the pilots' reaction (especially the captain's) have contributed to the crash? 3. Do you think flight 111 could have made either Boston or Halifax?
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#254604 - Wed Jan 19 2005 05:45 PM Re: Swissair Flight 111
SilverMoonsong Moderator Registered: Sun Nov 07 1999 Posts: 3989 Loc: Durham, North Carolina USA	If, like you, you are a little unclear about this incident, here is some information. According to this: Quote: The crew did not recognize that a fire had started and were not warned by instruments, and reacting to an uncertain problem, the crew's ability to control the aircraft was soon overcome as the rapid spread of the fire led to the failure of key display systems. The TSB concluded that even if they had been aware of the nature of the problem the rate of spread of the fire would have precluded a safe landing at Halifax even if an approach had begun as soon as the 'pan pan' was declared. 1. Halifax was closer, and they were still unable to make it. 2. Absolutely not. There is nothing they could have done considering how quickly the fire spread. 3. Again, As the official report states, they would not have been able to make either airport because of how rapidly the fire spread, so my opinion on which air port they should have diverted to is moot. _________________________ Forum Moderator: Useful Tips & Tricks, Movies & Television, Music Cellar Senior Crossword Editor
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#254605 - Wed Jan 19 2005 06:04 PM Re: Swissair Flight 111
Wallarobba Explorer Registered: Thu Dec 30 2004 Posts: 51 Loc: Sydney NSW Australia	Quote: 2. Absolutely not. There is nothing they could have done considering how quickly the fire spread. If the captain knew how quickly the fire spread, he should have just said: "Forget about the checklist, let's just land."
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#254606 - Wed Jan 19 2005 06:53 PM Re: Swissair Flight 111
miles_h2002 Learning the ropes... Registered: Sat Jan 15 2005 Posts: 1 Loc: Sydney, NSW, Au	I agree with the above two replies, having seen the show also (Air Crash Investigation?) and also reading of it in an airline disasters book. There is some argument whether the captain should have began the long checklists knowing there was a fire of some sort, or whether it should have been terminated given the increasingly serious nature of the emergency, but they were bound by company rules which stated that the checklists must be completed. So then is Swissair to blame for its corporate requirements to pilots?? For anybody interested I will hopefully have a quiz online shortly on Airline Disasters 1988-98, in History::Specialised History::Diasters.
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#254607 - Wed Jan 19 2005 07:01 PM Re: Swissair Flight 111
SilverMoonsong Moderator Registered: Sun Nov 07 1999 Posts: 3989 Loc: Durham, North Carolina USA	Quote: If the captain knew how quickly the fire spread, he should have just said: "Forget about the checklist, let's just land." But that's just my point here... the pilot didn't know how quickly it spread. It wasn't until the investigation into the crash was done, and the investigators realized what had happened that they realized it spread so quickly. Even for people who are trained to react a certain way in a crisis, there is still the element of panic involved to a small degree. As for those checklists, under most circumstances, those checklists would have been the right thing to do. It just happened that this particular crisis didn't fall within the guidelines the crew were given. _________________________ Forum Moderator: Useful Tips & Tricks, Movies & Television, Music Cellar Senior Crossword Editor
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#254608 - Wed Jan 19 2005 07:35 PM Re: Swissair Flight 111
Wallarobba Explorer Registered: Thu Dec 30 2004 Posts: 51 Loc: Sydney NSW Australia	Quote: I agree with the above two replies, having seen the show also (Air Crash Investigation?) That's right!
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#254609 - Thu Jan 20 2005 03:48 AM Re: Swissair Flight 111
MollyGrue Prolific Registered: Wed Mar 21 2001 Posts: 1765 Loc: Michigan USA	This sounds an awful lot like a conversation about the Titanic, or any other doomed flight, cruise, train. "They should have done this and they knew it." "They should have done it that way, then they would have survived." Fact is, no one knows what really truly went on, even when there are survivors. In a panic situation you do what you know. There really isn't time to think all of the possible scenarios through. Quote: The crew did not recognize that a fire had started and were not warned by instruments, and reacting to an uncertain problem, the crew's ability to control the aircraft was soon overcome as the rapid spread of the fire led to the failure of key display systems. The TSB concluded that even if they had been aware of the nature of the problem the rate of spread of the fire would have precluded a safe landing at Halifax even if an approach had begun as soon as the 'pan pan' was declared. And sometimes, there is nothing anyone can do, as this case shows. _________________________ "I don't have to conform to vagaries of time and space...I'm a loony for god's sake!"
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#254610 - Wed Mar 02 2005 08:03 PM Re: Swissair Flight 111
joezhou300 Explorer Registered: Thu Feb 03 2005 Posts: 75 Loc: Birmingham Alabama USA	The captian should've landed the plane at Halifax, but it would have been too late. _________________________ The power of three will set us free.
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