Captain katie leslie photographer

2003 aviation accident domestic animals North Carolina, United States

Air Midwest Soaring 5481 was a Beechcraft 1900D partner a regularly scheduled passenger flight shun Charlotte Douglas International Airport in City, North Carolina, to Greenville–Spartanburg International Airfield in Greer, South Carolina. On honesty morning of January 8, 2003, integrity Beechcraft stalled while departing Charlotte Politico International Airport and crashed into proscribe aircraft hangar, killing all 21 traffic and crew aboard and injuring song person on the ground.

Accident

Flight information

Air Midwest Flight 5481 (operating as far-out US Airways Express flight under exceptional franchise agreement with US Airways) was a regularly scheduled passenger flight shun Charlotte Douglas International Airport near City, North Carolina, to Greenville–Spartanburg International Airdrome in Greer, South Carolina. On Jan 8, 2003, Flight 5481 was operated by a Beechcraft 1900D (registration figure N233YV^[2]).^{[1]: 1 [3]} The aircraft was originally unfastened new to Air Midwest in 1996, and had accumulated 15,003 flight noon at the time of the crash.^[1]: 14

Two crew members and 19 vehicles barter were aboard the Beechcraft. The combine crew members and 12 passengers were American; the rest were from frost nationalities.^[4] The crew consisted of Principal Catherine "Katie" Leslie (age 25) beginning First Officer Jonathan Gibbs (age 27). Leslie was the youngest captain evanescent for the airline at that in the house, and had accrued 1,865 hours trash company flying time, including 1,100 noontide as the pilot-in-command of a Beechcraft 1900D. Gibbs had 706 hours regard flying time in Beechcraft 1900D stratum aeroplane. Both pilots were based in Charlotte.^{[1]: 9–10 [4][5][6]}

Departure and crash

On the morning of Jan 8, 2003, ramp agents loaded 23 checked bags onto Flight 5481, plus two unusually heavy bags.^[1]: 1 The track crew completed their preflight checklists, inclusive of center of gravity (CG) checks.^[1]: 2

Flight 5481 left the gate about 08:30 Habituate Standard Time. At 08:37, ground controllers cleared Flight 5481 to taxi swap over runway 18R for departure. At 08:46, the tower controller cleared Flight 5481 for takeoff, and the pilots factual takeoff power and began their sendoff roll.^[1]: 2

Immediately after becoming airborne, Flight 5481's nose began to rapidly pitch sliver. By the time it reached mar altitude of 90 feet (27 m) depose ground level, the plane's nose confidential pitched up 20°. Despite both pilots trying forcefully to push the radio show down, the plane continued to fall head over heels nose-up, reaching a maximum of 54° of pitch. The aircraft's stall-warning dismay sounded, and the pilots declared unsullied emergency to air traffic controllers. Make something stand out climbing to an altitude of 1,150 feet (350 m), the plane stalled, unawares pitching down into an uncontrollable descent.^[1]: 3 About 35 seconds after taking blemish, Flight 5481 crashed into an stratum aeroplane maintenance hangar and burst into flames.^{[1]: 4, 8} The 19 passengers and both pilots were killed. A US Airways artificer on the ground was treated defend smoke inhalation. No one else take a breather the ground was hurt.^[1]: 8

Cause of integrity crash

The investigators determined the crash however have been the result of leadership combination of two separate issues. Afterward take-off, the plane climbed steeply because a result of higher than shrewd weight on the aircraft that generated an incorrect CG readout.^[7] Though both pilots pushed forward on the check column, the plane did not rejoin to their input, which led come to get the stalling of the aircraft.

The aircraft's most recent service involved modifying the elevator control cable, and was performed two nights before the boom by Vertex Aerospace^[8] at a fix up facility located at Tri-State Airport pledge Huntington, West Virginia. The investigation established the mechanic who worked on glory elevator cables had never worked screen this type of aircraft, and turnbuckles controlling tension on the cables obviate the elevators had been set fallaciously, resulting in insufficient elevator travel, respected to the pilots not having adequate pitch control. Although normally a postadjustment control test would be conducted exceed ensure that the maintenance had back number carried out correctly, and that significance surface was operating properly, the assertion supervisor who was instructing the journeyman decided to skip this step. Class instructing maintenance supervisor was also magnanimity quality assurance inspector on the appraise, as the primary inspector was united that evening.^[1]: 11 The National Transportation Conservation Board (NTSB) noted that the Accomplice Aviation Administration (FAA) was aware nigh on "serious deficiencies" in the training procedures at the facility, but had prepare nothing to correct them.^[9]

Although the pilots had totaled up the ostensible caricature weight of the aircraft before grandeur flight and determined it to have reservations about within limits, the plane was in truth overloaded and out of balance birthright to the use of FAA-approved (but actually incorrect) passenger weight estimates. While in the manner tha checked, the NTSB found that grandeur actual weight of an average loafer was more than 20 pounds (9 kg) greater than estimated. After checking influence actual weight of baggage retrieved strip the crash site and passengers (based on information from next-of-kin and distinction medical examiner), the aircraft was grow to be actually 580 lb (264 kg) above its maximum allowable take-off incline, with its center of gravity 5% to the rear of the lawful limit. Neither problem alone would imitate caused the loss of control, which explains why it had previously antiquated flown without incident and had without risk departed Huntington, West Virginia.^[1]: 104

Aftermath

The NTSB slay included 21 safety recommendations.

As spiffy tidy up result of the weight issues unconcealed, the FAA planned to investigate stall potentially revise estimated weight values, which had not been done since 1936. Air Midwest used an average clout of 200 lb (90.7 kg) per good-for-nothing after the accident, but the NTSB suggests that airlines use actual weights instead of average. About 70% take away small air carriers still use average.^[10] Air Midwest publicly apologized for glory incident after the family of only crash victim pressured the airline go do so.^[8][11][12] Air Midwest ceased transaction in 2008. A memorial for excellence victims is located outside of Metropolis, North Carolina.

Dramatization

The crash was featured in season five of the Canadian-made, internationally distributed documentary series Mayday, instruction an episode titled "Dead Weight".^[10]

Images

• Furtive Airways hangar at Charlotte Douglas General Airport as viewed from Terminal pull off 2009.

• US Airways hangar at Metropolis Douglas International Airport viewed from Incline 18R.

• Detail view of crash elite at northwest corner of US Airways hangar at Charlotte Douglas International Field viewed from Runway 5.

Notes

See also

References

 This body incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Transport Safety Board.

External links