Scribd
Upload
64 views13 pages

When You Least Expect It: Controlled Flight Into Terrain: Colin Cutler

(1) Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) occurs when a pilot unintentionally flies an airworthy aircraft into the ground or water, often due to distraction or disorientation. (2) Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed in the Everglades in 1972 after the pilots became distracted trying to troubleshoot a landing gear indicator light and inadvertently switched the autopilot mode, causing a gradual descent. (3) Air New Zealand Flight 901 flew into Mount Erebus, Antarctica in 1979 after descending below the minimum safe altitude on a sightseeing flight with incorrect flight plan coordinates, crashing into low clouds obscuring the mountain.

Uploaded by

한케이
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
64 views13 pages

When You Least Expect It: Controlled Flight Into Terrain: Colin Cutler

(1) Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) occurs when a pilot unintentionally flies an airworthy aircraft into the ground or water, often due to distraction or disorientation. (2) Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed in the Everglades in 1972 after the pilots became distracted trying to troubleshoot a landing gear indicator light and inadvertently switched the autopilot mode, causing a gradual descent. (3) Air New Zealand Flight 901 flew into Mount Erebus, Antarctica in 1979 after descending below the minimum safe altitude on a sightseeing flight with incorrect flight plan coordinates, crashing into low clouds obscuring the mountain.

Uploaded by

한케이
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 13

When You Least Expect It: Controlled

Flight Into Terrain


By Colin Cutler

11/19/2015

Previous Story

Next Story

Article


Wikipedia
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) happens when a pilot unintentionally flies
an airworthy aircraft into the ground or water. So how can that possibly happen? It
usually occurs when pilots get distracted or disoriented.

According to the FAA between 1979 and 1990, nearly 45% of all accidents
resulted from CFIT. But it's not just a problem from 20 years ago, there have been
several major CFIT accidents in just the last few years, including UPS Flight
1354, an A300 crash that happened just two years ago.

CFIT accidents aren't just limited to airliners either. CFIT is a common cause for
GA accidents when pilots fly VFR into IMC.

So what exactly happens in a CFIT accident? It's usually a combination of events,


so let's take a look at two major CFIT accidents: Eastern Flight 401, and Air New
Zealand Flight 901.

Eastern Airlines Flight 401


Wikipedia

Flight 401, a Lockheed L-1011, departed New York JFK airport for Miami
International airport on December 29, 1972. As the L-1011 approached Miami at
11:32 pm, the pilots lowered the gear for landing. However, the nose gear position
indicator light didn't illuminate. The pilots cycled the gear up and down, but the
nose gear indicator light failed to illuminate again.
The pilots advised approach control that they needed to discontinue the landing,
and the approach controller cleared them to enter a holding pattern at 2,000 feet
over the Everglades west of Miami.

The aircraft entered a hold at 2,000 feet, and the captain instructed the first officer
to engage the autopilot for the hold so they could troubleshoot the nose gear. The
autopilot was selected to altitude hold mode, however, it's believed that the
captain leaned on the control yoke, inadvertently switching autopilot modes from
altitude hold to CWS (Control Wheel Steering), which maintains aircraft pitch.
Wikipedia

The aircraft entered a very gradual descent, and after descending 250 feet, the
aircraft made an altitude alert chime near the flight engineer's station.
Unfortunately, the flight engineer was below deck in the avionics bay, trying to
determine if the nose gear was down. The pilots didn't hear the chime, and the
aircraft continued to descend.

After 50 seconds, the aircraft had lost approximately 1,000 feet, and was still
descending. When the aircraft was just a few hundred feet above the ground, the
first officer entered a turn into the autopilot, and noticed their altitude was not
correct. He began an exchange with the captain, and they both were confused as to
what was happening with the aircraft. Unfortunately, 10 seconds later, the jet
crashed into the Everglades.

The investigation confirmed that there was nothing wrong with the nose gear, and
the only problem on the aircraft was that both lightbulbs were burned out in
the nose gear indicator. A $12 light bulb started the chain of events that lead to
the crash, killing 101 of the 176 people on board.
gaizy.hubpages.com

Air New Zealand Flight 901


Wikipedia

Flight 901 was a unique sightseeing flight from Auckland, New Zealand, to
Antarctica, with a low pass over McMurdo Sound. The pilots on flight 901 had
never flown the route before, but they were both highly experienced, and had been
briefed on the flight plan.

However, what the pilots didn't know is that the flight plan coordinates that had
been entered in the flight computer weren't the same as the flight plan they had
briefed the day before. The coordinates entered into the computer took the plane
almost directly over Mount Erebus, a 12,448 foot peak.

As the DC-10 approached Antarctica, the pilots descended through a cloud layer
so the passengers could get a better view. However, the jet was well below the
minimum safe altitude (MSA) of 6,000 feet, where they thought they were, and
based on the cloud conditions. The MSA for their actual location was 16,000 feet,
and the DC-10 was only at 1,500 feet MSL.

Wikipedia
As the jet approached Mount Erebus, a cloud layer blended in with the snow-
capped mountain, providing no contrast between the two. The pilots were unable
to see the mountain directly in front of them, and they had no idea where they
were until the ground proximity warning system (GPWS) sounded. The captain
immediately requests go-around power, but six seconds later, the plane impacted
the mountain, killing everyone on board.
SouthPoleStation.com

The Takeaway
Both of these accidents could have been prevented. In the Eastern Airlines
accident, the pilots over focused on the landing light, and didn't maintain
situational awareness. The crew was also relatively new to the aircraft, and didn't
fully understand what had happened to the autopilot system.

In the Air New Zealand flight, had the crew not descended through the cloud layer
and below the MSA, they would have safely crossed over Mount Erebus, even
though they were not in the location they thought.

But in both accidents, distraction and disorientation were the root cause. Take
away those factors from both flights, and they most likely wouldn't have crashed.

You might also like