Page 51 - EAA78.Newsletter.Archives.(February.2017-July.2021)
P. 51
CHAPTER CHATTER, EAA Chapter 78 8
Quiz: You Just Lost Your Radios On An Alarming Detail Emerges In Marine KC-
IFR Flight. What's Next? 130 Crash!
An alarming detail has emerged in the crash of a KC-
130 in Mississippi on Monday. The mishap was the
deadliest in the United States since the crash of
Colgan Air Flight 3407 eight years ago near Buffalo,
New York, in which 50 people perished.
You're flying IFR cross country from Austin (KAUS) to San
Antonio (KSAT) when your radios fail. What transponder
frequency should you squawk to notify ATC of your failure?
How Density Altitude Caused a Plane
Crash Shortly After Takeoff
At around 4pm on Monday afternoon, a KC-130 flying
from Cherry Point, North Carolina crashed in a field in
Leflore County, Mississippi. It has now been confirmed
that all on board—15 Marines and one Navy
corpsman—were killed in the accident. The KC-130
was part of a Marine Forces Reserve refueling and
transport squadron out of New York’s Stewart Air
National Guard Base. Nine of the service members
were stationed at Orange County, New York. The other
seven were based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
The group was enroute to Yuma, Arizona, for a pre-
deployment training exercise. The names of the service
people have not yet been released.
While the investigation is just beginning, one detail has
emerged that is most unusual. It has been reported
The following accident demonstrates exactly what can go wrong that one of the plane’s engines was found almost a
when you don't use a takeoff distance chart properly. mile north of the crash site, with a debris field
stretching over five miles, a clear indication that the
On June 30th, 2012 a pilot flying a Stinson 108 airplane suffered structural failure at altitude. What
crashed shortly after takeoff from the Bruce Meadow's caused the tragedy is still unknown and under
Airport (U63), Idaho. According to the NTSB, before investigation, but investigators are certain to be looking
taking off from the 5,000 feet turf/dirt airstrip with a field to answer the questions of why the one engine was
elevation of 6,370 feet MSL, the pilot checked his found so far away from the rest of the wreckage and
performance charts. He calculated that the density what role it played in the disaster.
altitude was about 9,200 feet.
