Audio tapes of the conversation with the pilot of the Navy F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet that crashed into a San Diego neighborhood in December killing 4 people were released today. At the same time, it was announced that 13 Marine Corps personnel were being disciplined for errors in the incident. While typically general aviation pilots don’t look to the military for insight into safe piloting skills, this accident offers several important lessons that are directly applicable to all pilots.
The cockpit conversation reveals that…
the controller discussed whether the pilot wanted to land at North Island Naval Air Station—which could be approached directly over water without overflying land—or the Miramar airport that is surrounded by San Diego neighborhoods. The incident occurred shortly after takeoff from the carrier Abraham Lincoln when the pilot reported low oil pressure and shut down the right engine. The carrier’s air boss directed the jet to fly to North Island NAS, but the pilot and his squadron bosses later decided to bring the aircraft back to Miramar.
The pilot reported to ATC that he was “down to a single engine” with “possibly a problem with the other engine. “ The investigation revealed that maintenance personnel had for months ignored a fuel flow problem to the left engine. Approaching Miramar, the pilot, under the belief that he could not make a turn toward the inoperative right engine, made a left turn for 90-seconds. This ultimately deprived the left engine of fuel, even though there were still several thousand pounds of fuel on board. The investigation also revealed the pilot didn’t use his emergency checklist and that ground personnel talking to the pilot omitted key parts of the checklist
Links in the Accident Chain
While the ditching of flight 1549 by Sully Sullenberger into the Hudson River last month represented all of the best that a pilot could bring to an emergency situation, this incident was its polar opposite. One key difference was having 40 years of flight experience versus being a young lieutenant. But even young lieutenants are supposed to follow procedures and apply good judgment. The words “pilot in command” must be more than just a noun; they should also be an active verb. All pilots need to actively take charge and manage all situations they encounter.
The accident reminds me of one of the few times that I’ve had a partial loss of power while flying a small plane. A few years ago I was giving primary flight instruction to a lawyer in an older Cessna 172. As we were returning to the Reid-Hillview Airport, I discovered that we could only get a maximum of 2000 rpm versus the 2400 rpm we’d typically get in cruise. That was sufficient power to maintain altitude, but I didn’t know for sure if the power would remain at that level. At the time, I was 7-8 minutes from my home base but only a couple of minutes from the South County Airport.
Had I been alone, I might have elected to continue on to the destination, where the aircraft could be inspected by the club’s mechanic. However, since my client was a lawyer, I remember thinking that I ought to hold myself to the highest possible standard. After all, if things went wrong, I might find myself having to explain to a jury why I made the decision I did.
Framing the question in that way made the decision easy; I diverted to South County Airport and found a mechanic there who could look at the plane. That incident crystallized my future approach to analyzing all system malfunctions and emergencies. Often people say to imagine what the NTSB report will say if you take a particular action. However, if you also think about the explanation that you may have to give to a jury, you’ll always pick the most conservative choice available in an emergency.
No doubt, Marine personnel felt that it would be more convenient to get the F/A-18 back to home base rather than have it stuck at another airport. Had they thought more about the most conservative option available to them and less about their convenience, we wouldn’t be reading about this accident.
Awesome reporting on the incident Max. It sent me shivers down my spinal chord when I read that the other guy was a lawyer and you suspected a partial loss of power. I’m glad it all went well in the end.
I didn’t suspect it–we had a partial power loss! If it had been a full power loss, the decision would have been easy since there was a large field nearby. But to continue on to RHV would have meant to fly over the city, where there would be fewer places to land. It always pays to think things all of the way through!
Did you discover what the problem with the 172 was?
Glad it turned out OK.
Fiid, thanks for asking. We spent close to 2 hours having a mechanic check things out. The problem was intermittent–only once could we reproduce the problem. Both mechanics (the club’s and the one at South County Airport) recommended we fly it home, which we did without incident. I instructed all of my clients to avoid that plane. I wouldn’t fly it again until they put a new engine in it about 6 months later.