When invited to Germany to speak at the Baden-Baden CPPP, I took a
pilgrimage to the site of the fatal Cirrus accident at Zurich Airport. It wasn't a planned trip. But it was an impactful one.
Coming almost half-way around the world for this CPPP
motivated me to spend some extra time here. And Baden-Baden features the Black Forest, southwestern
France and Switzerland, all ready for day trips. Today the Autobahn beckoned and I drove (fast) south to Basel and thought
about going futher.
A Day Trip to Switzerland
As I drove, I recalled that Zurich Airport was the location
of a Cirrus fatal accident. I've
done this a couple of times before, gone out in a car to visit locations of
Cirrus accidents. Never a planned
trip, but occasionally something draws me to them. Given my penchant for studying accident reports, the
opportunity to survey the area adds a three-dimensional perspective while
contemplating the tragedy helps me appreciate what challenges faced the accident
pilot.
Cirrus Fatal Accident #42
In the Zurich accident, the pilot experienced a system failure and diverted to Zurich.
The plane crashed short of the runway as it was apparently maneuvering
in low clouds to get lined up for landing. My files bulged with photos culled from various news
reports, so I expected to find some key landmarks to locate the crash site.
The Crash Site
As I drove closer, I followed the highway signs for the
airport and then pulled over and got out my laptop to research where the crash
occurred. From the news photos, I recalled the wide open space surrounding the
wreckage, with no terminal buildings in sight, and that the photographer had an
unobstructed view of the runway safety zone where the wreckage lay.
News photo of the crash site at Zurich airport, Oct 22, 2008
Using the portable navigator in my rental car, I set off to
find a good vantage point. While
driving around the back roads near the airport, getting closer to the area
under the approach to runway 14, a rain squall blew through. What a reminiscence of the low clouds
and poor visibility that the accident pilot must have experienced.
Imagining
Standing in the mist and rain from the same spot as the
photographer eleven months later, no visible evidence of the crash
remained. But powerful imagery and
feelings arose. Imagine the frustration
and confusion of the pilot attempting to maneuver onto one of these two long,
almost parallel runways. So close,
yet not able to land. Concern
rising as the normal systems operated differently. The pressure mounting to deliver his family safely.
Panorama photo of Zurich airport, with runway 14 at the left edge going to the center, runway 16 at center right going straight away from the camera, and the Met Office building behind the red/white pole; terminal buildings barely visible two miles away in the center over the lady in the red coat; note low clouds with a rain squall behind me coming towards the airport, Sept 14, 2008
Realizing
The scale of the accident site surprised me. Zurich Airport stretches from urban
highways, office buildings, terminals and parking garages out to a pastoral
valley several miles long. One end
bustles, the other end wafts in the mist.
Planes emerge from the low clouds and whine all the way onto the runway.
My photo of a bizjet landing on runway 14 almost precisely over the crash site, Sept 14, 2009
Runways 14 and 16 lay in a shallow bowl with sloping
sides. Even with a lid of low
clouds, you realize that nothing much would get in your way. Yet, the Cirrus dropped out of the sky
and fell short of the runway by several hundred metres.
Insights
Seeing the space around the airport, feeling the low clouds
and rain, imagining the stress, all contributed to some clarity about accidents
in general, and this one in particular.
- When in trouble, get help from people on the ground. Declare an emergency. Ask for help. Use it when you get it.
- Maneuver if you must, but do it skillfully. Keep the airplane flying. Yanking and banking low to the ground
must pose greater risk. Move
smoothly and deliberately. And
have a Plan B if things don't work out.
- Avoid giving up altitude. You may need it for CAPS. When stuck in the clouds with an emergency, think of CAPS as
your safe landing card. Sure there
are risks, but crashing is worse.
- Commercial airports are really big! A CAPS pull over one has lots of
advantages - open space, few obstructions, emergency response within a
mile. Ask for help and the controllers
know exactly where to send you.
Great place to drop in, so to speak.
- Don't worry about shutting down airport operations. If you parachute in, you can tell them
you are okay. If you crash, they
will take longer to secure the wreckage.
Powerful Motivation
Honor those who perish in Cirrus accidents by learning from
their mistakes.
Recall that investigators describe the pilot causes of
accidents as failures rather than errors.
Failure to maintain altitude, to maintain airspeed, to maintain control,
to execute a procedure, to perform a remedial action, to plan for weather, etc.
Failures you can learn to avoid.
Cheers
Rick
Posted
14 Sep 2009 13:03
by
Rick Beach