The Injury Board Commentary - Mass Transit (Airline, Cruise Ship, Train, Bus) - Most Commented

Airliner Misses Minneapolis - Sleeping, Arguing, Cockpit Sex Orgy?

Joe Crumley — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:58:37 GMT

(New Update: Browsing or Drowsing - Pilots Plead Laptop Distraction)

A Northwest Airlines flight from San Diego flew at least 150 miles past Minneapolis St. Paul Airport (MSP) Wednesday night, out of radio contact and apparently on autopilot. Military fighter jets were about to scramble and intercept the Airbus A320 when radio contact was finally made after 75 minutes. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the incident.

Concerns for possible hijacking, terrorism or technical problems had the FBI and security personnel on the alert and investigating. The Star Tribune reported that Delta Air Lines, which operates Northwest, has suspended the pilot and co-pilot. Delta said Flight 188 had 144 passengers and five crew members. Pilots initially told FBI agents that they had been distracted by a heated argument in the cockpit.

Passenger's responses ranged from anger to whimsy, with at least one passenger asking whether the extra miles would be added to their Frequent Flyer totals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUf6xGl-mw&feature=player_embedded

What were they Doing Up There? While no credible sources have entertained the whimsical orgy referenced in the headline, many have questioned how an argument could distract the pilots for over an hour. The New York times reported:

"It just doesn’t make any sense," Bill Voss, president of the Flight Safety Foundation in Alexandria, Va., told The A.P. "The pilots are saying they were involved in a heated conversation. Well, that was a very long conversation."

Sources have speculated that the pilots may have fallen asleep. The pilots apparently were unaware of their overshoot until a flight attendant in the cabin contacted them by intercom. The plane was over Eau Claire, Wisconsin and had been out of communication for over an hour.

Black Box Should Reveal Much. The A320 has a cockpit voice recorder that should answer many questions. It is unknown how long it will be before the NTSB reveals their findings. Regardless of whether the recordings reveal snoring, bickering, or even squeals of passion, airline customers should be concerned. 37,000 feet at several hundred miles an hour is no place to get distracted, even with modern autopilot computers.

Overshoot Much Farther than Reported. Although it has been widely reported that the aircraft overshot the Twin Cities by 150 miles, the overshoot was actually closer to 400 or 500 miles. The plane was out of contact for more than an hour, and should have begun its descent several hundred miles west of the Twin Cities. The plane flew over Minneapolis at 37,000 feet at cruising speed, apparently on autopilot, and was still cruising 150miles past the Twin Cities.

The photo shows the plane’s flight path as captured on flightaware.com, a website which tracks air traffic. Because of security concerns, once communications was reestablished, the plane was apparently put through a series of various turns, in part to assure flight controllers that the plane was still in control of the pilots.

Past Incidents. The flight brought forth memories of the 1999 death of golfer Payne Stewart. Jets that scrambled then discovered that Stewart's plane had lost cabin pressure and showed no signs of life. The military jets watched helplessly for thousands of miles until the Stewart's jet eventually exhausted fuel and crashed in South Dakota.

In January 2008, two airline pilots fell asleep for at least 18 minutes during a flight from one side of Hawaii to the other. The plane passed its destination and headed out to open sea before air traffic controllers raised the pilots, one of whom was later diagnosed with sleep apnea.

Aviation Safety. Pilot fatigue has been an issue in the news recently, with arguments regarding whether pilots should be allowed to take naps, as they are in some other countries.

We'll certainly be watching closely to see what the investigation reveals.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Joe Crumley

Boating Accident results in Death of 45-Year Old Man

Brett Rivkind — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 11:10:00 GMT

I had blogged about being careful over the Columbus Day weekend, in view of the fact that our Columbus Day Regatta weekend brings with it a high congestion of boats, and the danger of people operating boats under the influence of alcohol.

Unfortunately, it was reported that a 45-year old man died this weekend in a boating accident near Elliott Key in Biscayne Bay, Florida.

The passenger was on a 60-foot yacht named Gotcha and fell off the back of the boat hitting the propellers. He died in the water.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, responsible for the investigation, reported that the passenger, Juan Carlos Morales, was on the boat with his family and friends for the Columbus Day boat party.

At this time, there’s no report whether alcohol contributed to this fatality.

This death is yet one more fatality that has been reported during the Columbus Day weekend, with two people being reported killed in the year 2006, as well as in 2002 three people lost their lives during the Columbus Day weekend.

I had recently blogged about viewing a news broadcast where a representative of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission had appeared issuing warnings to be extremely careful during the Columbus Day weekend. In addition to the high congestion of boats during Columbus Day weekend, we have already seen extremely bad weather over this weekend.

As a result of boating accidents that happen during the Columbus Day weekend, special regulations have been enacted. These regulations state that no more than 5 boats are allowed to be rafted together. In addition, any individual boat must be at least 100-feet apart from another boat. Additional law enforcement officials are patrolling the areas looking out for people speeding or operating a boat under the influence of alcohol. These are the major contributing factors to the boating accidents that are reported during the Columbus Day weekend.

Again, we wish everybody a safe Columbus Day weekend if they are engaged in recreational boating. Remember to wear your life jackets, and of course no one should be operating a motor boat under the influence of alcohol.

Our firm continues to boating safety advocates, representing individuals harmed at sea.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Rivkind

Why Do Medical Helicopters Keep Crashing?

Brett Emison — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 19:21:24 GMT

Another medical helicopter has crashed -- this time in a small Missouri town. An Associated Press report suggests the helicopter lost an engine on take off and crashed at the landing zone in central Missouri. The AP report did not indicate the specific type of helicopter involved.

Many medical and life flight helicopters are a version of the Eurocopter, which has a history of mechanical malfunctions leading to crashes across the country and in other areas of the world.

The six-seat Eurocopter EC135 has a history of mid-air malfunctions and a lack of critical safety features. In 2007, the FAA issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive for all Eurocopter Model EC135 helicopters. The European Safety Agency (EASA) notified the FAA that an unsafe condition may exist on Eurocopter EC135 and EC635 helicopters involving the failure of a tail rotor control rod. Failure of the rod would cause subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

In October 2010, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a Safety Recommendation regarding a design defect on the Eurocopter AS350, which could cause an inadvertent loss of engine power or engine overspeed. A critical control device is located where it can be inadvertently moved by either the pilot or a passenger resulting in a crash.

Medical helicopters are critical safety devices that are the last best hope for many who are critically injured in rural or hard-to-access areas. The pilots, EMTs, paramedics, nurses and doctors who operate on these helicopters are among the bravest among us. We owe it to the flight crews and the patients to ensure these aircraft are free of defects and have critical safety devices.

Records from the National Transportation Safety Board ("NTSB") show there have been several Eurocopter AS350 crashes in recent years:

February 5, 2010: Three died when an AS350 medical helicopter crashed near El Paso, Texas.

November 14, 2009: Three people died when an AS350 medical helicopter crashed near Doyle, California. Witnesses reported seeing the helicopter flying straight and level and then suddenly descend vertically at a rapid rate. Witnesses lost sight of the aircraft and then observed a fireball.

October 29, 2009: An AS350 crash killed two and injured one when the engine lost power while descending near Loreto, Peru.

October 1, 2009: An AS350 crashed near Cusco, Peru killing all three on board.

February 5, 2009: An AS350 medical helicopter crashed near South Padre Island, Texas killing three on board.

Just last year the Wall Street Journal reported on a study found emergency medical helicopter pilots had the most dangerous job in the United States. Many hospitals use a version of the Eurocopter as an emergency medical helicopter. The FAA spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that only 40% of US helicopters had been voluntarily outfitted with collision-avoidance systems and only about 11% have data recorders.

Update [Dec. 27, 2010]

I ran across an interesting Popular Mechanics article from March of this year: Medical Helicopters Need Better Safety Standards -- Now [Christopher Maag at Popular Mechanics]

According the report, medical helicopters have crashed 140 times since 1998, killing 140 people and injuring dozens more -- the highest rate of fatal accidents in all of commercial aviation. Because of the high number of medical helicopter crashes, the FAA in 2009 finally announced it would issue rules for the medical helicopter industry. According to Popular Mechanics, the first rule should require all air ambulances to be equipped with night vision goggles. Popular Mechanics' recommended rules:

Night vision goggles for air ambulance pilots
Terrain Awareness Systems (mandatory on airliners)
Flight data recorders
FAA should "get serious about the weather" by building more weather stations to track low-altitude storm systems and requiring air ambulance operators to have a flight control center where qualified dispatchers help pilots decide if it is safe to fly.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Emison

Is There A Pilot On Board? Training Found Lacking At Many Regional Airlines

Brett Emison — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:22:27 GMT

A Buffalo News investigation found that many pilots at smaller regional airlines are dangerously undertrained... and in some cases, untrained completely.

The Buffalo News found that many regional airline pilots may not have experienced or even practiced critical items, such as mid-air icing on the wings, an emergency water landing, regaining aircraft control after an unexpected roll or spin.

Regional airlines — which operate commuter flights under the names of the big airlines — in particular employ a squadron of rookies hired with just a fraction of the training pilots received decades ago.

The result: During an era of unprecedented safety at the major airlines, when only one person died in an accident tied to pilot mistakes, 64 died in regional airline crashes tied to pilot error between 2004 and 2008.

***

Moreover, regional pilots make far more mistakes than their colleagues at larger airlines. An analysis of five years of federal data found that nearly 28 percent of regional airline accidents and incidents were tied to aviator error — twice the rate of the major airlines.

These statistics may make you think twice before stepping onto that smaller regional aircraft on your way to a larger hub or destination. However, for much of the country, small regional aircraft and rookie pilots are often the only choice in this era of high fuel costs and decreased routes.

What should airline passengers think?

"They should be concerned," said Jeffrey Skiles, co-pilot of the US Airways plane that made an emergency landing on the Hudson River this year.

Many regional pilots "simply do not have the flying skills for the position," Skiles said. "So they have to develop them with paying passengers in the back."

Many passengers never even realize they are traveling on a small regional airline because of code-share agreements in which the small regional planes bear the logos and ticketing of their larger airline partners.

For example, Corporate Airlines ran the American Connection flight that claimed 13 lives in Missouri in 2004 in an accident investigators blamed in part on pilot fatigue and "unprofessional behavior."

And Comair, a Delta subsidiary, operated the plane that crashed in Kentucky in 2006 after the pilots took off from the wrong runway, killing 49.

Many of these rookie regional pilots are dangerously undertrained. One of the problems is that many pilots undergo initial training in the desert southwest and some have never even flown through a cloud before being assigned routes in the hazardous northeast or other severe-weather areas of the country.

Several pilots said they know pilots who did their pre-airline flying in the Southwest — without ever flying in a cloud — and then were hired by a regional carrier flying in the wintry Northeast.

"Wow, wow," a new first officer said to his pilot on a regional airline plane, according to Louis Smith, a veteran pilot who runs FltOps.com, an Alabama-based professional pilot career advisory firm.

"What's wrong?" the pilot asked.

"Clouds, man. I've never flown in actual weather."

Fortunately, changes may be in the works, but are unlikely to actually take effect for some time. The Air Line Pilots Association recently released a white paper concluding that "A complete overhaul of pilot selection and training methods is needed."

While the safety board has been citing training issues for years, the Colgan crash put the issue on the front burner in the aviation industry and in Congress.

Seven months after the February crash, the Air Line Pilots Association, the pilots' union, released a white paper on the state of airline hiring and training. Its conclusion: "A complete overhaul of pilot selection and training methods is needed."

Meanwhile, the families of the Flight 3407 victims pressed Congress for a new requirement that all co-pilots have 1,500 hours of flying experience.

While it's unclear whether Congress will adopt that standard, Flight 3407 is sure to influence the revised training rules the FAA is set to unveil in February.

I am fortunate to know several pilots who have flown everything from Cessna 152s to citation corporate jets to large airliners. Every pilot wants to be safe, but if they are not properly trained there is little they can do.

Airlines need to do more to ensure their pilots are properly trained and properly compensated. I don't know about you, but I want to make sure the man or woman in charge of taking me safely from 30,000 feet down to the ground has the very best training and actually makes more money than the very nice flight attendant serving me a Coke in the back.

True Story: A friend of mine was on a flight with a major regional airline. During the flight, he found out the flight attendant was also a pilot for the airline, but could earn more money serving drinks in the back than by flying the plane in the cockpit.

All airlines -- regional, national, international -- need to make sure that those charged with delivering hundreds of passengers from city to city receive the highest and best training possible. One little mistake can have disastrous consequences.

Learn more and become a fan of Langdon & Emison on Facebook.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Emison

Disney Monorail Crash and Theme Park Oversight

Ed Normand — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:22:36 GMT

In a recent tragic theme park injury a 21 year old Disney employee was killed while operating a Monorail that collided with another Monorail in the Magic Kingdom in Orlando. After the crash the NTSB took jurisdiction and began its own investigation into the crash. Finally we will have some independent evaluation and oversight of the safety procedures at the big Florida theme. We have discussed many times in this blog that the theme parks in Florida have minimal oversight or independent governmental inspection of their safety. Again, why should the big three theme parks that cater to millions of residents and tourists be subject to less governmental safety oversight than is provided to the local County Fair?

In addition to the lack of governmental regulation, Florida has civil laws that bend over backwards to favor the theme parks over consumers. As an example, take the law of Common Carriers. Legally a common carrier is subject to an extremely high duty of care, that of a very careful person. As they should, after all, by offering to transport passengers for a fee they are subjecting them to the very real dangers of high speed traffic. In California, the theme parks are considered common carriers and subject to the high duty of care. Not so in Florida. Here the theme park transport systems and rides are not considered to be operated as common carriers and are not subject to the very careful person standard. Instead, the theme parks get away with the same standard of care in operating the transport systems and rides as the everyday motorist. Surely one would expect these large operations to be held at least to the same standard of care as, say, a Greyhound bus. Sadly they are not.

Perhaps with the intervention now of the Federal Government we can get some oversight and safety nets in place at the big parks.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

Medical Helicopter Crashes: Worth The Risk?

Brett Emison — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 12:13:59 GMT

Medical helicopters around the country save lives every day. However, there have been a substantial number of medical helicopter crashes. The most recent crash, in Mosby, Missouri, killed four and again raises questions about the safety of these helicopters.

Eurocopter helicopters - including the AS350 and EC135 models - account for many of these tragic crashes. The six-seat Eurocopter EC135 has a history of mid-air malfunctions and a lack of critical safety features. In 2007, the FAA issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive for all Eurocopter Model EC135 helicopters. The European Safety Agency (EASA) notified the FAA that an unsafe condition may exist on Eurocopter EC135 and EC635 helicopters involving the failure of a tail rotor control rod. Failure of the rod would cause subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

In October 2010, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a Safety Recommendation regarding a design defect on the Eurocopter AS350 (Rec# A-10-129 and -130), which could cause an inadvertent loss of engine power or engine overspeed. A critical control device is located where it can be inadvertently moved by either the pilot or a passenger resulting in a crash.

Christopher Maag of Popular Mechanics agrees and advocates for better medical helicopter safety in his article Medical Helicopters Need Better Safety Standards - Now.

Helicopter ambulances have crashed 149 times since 1998, killing 140 people and seriously injuring dozens more. And industry created to save lives actually has the highest rate of fatal accidents in all of commercial aviation. In fact, working on board a medical helicopter is the most dangerous profession in America, with a higher risk of death than fishermen, steel workers or loggers.

It is too early to know what caused the most recent helicopter crash is Mosby, Mo, though according to CBS News, a witness reported that he "heard [the helicopter] fly over head and it did not sound good." The witness compared the engine noise to a car misfiring.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has reported a number of AS350 helicopter crashes in past two years:

July 22, 2010 - Eurocopter AS 350 B2 medical helicopter crashed near Kingfisher, Oklahoma killing two and injuring another.

March 25, 2010 - Eurocopter AS 350 B3 medical helicopter crashed near Brownsville, TN killing three on board.

February 14, 2010 - Eurocopter EC 135 T1 crashed near Cave Creek, AZ killing five on board.

February 5, 2010: Eurocopter AS 350 B2 medical helicopter crashed near El Paso, Texas, killing three.

November 14, 2009: Eurocopter AS 350 BA medical helicopter crashed near Doyle, California, killing three people. Witnesses reported seeing the helicopter flying straight and level and then suddenly descend vertically at a rapid rate. Witnesses lost sight of the aircraft and then observed a fireball.

October 1, 2009: Eurocopter AS 350 B3 crashed near Cusco, Peru killing all three on board.

October 29, 2009: Eurocopter AS 350 B2 crash killed two and injured one when the engine lost power while descending near Loreto, Peru.

Because of the high number of medical helicopter crashes, the FAA in 2009 finally announced it would issue rules for the medical helicopter industry. According to Popular Mechanics, the first rule should require all air ambulances to be equipped with night vision goggles. Popular Mechanics' recommended rules:

Night vision goggles for air ambulance pilots
Terrain Awareness Systems (mandatory on airliners)
Flight data recorders
FAA should "get serious about the weather" by building more weather stations to track low-altitude storm systems and requiring air ambulance operators to have a flight control center where qualified dispatchers help pilots decide if it is safe to fly.

FAA: 4 dead in Missouri medical helicopter crash [AP via Google]
Medical chopper crash in Missouri kills 4 [AP via CBS News]
Chopper crash kills 4 in Missouri, FAA says [Greg Morrison at CNN]
Four killed when medical helicopter crashes [DeAnn Smith and Nima Shaffe at KCTV5, Kansas City CBS affiliate] [Video]
Medical Helicopters Need Better Safety Standards -- Now [Christopher Maag at Popular Mechanics]
Why Do Medical Helicopters Keep Crashing? [me at IB]

[More on Helicopter Safety]

PS: The last time I wrote about helicopter safety, there was a spirited conversation generated over at http://justhelicopters.com. Should this post similarly spark a similar interest, I encourage thoughtful and civil comments here.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Emison

Another Airbus Crash- Travelers becoming concerned about airline safety records and airline travel

Gabrielle D'Alemberte — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:01:18 GMT

Yemen flight IY 626 was en route from Yemen to Comoros when it encountered what was described as some “tough weather”. The Airbus A310, holding 153 people, was preparing to land when the plane flew into 71 mile an hour winds. The plane was only 11 miles from its destination when it crashed into the Indian Ocean, killing all those onboard.

An HIS Jane’s expert, Chris Yates, stated that “weather may indeed have been the primary cause of the crash of this Yemeni Air A310-300.” The Airbus jet that ultimately crashed into the Indian Ocean was being monitored by EU authorities, according to Dominique Bussereau, France’s transportation minister. Bussereau told French reporters that inspectors had noted several faults on the Yemenia Airways jet, and was being more closely monitored in preparation to be heard by the European Union Security Committee. Yates told CNN that “It’s more than likely to be a weather-related incident. Having said that you cannot rule out a maintenance issue”

This is the second crash involving an Airbus jet in only a month. Air France Airbus A330 crashed while on route to Paris from Rio de Janeiro on June 1^st. All of the passengers have been presumed dead and the cause of the crash is still under investigation. United States accident investigators have been researching recent airspeed and altitude indicator failures aboard the Airbus jet airplanes. Although two flights this past month have reported problems in their instrumentation, they have been able to land safely with no injuries. These issues have raised concern as to the composite materials used in the construction of the Airbus jets, with questions of its strength and ability to withstand stress.

A recent statement made by a certified aircraft maintenance professional in Florida said that “airbus products are the flimsiest and most poorly designed as far as airframe structure is concerned by an almost obsession to utilize composite materials.”

The aviation community, and the world as a whole, waits to see what the investigation will bring as to the fate of the Airbus jets. As those around the world pay their respects to those lost in such tragedies beyond their control, we look forward to a safer plane flight tomorrow.

Meanwhile, as a first in several decades, travelers are investigating airline safety records and considering that airline travel is not the only means to get around. To get a pulse of how the world is reacting, not just those involved "in the industry", take a glimpse on Twitter and Facebook. You will find the messages about Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett have been replaced with "I hope my flight isn't an Airbus" and "I think we will drive instead of fly". Between the flurry of high profile deaths, and the reporting of back to back major commercial airline crashes, questions of one's own mortality seem inevitable. Still, as a sign of hope and life, a five year old was found today among the wreckage. He is alive and doing fine. A miracle of enormous significance in these troubling times.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Gabrielle D'Alemberte

US Airways Flight 1549:Tort Reform and the Media Bias

Paul Ford — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:51:53 GMT

We can all vividly recall the news of the "Miracle on the Hudson" when the US Airways miraculously landed in the Hudson River just minutes after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport. The story saturated the media over the next couple of days.

One interesting story I saw was on the O'Reilly Factor. Bill O'Reilly stated that he was going to be looking for any sleazy lawyer that would file a suit over this plane crash and indicated he would publicly lampoon him/her if such a suit were filed. He was on the tort reform bandwagon bashing lawyers. He simply assumed any suit would be filed by a "greedy trial lawyer" and such a suit would be frivolous. As I watched, I was enraged. I thought I should write him a nasty e-mail and defend reputable trial lawyers. Having been involved in airplane litigation, I knew there would be a complete investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board to determine how and why this plane crash occurred. I knew the rush to judgement made by Bill O'Reilly was just that, a rush to judgment.

Last night, my beliefs were confirmed. The same Bill O'Reilly told his viewing audience that the same plane that crashed into the Hudson had, just two days previously, suffered engine failures, and had been ordered to go through a full safety inspection. O'Reilly went on to say he thought US Airways was involved in a cover-up and that this plane was could not have been properly inspected and repaired in a 48 hour period. He strongly asserted wrongdoing on the part of US Airways, and that he would continue to monitor this situation.

There was, however, no retratction of the derogatory remarks about lawyers filing suit. He clearly was wrong to make such statments, but, like many others, has found it is popular to bash lawyers. But, as the truth comes out, we learn that there may in fact be negligence involved. Good trial lawyers do just that. They investigate the facts. And then and only then do they file suit. So, the next time you hear someone criticizing a trial lawyer, remember that all the facts may not be known.

Bottom line, when choosing an attorney, make sure you select one who will examine all the facts, and having done so, makes a sound determination about whether a suit should in fact be filed. And when you hear someone bashing a lawyer, remember, he may not have all the facts. And he may be wrong, just like Bill O'Reilly was wrong.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Ford

Northwest Flight 188: A Heated Discussion or Pilot Fatigue?

Jerry H. Trachtman — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:49:56 GMT

Everyone has heard about the Northwest Airlines flight that departed San Diego bound for Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), and flew 150 miles past its destination before turning back and landing. According to the NTSB, after landing the pilots told the FBI and airport police that they had been in a heated discussion over airline policy and lost situational awareness. The FAA tracking data on the flight shows that the aircraft began its decent for landing more than 48 minutes before it eventually touched down at MSP. The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) is being analyzed by the NTSB, but it will only reveal the last 30 minutes of cockpit conversation before the aircraft was powered down at the arrival gate. So unless the pilots actually discussed what had happened during the last 30 minutes of the flight, it is unlikely the CVR will provide any clues. The flight data recorder (FDR), which records aircraft systems data and pilot flight control inputs, is also being analyzed by the NTSB. Pursuant to normal operating procedure, the autopilot would have been flying the aircraft while the pilots monitored the aircraft systems and communicated with air traffic controllers (ATC). Since the autopilot flies the aircraft with precision, and since the systems on an A320 are highly automated, as long as all the aircraft systems are operating normally there is nothing for the pilots to do in cruise flight. It is therefore unlikely the FDR will provide any clues as to what may have happened.

The flight departed San Diego at 3:00 PM PDT, and the NTSB says that ATC "lost radio communications" with the flight at 5:56 PM MDT. What the NTSB means by "lost radio communications" is not clear. Does the NTSB mean that the last ATC communication with the flight took place at 5:56 PM MDT, 1 hour and 56 minutes into the flight, or does the NTSB mean that at 5:56 PM MDT ATC unsuccessfully tried to communicate with the flight? FAA flight tracking data shows that at 5:17 PM MDT the flight began a climb from its initial cruise altitude of 35,000 feet to its final cruise altitude of 37,000 feet. If the last successful ATC communication with the flight was the instruction to climb to 37,000 feet, and 39 minutes later at 5:56 PM MDT ATC unsuccessfully tried to reach the flight, is it possible that a heated discussion about airline policy would prevent both the Captain and First Officer from responding to ATC radio calls? According to the NTSB, controllers "reestablished communications" at 8:14 PM CDT. This means that, according to the Captain, he and the First Officer were in a heated discussion for something between 1 hour 18 minutes and 1 hour 57 minutes, and it was so heated that they lost track of where they were. FAA flight tracking data shows a groundspeed of about 600 knots when MSP was overflown, and according to the NTSB the flight went another 150 miles, which would have taken about 15 minutes. This means the discussion was so heated that neither pilot realized they had arrived at their destination until about 15 minutes after they passed it, and and it was so heated they could not hear the frantic ATC calls that most certainly occurred. Or is it more likely that with nothing to do but monitor systems, and with no ATC communication for 39 minutes, the pilots were fatigued and fell asleep? Without knowing details of their working hours, it is impossible to say at this time whether fatigue played a roll. But pilot fatigue has resulted in known past incidents where crews fell asleep, and crew fatigue should not be ruled out here.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jerry H. Trachtman

Three Minnesota School Bus Accidents Within the Last Week

Mike Bryant — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:50:00 GMT

This past week there were two school bus accidents in Minnesota. One Monday night, as a group of kids from the Twin Cities were on their way back from a field trip and were hit by a vehicle that ran a red light. In St Cloud and Crookston, vehicles failed to yield and drove into buses.

The Minneapolis school bus was traveling on Highway 371 in Baxter when a car eastbound on County Rd. 48 ran the light. As a result three children on the bus injured and a passenger in the car was taken to the hospital. In the St Cloud collision, the driver of the truck that ran the stop sign was taken to the hospital. It was reported that all of the children doing fine. This was almost the same case in Crookston as the driver of the car was injured.

While each of these collisions could have been worse, it is always scary for any parent to hear that a school bus is involved. The most resent research indicates that 17,000 children end up in the emergency room each year after being injured on the bus. Hopefully, more consideration will be given to adding seat belts to these buses.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provides a nice handbook that all children should review and parents should talk to them about. Each of my boys seemed to get something from it. I want to make sure on those days they take the bus they get back safely.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Bryant