Page 3 - Cessna 310 News Today

Near the river that morning who saw the catastrophic collision firsthand. >> it was really awful, because to see that, its so devastating. sort of wondered how could this happen? >> while crews worked to recover the remains of the victims and both aircraft, the ntsb begins an investigation to determine how, on a clear day, this collision could have happened. one of the things they look at, the flight tracks of the plane and the helicopter. greg feith consulted on the case for the family of the f...

Clark from noticing the piper approaching from the west as he lifts off. by the time he turns south, its too late. the piper is approaching from behind the helicopter and out of clarks field of view. >> helicopters have typically very good visibility as they have larger canopies. but they, too, have visibility restrictions that can be up and behind them. >> investigators also learn that the pilot of the piper was likely dealing with a distracting situation of his own. as he struggles to reestabl...

Risk of danger, severe weather, poor visibility and mechanical issues can all test a pilots skill. >> general aviation pilots, they are nonprofessional pilots. they are flying for recreational purposes. they dont necessarily have the same level of operational discipline as an airline pilot. so theres a lot of room for error. >> the vast majority of light aircraft flights land safely without incident. but when things do go wrong, a split second decision can mean the difference between life and de...

Make sure i did all the inspection before i give it to him. that plane was almost a brand-new plane and was in very good condition. so i knew its not the plane, its a pilot error. >> investigators come to the same conclusion. after the wreckage of the saratoga is salvaged and carefully examined, its clear the plane was fully functional prior to impact. this suggests to investigators that as the pilot in command kennedy made one or more fatal errors the night of the crash, the first of which appe...

Than the minimum 35 hours of flight time needed to get a pilots license. he was also still training to fly using instruments only. but he was more than capable of flying his cessna 182 solo. >> i felt he was a very good pilot and he wants to grow. >> when hussein decided to upgrade to a twin-engine aircraft, john seized the opportunity to buy his new acquaintances piper saratoga. >> saratoga was really a very good step for him. but one thing i really told him, i said this plane is much more adva...

Separation when radar was available. the report notes that flight crews exercise a lower degree of vigilance in areas where they receive radar assistance. and it says controllers seem to similarly relax vigilance. this controller may have believed that the flight crew had a better grasp on the situation than he did. >> it could be days before the cleanup is complete. and in the words of one policeman, it will be years before this neighborhood is ever the same. >> after the psa crash, the faa ste...

>> investigators also learn that the pilot of a piper was likely dealing with a distracting situation of his own, as he struggles to reestablish contact with the controllers providing flight following. >> the air traffic controller at teterboro said he needed to talk to the newer controller who handled that piece of airspace. he was given a hand-off frequency. it is the pilots responsibility to then read it back to the controller to ensure accuracy. >> the pipers pilot, however, reads the freque...

And the helicopter. gregg feith consulted on the case for the family of the fixed wing pilot. >> there were aircraft taking off from two separate places. the helicopter was taking off out of the 30th street heliport in new york city. >> operated by 32-year-old pilot jeremy clark, the helicopters tour was going to take the five italian tourists on board down the middle of the hudson river, around the statue of liberty, and back up. >> they were on a fixed route, about a thousand feet above the gr...

Helicopters operation. the collision occurs at 1100 feet, 100 feet above the recommended maximum altitude for the helicopter. investigators speculate that clark may have been distracted by his role as a pilot and tour operator. >> some of these pilots also become the tour guide, if you will, explaining the buildings, pointing out particular scenes and that kind of stuff. you have to divert your attention, if thats the type of operation youre running. >> investigators raise the possibility that t...

And mechanical issues can all test a pilots skill. >> general aviation pilots, they are nonprofessional pilots. they are flying for recreational purposes. they dont necessarily have the same level of operational discipline as an airline pilot so theres a lot of room for error. >> the vast majority of light aircraft flights land safely without incident. but when things do go wrong, a split second decision can mean the difference between life and death. july 16th, 1999, its a mild quiet evening in...