Yesterday the news broke about the crash of a MD-88 plane during landing at Phuket Airport (Thailand) in very bad weather. Since I have a pilot license myself (for smaller planes, though) each of these incidents sends me a little shiver down the spine. Not that was am scared of flying, but such incidents show us the limitations of both technology and what in aviation is called "the human factor". Especially when I feel a very special kind of responsibility in those flights where I take passengers on board. So far always everything went very smooth.
What I realize after such a crash when there are first fragments of information available, the the analysis starts gnawing on my mind. When it said yesterday that the pilot tried a go around I started to ask. Why did it fail? Was the pitch too high and the plane simply stalled. Did a wind-sheer get under one wing and turned the bank such that the other hit the runway? Did the engines fail to produce full thrust to initiate the safe climb?
From the latest information today, the plane had already one go-around. So it was on its second final approch, had a touch-down on the runway, started to climb again before crashing on the runway, breaking into two pieces and slipping off. The investigation is in full swing and will watch closely.
Today, however, our thoughts should be with those 88 who lost their lives and their families.
Feeds