Another frivolous lawsuit

Avweb is reporting another wrongful death lawsuit
after a Piper Malibu lost a wing in Florida when attempting
to fly between thunderstorm cells reaching to FL450.

The pilot was cautioned by his CFI 2 weeks prior to the
accident about his deficient decision making concerning weather
and stated that he "lacked a healthy respect" for the power
of thunderstorms.

Unfortunately, Piper, the manufacturer of the autopilot, the
turbine conversion manufacturer, and the people who worked
on the plane prior to flight are all now suffering for this "lack of
a healthy respect".

Interestingly, FS didn't provide a SIGMET advisory and the
bodies had some level of CO in their muscles.

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?...FA111& akey=1

--
Dr. Tony Cox
Citrus Controls Inc.
e-mail:
http://CitrusControls.com/

http://www1.naplesnews.com/npdn/news..._2959291,00.ht
ml

"John Bell" wrote in message
om...

http://www1.naplesnews.com/npdn/news..._2959291,00.ht
ml

They're suing for $75,000? That won't even cover the
lawyers lunch expenses!

Tony Cox ) wrote:

snip
Interestingly, FS didn't provide a SIGMET advisory and the
bodies had some level of CO in their muscles.

With onboard radar and a cruising altitude of FL260, one would think it
would be relatively easy to avoid penetrating a thunderstorm.


--
Peter














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On 6/17/04 11:34 AM, in article
, "Peter R."
wrote:


With onboard radar and a cruising altitude of FL260, one would think it
would be relatively easy to avoid penetrating a thunderstorm.

It's just as easy with no radar and a service ceiling in the low teens: just
say, "No!"

He didn't believe that T-Storms, and even the dynamics in their general
vicinity, are killers. He learned. Too bad that knowledge had such a short
life.



Jack

Jack ) wrote:


It's just as easy with no radar and a service ceiling in the low teens: just
say, "No!"

That is certainly one safe option during tstorm season but there are others
that include flying, too.

According to the NTSB report, the pilot of this ill-fated flight received a
recommended westerly deviation route from Flight Watch one hundred miles
before the accident scene.

I have yet to fly in Florida, but as the thunderstorm capital of the US,
Florida has a large population of GA pilots who somehow receive utility
from their aircraft during the very active t-storm season.

--
Peter














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"Peter R." wrote in message
...

I have yet to fly in Florida, but as the thunderstorm capital of the US,
Florida has a large population of GA pilots who somehow receive utility
from their aircraft during the very active t-storm season.

Seldom are Florida cells embedded. Most of the time they are individual
cells or squall lines that are relatively easy to pick out. You can often
zig-zag around them at altitudes that are well below oxygen altitudes even.
That general tendency may induce some complacency that causes pilots to
underestimate the hazards on those occasions when the t-storms are more
widespread or are embedded.

The OP mentioned the pilot and passengers had elevated carbon monoxide in their
blood. If it was of a significant concentration, there may be some "actionable"
issues related to the aircraft's condition. Too much HbCO would likely accect
judgement, although the OP also suggested the pilot had documented poor
judgement anyhow.

With respect to thunderstorms in FL, I have a distinct memory of overnighting
in Miami one Feb because there was a solid and continuing line of the things
crossing the middle of the state, and it was more than I wished to subject me
or my Mooney to.

I don't know how often that condition exists, but the radar pictures I was
seeing while flight planning made me change my plans.

"Jack" wrote:
With onboard radar and a cruising altitude of FL260,
one would think it would be relatively easy to avoid
penetrating a thunderstorm.

It's just as easy with no radar and a service ceiling in the
low teens: just say, "No!"

If you 'just say, "No!"' to flying any time the NEXRAD is blooming, you
won't use your airplane for travel very much near the Gulf Coast for
most of the year - unless you can finish all your flights before 10 AM.

CBs down here are like ants at a picnic: you're just going to have to
deal with them if you want to play. Getting up high enough is one way,
but that means flying at least a turbo or preferably a pressurized
turbine airplane. If you don't have that, you have to decide where you
can fly and still see the bad boys. On most summer days, towering CU
tops are 10,000 by noon, so if there are more than a few isolated
storms the best bet is to stay down below the bases. There, you can at
least see where the dark spots are. Of course the down side of this is
that you will have a hot, muggy, bumpy ride, but at least you won't
blunder into a trap because you couldn't see what was coming.

Some kind of weather detection gear is a must. I tried doing without up
until last year and it is simply too frustrating, unnerving and
dangerous. Fortunately, there are lots of solutions appearing for light
GA aircraft in addition to the old spherics stanbys. Yes, there are
still days when I can't get there because of thunderstorms (once, so far
this year), but it takes a solid line of rough stuff to stop me.
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

On 6/18/04 3:07 PM, in article , "Dan
Luke" wrote:


"Jack" wrote:

With onboard radar and a cruising altitude of FL260,
one would think it would be relatively easy to avoid
penetrating a thunderstorm.

It's just as easy with no radar and a service ceiling in the
low teens: just say, "No!"

If you 'just say, "No!"' to flying any time the NEXRAD is blooming, you
won't use your airplane for travel very much near the Gulf Coast for
most of the year - unless you can finish all your flights before 10 AM.

That's "No!" to "penetrating a thunderstorm", if you'll take a closer look,
and is not the same as "No!" to flying.

Radar and FL 260 capability is no defense against thunderstorms, if you
don't know what to do with those resources. FL 260 won't put you over them,
and you need a good deal of ability to interpret what you see on the radar
in any case, and that doesn't come quick, easy, or cheap.

Day or night, with radar or without, stay VMC in areas with thunderstorms
and give them a wide berth.

Can you go over them if you have enough altitude capability? Sure you can,
but first define "enough" -- FL 350, FL 450, FL 550? Sometimes even FL 550
isn't enough. And since your altitude capability requires having all engines
running, if you lose one it is possible to get yourself in a position where,
due to weather and terrain, you can't get out of the box in which loss of
your high altitude capability puts you without penetrating weather you don't
want to be in. And that's just one scenario to consider. I'm sure folks here
on the NG can come up with others, esp., those with tens of thousands of
hours in their log books. We didn't accumulate those hours by treating
thunderstorms lightly. There are a number of ways to avoid the dangers of
thunderstorms, and only one of them is "not flying".



Jack