Any thoughts from the AR pilots out there on this month's accident in Birmingham?

I am no pilot, but live about 2hrs South of Birmingham, and have an uncle who is a captain for Airtran that lives there. He has heard nothing about the accident, and I haven't seen anything in the news lately. It is quite ironic that I had ordered flowers for my girlfriend that were being shipped UPS, and just happened to be on that flight.

quote:

Originally posted by PSmith:
Any thoughts from the AR pilots out there on this month's accident in Birmingham?

Not enough information out there yet to form any opinions.

Talked to my uncle the other night about the crash. From what he has gathered, that morning runway 24 was the runway to be used in the flight plan. That morning runway 24 had been closed for maintenance and the plane was diverted to runway 18. This runway is shorter than 24, but still sufficient. However, this runway has some terrain that requires the approach angle to be a bit steeper than 24. His theory ia that they checked off on landing on 24, then it was changed to 18. Instead of checking off on 18, the landing parameters were still for 24. His thought is that they came in a bit low and at the wrong approach angle and didn't see the terrain due to the fog and low-light that morning. The plane clipped the tops of the trees, ingesting them into the engines, which is why witnesses said the plane was aflame before impact into the hillside. I apologize for the non-technicality of this or any incorrect terminology as I am not a pilot. Sad case in any regard.

Thanks for the info.

Yes, runway 18 is much shorter than 24, and certainly Birmingham is very hilly no matter where you are.