[Kharon]

Out loud thinking.

I have now watched the video of the Mallard crash several times; you can, in a simulator recreate the scenario, with pretty much the same results. Low and slow, power down and a desperate, last gasp attempt to align with a runway. Even in the sim it is a dreadful feeling as the aircraft just slips away, controls ineffective, the crash inevitable. The last seconds of life must have been horrendous for the crew.  

“Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night, sweet prince;
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. ”

It makes me sad, but also angry – I want to know why this happened. I fully understand the aerodynamics and the factual stuff; in spades. But non of that explains why the aircraft was placed in an untenable situation. I can fully understand the motivation – get the job done; but I fail to understand why a competent, experienced pilot would try to ‘screw’ the aircraft through the eye of a very fine mathematical needle.

IMO, one of the important messages to be drummed into a pilot’s mind is selection of priority – staying alive being the primary, in fact the only message which matters, when trumps turn to shite.  Instinct (natural or learned) should have been screaming – ‘go around’, let's drag our collectives arses out of this aerodynamic sling. What reason could trump the organisms self preservation instinct? What could overrule the basic tenets of aerodynamic law, taught to the neophyte from day one?

In my fuzzy way, I keep coming back one reason – the ‘box’. An artificial, strictly enforced imaginary barrier which, should you stray out of its confines, carries penalties. Aerobat pilots understand these barriers, very well indeed and spend literally many, many hours perfecting the skill needed to execute ‘ragged edge’ manoeuvres within the specified dimensions; for to stray could cost them the completion. Same – same for the ‘air-show’ crews; any impingement on ‘the box’ is likely to end with ‘approval’ suspended or even revoked; so the ‘box’ matters.

A little adrenalin, a little excitement, a little distraction, a little ‘get it done’, a little anticipation of cold drinks, Australia Day BBQ and the applause of the crowd could that, possibly, influence even the most experienced, disciplined of minds?

Aye well, I don’t know the answers. But I do know that ‘bugger the box’ and damn the consequences would have been high on my priority list; following survival. Anyway, ‘tis a sad thing, particularly for those close, left behind with every Australia day a painful reminder. Let’s just hope some good comes from this tragedy and we find the right answers to prevent a repeat.

Selah

P2 - "K" just a bit more information to cogitate on, via news.com.au:

Plane crash pilot shared concerned texts with friend hours before fatal plunge
[img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/article/089ebbe48e43bd45508edcf2e0e4d645?esi=true&t_template=s3/chronicle-tg_tlc_storyheader/index&t_product=CourierMail&td_device=desktop[/img]Grant Taylor, Rourke Walsh and Angela Pownall, News Corp Australia Network
January 28, 2017 3:00am
[img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/article/089ebbe48e43bd45508edcf2e0e4d645?esi=true&t_template=s3/chronicle-tg_tlc_storymeta/index&t_product=CourierMail&td_device=desktop[/img]
THE PILOT killed in Thursday’s Skyworks plane tragedy had raised concerns about the wind and heat conditions over the city just an hour before the deadly crash that also claimed the life of his partner.

Father-of-three Peter Lynch, 52, and Endah Cakrawati, 30, both died instantly when their twin engine Grumman Mallard flying boat appeared to stall during a tight turn and then plunged nose first into the Swan River in front of tens of thousands of onlookers.

Mr Lynch had owned the plane since 2011 and had spent more than 120 hours at the controls. But as a newcomer to Perth, he had never before attempted to land it on the river.

He shared his concerns about the flight with friend Mack McCormack via a series of text messages, just 30 minutes prior to taking off from Serpentine.



Peter Lynch was concerned about the hot winds in Perth that day.

The pilot had only been given approval to fly two days prior to the Skyshow.

“My biggest concern is how hot it is today and the lack of wind,” Mr Lynch said in the message.

“Perth gets very hot compared to back east I’ve noticed.”

Mr McCormack, who runs Red Baron Seaplanes, said Mr Lynch had also been battling with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to allow him to fly in the Australia Day air show right up until the 11th hour.

The approval was finally granted on January 24 and a delighted Mr Lynch left a voice message on Mr McCormack’s phone that day saying: “Guess what mate, I got my type rating and everything through from CASA... and I am pretty happy about that as it means I will be in the show.”

Ms Cakrawati was also nervous about the flight and had originally intended to stay on the ground, before changing her mind at the last minute.

She told friends on social media earlier in the day that she was: “Super excited yet nervous. I can do it, wish me luck.”

Police believe the recovery of the broken-up plane could take a year to fully recover from the river. Picture: Michael Wilson The West Australian

Mr McCormack said he was watching from the Barrack Street jetty as the plane went into the water and knew instantly that it was likely to prove fatal.

“When you saw what happened, as soon as the wing dropped there was no recovering from there,” he said.

“I got in our safety vessel and got over there as fast as I could but it was all over before we even got there.

“It was just inexperience unfortunately and just a tragically sad situation.”

Mr Lynch had moved to Perth from Queensland in June to take up a senior role with Fortescue Metals Group as head of business development.

His former wife Laura, who lives with their three children in Brisbane, paid tribute to him on Facebook yesterday.

Red Baron operator Mark McCormack was in communication with the pilot on the day of the crash. Picture: Michael Wilson The West Australian

“With great difficulty I am unbearably saddened to confirm that my great friend and the father of my children passed after a tragic accident on the Swan River in Perth yesterday,” she said.

FMG chief executive Nev Power said Mr Lynch had been a “great mate” to all at the company in the short time he had worked there.

“He brought energy, enthusiasm and a great team spirit to the role and he will be missed enormously,” he said.

Mr Lynch was yesterday remembered as a man of vision in both aviation and mining.
Close friend Halden Boyd said Mr Lynch also led a consortium which planned a $21m air park development at Evans Head Memorial Aerodrome in New South Wales.

“He became everybody’s mate,” Mr Boyd said.

“He was a very fastidious pilot, safety was number one.”

Mr Lynch performed at Evans Head in the Great Eastern Fly-in before flying back to WA with his children, who returned to Brisbane last week.

An investigation into the crash is now being conducted by WA Police and the Air Transport Safety Bureau.

The plane’s fuel tanks were recovered from the water early yesterday but the rest if the aircraft — which split in two on impact — remained in the water.

Acting police Commissioner Stephen Brown said the recovery operation was complex and likely to take days.

Peter Lynch’s partner Endah Cakrawati thought about missing the flight. Picture: Angelo Di-Benedetto

“We want it to come out as pristine as we can and we want to be able to recover all of the parts,” he said. That is going to take some time,” he said.

“From that, in the coming months we will have a better understanding as to what happened and why.”

Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi yesterday defended the decision to cancel Thursday night’s fireworks display, claiming it was in the interests of public safety given the risks of fuel in the water.

“I believe it was the right decision and we don’t hold back on the decision now despite the disappointment with some aspects within the community,” she said.

Ms Scaffidi said the Skyshow could not be rescheduled to another date because it was not “logistically feasible”.

The future of the air show would also now be reviewed.

“I don’t believe it is the end of Skyworks but it is an appropriate time to reconsider all operational aspects of such an event, particularly aerial flights,” Ms Scaffidi said.
- Additional reporting by Thomas Chamberlin