Plane Crash in Columbia

[kham]

This happened a couple days ago, but held off posting anything until some details became clearer
The current info is available on Aviation Herald, and assorted other pilot-related boards.

Sigh
This one, is an episode of MAYDAY! waiting to be filmed. What was initially described as electrical problems, is something a lot worse. Like, criminally negligent worse. The short version is: The Pilot-in-command (who also happened to be the owner of the company) planned an flight which the aircraft in question did not have the necessary range to complete. There was originally an intention to make a fuel stop, which he cancelled. The reason why, only the gods and he know now. But , while there is much hand waving , and retardation as always from the cheap seats, about how they MIGHT, JUST , somehow scraped off a landing if every single little thing had gone right....
No. Weather was shit. Which means you burn more gas than optimal. And the truly, horrible irony, the ones the aviation gods must be rolling in the aisles over, laughing their balls off, is that they might have made it. EXCEPT, they were bumped in the approach lineup by an A320 declaring an actual fuel emergency. By the time they did, it was panic all around, and TOO LATE. Apparently he also flew things like a plumber. The bird in question had no RAM air gennie, so only battery power, which sounds like was not properly charged and suboptimal. A rookie or training FO. It goes on. There a bunch of shots on the site, but I'll share one. The engines, in any crash, tell a story. The shot here, showing the turbine, looking almost pristine , just screams " engines not running on impact " And no postcrash fire. Not a high-speed impact, one comment about the FDR and CVR was "never seen them look so undamaged after a crash"
God almighty

[dlodoski]

Yea, the initial reports of an electrical failure and no post-crash fire smelled of fuel shortage a long way off. (Never mind the fact that the final radio communications indicated that as well).

Bummer.

The Colombian soccer team they were travelling to play against chivalrously forfeited the match. It used to be the US led with that kind of sportsmanship. I'll bet half of the population now would ask "why?"

[kham]

You're probably not wrong. The level of infantile retardation in the last couple years alone is alarming, at best. But here, the number of people who continue to try and wavesplain, about how it's not all the PILOT's fault, how somehow the Columbians, Brazilians should not have accepted the flight plan with the crew making such a total fuckup .....
Girls, listen up: Aviation, next to the Marine Industry, is likely the most utterly unforgiving profession there is. You fuck up, someone can die. Or millions of dollars in property can be destroyed. This shit is NOT a fucking crappy Seinfeld episode driving until the gas runs out and giggling about it. When a jet runs out of gas? It does glide some. If lucky, somewhat like a smooth brick with wings. If unlucky, it has the flight characteristics , as Lex used to say, of a fucking riding mower. Military aviators at least can punch out. The freight in the back aint got that option. Which brings us back to why, most in the industry are so fucking anal about not fucking up.

New stuff, Bolivia's Directorate General de Aeronautica Civil (DGCA) announced, that the Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) of LAMIA Bolivia has been suspended with immediate effect. So they are out of business for the forseeable future.

[kham]

The L/D numbers for this aircraft gliding , are about 13:1 if the data is to be believed. I am not certain of the math, but say 20 miles out, at 20k (13k above ground) could they have made it? I not sure what numbers to plug in. I think it was possible, but some aviators need to weigh in. One thing is , they now say they dropped like a rock, for pressurization failure issues. Just another element in a bad day

[Mynock]

So the dumbass's actual plan was to GLIDE the last few miles?!?!? I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
Shame he took so many people with him when removing himself from the gene pool.

[kham]

Well, when he ran out of gas, Myn, I don't think he had any options left. Ejecting, but that's not a factory-option ...

As stated, they had planned a fuel stop originally, but cancelled. Now whether this was cheapo at work, or dick-waving machisimo, or just utter fucking stupidity, we may never know. What is troubling, is that this incident may not have been the first; that is, the asshole may have done it before. And in true NASA-Challenger engineering stupidity, "well it always worked before!" never had the fucking sense to realize that sooner or later, the chamber has a live round in it. It boggles the mind. No sane pilot, EVER plans a flight with insufficient fuel to make it. Even the Yamato task force had gas to get there and back. And THAT WAS a fucking suicide mission. The Gimli Glider did it, but that was a balls-up involving math and metric, and busted equipment.

This has happened before. Google Avianca flight in NYC runs out of gas. You will be going WTF more than once.