NTSB Says a Downdraft Killed Steve Fossett 101
jd writes "The National Transportation Safety Board has now released the text of its examination (full narrative available) into the crash of Steve Fossett's aircraft on Sept 3rd, 2007. It concludes that downdrafts were the likely cause of the crash, dragging the plane into the mountain with such force that, even at full power, it would have been impossible to escape the collision. Pilots experienced in the area report that those winds can rip the wings off aircraft; and Mark Twain remarked that they could roll up a tin house 'like sheet music.' One must wonder why such a skilled aviator was taking a gamble with such hostile conditions, given that he was looking for a flat stretch of land to race cars on, but that is one mystery we shall probably never know the answer to."
Re:One must wonder ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Perhaps they've seen wreckage where it was evident that's what happened.
With due respect (Score:3, Insightful)
To Mr. Fossett,
"The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next."
-- Ursula K. LeGuin
Re:One must wonder ... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:One must wonder ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Are those two things mutually exclusive?
Perhaps experienced pilots in the area, who have seen such wreckage, choose not to fly when the weather indicates such winds are likely.
Great Mystery - Probably not (Score:2, Insightful)
Even if we did know the answer, I doubt it would be very interesting. It's probably a little of Steve being an adrenaline junkie mixed with underestimating the danger.
Um, obvious speculation? (Score:5, Insightful)
One must wonder why such a skilled aviator was taking a gamble with such hostile conditions, given that he was looking for a flat stretch of land to race cars on, but that is one mystery we shall probably never know the answer to.
I wondered, but in about a second I came up with this: An adventurer and thrill-seeker, in the course of looking for a place for future thrill-seeking, decided to seek some thrills?
Sure it's just idle speculation... but based on what little I know of the man, taking gambles with danger while tooling around alone in his private plane sounds exactly like something he would do. It makes enough sense for me, at least.
Re:NTSB is wrong (Score:1, Insightful)
If you are using him as your reference frame, then it was the sudden acceleration that killed him.
Re:Can a Slashdot pilot tell us . . . (Score:3, Insightful)
He should have known about the possibility for dangerous winds given the area. He was probably flying VFR, instead of having filed an IFR flight plan, which is part of the reason it took so long to find him. He should have called a weather briefer before taking off to get the weather conditions and forecast for his trip. In flight he could have contacted FlightWatch for more up-to-date weather in case he noticed things were changing.
Keep in mind that rarely does a single event cause an airplane crash. It is quite often a series events culminating in a situation in which the pilot has no chance to save himself.
Re:One must wonder ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Experience could certainly mean that they have flown the area and frequented places where fellow pilots who know about incidents congregate. They may have also experienced lesser effects of this phenomenon personally and then read about reports of similar incidents which match their (not as extreme) experience.
I am an experienced system administrator for large numbers of high-end systems. This means I know about all sorts of threats to my hosts, active and historical, because I am experienced and have had to explore the possibility of intrusions and read studies of those that went too far. That is a function of my experience that you would have trouble obtaining without time in front of the keyboard, if only because you'd usually have no interest in such things if you never had to deal with the real possibility of them happening to you. I have never experienced an intrusion personally, but my experience is why I would know about them.
While it is not "first-hand" experience, these mountain conditions are something that an "experienced" pilot would know about because it is their best interests to know about it... or they may die. That is why it is interesting that Mr. Fossett, who we all know is experienced, seemed to be either ignorant of these conditions, didn't care, or something else happened. This would seem to be pretty basic stuff for general aviation flyers to know, so we would be allowed to wonder what happened.
Re:Um, obvious speculation? (Score:1, Insightful)
This was a small plane. Its fuel consumption is in the same order as car. If you've never taken a car out for a pleasure drive or to drive to a distant location seeking pleasure (amusement park, beach, casino, girlfriends house...), then you may have some standing to criticize. Otherwise, you're being ridiculous.
Re:One must wonder ... (Score:3, Insightful)
Stuff happens, at least he lived a very full life.
Steve Fossett really deserved to die (Score:2, Insightful)
Who cares about this guy? He is called an "adventurer"? Our navy (Australian) already had to fish this idiot out of the sea after he failed *another* balloon flight. He was a billionare.. but he cant even have a fucking plan b? His many rescuers should get the credit, not this idiot.
What sort of adventurer goes man vs nature... fails (often), lives only cause of others... but is still considered so brave / adventerous?
Even I can fuck up and get saved by the professionals. Its not that impressive!
Fossett flew off, no one knew where he went exactly... he didnt take sufficient supplies in case of trouble. What sort of retard is he? He knows better than anyone how often his stupid ass would crash. Its the one time he couldnt call for help to save his ass.
I assume the Fossett family wont ask me to speak at any family functions :)
Re:Its lovely in the Sierra Nevadas (Score:2, Insightful)