what_next wrote:
For an internet millionaire that should have been easy to arrange
If Der Spiegel is to be believed, he may not have been much of a millionaire anymore. That aside, seems weird to launch into that kind of wx.
172driver wrote:
If Der Spiegel is to be believed, he may not have been much of a millionaire anymore.
I couldn’t read anything to that effect (a statement about his personal wealth) in their article.
Icing was forcasted in the area above 9000 ft. Pilot was 73 – I don’t know how much experience he had but wx was definitely no-go for PA32.
I looked at all the weather data from the time of the accident, and I think it was a crazy thing to even attempt that flight across the Alps. Again people who trusted their pilot died with him …
I flew from Cannes to Budapest NW-bound, yesterday on my TB20 the same time, when they crashed.
Since no deicing solution is available on my plane, planning is more essential. My best investment so far, is the O2 system and the Gloze ADL-140 iridium satellite receiver. (WX500 is about to install, but it has nothing to do with icing)
It showed clearly the icy clouds, as well as the wx charts justified this. As we approached to the Slovenian coastline, the earlier (on the ADL) visible cloud layers were there, between the forecasted level. There was a “Plan B” to avoid to SE via Croatia, but thanks to O2, I could climb to FL150. Without this, it would have been NOGO. Now I understand, why ATC was more worrying about the flight conditions. At FL150 was clear. Alternatively, we could have climbed 1-2000 feet higher, or simply return. Below that, NOGO.
I don’t know if the accident flight had oxygen but it is very unlikely, given that
Even if you can’t outclimb the IMC, with oxygen you can climb high enough to not get much (or any) ice, so while it is still a bad way to operate an unprotected plane, you will probably get away with it. -20C was around 18000ft. I’ve done that a few times and it worked – except for 2 cases of fuel servo icing but I know how to avoid that now.
Incidentally, did the PIC on this flight have an IR?
The only reason I took the trip to home, that I managed to climb well before the clouds. Climbing though / within this layer is a big nogo. ItI think, thats what they underestimated.
When I started to fly, at that time the GA was new for everyone in Hungary. Brave pilots died quickly with innocent passengers, who trusted is those stupids in the front. At that time, some newly established “operators” used me as “radio operator” since I was ATC. I saw terrible things. Since that time, the GA has been changed a lot here. But people still looking at me strange, when I invest money into systems like O2 or Iridium or EDM or even Aspen.
I would not have departed and/ in that region yesterday due to lack of prop deice. The fuel icing is a very good point. Should think about Prist or similar to avoid this problem. If I fly around 14-16000’ it might be a problem especially during autumn / spring times.
Preliminary Report out
http://www.mzi.gov.si/fileadmin/mzi.gov.si/pageuploads/SPLNI/Preliminary_report_N710CC.pdf
I find it a little frustrating that the report takes the time to point out that the relative humidity in the clouds was 100%, but doesn’t bother to mention the flight level at which the aircraft was cruising when the incident occurred!
It was at about 3000 meter altitude according to Figure 3.
