Читать онлайн "The Mystery of Flight 427: Inside a Crash Investigation" - Adair Bill - RuLit

^{Greg Phillips holding the unique rudder valve from the USAir plane. He was the most cautious voice at the NTSB. While other investigators were convinced there was a malfunction, Phillips was still unsure.}

^{A ghost ride in Boeing’s M-Cab flight simulator. M-Cab rides allowed investigators to re-create the final seconds of Flight 427 and feel the same bumps and twists that the pilots did.}

^{Roxie Laybourne. The world’s expert on feather identification was called in to determine if a bird caused the crash.}

^{John Cox. The USAir pilot believed there was “a gremlin” in the plane that made the rudder malfunction.}

^{Brett Van Bortel at the crash site on the first anniversary. He looked up at the sky as a USAir 737 passed overhead.}

^{Mementos in the woods. This tree, photographed on the one-year anniversary, still bears scars from the crash.}

^{The investigators talk with the press before the flight tests. From left, Bud Laynor, Mike Benson, Tom Haueter, and Tom Jacky.}

^{(Photo courtesy of the FAA)}

^{The wake turbulence test. Pilots flew the USAir 737 through the wakes of another plane to see if turbulence played a role in the crash.}

^{(Photo courtesy of the FAA)}

^{Cox (visible in the cockpit) flies the USAir 737 during the tests. A T-33 chase plane flies beside the 737 to take photos.}

^{(Photo courtesy of the FAA)}

^{Haueter in his Stearman biplane. To get a break from the pressures of the investigation, he went flying.}

^{Testing the fat guy theory in a Boeing hangar. The investigators wondered if an overweight passenger had stepped through the floor onto a rudder cable.}

^{Tom Haueter and his wife, Trisha Dedik. She grew frustrated as the investigation consumed her husband and interrupted their life together.}

^{A memorial to the crash. The names of Flight 427’s 132 passengers are etched in granite at the Sewickley Cemetery outside Pittsburgh.}

^{Brian Bishop. The Eastwind Airlines pilot experienced a rudder incident that was eerily similar to that of Flight 427.}

^{Malcolm Brenner. The NTSB human-performance expert studied the pilots’ grunts and cursing for clues about what happened.}

GLOSSARY

ailerons Panels on the wings that control the roll of the plane and allow it to bank to the right or left.

ALPA The Air Line Pilots Association, a labor union.

control column The “stick” in the cockpit that pilots use to make the plane climb and descend. On top of the control column is the wheel, which is used to control the roll of the plane.

crossover point The critical airspeed at which a full swing by the 737’s rudder cannot be counteracted by the ailerons. When a plane has a rudder hardover while flying slower than the crossover point, the pilot must speed up to regain control.

CVR Cockpit voice recorder. Also known as a “black box,” it records sounds and pilot conversations that help investigators determine what caused a crash.

flaps Movable panels on the wings that provide extra lift for a plane at slower airspeeds.

fly-by-wire A computerized system in newer airplanes that sends electronic signals to move the flight controls. The Boeing 737 is not a fly-by-wire plane. It has cables that move back and forth to send commands to the flight controls.

hardover A malfunction that occurs when the rudder or another flight control suddenly moves as far as it can, usually because of a problem with a hydraulic device.

jump seat A fold-down seat in the cockpit that allows an FAA inspector or a company official to observe the pilots. Most airlines allow their pilots to ride in the jump seat to commute from their home city to their crew base.

M-Cab The special Boeing flight simulator in Seattle that was used to re-create the crash and test scenarios about what happened.

party system The NTSB practice of allowing companies and labor unions to take part in an investigation.

power control unit (PCU) The hydraulic device that moves the rudder or another flight control. The rudder PCU on the 737 is about the size of an upright vacuum cleaner.

rudder The movable vertical panel on the tail. On the 737, pilots use it primarily when landing in a strong crosswind or on the rare occasion when they have an engine failure.

servo valve A soda can-size valve inside the PCU. The 737 has a unique version known as a dual concentric servo valve. It has two tubes that slide back and forth. The slides send bursts of hydraulic fluid against a piston that moves the rudder.

stall The result when a plane no longer has enough air moving over its wings to stay aloft.

stickshaker A device that rattles the pilots’ control columns to warn them that the plane is about to stall.

wheel The steering wheel—like device in the cockpit that pilots use to move the ailerons and flight spoilers, the panels on the wings that cause the plane to roll to the left or right. The wheel is on top of the control column.

windscreen The front window on an airplane, like a windshield on a car.

yaw damper A device that creates a smoother ride by making hundreds of small adjustments to the rudder during a flight.

SOURCES

This book is based on hundreds of hours of interviews that I conducted over six years with the principal characters—Tom Haueter, Brett Van Bortel, John Cox, and Jean McGrew. I spent many Saturdays in Haueter’s living room and went flying with him in his Stearman. Likewise, I spent many afternoons in John Cox’s home in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he taught me about airplane systems, rudder valves, and crash investigations. He persuaded USAir to allow me to ride with him in the cockpit for a four-day trip in January 1997, a trip that helped me better understand the life of a pilot. We had a grueling overnight in Boston and one that was not so grueling in San Juan, Puerto Rico.