Baron down... Three killed Pallos Hills, IL.
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Fearless Tower
Touchdown! Greaser!
Get-home-itis.
If you read early in the thread, CD wasn't seeing his flight plan on file and apparently after some discussion he decided to launch VFR with the intention of getting a clearance once airborne rather than shut down and call to refile on the ground.
warthog1984
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LanCA'r
Actually... MORE then half....
That is why we are in the shape we are in now.........
Including the ones who failed math, apparently.
During the daytime with decent weather: good plan
In the dark with 1000 SCT 1400 OVC: bad plan
Jmcmanna
Pre-takeoff checklist
That night in of the accident was still before ZAU and its flight plan processing capabilities were restored. MDW was getting flight plans via fax from the airlines and part 135 operators, zero were coming in through the FDIO (the system). Someone at MDW would have had to take down his flight plan either by phone or on the radio, put it into the local ARTS for a beacon code, and relay it to RFD approach before he could have departed...that's where the delay would have been.
Fearless Tower
Touchdown! Greaser!
I agree 100%
FlyingTiger
Pre-takeoff checklist
For those insinuating that the pilot was just being stupid, I think that is an oversimplification considering the guy was a neurosurgeon i.e. brain surgeon. The real issue is why an otherwise highly intelligent person would make such a bad decision. As stated above, get-home-itus was probably a big factor here and any one of us could be guilty of making the same mistake if we don't keep our guard up.
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dans2992
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Departing VFR was issue #1, but the bigger issue was trying to fly "visually" when it became impossible.
If you've gotten yourself into that situation, the best solution is to fly by reference to instruments regardless if you're IFR or not.
If you've gotten yourself into that situation, the best solution is to fly by reference to instruments regardless if you're IFR or not.
wsuffa
Touchdown! Greaser!
Some people have a ton of book knowledge or specific skills but lack common sense. Flying is a learning experience - it takes time to build the skills necessary to fly in a variety of conditions.
Any indication of whether the Chicago Center fire factored into this?
Ted
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Bill nailed it. Just because you're a neurosurgeon doesn't mean you have good brain power when it comes to the skills required for flying an airplane safely. I've seen a lot of people who are extremely intelligent individuals, but you put them in a plane or car and they clearly have no idea what they're doing.
Hence why the term "doctor killer" exists with respect to planes.
Nope, being a neuro-brain surgeon has absolutely no track record as to exclude stupidity, and that's what this was. What people need to take home with them from this is that we are none of us immune from stupid decisions, and that when critical decisions are being made we need to step back and maybe re-evaluate our choice under a more critical eye. The learning process is not complete until a change in behavior is achieved.
Yep, aviation requires brutal honesty with yourself about your situation. Denial is a normal phase of coping with stress, but aviation happens quickly, you don't have but a few seconds to spend on denial, you have to act, you have to act immediately, and you have to act correctly. If in doubt, revert to instruments, declare your situation, and climb straight ahead to MSA.