Plane breaks up mid air over Long Island

[flyingron]

The major issue in these failures is indentifying that a failure occurred and just what the nature of the failure is. You can fly without pitot, without static, or without vacuum, usually with not too much angst, provided you've identified just what has failed. Of course, fail to do that and you fly the faulty instruments into a terminal situation.

 

[TommyG]

This is prime example of why keeping proficient with IFR, everyone should be practicing partial panel. Without all the backups and gadgets. A pilot should be able to fly IMC with the airspeed indicator, altimeter, turn coordinator.

 

[PPC1052]

For what it's worth, the pilot reported he was VFR OVER the top. I don't know if he meant IFR on top instead. But that is what he actually stated.

Ack. And it to prove my point, I screwed it up, too. I should have said "the pilot reported he was VFR OVER the top. I don't know if he meant VFR on top instead."

 

[Mopauly]

I once lost the vacuum pump over NYC at 8500', VFR in the dark, at the end of an 8 hour animal rescue flight day in a PA-28-181; pulled the secondary on and never lost the HSI, mentally started prepping to use the turn coordinator and climb indicator as backup reference just in case. I can't imagine what he felt but when things go wrong panic can set in quick, especially in IMC.