Flight Training - September 2019 - 50

ADVANCED PILOT ACCIDENT ANALYSIS

LOST AT SEA
SOMETIMES WE DON'T GET ANSWERS
BY DAVID JACK KENNY

ON MAY 24, 2019, the solo pilot of a Cessna 560 Citation eastbound at Flight Level 390

missed a handoff from the Atlanta to the Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control
Center. Jacksonville controllers watched the airplane pass through first their and
then Miami's airspace, overfly its filed destination of Fort Lauderdale Executive, and
continue out to sea.
Air Force F-15s intercepted and shadowed the jet. Its pilot was visible-one pilot
reported he was "unconscious and slumped over the controls." The fighters stayed
with the Citation until it descended into the ocean some 310 miles off shore. The
Coast Guard's search was suspended the next day, and the NTSB's preliminary report
notes that "The pilot and the airplane were not recovered."
Unless that changes, the cause will probably never be determined-and it's
hardly an isolated case. Seven months earlier, a Bahamas-bound Piper Navajo
disappeared into the Atlantic while attempting to turn back to Charleston, South
Carolina, after an unspecified emergency at FL250. In August 2015, a turbine-powered experimental Lancair Evolution crossed the coast at FL250 and ultimately sank
in the Pacific 490 nautical miles northwest of San Francisco; it was also intercepted
by military aircraft. And in April 2012, a Cessna 421C eastbound at FL270 began
orbiting counterclockwise over the Gulf of Mexico "at high altitude and low airspeed." NORAD fighter pilots saw the pilot "slumped over...not moving." After three
hours it presumably ran out of fuel, descended, and sank. The Coast Guard was
unable to reach the scene in time.
Hypoxia is the most tempting
explanation for pilot incapacitation
AEROMEDICAL FACTORS
at high altitude, but hardly the only
one. There's also carbon monoxide
poisoning-technically also a type
These symptoms may be signs of a lack of oxygen.
of anemic hypoxia-other medical
emergencies, ordinary fatigue, and
* Cyanosis (blue fingernails and lips)
even attempted suicide.
* Headache
* Hot flashes or a feeling of warmth
The NTSB is disciplined about
* Decreased cognitive abilities
refraining from speculation. The
* Impaired judgment
* Euphoria
fighter pilots chasing the Cessna
* Visual impairment, reduced visual acuity
421C reported seeing frosted
* Tunnel vision
windows-a typical sign of decom* Drowsiness
* Lightheadedness or dizzy sensation
pression-but the board attributed
* Tingling in fingers and toes
the accident only to unexplained
* Numbness
"pilot incapacitation." The Lancair
Symptoms of hypoxia differ by individuals. Some
remained at least partially afloat
companies offer altitude chamber experiences so
for some 42 minutes after ditching,
pilots can learn their personal signs of hypoxia.
suggesting that its pressure vessel
was intact. Even with night vision
goggles, chase pilots were unable to
see anything beyond a suggestion of
a shoulder harness extended to its maximum forward limit-in a cockpit where the
pilot would normally be visible, conscious or not.
Should you care? If the question's only whether your death can be explained,
maybe not. Some of us hope there will never be a definitive resolution of Amelia
Earhart's disappearance. But if it's one of avoiding sinking without a trace, you might.
Start by training yourself to go on oxygen at the first sign of anything unusual on
high-altitude flights. You can always take off the mask after it's sorted out. FT

SIGNS OF HYPOXIA

DAVID JACK KENNY is a freelance aviation writer and airline transport pilot.
50 FLIGHT TRAINING SEPTEMBER 2019

http://aopafinance.org/firsttimebuyer

Flight Training - September 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - September 2019