feb 12 crash in buffalo

[war.ace]

last night at 10 o'clock a bombardier q400 crashed on a house. my dad is one of the people that makes this plane. I'm scared that my dad and other bombardier employees might get fired because of this crash.

[heywooood]

dont worry kid - it looks like ice might have accumulated on the wings...the FAA will examine it all and make some kind of assessment - usually having to do with a combination of equipment and pilot action / inaction...then the NTSB will add some more regulations and checklists and on we go.

The weather was bad and thats not usually the airplanes fault - or the pilots either, aside from some decision making and extra workload that is.

Bombardier is a good company that makes good equipment - or so I'm told

[N2056]

I really don't think you need to be too concerned. It would seem that in-flight icing probably had a lot to do with it...the investigation has only just started. I think that you really don't have anything to worry about.

[Rami]

War.ace,

I doubt it. The Bombardier aircraft company, and the Dash aircraft, have a solid safety record. The conditions near the Buffalo airport were freezing mist, light snow, with temps right around freezing. This is kind of a 'perfect storm" for weather conditions that could bring down an aircraft. Other flights landing before and after also complained of icing problems on their wings. Though it's not proven yet, living in that area and being intimately familiar with the weather patterns there leads me to speculate that icing may have played a large role in the crash.

Making knee-jerk reactions before this is confirmed, however, would be foolhardy. The NTSB will conduct a thorough investigation and publish a report on the accident. The only thing I can think of that might have been an issue is the Dash aircraft used a pneumatic de-icing boot system that flexes and breaks apart the ice accumulation, and does not have a heated system found on larger commercial aircraft.

Still, it looks like the icing on the wings may have altered the airflow over the wing, and when the flaps and gear were deployed, it changed the flying characteristics of the aircraft. Hopefully, some answers will be proveded soon.

Best of luck to your father and other company employees in the meantime.

[harleyman]

Nope....Not to worry..... Airliners do crash...That does not put the company or model out in the pasture....

Your dad will be fine I'm sure...

As soon as I saw the report I had a feeling that ice was to blamb..It will eighter be pilot error,as in forgot to turn on the wing deicers, or a maintance/ mechanical failure as the pilot turned the heaters on,but they malfunctioned , and gave no idnetifying warning in the cockpit(no lights).

So war.ace rest easy young man......

[Kiwikat]

I'd be more worried about my dad being laid off... he works on business jets. With the economy and the media's stance on biz jets, I think many companies will be laying off workers if they haven't already.

[pointy31]

If I had a job, I'd worry about being laid off too...not a good time, unless you are CEO of a major auto corporation or lending institution...:ernae: