Irresponsible planning causes fatal crash
June 20, 2011, 01:10 pm
After a pilot failed to obtain a formal weather briefing his plane crashed in Dougherty, Texas, back in 2009, killing both individuals onboard, according to General Aviation News. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found that the pilot continued his course into adverse weather conditions, resulting in the crash. It was unclear whether or not he had pilot's life insurance at the time of his death.
The pilot had flown for 412 hours, and 17.7 of those hours were at night. Radar data showed that the plane changed heading and altitude several times before the crash. Experts believe the pilot’s failure to plan properly and receive a weather report caused the crash.
The storm caused extreme turbulence and as a result the blowing dust caused brownout conditions. A brownout is an in-flight visibility restriction, caused by dust or sand in the air. These types of conditions have caused several crashes of military helicopters in the desert as well.
After the crash, the plane's airframe, engine and airplane systems were examined and showed no signs of pre-impact anomalies, according to the media outlet. Witnesses also reported seeing dust storms which could have led to extreme turbulence.
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