| Successfully recovering from an unusual attitude | | | | the control column forward, but it also revealed |
| situation involves two things: receiving emergency | | | | instances where the control column was full aft, which |
| recovery training and then correctly applying the | | | | opposed official flight instructions and resulted in a |
| techniques to real world situations. During emergency | | | | series of downward pitches. |
| recovery training, pilots experience a variety of | | | | Ultimately, the crew didn't recover from the stall and |
| pre-planned unusual attitude situations under the | | | | the DC-8 hit ground at 3400 feet mean sea level in a |
| guidance of certified flight instructors. But even after | | | | 26-degree nose down attitude, killing all six passengers. |
| pilots learn the appropriate recovery techniques, they | | | | The aircraft's failure to recover from stall was |
| can increase their proficiency by studying flight | | | | undoubtedly complicated by a lack of exterior visual |
| situations where emergency recovery techniques | | | | references. Whereas most military aircraft possess an |
| went wrong, an example of which occurred on | | | | on-board angle-of-attack visual reference, most civilian |
| December 22, 1996 when an Airborne Express DC-8 | | | | aircraft do not. Without this built in visual reference, the |
| with three flight crew members and three avionics | | | | DC-8's crew may not have realized that the aircraft |
| technicians crashed in the mountainous terrain near | | | | remained stalled during its descent. |
| Narrows, Virginia. | | | | Different aircraft possess different stall characteristics. |
| Departing later than expected due to maintenance | | | | In the case of DC-8's and other aft-swept wing |
| issues, The DC-8 left Piedmont Triad airport in | | | | airliners, the wings begin to stall at the tips, causing the |
| Greensboro, North Carolina on the afternoon of | | | | center-of-lift to move ahead of the center-of-gravity. |
| December 22. ATC assigned the crew a block altitude | | | | Consequently, the aircraft typically begins descending in |
| of 13,000 and 15,000 feet mean sea level with respect | | | | a nose up attitude unless forward pressure is applied |
| to the checks and maneuvers that the plane would be | | | | to the yoke. Because swept wing aircraft are |
| performing, including initiating a stall. By the time the | | | | especially prone to lateral instability during stalls, |
| crew initiated the stall, afternoon had passed into night, | | | | recovering from a stall as efficiently as possible can |
| limiting the crew's visual attitude references. The lead | | | | mean the difference between life and death. |
| up to stall went as expected. Then, during the stall, the | | | | Regardless of aircraft, one of the best ways to avoid |
| DC-8 began losing significant altitude. For 56 seconds, | | | | unusual attitude situations is to avoid flying in conditions |
| the aircraft experienced a series of roll reversals. At | | | | that can easily cause upset attitudes, such as |
| 18.08:30, the instructor pilot advised the pilot in training to | | | | thunderstorms, wake turbulence and extreme low |
| "take a little altitude down," implying that the pilot should | | | | visibility situations. But most important of all is for pilots |
| push the yoke forward. Then, at 18.08.42, the instructor | | | | to receive extensive emergency recovery training, |
| advised the pilot to "start bringing the nose back up." | | | | which should always include studying situations where |
| The flight data recorder indicated that the pilot moved | | | | emergency recovery techniques went wrong. |