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PC-12 down in Milan Linate

In some article I read that “black box has been recovered”. What kind of recording device is PC-12 equipped with?

LDZA LDVA, Croatia

Airborne_Again wrote:

According to johnh, the cloud base was 5000’. If there was a LOC on entering clouds, wouldn’t 5000’ of visual conditions be enough to recover control? I think LOC in IMC is a highly unlikely cause.

The weather on departure, I am not sure at what altitude one transits from VMC to IMC but it’s anything from 1kft to 7kft

LIML 031120Z 12005KT 100V160 9999 FEW008 BKN050 BKN070 19/16 Q1018 NOSIG

Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom
Not according to the BBC. Their report this morning said the owner was a passenger. The pilot was a Romanian with German citizenship, 30 years old. The report mentions another non-family person, a woman with Romanian/French nationality, though it doesn’t explicitly say she was SIC.

News in Italy regarding people on board has it as:
owner/pilot 68 years (Romanian with German citizenship)
wife of owner
30 year old son (probably also pilot) of owner
a Canadian friend of son
Italian friend of owner with French wife, child and mother in law

Aircraft arrived from Romania on the 30/09 in Linate. Took off yesterday, no maintenance or refuelling requested.

Happy only when flying
Sabaudia airstrip LISB, Italy

I agree the “LOC” scenario makes sense, but I am more inclined in the sense of progressive incapacitation leading to a total Loss Of Consciousness in turn leading to Loss of Control…

Obviously the PIC was aware of a problem that made him request a return, but he did not maintain control of the aircraft (in VMC, per the METAR) long enough for that…one would think if he lost sufficient power not to be able to maintain altitude then the descent would have been more in control than what’s apparent.

This scenario is more plausible if neither the son nor the wife were pilots (TBC) . Even if they were, there was perhaps too little time to regain control hence the absence of further radio calls?

Last Edited by Antonio at 04 Oct 16:37
Antonio
LESB, Spain

Here is the last minute or so of the Track Log

The last minute doesn’t seem that coordinated esp where it shows a climb of 5500 fpm

The last 2 recordings show a decent from 4225 ft to 3375 ft in 3 seconds which is 17000 fpm

quatrelle wrote:

4225 ft to 3375 ft in 3 seconds which is 17000 fpm

That is about 170KTAS vertical speed …which cannot be explained by engine power loss…

Last Edited by Antonio at 04 Oct 17:38
Antonio
LESB, Spain

Sounds like pilot incapacitation to me.

AfricanEagle wrote:

News in Italy regarding people on board has it as:
owner/pilot 68 years (Romanian with German citizenship)

All the news I heard on and off the record point to the owner as pilot. And yes apparently he did have German citizenship which means that his son most probably also had it.

Antonio wrote:

Obviously the PIC was aware of a problem that made him request a return,

Is there a confirmation of the radio traffic? Did he ask a return? Antonio wrote:

That is about 170KTAS vertical speed …which cannot be explained by engine power loss…

Looking at the FR data can be massively deceiving. Yet it is brutally clear that the aircraft hit basically vertical and blew up on impact. That alone is very remarkable as it would suggest a massive problem.

LSZH(work) LSZF (GA base), Switzerland

The possibilities this leaves would be

  • a loss of control and pulling a wing off
  • pilot incapacitation

Re #2, you would still be very hard pushed to descend anywhere near vertically if you still had both wings and elevator attached.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

Re #2, you would still be very hard pushed to descend anywhere near vertically if you still had both wings and elevator attached.

Not if you had a heart attack and slumped over the controls (A/P off).

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