Back in March 2017, the charter plane of the Michigan men’s basketball team aborted takeoff from an airport in Ypsilanti, crashed through a chain link fence beyond the end of the runway, and came to rest in a field beyond a surface road and a ditch beyond the airport boundary. The plane was all trashed up, but everyone aboard survived. The National Transportation Safety Board this week released their report on the accident, and, my friends, it is terrifying. The pilot of the aircraft, a man named Mark Radloff, made the decision to abandon takeoff after the plane reached “V1,” which is a speed that is determined by a conditions-dependent equation, and is described as “the maximum speed in the takeoff by which a rejected takeoff must be initiated to ensure that a safe stop can be completed within the remaining runway.” In effect, his decision was to crash the plane. But the NTSB found that Radloff’s hand was forced by a mechanical failure that made it impossible for the aircraft’s nose to lift, and which had gone unnoticed altogether prior to the aborted takeoff. The various descriptions in the NTSB report get more frightening as they go along, but this part here makes me want to hide under the bed: The flight crew positioned the airplane for departure from runway 23L, and, at 1451:12, the check airman called for the captain to begin the takeoff roll. At 1451:55, the check airman called “V1.” Six seconds later (at 1452:01), he called “rotate,” followed 3 seconds later (at 1452:04)by “V2.” At 1452:05, the captain said, “hey, what’s goin’ on?” and, 3 seconds later, “abort.” The check airman stated, “no, not above…” and then “…don’t abort above V1 like that,” and the captain replied, “it wasn’t flying.” Radloff, tearing down the runway at flight speed, tried to get the airplane to “rotate” for takeoff, but the nose wouldn’t lift, because something called an “elevator” had been jammed by high, gusting wind while the plane was parked next to an airport hanger for two days. The NTSB report includes a section on “procedures and guidance” for rejected takeoffs, taken from the aircraft operation manual, which note specifically that “in many cases, rejected takeoffs at high speed have had far more negative or catastrophic results than would have been likely if the takeoffs had been continued.” Horrifyingly, NTSB investigators found that the conditions that made the plane incapable of flight could not have been discovered by preexisting protocols prior to the exact moment when Radloff found that the plane “wasn’t flying,” past the point of no return, with the end of the runway and a chainlink fence screaming into view. But that’s not all! In this case, Radloff—the captain of the flight—was actually being trained on that aircraft by the “check airman,” a condition that the NTSB says made the check airman the “pilot-in-command” of the flight. The check airman, a man named Andreas Gruseus, was therefore at least theoretically empowered to override any decision made by Radloff that put the flight at risk. Gruseus in fact reached for the controls when Radloff called abort—round about the time Gruseus said “no, not above” in the above transcript—but made the split-second, potentially life-or-death decision to follow the competing mandate to let the captain make the abort decision. This could’ve gone very badly! Had the check airman simply reacted and assumed control of the airplane after the captain decided to reject, the results could have been catastrophic if such action were to further delay the deceleration (at best) or to try to continue the takeoff in an airplane that was incapable of flight. Thus, the NTSB concludes that the check airman’s disciplined adherence to company [standard operating procedures] after the captain called for the rejected takeoff likely prevented further damage to the airplane and reduced the possibility of serious or fatal injuries to the crew and passengers. The NTSB report is 134 pages long, and a lot of it is very technical and involves stuff like math and physics and multiple legends of abbreviations, plus a dry and lengthy transcript of voice recorder data. But the parts of it that are comprehensible to a layperson are genuinely gripping, and explain in no uncertain terms just how close the Michigan men’s basketball team came to real disaster. Instead they evacuated the grounded plane, flew out the following day, and won a basketball tournament. Here’s the report, if you’re interested.
Related Posts
According to Kicker, Bayern Munich are interested in signing Son Heung-min. The 26 year old has been with Tottenham Hotspur since 2015 when he made the jump over from Bayer Leverkusen, meaning that we know he s more than capable of getting the job done in Bundesliga.
He recently had a career highlight type of moment, too, helping South Korea to Asian Games glory to ensure that he wouldn t have to complete two years of mandatory military service. Because of this, it seems as if a series of top European clubs have realised that he could be a big player for many years to come, and Bayern are at the top of that list.
Son has been viewed as a long term replacement for Franck Ribery, and while those are certainly big shoes to fill, he s proven in the past on multiple occasi…
Raheem Sterling praised England for finding something deep within as his penalty snatched a late 1-0 Nations League win over Iceland.
Gareth Southgate s side laboured for long periods against the nation who famously humiliated the Three Lions at Euro 2016.
Kyle Walker s 70th-minute red card further complicated matters but Sverrir Ingason joined the Manchester City full-back in receiving his marching orders when he handled Sterling s shot in the final minute.
With Harry Kane having been replaced by debutant Mason Greenwood, the responsibility fell to Sterling, who stroked his spot-kick down the centre of the goal.
As soon as I got the ball I said straight down the middle , he told Sky Sports. It s the 90th minute, I knew the keeper wouldn t stand straigh…
As reported by Italian journalist , Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis spoke on Radio KissKiss Naples recently and revealed a few details of his club s plans for the remainder of the summer transfer window.
Following the departure of Pepe Reina to AC Milan, De Laurentiis stressed the importance of having three goalkeepers on the same level, ready to compete against each other for the spot between the sticks. They have the 21-year-old Alex Meret already, but they are currently considering whether to pursue a deal for Standard Liege s Guillermo Ochoa.
The 33-year-old has made his name among shot-stoppers by performing at top level for Mexico in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and he confirmed his class with similar displays this year in Russia. He would certainly provid…
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta brushed off talk of Manchester City’s growing lead at the Premier League summit, but did admit injuries were already starting to test his squad.
The Gunners were pegged back twice by rivals Tottenham on Sunday and dropped points again following an entertaining 2-2 derby draw.
It left Arsenal already four points off City, who are perfect after six fixtures, with the memory of Pep Guardiola’s side being able to overturn an eight-point deficit in April to clinch title success last season still fresh at the Emirates.
Guardiola’s City visit north London on October 8 but Arteta, when asked about the current points deficit, insisted: “We’re not thinking about this. We have a game every three days, we try to win our games.
�…
Virgil van Dijk is close to making his return from a serious knee injury after being included in the squad for Liverpool s pre-season camp in Austria.
Van Dijk missed much of the 2020-21 season having suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury against Everton in October, ruling him out for the remainder of the campaign.
As such, he was also unable to feature for the Netherlands at Euro 2020, with the Oranje finding themselves eliminated by the Czech Republic in the round of 16.
But he looks set to bolster Liverpool s defensive ranks for the 2021-22 campaign, with the 30-year-old included in the group that is due to begin pre-season training in Tyrol, near Salzburg, next week.
Also on the list is new signing Ibrahima Konate, a recent arrival from RB Lei…
Market: Zaragoza win
Odds: 19/20 @
Hoping to make an immediate return to winning ways on Sunday afternoon, Zaragoza will welcome Mirandes to La Romareda.
Starting with the hosts, putting in a toothless performance last weekend and left disappointed as they slumped to a 1-0 loss away at Ferrol, Zaragoza will be seeking an immediate response here. Nevertheless, despite settling for a bottom-half finish last season, Fran Escriba’s side have made plenty of improvements since opening up the 2023/24 campaign. Battling it out at the top of the Segunda standings and with their sights set on mounting a genuine promotion charge this time around, Los Manos will be excited to make a return to home soil on Sunday afternoon. Still mustering 16 points from their first seven …
Market: Real Zaragoza win
Odds: 11/10 @
Two sides who find themselves seeking a boost on Friday night, Real Zaragoza will welcome Lugo to La Romareda when this weekend s Segunda fixtures get underway.
Starting with the hosts, while Zaragoza might have opened the 2021/22 campaign enjoying an eye-catching run of form, Los Maños have really failed to build off of that early-season bounce. Last seen earlier in the week when playing out an action-packed 3-3 draw away at Oviedo, Head Coach Juan Ignacio Martínez has seen his downbeat squad win just one of their last nine Segunda matchups, a run that stems all the way back to March 11th. Gaining a reputation as somewhat of a stalemate specialist over recent months, the Whites should at least be boosted by their largel…
Bayern Munich midfielder Xabi Alonso has confirmed he will retire at the end of the season.
The former Spain midfielder s 18th season as a professional will be his last, bringing down the curtain on a glittering career at club level and with his country.
Alonso was part of Spain s successful World Cup squad in 2010, as well as their Euro 2012-winning vintage, picking up 114 caps for La Roja.
The playmaker is also a two-time Champions League winner, having scored in Liverpool s incredible comeback to win the final in 2005 before helping Real Madrid to La Decima in 2014. Bayern are also set for a deep run in this season s competition, having thrashed Arsenal 10-2 on aggregate in the last 16.
Lived it. Loved it.
Farewell beautiful game.
— …
Arsenal s Aaron Ramsey was pleased to avoid another opening-day disappointment after his injury-time strike sunk 10-man Crystal Palace.
Arsene Wenger s team headed into Saturday s Premier League match on a high following their emphatic 3-0 win over Manchester City in last Sunday s Community Shield at Wembley.
But Palace, playing on the back of Tony Pulis shock departure as manager on Friday, absorbed early pressure before debutant Brede Hangeland headed them into 35th-minute lead at the Emirates Stadium.
It evoked uncomf
00004000
ortable memories of Arsenal s 3-1 collapse at home to Aston Villa on the opening day of last season, although Laurent Koscielny eased fears by hauling Wenger s men level in first-half stoppage time.
Frustrations continued after…
Italy head coach Giampiero Ventura says Juventus have plenty to be proud of this season despite their Champions League final defeat on Saturday.
Massimiliano Allegri s side were beaten 4-1 by Real Madrid in Cardiff, making it two final defeats in three seasons and five in a row stretching back to 1997.
It also meant that Juve narrowly missed out on replicating the treble won by Inter in 2010, with the Old Lady having already claimed a domestic double of Serie A and Coppa Italia triumphs this year.
Club president Andrea Agnelli told his players they should be proud of their season and Ventura expects them to bounce back from their loss and challenge for the trophy again next season.
I don t think Italian football looks any less impressive, he told a media…