Crash that sent pilot to closed runway prompts FAA changes

rk911

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rk911
picked this off of my local paper this morning...
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20170412/news/304129923/
____________________________________________________________

MINEOLA, N.Y. -- When pilot Joseph Milo reported engine trouble, an air traffic controller directed him to a nearby airfield. But the airfield had actually closed 25 years earlier, and industrial buildings occupied its former runway. Milo crashed a quarter-mile away and died.

His death has prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to update its procedures to include weekly accuracy checks of its radar video maps.

The erroneous information was one of several factors cited by the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation of the Aug. 16, 2015, crash. It also said Milo had several drugs in his system and was slow to react to the emergency.

The NTSB said the probable causes were a "controller's provision of erroneous emergency divert airport information to the pilot" and Milo's "improper decision to delay turning toward a suitable runway once he realized that an engine failure had occurred."

Milo, 59, of Westhampton Beach, was flying a passenger to Morristown, New Jersey, when his single-engine aircraft hit a railroad crossing in Hicksville, east of New York City. His passenger survived.

The pilot told an air traffic controller he was "having a little bit of a problem" and would have to "take it down." He said he would attempt to get to Republic Airport in Farmingdale, which was about 8 nautical miles away at the time of the emergency.

The controller then provided information about a closer runway called the "Bethpage strip," which was the site of a former airport associated with defense contractor Northrup Grumman. The controller told the pilot the airport was closed but said a runway was there. It turns out the airfield had been closed in 1990, and industrial buildings now stood on the former runway.

The NTSB found that at the time of the crash, the FAA did not require periodic review and validation of radar video maps and had no procedures to ensure that nonoperational airports were removed from RVMs system wide."

"I can't believe controllers didn't know Bethpage was closed," said Michael Canders, director of the aviation center at Farmingdale State College, who read the NTSB report. "There is a saying in aviation that rules and regulations regarding policies and procedures are frequently written half in blood."

Since this accident, the FAA has corrected its internal procedures to ensure all nonoperational airports are removed from radar video maps in the U.S. FAA spokesman Jim Peters said the new system became operational Nov. 28, 2016. He said all radar video maps are now checked weekly for accuracy.

He declined to comment on the NTSB report and provided no information on whether the controller faced any discipline. A spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association also declined to comment.

The NTSB investigation also noted that Milo had several drugs in his system, including "amphetamine was significantly higher than the therapeutic range." The NTSB report said Milo "was likely abusing the drug and that he was impaired by it at the time of the accident."

The investigation found that two minutes, 18 seconds had elapsed and that the airplane had lost about 2,000 feet of altitude before the pilot realized he had lost power.

"If the pilot had turned immediately after he realized the engine had lost power, he would have had adequate altitude to glide to a suitable runway," investigators said.

Douglas Latto, an aviation attorney representing Milo's family, called the drug issue a "red herring," saying the pilot had a chronic back problem. "If you listen to his voice on the tape, he was in total control," Latto said.

"This crash was caused by one factor and one factor only: The air traffic controller directed Mr. Milo to a runway that had closed. That is beyond comprehension."

Latto said the family plans to sue
 
That's why all facilities had to review all video maps.

Tex
 
I'm just a dumbass, but wouldn't the blame be on the pilot for not planning for any alternates, or making notes (whether actual or mental) of emergency landing spots along his planned route? :dunno:
 
I'm just a dumbass, but wouldn't the blame be on the pilot for not planning for any alternates, or making notes (whether actual or mental) of emergency landing spots along his planned route? :dunno:

You don't plan "alternates" for engine failure. And when you have an engine failure and the controller provides vectors to a nearby (but closed) field, the smart pilot probably accepts that "out" sight unseen. I certainly would, unless I had contrary knowledge.
 
One of those "bureaucracy dropped the ball" things. Probably plenty of FAA folks knew it was closed, and if they had known that info wasn't disseminated, they would have spoke up. . .

But it wasn't in their silo; and what looks like a grotesque, fumbling, and bizarre oversight (which it is), is also the common lack of vision and initiative that's part of the FAA culture.

Mostly good folks, doing the job, a few azzhats, and stop, stumble, and fall leadership. . .
 
picked this off of my local paper this morning...
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20170412/news/304129923/
____________________________________________________________

MINEOLA, N.Y. -- When pilot Joseph Milo reported engine trouble, an air traffic controller directed him to a nearby airfield. But the airfield had actually closed 25 years earlier, and industrial buildings occupied its former runway. Milo crashed a quarter-mile away and died.

His death has prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to update its procedures to include weekly accuracy checks of its radar video maps.

The erroneous information was one of several factors cited by the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation of the Aug. 16, 2015, crash. It also said Milo had several drugs in his system and was slow to react to the emergency.

The NTSB said the probable causes were a "controller's provision of erroneous emergency divert airport information to the pilot" and Milo's "improper decision to delay turning toward a suitable runway once he realized that an engine failure had occurred."

Milo, 59, of Westhampton Beach, was flying a passenger to Morristown, New Jersey, when his single-engine aircraft hit a railroad crossing in Hicksville, east of New York City. His passenger survived.

The pilot told an air traffic controller he was "having a little bit of a problem" and would have to "take it down." He said he would attempt to get to Republic Airport in Farmingdale, which was about 8 nautical miles away at the time of the emergency.

The controller then provided information about a closer runway called the "Bethpage strip," which was the site of a former airport associated with defense contractor Northrup Grumman. The controller told the pilot the airport was closed but said a runway was there. It turns out the airfield had been closed in 1990, and industrial buildings now stood on the former runway.

The NTSB found that at the time of the crash, the FAA did not require periodic review and validation of radar video maps and had no procedures to ensure that nonoperational airports were removed from RVMs system wide."

"I can't believe controllers didn't know Bethpage was closed," said Michael Canders, director of the aviation center at Farmingdale State College, who read the NTSB report. "There is a saying in aviation that rules and regulations regarding policies and procedures are frequently written half in blood."

Since this accident, the FAA has corrected its internal procedures to ensure all nonoperational airports are removed from radar video maps in the U.S. FAA spokesman Jim Peters said the new system became operational Nov. 28, 2016. He said all radar video maps are now checked weekly for accuracy.

He declined to comment on the NTSB report and provided no information on whether the controller faced any discipline. A spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association also declined to comment.

The NTSB investigation also noted that Milo had several drugs in his system, including "amphetamine was significantly higher than the therapeutic range." The NTSB report said Milo "was likely abusing the drug and that he was impaired by it at the time of the accident."

The investigation found that two minutes, 18 seconds had elapsed and that the airplane had lost about 2,000 feet of altitude before the pilot realized he had lost power.

"If the pilot had turned immediately after he realized the engine had lost power, he would have had adequate altitude to glide to a suitable runway," investigators said.

Douglas Latto, an aviation attorney representing Milo's family, called the drug issue a "red herring," saying the pilot had a chronic back problem. "If you listen to his voice on the tape, he was in total control," Latto said.

"This crash was caused by one factor and one factor only: The air traffic controller directed Mr. Milo to a runway that had closed. That is beyond comprehension."

Latto said the family plans to sue


that sure wasn't helping.
 
That's a sad story, but I just can't seem to get over how the title was so poorly written. He crashed and then he went to a closed runway? Really?
 
The sad thing about this is, that he was over perfectly survivable terrain when he turned towards the old Bethpage strip.
 
I'm just a dumbass, but wouldn't the blame be on the pilot for not planning for any alternates, or making notes (whether actual or mental) of emergency landing spots along his planned route? :dunno:
Yes and no. When it comes to the lawsuit, the lawyers go after the deep pockets (in this case the Fed).

Pilot could have been a total dumbass, but if ATC did anything wrong, then they often end up footing the bill.
 
Yes and no. When it comes to the lawsuit, the lawyers go after the deep pockets (in this case the Fed).

Pilot could have been a total dumbass, but if ATC did anything wrong, then they often end up footing the bill.

Pilot lost control, crashed and burned in a Cherokee Six after going missed for the 3rd (??) time on an ILS at JAX. His family successfully sued the FAA because ATC failed to give him updated weather. (Google N7701J)
 
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I'm just a dumbass, but wouldn't the blame be on the pilot for not planning for any alternates, or making notes (whether actual or mental) of emergency landing spots along his planned route? :dunno:
There aren't too many emergency landing spots in western Long Island.
 
I'm just a dumbass, but wouldn't the blame be on the pilot for not planning for any alternates, or making notes (whether actual or mental) of emergency landing spots along his planned route? :dunno:

As others have said alternates are part of IFR flying. But the PIC is always responsible despite getting bad advise from ATC. The sad issue here is the PIC had no way of knowing the controller was wrong. Second guessing what the PIC or controller 'should' have done after the fact is also easy. But in this case the FAA does need to make sure controllers don't do this again.
 
Yes and no. When it comes to the lawsuit, the lawyers go after the deep pockets (in this case the Fed). Pilot could have been a total dumbass, but if ATC did anything wrong, then they often end up footing the bill.
Yeah... good luck suing the Feds. I'll lay you money that deep down in the mountain of regulations, there's a clause in there somewhere that absolves them of any responsibility for their actions/inactions. ;)
 
Yeah... good luck suing the Feds. I'll lay you money that deep down in the mountain of regulations, there's a clause in there somewhere that absolves them of any responsibility for their actions/inactions. ;)
Actually that isn't true. The Fed pays out a lot unfortunately. My best friend is currently a lawyer for the DoJ and has to defend cases like these. Sometimes they are successful in defending....sometimes not so much.

I guarantee you the Fed will be settling for some big money in the 2015 SDM midair.
 
Yeah... good luck suing the Feds. I'll lay you money that deep down in the mountain of regulations, there's a clause in there somewhere that absolves them of any responsibility for their actions/inactions. ;)

You will learn this when you study for your written.

14 CFR § 91.3 Responsibility and authority of the pilot in command.
(a) The pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft.

(b) In an in-flight emergency requiring immediate action, the pilot in command may deviate from any rule of this part to the extent required to meet that emergency.

(c) Each pilot in command who deviates from a rule under paragraph (b) of this section shall, upon the request of the Administrator, send a written report of that deviation to the Administrator.
 
I guarantee you the Fed will be settling for some big money in the 2015 SDM midair.
It would be interesting to know what the payouts are and how that case is progressing. Any government payouts are usually regulated. If you lose an arm, it's this amount, if you lose a leg they pay out this amount, if you lose a life, they pay this amount, etc. etc. I've never heard of any huge windfalls from anybody that's ever sued the government. Except if they're whistleblowers.
 
I have read a lot of pages regarding this crash [it was discussed on railroad forums in which I participate as well as aviation forums], and the question that comes to mind is if the FAA can violate you for not having "all available information" relevant to the flight they can and will violate you if you don't and have an incident/accident. Under that premise doesn't that obligate them to provide the most up-to-date and accurate information? I would think i does and the burden of proof should be on them Is "Double Jeopardy" in play here? "I contacted Flight Service but their information was inaccurate".

I'm not privy to all of the information the controller had at his disposal at the at moment but suspect he/she may have been new to the position he/she was working and no one informed him Bethpage had been closed a long time ago. Yet, the radar scope still said it was there and usable in an emergency. As I see it there is serious culpability here on the part of the FAA for not keeping their systems up to date.

I'm not in the camp of blaming others, but I can't see beyond a reasonable doubt how the pilot alone could be faulted for this unacceptable outcome. The other option could have seen him landing on the tracks and facing an oncoming high speed train

That said, I have close friends who fly out of KFRG. They have developed good rapport with both New York Approach and Kennedy and give them high marks for their professionalism and willingness to help GA pilots. Ultimately, the system failed, and I can't help but think a large part of the blame lies squarely in the FAA's corner.
 
I'm just a student, but unless I suddenly can't read there is a glaring error in that report quoted here.

The controller told the pilot that the airport was closed, but could be used (not knowing it wasnt usable)
In the very next paragraph a quote "I can't believe the controller didn't know it was closed".????

Is it just semantics, but you'd expect statements to be a little more precise here.
 
I have read a lot of pages regarding this crash [it was discussed on railroad forums in which I participate as well as aviation forums], and the question that comes to mind is if the FAA can violate you for not having "all available information" relevant to the flight they can and will violate you if you don't and have an incident/accident. Under that premise doesn't that obligate them to provide the most up-to-date and accurate information? I would think i does and the burden of proof should be on them Is "Double Jeopardy" in play here? "I contacted Flight Service but their information was inaccurate".

I'm not privy to all of the information the controller had at his disposal at the at moment but suspect he/she may have been new to the position he/she was working and no one informed him Bethpage had been closed a long time ago. Yet, the radar scope still said it was there and usable in an emergency. As I see it there is serious culpability here on the part of the FAA for not keeping their systems up to date.

I'm not in the camp of blaming others, but I can't see beyond a reasonable doubt how the pilot alone could be faulted for this unacceptable outcome. The other option could have seen him landing on the tracks and facing an oncoming high speed train

That said, I have close friends who fly out of KFRG. They have developed good rapport with both New York Approach and Kennedy and give them high marks for their professionalism and willingness to help GA pilots. Ultimately, the system failed, and I can't help but think a large part of the blame lies squarely in the FAA's corner.

Yup. I'd say the FAA done screwed the pooch here.

Which isn't to say I blame the controller. The controller was doing his/her best with bad information that was presented to them as well.
 
I was also surprised to read that it was more than 2 minutes and 2,000ft before the pilot apparently realised his engine had failed? If that's true, he must have been high as a kite.
 
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