Doomed Plane Had Cable Problem
A problem with cables connected to the tail of a Beech 1900 turboprop caused the plane to climb too steeply and that may have suddenly shifted the cargo just before the aircraft crashed in Charlotte, killing all 21 aboard, federal safety investigators said Tuesday.
US Airways Express Flight 5481 plummeted to the ground shortly after takeoff Jan. 8. Investigators are looking at weight and elevator malfunction as possible contributing causes.
The elevator is a flap on the tail that moves up and down and causes the plane to climb or dive.
In a preliminary report, the National Transportation Safety Board said elevator control cables were not operating correctly.
That, coupled with an instrument problem, could have caused the pilot, Katie Leslie, to take off too steeply.
The NTSB found that one cable attached to the elevator was about 2 inches longer than the other, which meant the elevator didn't properly respond to the controls. And the indicator on the instrument panel showed the plane's nose was pointed down when it really was up, according to the report.
Investigators also are looking at the cargo hooks to see if the baggage was secured when the plane crashed. A sudden shift of the cargo could have upset the balance of the plane, making it more difficult to control, particularly if it was climbing too steeply.
The maximum takeoff weight for the Beech 1900 is just over 17,000 pounds. The NTSB has said the plane's documentation shows it was within 100 pounds of that weight.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday announced that airlines flying 10- to 19-seat planes must begin weighing passengers and their bags. The FAA wants to see whether its estimates for passenger and bag weights still are accurate or are too low.
All bags will be weighed, but the FAA is letting the airlines decide whether they'll require passengers to step on scales or simply ask them how much they weigh.
The agency will allow airlines to add 10 pounds to each passenger because some people may underestimate their weight.
Passengers who refuse to divulge their weight can be barred from the flight, the FAA said.
The FAA lets airlines estimate that an adult passenger flying in winter averages 185 pounds, including clothing and carry-ons, said Lou Cusimano, FAA's deputy director of flight standards service. The same passenger is calculated at 180 pounds during summer travel.
Children ages 2 to 12 are estimated to weigh 80 pounds in winter and summer, he said, and each checked bag is calculated to weigh an average of 25 pounds for a domestic flight and 30 pounds for international travel.
Some believe those estimates may be too low because Americans and their carry-on bags have gotten larger, and checked bags often weigh more than 25 pounds.
Adult men averaged 180.7 pounds in 1994, the most recent year in which statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention are available.
The FAA also issued an order requiring inspections of elevators on all Beech 1900 series planes.