Aircraft crashes into NYC building

[RacerX]

I didn't know you flew, Ron?

Oops, I forgot quotes around those paragraphs. I've only flown as a passenger in light planes twice. It was...uncomfortable.

[mm2002]

Sad news indeed. I'm really surprised that the FAA allows anyone to do these "river runs" in a big city. I'll bet that changes after this incident.

[StukaJU87]

Sad news indeed. I'm really surprised that the FAA allows anyone to do these "river runs" in a big city. I'll bet that changes after this incident.

I don't know about that, Mark. There are helicopters and planes flying all over there all day long.

[mm2002]

I don't know about that, Mark. There are helicopters and planes flying all over there all day long.

At under 1000 feet? Wow.

[StukaJU87]

At under 1000 feet? Wow.

There are all kinds of tours and crap like that going on. I think it is nuts. I live about one mile from Teterboro airport. A plane leaving there can be over NYC in probably 4 minutes. Scary. I don't care how many fighters you scramble, the damage will already be done.

[AzPilot]

At under 1000 feet? Wow.

They have to fly that low because of jet traffic going in and out of NY.




the link below is from a pilot explaining alittle more in detail about flying the corridor in NY.

http://home.rochester.rr.com/pa28/nyc-vfr.htm

[OnlineStageGear]

CNN posted video cought by the Coast Guard

http://www.cnn.com/

[fuel0707]

They have to fly that low because of jet traffic going in and out of NY.

To add to that, I fly in and out of Teterboro. The airspace near that area is very busy with the traffic for EWR (Newark) which in turn forces rather unusual traffic patterns for Teterboro. Add to that all the other airports in the area, like JFK and LGA and not to mention numerous smaller airports, the airspace in the NYC area is really incredible. As such, for pilots wanting to fly under VFR (Visual Flight Rules), they are compressed into smaller portions of airspace and often at altitudes of 1000 feet above ground level. That's not a dangerously low altitude but in the event of an emergency or equipment problem, it can limit one's options.

By the way, Cory Lidle's plane, a Cirrus SR-20 (or -22), is equipped with a ballistic recovery system, which is a full-plane size parachute. It's been used on a few ocassions and saved lives. I don't know what the situation was on Cory's flight, if the parachute would have helped.

CNN just mentioned that his family may get no payout from his player's association insurance policy because players aren't allowed to be in aircraft unless they are passengers. I wonder if that's due to Thurman Munson's death in 1979.

My sympathies go out to Cory and his family.

[RacerX]

By the way, Cory Lidle's plane, a Cirrus SR-20 (or -22), is equipped with a ballistic recovery system, which is a full-plane size parachute. It's been used on a few ocassions and saved lives. I don't know what the situation was on Cory's flight, if the parachute would have helped.

He was at 500 feet when last on radar and then made the left hand turn.
The parachute was not deployed. Word is he was going too fast to make that tight turn:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/461162p-388014c.html

The manufacturer of the parachute system is Ballistic Recovery Systems. Their FAQ says:
Q. How low can the parachute work?
A. The altitude required is a function of speed more than height. FAA certified tests have shown that full parachute inflation could occur as low as 260-290 feet above the ground.

http://www.brsparachutes.com/Default.aspx?TabId=26

BTW The founder of that company had an interesting reason for starting it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballistic_Recovery_Systems

.