Fatigued pilots were cracking lewd jokes as they approached runway

Fatigued pilots were cracking lewd jokes as they approached runway

WASHINGTON - Federal investigators have revealed that pilot errors and overwork was responsible for the fatal crash of Corporate Airlines Flight 5966, which killed all the crew and 11 of the 13 passengers on October 19, 2004.

The National Transportation Safety Board said yesterday that the pilot and the co-pilot did not follow guidelines and were busy cracking jokes and passing lewd comments about co-workers who did not get along well with them.

This distraction plus the fact that the crew had been making a sixth landing in 14 hours was responsible for the plane crash as it neared Kirksville, Mo .Kim Sasse, the 48-year-old pilot on the plane and his 29-year-old co-pilot Jonathan Palmer were cursing each other as the warning system alerted them that the ground was fast approaching.

NTSB Acting Chairman Mark Rosenker said that he was disappointed with what he heard, "From the beginning to the end, it was unprofessional. What we saw was a breakdown in discipline," he said. He added that all the joking was sure to have distracted the crew, thus ensuring that they were vulnerable to making mistakes at a crucial time.

The board said that Sasse appeared to be too interested in observing what was going on outside the plane rather than concentrating on the flight instruments as the plane prepared to land in less than ideal visibility conditions.

Sasse appeared to be in a hurry to finish the job and said that he could see the runway lights at 400 feet even though Palmer was not able to see any. The board ruled that in not challenging Sasse, Palmer defied the established guidelines. The NTSB added that there was no mechanical failure of the plane and said that the Federal Aviation Administration must ensure that the "sterile cockpit rule" was maintained by the crew.

But the Air Line Pilots Association contends that the pilots are being made scapegoats, "When people have brought up this line of reasoning, they are really trying to divert attention from the real issues, whether it be fatigue, training issues or other things that went on," said Duane Woerth, the association's president. "If you've been on duty 14 1/2 hours, you're going to be fatigued." The FAA's regulations allow 16 hours of uninterrupted duty.