A 2 foot x 2 foot x 2 foot cube of ice equals 8 cubic feet. The weight of that ice cube would be 460 pounds.
When the aircraft experienced sudden decrease in temperatures and increase in moisture content of the air that surrounded the airport the ice caked on the plane quickly. Significant Ice in the words of a pilot plagued with the ability to 'hold' his plane on course and sought the assistance 'in a last ditch' effort of his auto-pilot is all I need to know.
The 'way' to a clear understanding of these circumstances is to 'track' the weather patterns surrounding the crash site that day. There are 'several' measures of weather in the region and all should be looked at to realize the 'SIGNIFICANT' circumstances and the heroic efforts of the plane's pilot that day.
The pilot's record, his length of service both before flying for this airline and after and his personal references to his character content will reveal a man that did not want to die that day. Guarantee you that. I am confident he took his responsibility seriously and there may have even been conversations within the cabin crew that flying that day was risky. The prosectors that will evaluate this event, need to examine 'the culture' of what lead to this occurring.
The 'way' to a clear understanding of these circumstances is to 'track' the weather patterns surrounding the crash site that day. There are 'several' measures of weather in the region and all should be looked at to realize the 'SIGNIFICANT' circumstances and the heroic efforts of the plane's pilot that day.
The pilot's record, his length of service both before flying for this airline and after and his personal references to his character content will reveal a man that did not want to die that day. Guarantee you that. I am confident he took his responsibility seriously and there may have even been conversations within the cabin crew that flying that day was risky. The prosectors that will evaluate this event, need to examine 'the culture' of what lead to this occurring.
The highlighted description of the plane's flight before it crashed can be mimiced on a computer re-enactment and decided to what extent weight on the wings and/or plane (which does not have a 'deicer' for the entire body of the plane) caused that 'extreme' change in flight.
The explosion probably occurred because the 'movement' of the plane disrupted the fuselage of the fuel compartment.
The fuel would have a different freezing temperature than water vapor, BUT, the water vapor that would have accumulated in air inside the fuel tanks would not. If the fuel tanks were exposed to freezing temperatures, the water vapor inside the tanks could have condensed into ice and caused 'weight' to be added to the fuel compartment as 'air' would be floating and not necessarily cause weight in that compartment.
Additionally, if there were 'ice cubes' that settled in the fuel during flight, ANY movement would have caused the fuel to 'rock' with the plane and be 'disturbed' in greater movement as 'solid' objects moved throughout the stored fuel.
A question that needs to be asked, is how much fuel was in the plane before take-off and how much fuel would have been consumed during flight, therefore, understanding how much fuel was indeed within the plane as it approached landing contributing to its instability.
Any winds or gusts or sudden down blasts needs to be understood as well.
It is called physics and there are finite answers to this issue.
Regards.
...The investigators said the turboprop (click title to entry - thank you), which was carrying 49 people, gyrated wildly in the seconds before it hit a house and burst into flames, killing resident Doug Wielenski, 61. As pilots had prepared for landing at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, the plane's nose suddenly rocked up and down as if it was a roller coaster, said National Transportation Safety Board member Steven Chealander. The plane banked sharply left, then even more steeply to the right, nearly turning upside down.
The plane plunged rapidly, falling from 1,800 feet to 1,000 feet in five seconds, before it crashed on its belly into Wielenski's house in Clarence Center, N.Y. It was traveling about 115 mph just before it crashed, Chealander said....
Should All Turboprops Be Grounded?: (click here)
A former NTSB chairman is calling on authorities to ground all turboprop aircraft like the one that crashed near Buffalo until the investigation is complete. Federal Aviation officials say the planes are just as safe in winter weather as any other aircraft. They say the Bombardier Q400 has "an excellent record in icing conditions."
...However, there isn’t any physical evidence severe icing conditions existed at the time of the crash. (click here)
“To say that they should not have been flying on autopilot is not correct,” Chealander said during a briefing held in Amherst, New York. “Thus far, we haven’t determined it was severe icing, it doesn’t seem like it was a severe icing event.”
The crew on the flight voice recorder reported “significant icing.” Chealander said investigators don’t know what that means. The term “severe icing” is an official designation. However, “significant icing” isn’t.
Based on initial weather data and reports filed by other pilots flying into the airport that night, there isn’t any evidence to say the “severe icing” designation was applicable, he said....
...The investigators said the turboprop (click title to entry - thank you), which was carrying 49 people, gyrated wildly in the seconds before it hit a house and burst into flames, killing resident Doug Wielenski, 61. As pilots had prepared for landing at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, the plane's nose suddenly rocked up and down as if it was a roller coaster, said National Transportation Safety Board member Steven Chealander. The plane banked sharply left, then even more steeply to the right, nearly turning upside down.
The plane plunged rapidly, falling from 1,800 feet to 1,000 feet in five seconds, before it crashed on its belly into Wielenski's house in Clarence Center, N.Y. It was traveling about 115 mph just before it crashed, Chealander said....
Should All Turboprops Be Grounded?: (click here)
A former NTSB chairman is calling on authorities to ground all turboprop aircraft like the one that crashed near Buffalo until the investigation is complete. Federal Aviation officials say the planes are just as safe in winter weather as any other aircraft. They say the Bombardier Q400 has "an excellent record in icing conditions."
...However, there isn’t any physical evidence severe icing conditions existed at the time of the crash. (click here)
“To say that they should not have been flying on autopilot is not correct,” Chealander said during a briefing held in Amherst, New York. “Thus far, we haven’t determined it was severe icing, it doesn’t seem like it was a severe icing event.”
The crew on the flight voice recorder reported “significant icing.” Chealander said investigators don’t know what that means. The term “severe icing” is an official designation. However, “significant icing” isn’t.
Based on initial weather data and reports filed by other pilots flying into the airport that night, there isn’t any evidence to say the “severe icing” designation was applicable, he said....
