Crash of Usair Flight 5050 Term Paper

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Also causal was the Captain's failure to detect the mistrimmed rudder before the takeoff was attempted." (National Transportation Safety Board).

Controversy soon filled the probe into the crash when a passenger told investigators that he had been out "bar-hopping" with the pilot, co-pilot and a stewardess just before the flight. The accusations were never proven, and federal investigators later pointed to a defect in the aircraft rudder as the cause of the crash. However, the rudder was subsequently redesigned.

The accident involving USAir Flight 5050 attracted the attention of the Queen's district attorney, who convened a grand jury to determine if criminal charges should be pursued. No formal charges were ever brought. However, the action of the district attorney hampered the normal course of the accident investigation, because the accident scene was declared a "crime scene." Access to the wreckage and witnesses was subjected to the control of the local authorities, which superseded the National Transportation Safety Board's authority. After the field phase of the investigation was completed, the district attorney withdrew, and the investigation was concluded pursuant to normal National Transportation Safety Board procedures.

The crash of USAir Flight 5050 was not a case where the National Transportation Safety Board felt that the accident was caused by a criminal act, and therefore they was relinquishing its jurisdiction to law enforcement agencies. Rather, the National Transportation Safety Board correctly believed it was an accident caused by either a mechanical failure or pilot error in the traditional sense, and that it was not a matter of concern to local law enforcement officials.

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Nevertheless, the district attorney temporarily prevailed and the investigative process was hampered.

Summary

An analysis of accident reports shows that nearly 75% of aircraft accidents that occur in the United States involve some form of human error (Federal Aviation Administration). These can be errors of omission or commission, and can be by pilots, air traffic controllers, designers, loaders, mechanics and others. In virtually all of these situations, the personnel involved were performing their duties to the best of their ability, in order to ensure the safe completion of the flight. Nevertheless, even under these circumstances, accidents do occur. One reason that the accident investigation process has been so effective in identifying safety deficiencies is the ability of investigators, through cooperative means, to obtain complete and accurate information from those who were directly involved in the conduct of the flight.

The details behind crash of USAir Flight 5050 in 1989 exemplify this statement. The cause of the crash was deemed human error. However, the investigative process, which includes examination of flight data and communications such as the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, aids in gathering information to prevent future occurrences......

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