28,000 feet NO WHERE TO GO BUT DOWN

Submitted by Anonymous on

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From: PETER WILLIAMS <peterpawaviation [at] hotmail.com>
Sender: <marv [at] lancaironline.net>
Subject: 28,000 feet NO WHERE TO GO BUT DOWN
Date: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 08:10:34 -0400
To: <lml [at] lancaironline.net>
IT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE
        --flying is dangerous for those that get complacent

Hi there

I assume that most of us have heard about the TBM 900 that went down near Jamaica. it seems to be
a loss of pressurization problem that overwhelmed the pilot.
a TBM has a similar (upper) speed envelop and performance envelop to our Lancair 4P and Evolution.

this story is about a highly skilled, 5,000 hour pilot who died in his brand new TBM. I do not know the details
of his flying. but i do know that he sent his "chief pilot" to pick up his new TBM 900 in France

AOPA ARTICLE
On the ramp were the four airplanes, bound for an already scheduled,
highly publicized, highly produced
event at Orlando, Florida’s Fantasy
of Flight Museum, designed to reveal the new TBM 900s to customers,

prospects, and VIPs. That “reveal” was taking place on March 18. The
idea was to get the planes to
Daher-Socata’s North American facility at
Hollywood, Florida’s North Perry Airport (HWO) on March 16.


SN 1003: N900KN, with company flight test pilot Jacques Raissiguier and
Rich Clark,
pilot for new owner Larry Glazer, president of the TBM
Owners and Operators Association.

the implication, to me, my opinion only, was that Larry Glazer was often accompanied often by a professional co-pilot.
i am not diminishing for a moment that he was likely a very accomplished TBM pilot. I am implying that it may have been
in the decisive pilot thinking department that he was not as skilled.

I CAN TELL YOU
I have about a thousand hours pressurized aircraft time and one thing i learned when there is trouble in the plane
I AM IN CHARGE
if i have trouble with pressurization, i am the way down, NOW, RIGHT NOW.
                                                                                                                                             (ICE same thing)
my words to center would only be:
                                                                 leaving 28,000 for 12,000 right now. if there is anyone below, get them out of the way.
i do not care if it is TFR, TSA or ten airliners in a row.
                                                                i am on the way down, NOW.
"priority handling please"

Flying is very unforgiving of carelessness or inattention

peter

ps
consciousness at  FL 280
is 2.5 minutes  (these numbers are derived for healthy 20 year olds in the armed services)
figure 0ne minute max for a middle aged individual; but less than one minute for rational thinking