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Keith B wrote:
Good question. Here's the SR20 checklist http://www.inflightpilottraining.com/wp ... -23-14.pdf
Fuel selector switch is all that is indicated other than a note that states:

The Fuel Pump must be used for switching from one tank to another to avoid engine restart delays should engine quit due to fuel starvation.

Not sure about head/tailwinds either. If she flew with a tailwind the three hours in might be right on the ragged edge consumption. With her being focused on the missed approaches, heavy traffic, etc, it is possible she exhausted one tank about the time she was trying to land. I also think I remember one article stating witnesses said the plane sounded like the model airplanes that 'spit and sputter' before the crash. If she lost power in a bank, then that could have contributed to her panicking and going into a stall. All speculation but it is one of the fairly common causes of accidents when pilots start down the error chain.

The Fuel pump should be on boost as part of the pre-landing checklist. Part of the checklist on the planes I flew had you switch to the fullest tank well before you got into the pattern.

Non aviation witnesses often confuse the sound of an idling engine with "stalling."

As a pilot for most of my life, I have seen the aftermath of more than one tragic crashes. It is always very disturbing (even when you don't know those involved). My prayers are sent to the family.

Charles L. Cotton wrote:

Keith B wrote:And now KHOU has the raw video.

While hard to watch, as Charles stated in his original post, you can pretty well see that the plane had to have stalled and fell out of the sky vertically.

The FBO at the departure airport in Norman, OK said the plane was topped-off giving it a five hour range. The flight to Houston was three hours, so I wonder if she forgot to switch tanks. I'm not familiar with the Cirrus SR20, so I have no idea how it's fuel system is managed. Either way it was clearly a stall/spin accident.

Chas.

Aircraft was reportedly equipped with a parachute system as well. Such a shame.

Prayers for the deceased and family.

I wonder if it would have helped if she had been coming into a less busy airport like Hull in Sugar Land or an airport in one of the other surrounding suburbs. Both Hobby and Bush can be very busy and are predominantly used by big commercial jets. Prayers for the family. Such a tragic story.

sugar land dave wrote:I wonder if it would have helped if she had been coming into a less busy airport like Hull in Sugar Land or an airport in one of the other surrounding suburbs. Both Hobby and Bush can be very busy and are predominantly used by big commercial jets. Prayers for the family. Such a tragic story.

I'll bet it was a contributing factor.

John Galt wrote:

sugar land dave wrote:I wonder if it would have helped if she had been coming into a less busy airport like Hull in Sugar Land or an airport in one of the other surrounding suburbs. Both Hobby and Bush can be very busy and are predominantly used by big commercial jets. Prayers for the family. Such a tragic story.

I'll bet it was a contributing factor.

Going into a major carrier airport can be a challenge, if you are not used to it. There is a lot going on. Busy radio, especially, more risk from wake turbulence to think about. Being high on approach by itself usually isn't much of a problem, because the runways are so much longer, but you are so much slower on approach speed that the big jet following you might have to make some awkward decisions. From the controller radio snip I heard, she decided to go around, so no telling how high they were, speed etc.

You want to work with the controllers, but sometimes you have to say "unable." You are responsible for the safe conduct of the flight, so if you are given instructions you can't safely do, or unduly risky, you have to tell them. I especially remember my first flight into Las Vegas McCarren where I was "cleared to land" hopelessly high and way too fast, in a Mooney, which will either go down or slow down, but not both gracefully at the same time. It annoys the controller sometimes, but if you can't do it safely, better say so.

JALLEN wrote:

John Galt wrote:

sugar land dave wrote:I wonder if it would have helped if she had been coming into a less busy airport like Hull in Sugar Land or an airport in one of the other surrounding suburbs. Both Hobby and Bush can be very busy and are predominantly used by big commercial jets. Prayers for the family. Such a tragic story.

I'll bet it was a contributing factor.

Going into a major carrier airport can be a challenge, if you are not used to it. There is a lot going on. Busy radio, especially, more risk from wake turbulence to think about. Being high on approach by itself usually isn't much of a problem, because the runways are so much longer, but you are so much slower on approach speed that the big jet following you might have to make some awkward decisions. From the controller radio snip I heard, she decided to go around, so no telling how high they were, speed etc.

You want to work with the controllers, but sometimes you have to say "unable." You are responsible for the safe conduct of the flight, so if you are given instructions you can't safely do, or unduly risky, you have to tell them. I especially remember my first flight into Las Vegas McCarren where I was "cleared to land" hopelessly high and way too fast, in a Mooney, which will either go down or slow down, but not both gracefully at the same time. It annoys the controller sometimes, but if you can't do it safely, better say so.

I had a similar flight into McCarren in my Cessna 210 in the late 70's (bring in high and cleared to land).