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Voice and flight recorders yield no clues to cause of USAair crash September 10, 1994 This report was written by P-G Staff Writers Jon Schmitz and Matthew P. Smith based on their reporting and that of Staff Writers David L. Michelmore, Steve Creedy, Tom Barnes, Mark Belko, Dennis B. Roddy and Steve Twedt. USAir Flight 427 was making a routine approach to Pittsburgh International Airport when it suddenly rolled sharply to the left and crashed 23 seconds later. A voice from the cockpit said, "Oh ... Oh, God ... Traffic emergency ... Oh, shit ... " And then nothing. The words were contained in a transcript made public last night by the National Transporation Safety Board. The transcript was from conversations recorded Thursday evening at the control tower at Pittsburgh International Airport. But investigators said their initial review of the cockpit voice and flight data recorders did not yield clues as to what caused the crash, which killed all 132 people on board the Boeing 737-300 en route from Chicago. "There were some normal transmissions, then some exclamations," said Carl Vogt, one of five presidential appointees to the NTSB. "They said they had an emergency and then there were no more transmissions. It does not add much at this point as to why this happened," Vogt said. The jetliner crashed in a wooded section of Hopewell, about seven miles from the airport, shortly after 7 p.m. Fourteen NTSB investigators, led by Vogt, arrived yesterday to begin an investigation that is expected to take at least nine months. Briefing reporters last night, Vogt cautioned that investigators had not drawn any conclusions on the early evidence they had gathered. Investigators had just begun reviewing the plane’s flight data recorder, which monitored 11 functions of the aircraft and three kinds of information, or parameters, regarding its engines. The recorder told investigators the plane rolled to its left before it crashed. The recorder also indicated that both engines were running normally before the crash. Vogt also said: Both of the plane’s engines were recovered, yielding some information. Two of the four thrust reversers on the left engine were found and were in their stowed, or proper, position. When the plane lands, pilots activate the reversers to reverse the engine thrust and slow the plane. Vogt said engine compressor blades on the right engine were bent in a manner that indicated the engine was running at the time of the crash. Flight-recorder data indicate the airplane’s load was properly balanced and that it had plenty of fuel for its trip to Pittsburgh. Birds were reported in the area before the crash. Birds are a hazard to aircraft -- they can crack windshields or be sucked into the engines, causing an engine failure. Witnesses have provided a generally consistent account. No witnesses reported seeing smoke or fire from the plane before it crashed. All said it went nearly straight down and no one reported seeing any pieces coming off the plane. The recovery of victims’ remains is taking top priority. Vogt said that process was about 15 percent complete. Workers are using protective clothing in the crash area because of the potential health hazard from blood and other human remains. Allegheny County Health Department nurses gave tetanus and hepatitis-B shots to the workers. Some pieces of the plane were found two miles from the crash site. Officials want to retrieve as many pieces as possible to reconstruct the accident. There was no immediate indication that explosives had been on the plane. Officials do not know the position of the airplane’s control surfaces at the time of the crash, but hope the flight data recorder will yield that and other pertinent information. Investigators continued to seek witnesses who saw the plane go down. "We want to talk to everybody who might have seen it," Vogt said. As the inquiry began, several officials sought to allay any public fears the crash may have incited. Federal Aviation Administrator David R. Hinson said the agency stepped up its monitoring of USAir’s operations two years ago because of the airline’s mounting financial problems, and again in July after the crash of a USAir jet in Charlotte, N.C., that killed 37 of the 57 people on board. But he said the monitoring disclosed nothing unusual, and he pronounced the airline safe. "To this point, we have not seen or turned up any unusual circumstances in the day-to-day operations of USAir and we deem them to be safe," he said. "In fact, this afternoon I will be flying on USAir." Pena tours site U.S. Transportation Secretary Federico Pena, who toured the crash site with Hinson, said his agency "found no issues or significant matters that we are concerned about" as a result of the increased FAA scrutiny. Hinson would not say whether the FAA would take additional steps in light of the most recent crash. He said the NTSB had not issued its findings regarding the Charlotte accident and had just begun its investigation of Thursday’s crash. USAir Chairman Seth Schofield said the five crashes suffered by the airline since 1989 were "totally dissimilar" and not indicative of a safety problem. "If I thought USAir was an unsafe airline, I would put the entire fleet on the ground until any problems were corrected," Schofield said. The crash had not affected bookings of USAir flights as of yesterday afternoon, he said. David Stemple, executive director of the International Airline Passengers Association, said USAir was in its second tier of airlines, ranked according to safety. The IAPA rates carriers on the number of fatal accidents per flight, number of fatalities per million passengers, and the value and age of the aircraft fleet. Other U.S. carriers belonging to the second-tier group include Continental, Northwest, TWA and United. The association’s top category includes Alaska, America West, American, Delta and Southwest. Stemple said his statistics did not include the two most recent crashes but said it wasn’t clear how they would affect USAir’s record. "They have so many flights and fly so many passengers that one or two incidents may not change the statistics dramatically," he said. "I think during our (10-year) study period they had 9.5 million flights and that was more than any other U.S. carrier." But not everyone was convinced USAir is a safe bet. Arnold I. Barnett, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies airline statistics, said he calculated that the chance of dying on a USAir jet, based on crashes so far this decade, was nine times that of other airlines. The death toll in the Hopewell crash, placed at 131 on Thursday night, increased by one yesterday. The airline had not accounted for a lap-riding child on board, Schofield said. Pena said he was aware of no problems with the maintenance or safety records of the Boeing 737-300 that crashed. The aircraft had reported 36 separate repairs to the FAA over the last four years, none of them particularly serious. Thirty reports detailed repairs made because of corrosion or cracking. On two occasions, the repairs followed incidents that forced the aircraft to make unscheduled stops. On Sept. 6, 1991, the plane was diverted to Pittsburgh on a flight from Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Las Vegas, Nevada, because of vibrations similar to those that take place when an aircraft stalls. On April 5, 1991, the aircraft was diverted to Baltimore when a motor regulating engine pressure seized and stopped operating. Neither incident was considered serious and the repairs were made easily. The Boeing 737, workhorse of air fleets around the world, is considered to be highly reliable. "It’s a good airplane. There’s nothing in the records of the 737 that would cause us any concern at all," said Bob Flocke of the Air Line Pilots Association. The crashed plane, made by Boeing in October 1987, had accumulated 23,846 hours in the air, according to David Rosen of USAir. Schofield said the plane had a routine transit check Wednesday in Hartford, Conn., a procedure done every 35 flight hours. Maintenance checks He said the plane had a more thorough maintenance check on July 20 and a complete review of all systems Feb. 3, 1993. Maintenance checks are done every 1,100 flying hours and complete systems checks, known as a heavy maintenance check, every 11,000 hours, he said. The aircraft’s reliability and the ideal weather conditions have puzzled experts. "It had to be something fairly drastic that happened in such a way that the flight crew did not immediately recognize it," said Peter Katz, editor of Aviation Monthly. "There’s so little to go on." "As difficult, as painful, as this accident is, let me emphasize that these accidents are very rare indeed," Pena said. "And to everyone who is traveling, a simple statement -- and that is flying on our airlines is one of the safest ways of traveling in our country today." As the NTSB began its investigation, Pena and Hinson said they were at a loss to explain the airplane’s sudden plunge. "It was a clear day. There was no weather issue. The crew had indicated no problems and therefore, it’s a mystery to us at this point why the accident occurred," Hinson said. They refused to speculate about a cause, although Hinson said engine failure was not a likely culprit. "I cannot rule anything in or anything out at this point," said Vogt of the NTSB. Schofield said the jetliner had "normal contact" with air traffic controllers up until the moment of the accident. He said there was no reason to suspect sabotage. USAir officials said the jet’s captain, Peter Germano, 45, of Moorestown, N.J., had been with the airline since 1981 and had 9,112 hours of flying experience, including 3,269 in Boeing 737-300 aircraft. First Officer Charles B. Emmett III, 38, of Nassau Bay, Texas, joined USAir in February 1987 and had 9,119 hours of flight time, including 3,645 hours in the 737-300. Three flight attendants who were killed in the crash were identified as Stanley R. Canty, 29, Myrtle Beach, S.C.; April Lynn Slater, 28, Irving, Texas; and Sarah Elizabeth Slocum-Hamley, 28, Chesapeake, Va. The crew was based in Philadelphia. Pena said he was stunned by the level of devastation he saw while touring the crash scene. "The airplane is essentially destroyed. Sometimes, in these accidents, you’ll see large segments of the plane intact. That is not the case here," he said. NTSB team members began sifting through the rubble of the crash for clues, despite sporadic rain that made the rough, debris-strewn terrain even more treacherous. FBI employees also were involved in the investigation, although NTSB officials said that was not unusual at this stage. Beaver County Coroner Wayne Tatalovich said the agents were there to help identify victims through fingerprinting. The field investigation should be completed in about five days, but it probably will take about nine months before the NTSB issues a formal report on the cause of the crash. As the NTSB started its search for answers, others began the grim task of retrieving the remains of those who perished. Allegheny County Fire Marshal John Kaus said remains would be taken to a temporary morgue at the 911th Tactical Airlift Group base near the Pittsburgh airport. Volunteers from funeral homes will try to use dental records, fingerprints and other means, such as clothing, jewelry, scars and tattoos to identify the bodies. Joseph Marsaglia, a funeral director, said about 200 funeral directors were on standby to help identify remains. He said the goal is 100 percent identification, although he conceded that may not be possible. "A lot of people might think that funeral directors get used to death. But you never get used to it," he said. "And something of this magnitude is beyond a funeral director’s comprehension." State police moved to seal the crash site from all but authorized personnel, and local police and emergency officials said eight people were arrested Thursday night and yesterday for trespassing. Their names were unavailable. "We literally had people climbing up cliffs, going through the woods and going across four-lane highways to get to the scene," said Jim Eichenlaub, Hopewell’s emergency management director. "I don’t know why." He said anyone who attempted to go to the crash site would be arrested. Teams of emergency cleanup and police agencies from local, county, state and federal governments moved inch by inch across the wreckage, photographing remains and personal effects, bagging them, and marking spots with small flags. Gov. Casey flew over the site in a state police helicopter before meeting with emergency officials. Later, he declared an emergency and issued a proclamation authorizing the use of state personnel to assist in the response to the crash. Casey expressed hope that USAir, the major commercial presence at the airport, gets through the disaster intact. "USAir is a very important factor in the economy of Pennsylvania," he said, and a key to whether the state and county earn back their investment in the $1 billion new terminal at Pittsburgh International. "Hopefully they can continue to go forward and be economically viable." Casey said his aerial tour of the crash site yesterday has not deterred him from flying. He returned to Harrisburg on board a state twin-engine airplane. "You cross your fingers and your toes and hope for the best," he said. U.S., state agencies on the scene Here are descriptions of some of the federal and state agencies that are responding to the crash of Flight 427. National Transportation Safety Board. (NTSB) This federal agency is independent of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is charged by Congress with investigating transportation accidents in the United States and making safety recommendations to other agencies, such as the Federal Aviation Administration. The safety board does not have any enforcement or regulatory powers, but it has chief jurisdiction over the accident investigation. It is headed by a five-member board appointed by the president. The board currently has one vacancy. Its acting chairman is Jim Hall. Federal Aviation Administration. (FAA) The administration regulates the U.S. airline industry, particularly with regard to flight safety. It assists the NTSB on accident investigations, conducts aircraft inspections and ensures that they are properly maintained. The agency employs about 30,000 nationally, about 24,000 of whom are air traffic controllers or support staff. The FAA administrator is David R. Hinson. Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. (PEMA) Headed by Lt. Gov. Mark S. Singel, PEMA operates a statewide control center in Harrisburg where its staff can communicate with and advise local emergency workers in all 67 counties. PEMA can coordinate emergency response when numerous local or county agencies are involved. It can also arrange for state agencies -- such as the National Guard or the state police -- to assist when an emergency threatens to overwhelm smaller county or municipal crews. After the declaration of a state of emergency, PEMA can also help local agencies obtain government funding to cover their response costs.
Flight transcript Here is the transcript of the recording of the conversation between the cockpit of Flight 427 and the Pittsburgh International Airport control tower just before the crash:
two-one-zero.
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