The document details a controlled flight into terrain accident involving Crossair Flight 3597 near Zurich Airport. The flight crashed short of the runway due to errors by the inexperienced captain and navigational errors. The captain had a history of pilot errors but was still allowed to fly passengers due to a lack of pilots.
The document details a controlled flight into terrain accident involving Crossair Flight 3597 near Zurich Airport. The flight crashed short of the runway due to errors by the inexperienced captain and navigational errors. The captain had a history of pilot errors but was still allowed to fly passengers due to a lack of pilots.
The document details a controlled flight into terrain accident involving Crossair Flight 3597 near Zurich Airport. The flight crashed short of the runway due to errors by the inexperienced captain and navigational errors. The captain had a history of pilot errors but was still allowed to fly passengers due to a lack of pilots.
The document details a controlled flight into terrain accident involving Crossair Flight 3597 near Zurich Airport. The flight crashed short of the runway due to errors by the inexperienced captain and navigational errors. The captain had a history of pilot errors but was still allowed to fly passengers due to a lack of pilots.
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1/ 3
Date 24 November 2001
Summary Controlled flight into terrain due to navigational
and pilot error
Site Bassersdorf, near Zürich Airport, Switzerland
47°27′14″N 8°37′24″E
Aircraft
Aircraft type Avro RJ100
Operator Crossair
IATA flight No. LX3597
ICAO flight No. CRX3597
Call sign CROSSAIR 3597
Registration HB-IXM
Flight origin Berlin Tegel Airport, Germany
Destination Zürich Airport, Switzerland
Occupants 33
Passengers 28
Crew 5
Fatalities 24
Injuries 9
Survivors 9
\ WHAT HAPPENED
Flight 3597 departed Berlin Tegel Airport at 21:01 CET with 28
passengers, three flight attendants, and the cockpit crew consisting of Captain Hans Ulrich Lutz (57) and First Officer Stefan Löhrer (25). Lutz was a highly experienced pilot with more than 19,500 flight hours, approximately 19,300 of which were as pilot in command. Löhrer, in contrast, was inexperienced, with just 490 total flight hours.
The pilots were cleared for an instrument landing system (ILS)
approach to runway 14 when they entered Zürich airspace, approximately an hour after takeoff. However, because of a noise abatement statute after 10:00 p.m., they were forced to switch to a VOR/DME (VHF Omnidirectional Range/Distance Measuring Equipment) approach to runway 28. Low clouds made visibility poor. A previously landing Crossair flight's transmission to air traffic control (ATC) stated that they could not see the runway until 2.2 nautical miles (4.1 km; 2.5 mi) away.[2] At 22:07 CET, Flight 3597 crashed into a forested range of hills close to the small town of Bassersdorf, about 4 km (2.5 mi) short of the runway, where it broke apart and burst. WHY IT HAPPENED
Lutz had previously failed to execute proper landing and navigation
procedures, but Crossair had not taken any action to remove him from passenger transportation. Due to his inadequate understanding of the MD-83's computerized navigational systems, Lutz had twice failed to upgrade his flight certifications to the more complex model. 23 The report also detailed Lutz's involvement in the complete loss of a Crossair Saab 340 by retracting its landing gear while it was still on the apron which resulted in Crossair relieving him of his flight instructing duties in 1991. Despite Lutz's evident shortcomings, Crossair persisted in permitting him to transport passengers (ostensibly because of a lack of certified pilots), and he persisted in exhibiting his general shortcomings as a line pilot. These included a near-miss incident on final approach to Lugano Airport where Lutz made a risky 4,000 feet (1,200 m) per minute descent and a navigational error during a sightseeing tour over the Alps that caused the aircraft to veer significantly off course to Sion. In one instance, Lutz misjudged his approach into Sion and spent many minutes circling above what he believed to be the airport before onlookers noticed road signs in Italian; the navigational blunder had taken them over the Great St Bernard Pass, and the airport they had been circling was in fact Aosta Valley Airport in Italy.
WHAT IT CABE DONE?
One of the mistake is an inexperienced air traffic controller was alone in the control tower. A more experienced controller might have allowed the flight to land on runway 14 because of the poor weather conditions. Communication skills is important to have a Clear directions to pilots and the coordination of aircraft movements depend on effective communication. Years of experience have given seasoned controllers excellent communication skills, which allow them to deliver information clearly and effectively even in hectic or stressful circumstances.
