Was anyone else, besides myself, watching the Travel Channel tonight? The show was called "Secrets". It was about airline disasters. A sort of indepth look. From PSA180 in San Diego, the two 747's colliding on the runway, etc...Anyway, during their program they used animations depicting AC in the various crashes they were talking about. Also, they used real AC sounds when depicting AC cockpit equipment. I couldn't help but notice that several of these animations and sounds were wrong. Two examples: TCAS resolution alerts, they used the "Whoop, Whoop, PULL UP!!" of the GPWS as the example. On a DC-9 crash, they showed a 727.Just curious if anyone else noticed.

It's horrific enough to inadvertently hear about an AC wreck, but to indulge in it is a very big taboo. I much rather not hear, talk , or discuss the matter. I don't think I am alone on this matter, but topics such as this are better discussed on one of those bizzare.com forums and not here.

ETB767, I definitely see your point

Disagreed!Accidents are investigated to learn from mistakes. It is a known saying in aviation, that every safety regulation was written in blood.I know that every accident (or anything close) can teach you something. We sometimes even brief an accident/incident report to learn from the errors made.This might look a bit cold hearted to brief the facts, ignoring the victims. however I can assure you that evidently we save life that way.I can give an example of a rule written in blood:some years ago two military ac navigated at low altitude back home. only plane #1 navigated, the second just followed. Due to an error in navigation, plane #1 hit a mountain killing all people on board.Investigation checked what can be done in the future, and found that if plane #2 was navigating too instead of just following, he could have warned plane #1, thus preventing the accident. Nowadays it is a common procedure to crosscheck navigation when flying in formations.I learned about this rule, and briefed the report. I could still see the importantance of learning about it, even though my wife's father was among the victims in that accident.BTW I assure you that if car accident were investigated in public, we could save lots of lives on the roads.Ilan

ETB767,First, I wasn't "indulgeing" in the "wrecks". I was simpling pointing out a couple minor errors in the program. The program was for the publics information. You identifying such a disscusion is soley based on your insecurity and uneasyness in talking about airline disasters. Many great inovations and lives have been saved because of the people who talked about it did something about it. Shoving such a topic on the shelf and ignoring it, or leaving it for "bizzare.com" forums helps no one. I'd like to think that the victims of such disasters would want us to discuss and improve on our technology that makes flight possible in order for such a disaster not to happen again.Like one of the other posts on here, the many FAR's were enacted due too aviation disasters. I think I'll name some more here:1)TCA, Terminal Control Area. This FAR was directly tied to the PSA190 (727) crash in San Diego. In this case the PUBLIC demanded we DISCUSS the matter and fix it. This FAR was the result.2)TCAS, Traffic Alert & Collision Avoidance System. This also sprang up after a number of midair collisions around the country. Some of the higher profile ones were, again, the PSA in SAN, and the DC-9 in Cerritos California. This inovation has completley STOPPED midair collision in the U.S. since 1986. 3)Ground RADAR at airports. This system is wide spread at our airports now because of the crash that involved two 747's, thus creating the worst air disaster (they collided on the ground) that killed 540+ people. Very sad.I'l stop there. I hope my point is well taken. In these three instances, it was the general public who was outraged and demanded 'things' be fixed. They wanted the discussion. And rightfully so.-=MB=-P.S. I won't post off topic here anymore. It seems some people can't handle it.

I for one, caught the accident investigation special last night on the Travel Channel... I found it refreshing to see a spin on this matter that was not centered around the "dangers" and "perils" of flying on commercial aircraft, but rather the real causes behind aviation disasters and how safety issues have been addressed... I'm sure many of you remember the horrible FOX special "Why Planes Go Down". I found that program destructive, as it eroded common people's confidence in flying, sacrificing integrity for ratings. This special emphasized that flying IS the safest mode of transporation today. I found the program well structured, and consistent all the way through. In addition, opposite to "Why Planes Go Down", I actually learned something NEW about several of the incidents investigated. I hope to see more similar programs done in the same manner. Just my two cents.Sincerely,Phil Geddes

And yes... many of the warning sounds were wrong. Then again, it WAS designed for the general public, and you would here those sounds on many current aircraft. It must have been just for ambiance.Phil Geddes

Agreed:)-=MB=-

I agree that every accident can be a learning experience. I tell the people I work with that I watch these shows, and they think something is wrong with me. I was watching last night, and couldn't believe how much a problem icing could be. As a pilot, I know the dangers, but I was amazed that as little as 1mm could have such an effect on a plane the size of a DC-9 or 10. This is little more than frost! When I began my training several years ago, we went out to the plane (in CNY in winter) for a training flight. There was frost on the wings, and my CFI told me that it really degraded the performance of the wing. I thought he was exaggerating, but as my knowledge increased, I realized he was right. I think we all do a great service to our passengers (whether GA or commercial) to learn as much as possible about airplanes and anything to do with them. Flying is a great career or hobby, and can be dangerous, but if you have the knowledge and skill can be one of the most enjoyable experiences. I couldn't imagine not being able to go flying on a clear and sunny afternoon, just breathtaking.Keith