Then why are they still flying?

 

I don't know. Why did the Scud MD-11 fly for as long as it did? I'd say money/cost expenditures are the likely culprit.

 

The ATR's have problems when it comes to flying on one engine, especially if said failure is immediate. It's not that the PW127's are bad or anything. It's that the airframe itself struggles to stay aloft under certain conditions. Plenty of info out there on this.

Anyone remember the icing concerns with the ATR decades ago?   IIRC, the planes were banned from flying in the United States until the manufacturer fitted new inflatable rubber "balloons" on the leading edges to remedy the design defect.  And since this accident involved not just any ATR-72, but the brand new -600 series, this is undoubtedly bad PR for ATR.   But the focus may turn out to be on the airline itself as opposed to ATR, as this is the second fatal accident involving their ATRs in less than a year.

 

It's amazing how ubiquitous cameras are today, thank goodness for dash cams, because even though everyone has a camera handy due to smartphones one can never be ready in time for these incidents when they appear out of the blue.  These videos remind me of the National cargo 747-400BCD that stalled and crashed in Iraq almost 2 years ago that was captured in detail by a dash cam.  The authorities are incredibly fortunate to have access to this resource from the public to help them with their investigations.

I use my old Galaxy S 2 as a dash cam nowadays with Daily Roads Voyager app.

Very sad, it was barely flying the whole time it was in frame. He got slow and it snapped over on him. They were fighting it the whole time. RIP to those who lost their lives.

Then why are they still flying?

I'm wondering that myself. Is this aircraft incapable of sustained, level single engine operation?

Speaking of dash cams. How long do you think it will be until we have cockpit cams? Might be a useful tool in air crash investigations. Unless the pilots unions complain about them.

It's not that it is incapable of sustaining flight but that it's a ###### to maintain flight after a V1cut or an engine flameout after V1. I never liked flying this airplane and got out of it ASAP when I was able to bid out of it.

It sounds like a horrible plane. The pilot did a great job though, he fought it all the way down. It can have been even worse. An entire family survived, including their infant. The father ended up in a different hospital as his wife/daughter and was well enough to ride a bicycle to go find them. 

Speaking of dash cams. How long do you think it will be until we have cockpit cams? Might be a useful tool in air crash investigations. Unless the pilots unions complain about them.

 

The idea has been around for a number of years now, but hasn't gone anywhere due to pilot opposition and airline reluctance. There are more than a few accidents where a video recording would have likely clarified events.

 

http://www.wired.com/2014/07/malaysia-370-cockpit-camera/

 

 

It sounds like a horrible plane. The pilot did a great job though, he fought it all the way down.

Not sure what's horrible about the plane. Neither do we know if pilot did a great job or there was a major screw-up somewhere. None of that is known at this time.

Not sure what's horrible about the plane. Neither do we know if pilot did a great job or there was a major screw-up somewhere. None of that is known at this time.

A sensible comment. 

The ATR is a plane that will bite you hard if you're not on top of it all the time. As the a/c comes into view in the videos it is already far too low and likely already stalled. The way the wing dropped is characteristic of that. We'll see what comes out of the report what factors contributed to it.

The ATR is a plane that will bite you hard if you're not on top of it all the time. As the a/c comes into view in the videos it is already far too low and likely already stalled. The way the wing dropped is characteristic of that. We'll see what comes of the report what factors contributed to it.

On top of it all the time is an understatement. I mean entering icing requires a checklist, exiting icing requires another checklist. Recovering from a stall in icing requires a different procedure than out of icing. A page long memory item for a V1 cut. The QRH isn't the best either, it leaves you hanging and if you're not careful it can lead you into more trouble. It's just a busy, finicky aircraft. I had the pleasure of flying it and I didn't like it. Put it this way, I wasn't impressed at all.

The ATR's have problems when it comes to flying on one engine, especially if said failure is immediate. It's not that the PW127's are bad or anything. It's that the airframe itself struggles to stay aloft under certain conditions. Plenty of info out there on this.

 

 

 

 

It sounds like a horrible plane. The pilot did a great job though, he fought it all the way down. It can have been even worse. An entire family survived, including their infant. The father ended up in a different hospital as his wife/daughter and was well enough to ride a bicycle to go find them. 

 

 

 

Airlines here in Finland have been flying ATR's without a single crash since 80's. Same goes with tons of other countries all around the world where ATR has been a reliable workhorse for regional airlines and continues to be so today. I guess the American Eagle 4184 crash back in the 90's kinda harmed its image there, however everywhere else it remains popular. 

 

Transair Asia has lost 4 ATR's since 1995 (over 20 percent of their entire ATR fleet right now !).

 

The truth is there's nothing wrong with ATR today, Transasia Airways simply has poor safety culture. That's really not very surprising at all, in the 90's and early 2000's Taiwan's largest airline, China Airlines, was also known for horrible safety record. Since then they have improved, perhaps Transasia hasn't. 

 

If this indeed was simply a single engine failure pilots did a horrible job, if you follow proper procedures in case of a single engine failure with ATR zero people will die. But of course we don't know whether something else was wrong too, thus I'm not here to judge pilots actions just yet. 

It looks like we know a whole lot about this accident now, the right engine failed (or feathered automatically) and the crew shut down the left engine by mistake.

 

 

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/B9JarHTIAAAgAy3.jpg:large