Chris Lord October 31, 2018

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John, radar contact was lost at 900', wasn't it? (NTSB prelim)
First I've heard of 700', or that they had tied any altitude to the Mayday call.

My estimation is that Chris keyed the mic at around 500' but it could have been a bit higher.
Not likely lower, though.

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Clamping down on a wire cable through its sheath mashes the individual steel strands against themselves.
The more I ponder this for a primary control cable, the more livid I become.
It's an outrageous and crude idea.
 
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The mayday tape is the best witness we have that back up the witnesses except for the no deviation of course at the end at all for a long time it seemed to them.
 
I need to find the links you are going back months. I would not offer a report to the FAA on my memory of it now only my conclusions based on all the evidence to me personally I asked for all the cables and attach point be inspected. I believed then and now it was a control problem.
 
PS you can hear the impact so it was at least readable at 50 feet. It's not crystal clear but you can hear even the wind rush in at 50 feet not sure where you got your height # from.
 
John, radar contact was lost at 900', wasn't it? (NTSB prelim)
First I've heard of 700', or that they had tied any altitude to the Mayday call.

My estimation is that Chris keyed the mic at around 500' but it could have been a bit higher.
Not likely lower, though.

______
Clamping down on a wire cable through its sheath mashes the individual steel strands against themselves.
The more I ponder this for a primary control cable, the more livid I become.
It's an outrageous and crude idea.
This sounds about right to me.
I'm trying to find it on facebook anyone knows of a better way to search it was months ago.
 
The link was sent to me in a message on facebook. Can I search for messages? It does not come up in my activity search. It should with the word mayday but says nothing found. That is impossible. Also missing about 1000 posts when I search Chris Lord it should show many post about the accident and our fundraising drive for Crissa. But nothing found there either in the same time frame. I get fewer messages but do not see a way to search for old ones.
 
Kolibri does it mention the airport the recording was from? It came from a site that records several airports in that area. I should be able to find that website. But knowing the airport would help find the right recording website.
 
Kolibri does it mention the airport the recording was from? It came from a site that records several airports in that area. I should be able to find that website. But knowing the airport would help find the right recording website.
I understood that it was an automatic "liveatc " taped recording from Sebring ...monitoring that frequency! The link I sent someone ...was unavailable after 30 days! I know some recorded it on their own computers ..to study & analyze!

This was the link ..... no longer available😩
 
I understood that it was an automatic "liveatc " taped recording from Sebring ...monitoring that frequency!
I know some recorded it on their own computers ..to study & analyze!
Chris, I have a file copy and can email it to you if you PM me your address.
The "liveatc" version is about 36 minutes long, with Chris's transmission about midway.
I also have a 30 second clip, but of lesser sound quality.

I've never heard the unredacted version to which John refers.
John, did you save a hard copy of it? If not, can you get one? It would help us better understand those last moments.


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not sure where you got your height # from.
John, the only altitude estimations I've read were from the NTSB prelim (lost radar contact at 900' AGL, 4/10ths mile from the crash site),
and the two witnesses describing "
nose dropped immediately" and a "nose-dive" at about 150' AGL.

Regards,
Kolibri
 
Dang, I cannot find the recording. but from my memory, Those redacted portions may not be redacted. I remember listening to the tape for hours with headphone on because there are static portions as if he was stepped on by a weaker transmission or just static. So those sections may be the static as there was nothing said that I heard that needed to be redacted. Chris as all professional and never out of breath with no struggle at all because I listen to the tape when it would be clear again specifically for signs of cabin movement and activity and I assumed like Vance it was a medical problem at first too.
 
It seems pretty clear to me that Chris Lord's "back, lean back" was spoken to a conscious Brugger who was able to comply.
It wasn't to a slumped over, unconscious, unresponsive person.

In fact, the more I ponder and discuss that curious "
back, lean back" it seems a desperate and subconscious-driven command regarding fore/aft cg trim. I believe they had been seesawing with power (and maybe also trim) on the edge of nosing over.

Not to make light of this, but it reminds me of
The Simpson's episode (at 1:39) in which Homer is about to slide laterally off a cliff in his new snow plow, and tunes the radio dial to the right, tipping the weight balance to save his life.

It really could have been that precarious in N198LT during the last moments.
 
Just trying to understand - who had radar contact with this aircraft? Certainly not Sebring.
 
A mayday call rolls the emergency equipment even though I am not sure where I will land.
I am not sure a Mayday call over the CTAF for an untowered airport (made from miles away) is likely to "roll the emergency equipment", unfortunately.
 
IIRC, only one controller heard the call, maybe some aircraft. But they did not know where Chris was.
 
Just trying to understand - who had radar contact with this aircraft? Certainly not Sebring.
I think it is in the report. We did not know until IIRC a week later from the FAA. The witness that saw him the longest I talked too was a pilot thought it to be 1,500.
 
We have lost the plot over this episode in recent days. What I find increasingly bizarre is page after page of focus (and now a poll) on what happens at 150ft, which will always be subjective when if you just spoke to some local pilots a) you can 100% discover exactly why those that flew the aircraft thought it was a dog and b) you can 100% discover what was being worked upon that day. Why that seems so difficult to achieve i have no idea
 
I am not sure a Mayday call over the CTAF for an untowered airport (made from miles away) is likely to "roll the emergency equipment", unfortunately.
In my experience anyone who hears a mayday call will do whatever they can to help.

121.5 is the appropriate frequency for an emergency call but there may not be time for that and any frequency where you are likely to be heard by a pilot works for me.

I feel a mayday call should include who you are, where you are, souls on board, the nature of the problem and what you are planning on doing.

In my opinion the priorities are still aviate, navigate and communicate in that order.
 
We have lost the plot over this episode in recent days. What I find increasingly bizarre is page after page of focus (and now a poll) on what happens at 150ft, which will always be subjective when if you just spoke to some local pilots a) you can 100% discover exactly why those that flew the aircraft thought it was a dog and b) you can 100% discover what was being worked upon that day. Why that seems so difficult to achieve i have no idea

The person who flew and didn't like the aircraft has made it clear they are not interested in elaborating.

When I work on my aircraft I typically do it with no one in the hangar and the only way for anyone else to know what I have done is from my log books. I find spectators can be a disruption.

I may have an airframe and power plant mechanic inspect my work before I test fly her but not always.

I do not know what Chris's habits were.

My friends and I hangar fly.

We seldom tell stories of maintenance as it is generally not very exciting.
 
I feel a mayday call should include who you are, where you are, souls on board, the nature of the problem and what you are planning on doing.
Yes, it should. If I ever have to declare a Mayday, I hope that I will have the presence of mind to mention these things.
I recall the example of a biz jet pilot who lost his entire tail, and he very calmly explained that on his way down.
 
We have lost the plot over this episode in recent days. What I find increasingly bizarre is page after page of focus (and now a poll) on what happens at 150ft, which will always be subjective when if you just spoke to some local pilots a) you can 100% discover exactly why those that flew the aircraft thought it was a dog and b) you can 100% discover what was being worked upon that day. Why that seems so difficult to achieve i have no idea
That's a fair point, Phil, but those who flew it may not know why it "was a dog", and what was being worked on may not have been the crash cause (although odds are high that it was). Even if we had full public disclosure from those in Florida in the know, such would probably still leave open questions for us to ponder here.

If I may reiterate what I believe is my most helpful observation in all this, it's that something different seemed to have happened at 150' AGL vs. at cruise altitude, else they'd have pancaked in from their previous nose-high steep descent.

Regards,
Kolibri
 
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