TBM 900 Crash: Rethinking Inflight Emergencies

Thursday, September 11, 2014 at 05:46 PM ET

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In the wake of the crash of a TBM 900 after suspected pilot incapacitation, do controller and pilot training need an overhaul? Flying

Key Takeaways:

The article contrasts Captain Sully's clear communication during the "Miracle on the Hudson" with the tragic Glazer crash, suggesting Glazer's likely hypoxia-induced incapacitation prevented him from declaring an emergency.
It questions whether air traffic controllers should have recognized Glazer's request for a lower altitude at FL 280 as an immediate emergency, especially when a pilot might be mentally incapacitated.
The author advocates for an overhaul of pilot and ATC training to better address emergencies, particularly those involving potential pilot incapacitation, so controllers are compelled to treat such situations as critical without explicit emergency declarations.

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Editor’s note: Capt. Sullenberger contacted us after publication of this article to clarify that he did call “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” immediately after birds struck his Airbus A320 on January 15, 2009, but his radio transmission was stepped on by a simultaneous call by the air traffic controller and so was never broadcast. The final NTSB transcript of the communications from Flight 1549, however, does begin with the “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” transmission.

If there’s a textbook case of an inflight emergency that most everyone agrees was handled flawlessly, it’s Capt. Sully’s “Miracle on the Hudson” splashdown in January 2009. It made Sullenberger and copilot Jeff Skiles instant national celebrities, and still serves as a model of the calm and collected flight crew skillfully handling an extremely difficult situation.