Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 4, 1990 TAG: 9007040107
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Ayles Brogan of Vinton, Va., and her daughter-in-law, Betsy Hayter Brogan of Johnson City, Tenn., were killed when the Boeing 737 slid into the river next to LaGuardia airport last Sept. 20.
The board, ruling 4-0, said pilot Michael Martin made several mistakes while attempting to take off and then in aborting the takeoff.
Among the errors, the NTSB said, were:
Martin's failure to detect an improperly positioned rudder trim control. Correctly set, the control sets the rudder to a straight back position. The knob on Martin's Boeing 737 had somehow been set to full left rudder.
His failure to realize that, even with the knob incorrectly set, he could have taken off by adjusting other controls.
His failure to carry out standard precautions and procedures for aborting a takeoff.
The Air Line Pilots Association called the board's determination "a total travesty" and said it would ask the NTSB to reconsider. The union said the design of the knob itself was to blame.
NTSB board member John Lauber said investigators had been reluctant to lay all the blame for the crash on Martin, but the pilot's performance showed so many lapses that decision was justified.
While the NTSB said investigators could not determine how the trim control had been improperly set, the board in the past has found 90 incidents on 737s in which the knob had been set incorrectly.
Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration have called for changes in the trim control knobs on all of the more than 600 Boeing 737s in use.
The NTSB also said Martin used poor judgment in letting copilot Constantin Kleissas attempt the takeoff on a dark, rainy night, even though he was certified to fly the plane. Kleissas had never before had the controls of a commercial 737.
In summary, the board said, "The probable cause of this accident was the captain's failure to exercise his command authority in a timely manner to reject the takeoff or take sufficient control to continue the takeoff, which was initiated with a mistrimmed rudder."
Bob Benzon, the NTSB investigator in charge of the crash, said simulator tests had showed that with proper pilot decisions the plane could either have stopped safely on the runway or could have taken off, even with the rudder trim error.
Martin and Kleissas both had their licenses suspended by the FAA. Both, however, have dropped their appeals of the suspensions and can fly again if they pass recertification tests.
by CNB