Now Playing: The Crash of AA Flight 587 - An Engineering Disaster?
  • Description:  In regards to the wake turbulence, as stated earlier (in comments above for time stamp at 1539), no weather data has been released by the NTSB to justify the postulation that 587 encountered wake turbulence at 1539. To believe 587 encountered wake turbulence now, at 1559 (the start of the rudder movements) is akin to black magic and witchcraft. And this is no exaggeration or sensationalistic claim. Heres why 1. Pilots from many transport categories have mentioned to me that the way the NTSB has proffered the wake turbulence scenario is inconsistent with real world turbulence and inconsistent with the events that unfolded in the cockpit during those 20 seconds. For example Why was there a 2nd rattle at 1554 five seconds before the alleged second wake encounter at 1559? Why did the pilot call for the escape procedure 13 seconds after the first wake encounter and 7 seconds before the next? 2. If the winds at at 91559 am (the time of the alleged 2nd wake encounter) at 2400 feet (587s altitude according to the NTSB) were from the same general heading as they were at 7 am (approximately 330 degrees) it would mean that the wake vortices distance to 587 would be over 1 nautical mile away. This would require a consistent 40 knot wind from 330 degrees! We havent seen any supporting data. We dont see the Emperors new clothes. 3. If the weather data suggests wind coming from the west (270 degrees) then this wake encounter is still impossible given the fact that JAL47 was at 3800 feet at that point, 1400 feet above where the NTSB says 587 was (at 2400 feet). That would require the wake vortices to fall at a rate of 933 feet per minute AND travel laterally at 28 knots. Dr. Fred Proctor, a wake turbulence expert with NASAs Langley Research Center, states that wake vortices fall at 300 to 480 feet per minute before they begin to decay. If we are generous to the wake encounter theory, and grant that the vortices did not decay at all during the 90 seconds and fell at a maximum rate o...

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