Fri, Mar 19, 2004
Pilot Who Flew Near Tornado Appeals FAA
Suspension
If Mother Nature
doesn't get you, the FAA surely will.
That should be the lesson learned by an airline pilot who
allegedly pushed his luck along with that of all the passengers
aboard his jet. The Northwest Airlines pilot has been ordered
suspended for 45 days for trying to land his jetliner amid high
winds and an apparent tornado, federal officials said.
Michael Hughes, of Collierville (TN), "was careless and
endangered the lives and property of others" when he tried to land
the DC-9 at Sioux Falls airport last June, according to the FAA's
suspension order, issued Tuesday. Hughes ultimately landed the
plane in Omaha (NE). He has appealed the suspension and can fly in
the meantime.
Hughes was the pilot in command of a flight from Minneapolis to
Sioux Falls on June 24 when he tried to land the plane, even as an
apparent tornado dropped from the sky and created wind shear that
tossed the craft about.
The apparent tornado was one of 67 twisters in South
Dakota that day, tying a national record for the most in a
state in a 24-hour period.
An investigation found
that air traffic controllers told Hughes about thunderstorms near
the airport, but he continued his approach to the runway without
asking for more information. He encountered severe wind shear and
began losing control of the plane, requiring "immediate application
of full power and aggressive flight control inputs to regain
control of the aircraft," according to the suspension order.
Passengers on the flight likened the experience to someone
pushing the plane sideways. Hughes aborted the landing and flew on
to Omaha.
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