Great Video on UM BBall's 2017 Willow Run Airplane Incident
Mentour Pilot has a new video explainer on the 2016-17 men's basketball team's Ameristar charter flight near disaster on March 8, 2017. The pilots rejected (aborted) their takeoff above V1 speed (the speed at which it would have been possible to stop the plane safely within the runway) due to a jammed flight control surface. Because of their excess speed the plane was still moving as it travelled beyond the runway, finally stopping just outside the runway safety area, and everyone exited safely. The team left for the the Big Ten Tournament in Washington, D.C., the next day, where they went on to win the tournament on March 12.
An excellent and extremely thorough review. That was informative.
All hail the captain and check airman. If the captain doesn’t reject that takeoff, or if the check airman attempts to take over the controls, everyone dies in a horrifying crash like NW255 in ‘87 (yes there was the one little girl that survived) That was real heroism.
Completely different incidents, NW255 crashed because the plane wasn't configured properly for take off. It had nothing to do with a mechanical malfunction, it was pure human factors and the pilots were the sole reason to blame.
The flight the mens basketball team was on would have never gotten airborne the only outcome was a reject either by the pilots or an object causing the takeoff to cease.
I know that. The comparison was around the results (or what would have been).
Wow, wasn't expecting something that long but then I watched the whole thing, and it was pretty damn fascinating. Thanks for sharing.
That was a great detailed breakdown. Hard to fathom that as long as the DC-9/MD-83 aircrafts have been in service (like over 4 decades), this problem was just realized. Makes me question the safety of air travel a little more. It's quite amazing that a decision made in a few seconds under the pressure and stress of an airplane takeoff was responsible for avoiding a surefire disaster. It could have gone wrong just as easily. Those pilots are true heroes, and should have free tickets to any UM sporting events for life!
Great video...thanks for posting.
That everyone survived that crash was due to some really good piloting and some serious luck.
Interesting video about what had to be a frightening moment for them.
That day will always stick out to me because it led to a week or so where I was barely home because of storm work - I think we had close to half of our system out at one point. My office at the time (and now again - that is, if I ever have to actually go back to an office not in my home) was only about three miles or so east of Willow Run, and for several hours in the Belleville area, if you went outside, it was difficult to even stand up. I think the highest gust at DTW that day was 68 MPH, recorded around noon, so it was probably a similar story at KYIP. I only heard about the basketball team's incident later that evening at home, where fortunately we did not lose power - just some branches.
I remember the day because I travelled to DC that afternoon on a commercial flight. I was on an American Eagle commuter jet. The winds on the way to the airport were pushing the car around. The flight was a couple of hours late I assume because of the weather. Our take off was very bouncy but the flight was fine once they reached altitude. I remember being upset because the late arrival caused me to miss one of the first round games. After I heard about the team's plane, I was just glad that everyone was safe.
The BTT championship and all of the events that led up to it and followed it is a story of courage, heroism and relentless determination. It is something that I hope remains in Michigan lore long after I am not around to witness it.
Hats off to the Captain and his co-pilot. This is a great example of how training and intuition pays off. When I was working, I flew hundreds of thousands of miles on commercial flights and didn’t put much thought into how critical pilot training is to flight safety. It ain’t like learning how to drive. That was a wonderful and thought provoking video.
That was an absolutely fantastic and thorough explanation on what happened. As an engineer, I don’t know why that wasn’t designed out in the first place.
I was celebrating my birthday on a beach in St Thomas that day and had no idea what had happened.
Just a miracle everyone was okay and able to play in the BTT.
Go Blue ?
That was fantastic. I have no questions left about what happened on that flight.