Career Pilot: Joy ride

The mission was to reposition the airplane following a maintenance cancellation. Only the pilots were on board.

Almost immediately after takeoff, pilot antics began. Passing through 450 feet, the first of three pitch-up maneuvers was performed, which set off both the stall warning stick shaker and stick pusher systems. During the climb, the captain and first officer switched seats. A second pitch-up maneuver was performed around 15,000 feet that resulted in a 2.3-G load and briefly pegged the rate of climb at 10,000 feet per minute. There were also left and right rudder inputs followed by a third pitch-up maneuver.

But the worst was yet to come as the captain and first officer hatched a plan to climb the CRJ to its certified ceiling of Flight Level 410. The first officer, now back in his assigned seat, proclaimed, “Man, we can do it. Forty-one it!” Anyone who’s flown a CRJ200 will tell you that high-altitude climb performance is definitely not a trait of this airplane. Years ago when I was a CRJ pilot, I wondered how it ever was certified with such a high ceiling given its abysmal high-altitude performance.

ATC granted the crew the requested climb to FL410. Indicated airspeed at the start of the climb was 203 KIAS. The crew commanded the autopilot to climb in vertical speed mode at 500 feet per minute. Use of vertical speed to climb at high altitude is a poor choice, because the autopilot will dutifully climb at the commanded rate while sacrificing precious airspeed to comply. By the time the airplane reached FL410, speed had bled off to only 163 KIAS. Climb in IAS (indicated airspeed) mode would have been more appropriate and would have maintained airspeed.

 “We’re losing here. We’re gonna be coming down in a second here,” said the captain.
After the pilots celebrated the achievement of coaxing the airplane to its ceiling, the captain left his seat to get drinks. Upon return, he chatted with a curious controller who noted he had never seen a CRJ200 that high. Very soon after that exchange, the captain realized that the airplane was losing airspeed. It was so far behind the power curve that airspeed continued to decline and angle of attack was increasing despite the engines still producing maximum thrust.

“We’re losing here. We’re gonna be coming down in a second here,” said the captain. The crew asked for a lower altitude but there was a delay in getting the clearance. In the meantime, the speed bled off to 150 KIAS and AOA increased to 7.5 degrees. The stick shaker fired several times, which automatically kicked off the autopilot. The airplane stalled and rolled hard to the left. Chaos ensued in the cockpit as the crew attempted to regain control of the airplane. The crew was able to right the airplane at FL340. Unfortunately, during the upset, both engines flamed out. This led to a loss of cabin pressure as well as most electrical power. The air-driven generator automatically deployed to provide basic electrical power. The pilots donned their oxygen masks.

During the long fall from altitude, the crew made inadequate attempts to restart the engines. Specifically, the checklist called for a minimum of 300 KIAS to windmill the engines but the crew never exceeded 236 KIAS. Unknown to them, the engines had experienced a core lock and had no chance of being restarted. Meanwhile, ATC was kept in the dark regarding the seriousness of Flight 3701’s situation. The crew initially said that they were on one engine, perhaps to minimize the attention to their self-made debacle. It wasn’t until 14 minutes after the upset that the crew confessed that they were piloting a glider. This cost the crew valuable time and altitude to find a suitable place to land.

Flight 3701’s crew got the auxiliary power unit running and attempted to start the engines with it, but were unsuccessful because of the core lock condition. ATC vectored the flight to Jefferson City, but they crashed 2.5 miles short in a neighborhood. Among other causes, the National Transportation Safety Board fingered “the pilots’ unprofessional behavior, deviation from standard operating procedure, and poor airmanship which resulted in an in-flight emergency from which they were unable to recover.”

All pilots, at some point, let their guard down and succumb to the temptation to show off or otherwise break the rigid rules of aviation. Becoming an ATP and professional airline pilot means that you’re expected to uphold professionalism. Unshackled from the responsibility of a cabin full of passengers, the crew of Flight 3701 knowingly cast aside professionalism and paid for it with their lives, while destroying a multimillion-dollar regional jet. Thankfully, no ground injuries occurred despite landing in a residential area. The pilots made an admirable final decision to attempt to avoid homes.