American 1770 declares emegency

[moto400ex]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GHEN7OVhdTQ&mode=related&search=Landing%20Kingair%20shortfield

Not my video, just found it on youtube.

[cessna157]

I sure hope I'm misunderstanding this emergency and there is a lot more to the story than what is in these 2 videos.  I sure hope he's not declaring the emergency just because they will be landing overweight. 

[moto400ex]

I think there was a loss of pressurization in the cabin.

[Hollis]

Unless there was some other problem which he didn't declare, that is no emergency. All he had to do was drop the gear and tool around at Vle for a while to burn down excess fuel! Sheezz!

[mk]

the pilot says "just for an overweight landing at el paso"   sad

[PHL Approach]

Maybe he was afraid of this: that happened during testing.   

[Hollis]

I'm having a bit of a problem with that video.
Firstly, that is a Beech KingAir. Airlines don't use those. (The engines on the Beech 1900 are well behind the cockpit).
AAL1770 is an MD-82 operating from KDFW to KGSO.
The only AAL flight in and out of KELP is an MD-83 to KDFW.
The ATC controller didn't ID himself (Albaquerque Center??)
  "     "          "    didn't request fuel load nor number of souls aboard - ??
The RH prop appears to be windmilling. Pilot didn't mention engioe failure.
Prop blades aren't visible at normal RPM.
How does a KingAir get to 10,000 ft. and be cruising at an overweight landing condition??
Correct me if I'm wrong...

[Greg01]

Firstly, that video appears to have been taken from another airplane, not the distressed one. The pilot is listening to the radio as this is going on. Also, the prop isn't windmilling, the video camera is only picking up the rotations every .5-1 second.

[crash]

I'm having a bit of a problem with that video.
Firstly, that is a Beech KingAir. Airlines don't use those. (The engines on the Beech 1900 are well behind the cockpit).
AAL1770 is an MD-82 operating from KDFW to KGSO.
The only AAL flight in and out of KELP is an MD-83 to KDFW.
The ATC controller didn't ID himself (Albaquerque Center??)
  "     "          "    didn't request fuel load nor number of souls aboard - ??
The RH prop appears to be windmilling. Pilot didn't mention engioe failure.
Prop blades aren't visible at normal RPM.
How does a KingAir get to 10,000 ft. and be cruising at an overweight landing condition??
Correct me if I'm wrong...

The aircraft you see is indeed a King Air, it is the one doing the recording, AAL 1770 is just cruising around somewhere and the King Air pilot just happened to pick it up(the description on YouTube clarifies this). Second, AAL 1770 is currently a flight out of KPHX to KDFW (obviously changes every now and again, this clip is two years old) operating as a MD82. The controller doesnt need to identify himself with the flight after initial contact which would explain why he didnt identify himself. As for the souls on board and fuel status, they probabbly got that at a later time and the King Air pilot didnt record it.

What the AAL pilot did does make sense, they had pressurization problems which would limit them to cruise no higher than 15,00ft msl or even 12,500ft msl (if the pilots dont have oxygen 14,000ft for the crew etc...) as governed by the FARs. Declaring an emergency for an overweight landing allows the ground equipment to standby at the airport ready for any type of fire due to the brakes overheating and any other problem that may arise. I also saw something where it is AAL policy to have the equipment standing by for an overweight aircraft. Granted, he could have just flown around and got rid of some fuel, but that would be to costly for them, they would rather land overweight which probabbly is what it boils down to.

[cessna157]

Granted, he could have just flown around and got rid of some fuel, but that would be to costly for them, they would rather land overweight which probabbly is what it boils down to.

You make it sound like it isn't costly for them to roll the crash trucks for the landing.  That service does not come free of charge.  There is a fee for usage of the emergency vehicles.  Plus the aircraft would most likely have to undergo an overweight landing inspection, plus it is additional wear and tear on the landing gear struts, airframe, brakes, etc.  Seems like it would be a lot wiser to fly around a couple extra minutes to burn off the gas.

[moto400ex]

Yea would have made more sense for the pilot to fly around and burn off some fuel.  At least it would hav ebeen good for the pilots...more money.

[Hollis]

The only real problem I had is that the video does not relate to the audio. Most of the general public would assume that the aircraft shown was the one declaring the emergency. Ah well...
And yes, a mandatory post-flight structural inspection is required by FAA regulations.

[KSYR-pjr]

That service does not come free of charge.  There is a fee for usage of the emergency vehicles. 

That's news to me.  Is this fee strictly a part 121 scheduled carrier fee?   GA doesn't have that fee.

[RHZ100]

What part of pilot recording the audio don't you understand...Im sure the crew of the Beech recording their flight just happened to catch the transmission..I've heard this many times, wishing I could record it, cool that he did, it's just a taste of the random stuff you hear on your adventures through the skies.

As PIC, in short, you can delcare an emergency for any given reason if it deems unsafe for operation.   Being any kind of aircraft planning a landing overweight, there is most certain an emergency onboard and touchdown over MLW (max landing weight) creates stress outside the norms of operations, creating even more of a situation.  Not all aircraft are capable of dumping fuel. 

____________________

Ryan

[cessna157]

Thats a different flight.  The flight in question in the video is AAL2211, a medical diversion.