AirTravelBlox 442 was a Roeing 727-122 on a scheduled seasonal nighttime passenger flight from Robloxia D.C to Los Bloxias with a stopover at Little Blox. On January 12, 1989, at approximately 2:06 AM EST, the Roeing 727 crashed into a mountain 15 miles northeast of Bloxoanoke after stalling due to high pitch levels. All 155 occupants onboard the airliner were killed. For the remainder of this article, EST will be used for timezones.
Background
Crew
The cockpit crew were:
42 year-old Senior captain Drew F. Barryson, who had accumulated 6,842 flight hours at the time of the accident.
39 year-old First officer Mick Orson, who had accumulated 6,971 flight hours at the time of the accident.
41 year-old Arthur I. Godorov, who had accumulated 4,682 flight hours at the time of the accident.
The cabin crew were:
22 year-old Julia Nicholson, who had served AirTravelBlox for 8 months.
35 year-old Michael Brown, who had served AirTravelBlox for 4 years.
28 year-old Annie Marlin, who had served AirtravelBlox for 1 year.
Airplane
The airplane was a Roeing 727-122 operated by AirTravelBlox starting in the 1980s after it was acquired from Reunited. At the time of the accident, It's airframe had accumulated 71,427 flight hours since operation. Before the flight, ground personnel had forgotten to de-ice the 727, which had secretly clogged up the static ports causing altimeter inaccuracies, leading to the flight 442 accident.
Accident
Flight 442 departed from Robloxia D.C at 12:59 PM. For the first 3 hours, the flight was relatively uneventful, but passengers kept complaining of how foggy it is. It was also very cloudy. The 727's altimeter was off by several feet, and the center control was unaware. When the aircraft approached unknowingly approached the mountains, it took them a minute until they saw a mountainside, which instinctively made them pitch up very high, reportedly 48°, but this caused them to undergo any worst pilot's nightmare — a deep stall. The deep stall was near-impossible to recover from, but because the pilots have never dealt with this situation, the plane plummeted to it's final demise and crashed into the mountain.
Aftermath & Investigation
Aftermath
During when the plane hit the mountain, a helicopter reported a loud explosion noise. Eventually, the helicopter went to the location and discovered fires. They then took 2 photos.
After that, the helicopter landed on the site and the crew found both recorders, the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder. They also recovered some parts for additional evidence, including a yoke, an engine fanblade, etc.
Investigation
The helicopter pilots went to inform the RAA (Robloxian Aviation Administration) about the accident, and they did an investigation on the very site after the heli crew gave them the instructions where to go to. Eventually the RAA handed the rest of it to the RTSB (Robloxian Transportation Safety Board), and they proposed a rule that during certain temperatures, the aircraft is required to be de-iced. Most airlines, including AirTravelBlox started to follow it. The RAA also started to inform airlines about deep stalling and how to deal with it.
Flight recorder
2:03 to 2:06 was how long this lasted. ATB 442 is the 727 that got involved in the accident.
2:03 Center Controller: Current alt. ATB 442?
2:03 ATB 442: About 10,000, we are gonna prematurely descend due to bad weather.
2:03 Center Controller: OK.
*1 minute later*
2:04 ATB 442: We are 8,200 feet.
2:04 Center Controller: Information copied.
*1 minute again later*
2:05 Center Controller: Altitude?
2:05 ATB 442: 6,100 feet.
2:05 Center Controller: Ok.
*Another 1 minute later*
2:06 Center Controller: Do you see anything?
2:06 ATB 442: Nope.
2:06 ATB 442: Guess we're wrong, we will climb up
2:06 Center Controller: Be careful
2:06 ATB 442: We are. (1 second before stalling)
2:06 ATB 442: *Shaking noises* Stalling. Need help. We are pushing down. Isn't any better. *Shaking noises*
2:06 Center Controller: I know this. You're undergoing an unrecoverable deep stall.
2:06 ATB 442: *Shaking noises* What do you mean? *Shaking noises* What is a "deep stall"? *Shaking noises*
2:06 Center Controller: Well, F*ckbron. You're n'tirely screwed.
2:06 ATB 442: *Shaking noises* SHII- *explosion & impact noises*