At night, while most of us sleep, hundreds of airplanes crisscross the starry sky. FedEx, UPS and many smaller carriers operate a shadow airline system, a transportation network built for boxes instead of people. It's a remarkably reliable system. But on Dec. 9, 2019, a series of ignored red flags led to the fatal crash of a Cessna 208B Super Cargomaster Caravan. A little before 8 p.m. on a dark Texas night, the experienced airline transport pilot (ATP) got ready to conduct a regular UPS feeder flight. The plane was one of 29 Caravans flown by a Part 135 cargo operator. Cessna 208s are beefy single-engine unpressurized turboprops, with fixed gear and wing struts-they look like pumped-up versions of a 172. In addition to cargo hauling, they also find worldwide use in skydiving and passenger flying jobs. This intra-Texas flight was to go from Victoria Regional Airport (KVCT), a small tower-controlled airport in South Texas, to Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (KIAH) using the callsign Martinaire 679. It was easy weather for Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flying. Winds were light, visibility 6 miles in haze, a few clouds at 2,800 feet and an overcast layer starting at 4,700 feet. No precipitation in the area. A routine run.
展开▼
