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What: Sol Linaeas Aereas Saab 340A
Where: 20 km (12.5 mls) N of Prahuaniyeu, RN Argentina
When: May 18, 2011
Who: 3 crew, 19 passengers
Why: Was it wing icing, a failure of the inlet deicing system or pilot error which caused the May crash which killed 22 people? The plane was flown by pilots John Raffo and Adriano Bolatti.
The brother of John Raffo, Víctor Raffo cites his brother’s 2400 flight hours, and denies that the crash was the pilot and copilot’s fault. With that many hours under his belt, John knew how to fly, he knew the area, he knew about icing.
These are the questions which are nagging at experts who disagree over the causes. The investigation is ongoing, but there is disagreement.
The flight stalled and then lost control, and impacted the ground, apparently due to wing icing. Was the pilot’s flight plan at fault? Was there a lack of situational awareness among the crew? It is all speculation now, until facts are turned up the investigation.
The pilot’s decision to descend is also being questioned.
Some say the pilot’s decisions are moot, and that the plane was not in optimal flying condition to begin with, as it had failed two mandatory inspections.
Portions of the transcription of the pilot’s dialogue have been published, but we have not heard the actual audio. Desde la Asociación de Pilotos de Líneas Aéreas, a pilot association, is threatening action because of transcription inaccuracies, mistakes and misinterpretation. We apologize for any errors, as we can only repost the transcription, as we don’t have the audio.
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