Pilot Error in C-17 Crash

The setting is Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska on 28 July 2010. Upcoming on 31 July is the Arctic Thunder Air Show, where the C-17 Globemaster was to be a part of. The Arctic Thunder Air Show is an extremely popular event in the Anchorage, Alaska area. It occurs every two years and attracts some 200,000 spectators. A crew of 4 was practicing for their routine in the air show, when at approximately 6:22 p.m. on 28 July, the C-17 took off from Elmendorf Air Force Base to practice maneuvers. After the initial climb and left turn, the pilot executed an aggressive right turn. As the aircraft banked, the stall warning system activated to alert the crew of an impending stall. Instead of implementing stall recovery procedures, the pilot continued the turn as planned, and the aircraft entered a stall from which recovery was not possible ("Aircraft accident investigation," 2010). The aircraft impacted wooden terrain northwest of the airfield and was destroyed, resulting in the deaths of all 4 onboard crew members. No other casualties from resulting damage occurred. Clear and convincing evidence was found that the cause of the mishap was pilot error.

Of the 4 crew members, there was a pilot, co-pilot, safety observer, and a loadmaster. The cause of pilot error was attributed to two factors: procedural error and being over aggressive, and failing to employ proper stall recovery procedures. In addition, there were six contributing factors: caution and warning ignored/challenge and reply, channelized attention, overconfidence and expectancy, misplaced motivation, procedural guidance/publications, and program oversight/management ("Aircraft accident investigation," 2010). The pilot at fault violated regulatory provisions and multiple flight manual procedures, and his aggressive flying placed the aircraft outside established flight parameters at an attitude and altitude where recovery was not possible ("Aircraft accident investigation," 2010).

The aerial...