Too heavy and too high, MD-80 aircraft suddenly dives

An MD-80 Spirit aircraft

February 21, 2000
Web posted at: 10:12 p.m. EST (0312 GMT)

From Detroit Bureau Chief Ed Garsten

DETROIT (CNN) -- Auto mechanic Richard Aussicker thought he was going to die on January 30 when his plane, en route from Ft. Myers, Florida, to Detroit, developed trouble.

"I was noticing a vibration in the background that I've never felt before and was kind of wondering what it was in the back of my mind and it kept getting worse and worse," Aussicker recalled.

"All of a sudden the stewardess with the beverage cart started running down the aisle and another stewardess came out of the cockpit and ran by me. And according to a lady behind me, the stewardess who came out of the cockpit said that the engines had stalled."

Then, Aussicker said, the MD-80 aircraft went into a steep dive.

What happened is still not clear. According to Spirit Airlines officials, the pilot attempted to climb from 31,000 to 35,000 feet but never made it to that altitude.

Instead, passengers said, the jet dove sharply, recovered, then dove again and recovered.

One aviation expert said such events are signs that point to a stall -- or the inability of the wings to maintain lift.

Aussicker was a passenger aboard the plane and felt a 'vibration' that kept getting worse

"It's rare and it shouldn't happen because the pilots well know what the envelope of the aircraft is," said Charles Kauffman, an aviation expert at the University of Michigan. "They know how high they can fly at, what weights they have and they should stay within those limitations."

The airline admits the aircraft was too heavy to fly as high as it was.

"Whether air traffic control gave the pilot that altitude, and he accepted it, or whether the pilot requested that altitude -- we don't know the answer to that yet," said Greg Van Brunt of Spirit Airlines.

Less than a month before this incident, a DC-9 operated by Spirit Airlines reported a loss of thrust soon after takeoff from West Palm Beach. A government report said the plane landed uneventfully, but overweight.

Investigators believe overloading also may have contributed to the January 30 episode.

Spirit Airlines has called in the Federal Aviation Administration to help investigate the incident.

Meanwhile, the pilot, whom the airline won't name, has been suspended with pay. And the MD-80 aircraft involved in the incident is back in the air.

MD-80 makes emergency landing
February 21, 2000
FAA says 23 MD-80 planes fail stabilizer inspections
February 14, 2000
MD-80 makes emergency landing in Phoenix
February 12, 2000
FAA to order urgent inspections of all MD-80 series aircraft
February 10, 2000
Fears, risks and history of MD-80 aircraft
February 7, 2000

Spirit Airlines
Federal Aviation Administration

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.