Continental Express Flight 2574 - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages At about 0909 hours Central Day Time (CDT), Continental Express Flight 2574 with the call sign “Jetlink 2574” took off from Laredo International Airport for Houston Intercontinental Airport with 12 passengers and two crew members on board. After takeoff, the flight climbed to its assigned altitude of flight level 250 and was later instructed to descend to flight level 240. After takeoff, the flight was handed over to the radar at Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center to which the flight crew made contact at around 0948 hours CDT for the Eagle Lake sector. The flight made its last radio communication with radar at 0959 hours CDT.

Just before the loss of radio communication with flight 2574, two radar controllers were relieved by another one. During their briefing session, all of the three controllers noticed the missing aircraft radar beason return. The controller, who assumed the duty from the other two controllers, initiated the first of the four attempts to made radio contact with the Jetlink 2574 at 1004 hours CDT; however, there was no response from the flight crew. The information regarding the loss of radio contact was passed on to the next supervisor at radar control. It was learnt that the aircraft has crashed.

After the crash, the investigation was handed over to National Transport Safety Board for finding the root cause and making recommendations to avoid recurrences. The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent Federal agency dedicated to promoting aviation, railroad, highway, marine, pipeline, and hazardous materials safety.

Established in 1967, the agency is mandated by Congress through the Independent Safety Board Act of 1974 to investigate transportation accidents, determine the probable causes of the accidents, issue safety recommendations, study transportation safety issues, and evaluate the safety effectiveness of government agencies involved in transportation. The Safety Board makes public its actions and decisions through accident reports, safety studies, special investigation reports, safety recommendations, and statistical reviews. ...Download file to see next pages Read More