Hugo Hugo Incident with NOAA 42

The crew of NOAA 42 was as follows:

• The aircraft commander (FAC) is Lowell Genzlinger.
• Co - pilot - Jerry McKim ( born Gerry McKim ).
• Navigator - Sean White.
• Flight Engineer - Steve Wade
• Bead - radio operator - Tom Nunn.
• Electronic Engineer - Al Goldstein
• Electronic Engineer - Terry Schricker.
• Radar Specialist - Neil Rain.
• The senior meteorologist is Jeffrey Masters.
• The lead scientist is Frank Marks .
• The radar specialist is Peter Dodge.
• Radar Specialist - Robert Burpee
• Airborne scientist - Peter G. Black ( born Peter G. Black ).
• Specialist in drop probes is Hugh Willoughby.
• The Observer is James McFadden.

Also on board was a passenger reporter Janice Griffith from the Barbados Sun newspaper.

Hurricane Flight

Lockheed WP-3D Orion aboard N42RF ( NOAA 42 ) Kermit (in honor of the frog Kermit, the crew called the Princess aircraft) carried out a research flight to study Hurricane Hugo, and on board were more than fifty different navigation and scientific instruments, including three radars and three a computer. Hurricane Hugo formed on September 10 off the west coast of Africa and is now moving west towards the Caribbean Islands and the East Coast of the United States , and on a scale of hurricanes it was about the second or third category. According to the plan, both Lockheed WP-3D Orion were involved: the N43RF was supposed to be on the perimeter of the hurricane and explore the environment around it, while the N42RF was supposed to penetrate directly into the "heart" ( eye ) of the hurricane. At the same time, penetration into the hurricane was supposed to be carried out at an altitude of 460 meters. At 15:55 ^{[* 1] the} crew started the engines, and at 16:13:30 NOAA 42 took off from Grantley Adams airport in Barbados ^[1] .

At 16:23 the plane took a flight altitude of 2900 meters, and meteorologists soon saw an image of a hurricane on their locators. Then the crew lay down at a 070 ° course and began to prepare for descent when at 16:30 the screen of the lower weather radar went blank, and then Goldstein, an electronics engineer, announced the failure of the lower radar. Electronic engineers Goldstein and Shriker began repairing the lower weather radar, while they also had to pull out the boards of the rear Doppler radar. Only the front radar remained in service, but its range was relatively small. In such conditions, it was impossible to fly through a hurricane, because of which the crew was forced to circle near Hugo, waiting for the completion of repairs. Meteorologists, meanwhile, were able to examine the hurricane more closely. It was a powerful cyclone about 643 kilometers in diameter, with pronounced symmetry and two branches, and in its center was an eye with a diameter of 19 kilometers. According to estimates made that morning, the wind speed in the hurricane reached 240 km / h, and the pressure in the center was 950 mbar , which corresponded to a hurricane of the third category. But now, on the screen of the Doppler radar, meteorologists observed a dense ring of bright orange and red colors around the eye, indicating a very powerful cyclone. The team of meteorologists on the plane rated Hugo about the strength of like hurricane Gabriel , which was a week before, that is, the fourth category ^[2] .

At 16:55, the lower radar again earned. Further, meteorologists discussed with Commander Gentzlinger the question of the height of entry into the hurricane. The PIC intended to drop only to 1,500 meters, but scientists were able to convince him that an altitude of 460 meters would not be so dangerous, since the entry into hurricane Gabriel of the fourth category was carried out at the same height and went fine. But if the turbulence is extremely strong, then all the same it will be necessary to rise to 1,500 meters ^[2] . At 17:01, the plane lowered its nose and began to descend at a vertical speed of 300 m / min towards the dark wall of clouds, and at 17:05 it occupied a height of 460 meters. The wind speed at the end of the decline was 74–92 km / h, and at an altitude of 460 meters it reached 157 km / h, and it quickly darkened. Then, after a couple of minutes, the turbulence ceased and became lighter as the plane emerged from the spiral of the hurricane. The weather radar showed the presence of a bright red ring around the “eye”, and before it there were also bright orange and red areas. The senior meteorologist Masters almost instructed to climb to 1524 meters, but after three minutes he saw that the wind speed reached only 111 km / h, and therefore finally decided to break into the center of the hurricane at an altitude of 460 meters. Subsequently, Masters will call his decision a “ stupid mistake ” ^[3] .

Through a Hurricane

After a short “respite,” NOAA 42 flew into the wall of clouds around the eye. Day turned into night, turbulence increased, pressure dropped. The plane flying through the heavy rain began to be thrown from side to side, and its wingtips fluctuated on a grand scale up to several meters. Wind speed reached 250 km / h and a pressure of 960 mbar, which corresponds to a hurricane of the fourth category. If the first two-thirds of the path to the center of the hurricane was still relatively normal, then the commander later described the remaining path as " as if hell broke free ." As turbulence continued to intensify, a belated decision was made to rise to a height of 1,524 meters. However, the turbulence is already so great that the commander could not single-handedly hold the plane, so the co-pilot came to his rescue, and they both transferred the engines to full power. However, even together, the pilots could not overcome the hurricane and focused on maintaining altitude and, keeping the right course, fly to the center of the hurricane. After a minute with a slight wind speed reached 287 km / h and continued to increase, and the pressure dropped to 950 mbar and also continued to decline, that is, Hurricane Hugo is actually already almost the fifth category.

At 17:27:34, according to flight recorders, at a course of 014 ° the maximum lateral wind was recorded - 324 km / h. After 5 seconds, following the 27 ° course at an actual altitude of 405 meters, the plane fell into a descending air stream, the speed of which reaches 35 km / h, and at 17:27:56 it is replaced by an already ascending air stream at a speed of 38 km / h . Meteorologists on board recorded constant winds at a speed of 343 km / h, in gusts of 363 km / h, and a pressure of 930 mbar. Hurricane Hugo reached its climax ^[4] , becoming a hurricane of the fifth, highest category. NOAA 42 first encountered such a powerful cyclone and only a robust construction did not allow it to fall apart ^[5] .

Having lowered the nose at an angle of 13 °, the plane at 17:28 went into decline and reached a speed of 535 km / h, and at 17:28:14 at an altitude of 277 meters it began to enter the right bank. Gradually, it began to lighten, indicating the proximity to the eye, but then it suddenly darkened, after which a blow occurred that led to a threefold overload, and then another one, while various equipment fell off its mounts and rolled around the cabin. The third blow, with a six-fold overload, shook the entire plane. At the same time, in the cockpit, the crew saw from the instruments that there was a fire in engine No. 3 (right inner), and in the passenger compartment through the portholes it was seen how a flame of about 9 meters long appeared from the engine. It was later found that the temperature in the engine reached 1260 ° C. Then at 17:28:30 the engine is turned off. The crew almost did not control their plane, which began to quickly enter the right bank. Then at about 17:29 the turbulence abruptly stopped - at an altitude of 270 meters above the water and in the steep right bank of the NOAA 42 it finally reached the calm epicenter of Hurricane Hugo ^[6] .

At the epicenter of a storm

Coming out of the clouds, the pilots immediately warned through the cabin that engine No. 3 had failed and something similar to a piece of cloth about 2 meters long was observed on engine No. 4 (rightmost). The plane was still in the right bank and flew not to the center of the hurricane, but to the right. The pilots then completed a left turn, rushing dangerously close to the clouds, after which the plane began to circle inside the eyes of the hurricane, gradually gaining height ^[7] . The internal communications commander asked how the situation in the cabin was, to which he was told that no one was seriously injured, but there was a mess in the cabin, as he scattered things and objects. Also, people in the cabin tried to determine the danger to the remaining working right engine, because on two engines a heavy plane could not gain altitude and get out of the hurricane. The crew of NOAA 43 tried to call NOAA 42 , to which they answered: Dave, we can’t talk now. We have on board a serious emergency: we are in the eye with only three engines and one more is damaged. Getting ready to drain the fuel . Then with NOAA 43 they replied that they would try to reach the eye for help, and also warned the military C-130, which is closer to the epicenter. To this with NOAA 42 they answered: Thank you, Dave. We will now drain the fuel, so this is our last communication session for the next 15 minutes. We ourselves will call when we are done. Please report to Miami about our situation. Four two, end of connection ^[8] .

The arrow of engine temperature sensor No. 4 was in the red zone, so the crew justifiably worried, as if its failure. To quickly gain height, it was decided to reduce the weight of the aircraft. Since there were 22,769 kilograms of jet fuel on board, the crew decided to drain 6,803 kilograms of them, while turning off all the electronics on board to eliminate the risk of a spark that could ignite the resulting fuel. All 22 autonomous probes with bathothermographs with a total weight of about 300 kilograms were dropped from the plane. Having disconnected all devices in the cabin, passengers began to re-fix the flown objects. When the required amount of fuel was drained, the crew turned on the navigation equipment again, and the C-130 reconnaissance unit (call sign TEAL 57 ) immediately contacted them. His crew said that he was aware of the problems of the weather plane and would try to get into the hurricane from the western side at an altitude of about 3 kilometers. In response to the NOAA 42, they requested that a military aircraft descend after entering the eye and inspect their fourth engine for damage. Five minutes later, with TEAL 57, a hurricane eye was reported and requested by NOAA 42 to locate them. Maneuvering in the center of a hurricane of the highest category, both aircraft approached to a distance of about 300 meters. Then they transmitted from TEAL 57 : NOAA 42, we can clearly see your upper side, including the fourth engine. We do not see any visible damage, except that it seems that the anti-icing shoe is knocked out and hangs on the fourth engine. If you want, we will make another call, but already under you, to inspect the bottom of your plane . The answer was yes. A few minutes later, Hercules was already under Orion, after which they informed him: NOAA 42, this time we did not see any damage. We will try to get out of the eye through its eastern wall and check how difficult it is for you. We will try until we find a safe route for you . To this they were answered: Got it, TEAL 57, many thanks ^[9] .

Return

Circling inside the hurricane, NOAA 42 rose to a height of 2133 meters, since when flying on three engines, further climb could lead to overheating of the engines and their failure. Then they were contacted by David “Dave” Turner, the NOAA 43 crew commander, who reported that they entered the hurricane’s eye at 4,600 meters on the west side and now see NOAA 42 , as well as that the exit from the hurricane at an altitude of 4572 meters would not be difficult. To this, with NOAA 42 they replied that so far they are afraid to rise above 2133 meters and that a military aircraft is already picking up a relatively safe exit for them at this altitude. Then, with NOAA 43 they reported that they would observe the situation, while remaining at 4572 meters. A few minutes later with TEAL 57 it was reported that the exit through the south wall was unsafe, as well as through the east. A few minutes later, it was reported from a military aircraft that the exit through the northeast wall was relatively safe. The data on the radar screen also indicated that there was some attenuation of the winds in the northeast of Hugo’s eye. The commander confirmed the receipt of information and informed the crew of TEAL 57 that he would make his way through the hurricane after them ^[9] .

At 18:25, following the 060 ° course at an altitude of 2200 meters and with three out of four engines, NOAA 42 entered the northeastern wall of the hurricane. The pilot flew the plane. The plane immediately fell in heavy rain, the wind speed reached 314 km / h, and in gusts and all 351 km / h. The engines roared as the crew fought upward airflow. But unlike the entrance to the hurricane, strong blows did not follow this time, and after half a minute the wind speed dropped to 277 km / h and turbulence decreased. Weather radars now showed around only yellow and green areas. After another half-minute-minute, the turbulence almost stopped, and then the sun appeared. An hour after the start of the development of the catastrophic situation, the plane finally got out of the hurricane. They asked the military plane if any further help was needed, but the answer was no. At 18:43, NOAA 42 climbed to a height of 3200 meters and headed for Barbados, where it landed safely at 20:21:30.

A month after the inspection and repair of engine No. 3, the plane returned to Florida ^[10] .

Hurricane Hugo soon hit the Caribbean , and then the East Coast . Although by that time he had weakened to the fourth category, more than a hundred people became his victims, and the total damage amounted to $ 9,000,000,000, which at that time made him the most destructive hurricane ^[10] .

It was found that although the lower weather radar worked, and its radius of action allowed to see a significant part of the hurricane, the monitor of this radar was black and white, that is, in this situation it was useless, since it was impossible to determine the color of individual zones from it. The front radar, in turn, had a color monitor, but here the range was already quite small. Because of this, the crew at NOAA 42 could not correctly determine the strength of the hurricane, and therefore the entry into the Hugo occurred at an altitude of only 457 meters, and even along the most dangerous route.

The cause of the engine fire was the failure of the fuel sensor, due to which an excess of fuel appeared in the engine, which then ignited. As military checks by the Lockheed P-3 Orion showed, this was a common flaw in these aircraft. The fact that an engine fire occurred precisely during a dangerous flight through a hurricane was simply a fatal accident. Although in defense of the design of the aircraft, it is worth noting its high strength, since when flying through a hurricane of the fifth category with five or even sixfold overloads, the structural integrity was not violated. ^[10]

After the incident, the N42RF was repaired and to this day makes research flights to the centers of hurricanes.

The incident with NOAA 42 is shown in the 13th season of the Canadian television series Investigation of the crash in the episode In the epicenter of the storm .

Comments

Sources

• Air crash investigations: At the epicenter of a storm (Russian) . Yandex.Video . Date of treatment November 27, 2014.
• Tracking flights NOAA42 (Russian) . FlightAware . Date of treatment November 27, 2014.
• Investigation of airframe stress, which exceeded operational limitations, and engine failure sustained by NOAA, Aircraft Operations Center Aircraft, N42RF (WP-3D) during operational penetration of Hurricane Hugo on September 15, 1989 (inaccessible link) . MISHAP INVESTIGATION REPORT. Date of treatment November 27, 2014. Archived September 24, 2015.