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Author: Subject: Calafia Airlines flight to GN missing
AKgringo
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[*] posted on 12-29-2019 at 03:35 PM


I am not a pilot, but I have flown in several Caravans since they are widely used in Alaska. They are not a bush plane, they are a small commuter aircraft for serving established airports.

I am in Anchorage right now, and icing today will occur at sea level!

[Edited on 12-29-2019 by AKgringo]




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del mar
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[*] posted on 12-29-2019 at 03:56 PM


Quote: Originally posted by MrBillM  
And then there's BAD weather !

How bad was it ? Does anybody here KNOW ?



this was the weather at time of the crash


problems at Calafia airlines?
https://themazatlanpost.com/2019/12/28/calafia-airlines-the-...



[Edited on 12-29-2019 by del mar]
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Alm
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[*] posted on 12-29-2019 at 07:39 PM


Calafia flight(S) from TIJ- to GN are also missing, all of them :)... I remember there were such regular flights in the past?
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[*] posted on 12-30-2019 at 08:50 AM


We have flown Calafia for a handful of years now and all was ok until this year. A couple times we were delayed more than 6hrs and one of the times the flight was cancelled 10hrs later...

The lack of communication and the 2hr delay every couple hours had me thinking this was due to the plane not being fit to fly?
After reading this recent Calafia accident and other issues my red flags were most likely correct.

After a couple loooooonng delays and cancellation we have started booking with Volaris instead. Not as convenient (only Tues/Sat) to Loreto but so far they have been reliable!
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[*] posted on 12-30-2019 at 08:56 AM


I flew Volaris from TJ to La Paz and it was a nice experience. I'm looking at Volaris now for flights from Los Cabos to Guadalajara. Less than 80 bucks round trip!!:bounce:
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Pacifico
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[*] posted on 12-30-2019 at 10:49 AM


Quote: Originally posted by BajaParrothead  
I flew Volaris from TJ to La Paz and it was a nice experience. I'm looking at Volaris now for flights from Los Cabos to Guadalajara. Less than 80 bucks round trip!!:bounce:


Wow! That's awesome! My wife and I just flew Volaris from TJ to Zihuantanejo RT for $400 total and that included our CBX crossing tickets! Love Volaris!!!




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bajaric
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[*] posted on 12-30-2019 at 03:24 PM


Seems odd they would crash well south of the flight plan, and not ditch the aircraft in the sea instead. And, a lawyer on board. There has got to be a conspiracy theory in there somewhere, where is jjj when you need him --
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MrBillM
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[*] posted on 12-30-2019 at 05:46 PM
One Might ASSUME ...............


That the pilot didn't actually CHOOSE his point of contact.

In any case, had there been an opportunity to choose, a water landing in a fixed-gear aircraft might necessarily be a last choice.

But, assuming that no reliable witnesses are discovered, it's all a guess, isn't it ?

I notice that the referenced town has 29 residents. Not exactly a hot spot.

What are all of those rectangular green areas ? Saltwater Ponds ? For ?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12-31

They are Shrimp Farms !

Although I initially found a news article pointing to something a bit different:

L.A. Times 2008

>https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jul-10-fi-seafarm10-story.html

Learned something new triggered by the Calafia Airlines Boo Boo ! And, a lot of indoor time thanks to SNOW.

BTW, some interesting miscellania regarding the Cessna Caravan:

By November 2017, 2,600 have been delivered and 20 million flight hours logged.

As of 31 December 2017 there had been 216 Caravan hull losses from all causes, including 206 accidents causing 427 fatalities – an average of 2 fatalities per hull-loss, with 29.7% of all occupants surviving fatal accidents; and six hijackings causing one fatality. For the 198 out of the 216 hull-loss occurrences where the aircraft was in use and its flight nature is known, 36.9% were passenger flights, 33.8% cargo flights, 8.1% military flights, 5.6% special flights – agriculture, survey, etc., 4% private and business flights, 3% test or flight training and 8.1% miscellaneous uses – demonstrations, deliveries, illegal.

For a time, Cessna Caravans were crashing when encountering icy conditions. The FAA threatened to pull the 208’s certification for flight in sub-zero weather unless Cessna could figure out how to counter its tendency to fail in these icy areas. Accidents involved pilots from entry-level new hires to the most experienced pilots and thus could be explained best by the environment they were flying in.



[Edited on 2-18-2020 by MrBillM]
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MrBillM
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[*] posted on 2-18-2020 at 10:28 AM
Fly and Die !


https://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1437...

https://themazatlanpost.com/2019/12/28/calafia-airlines-the-...
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Marc
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[*] posted on 3-2-2020 at 07:02 AM


I have flown in Twin Otters in SE Asia & S Pacific. I am not a pilot, but I do feel safer with two engines. Just sayin'.
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[*] posted on 3-2-2020 at 08:44 AM


Quote: Originally posted by Marc  
I have flown in Twin Otters in SE Asia & S Pacific. I am not a pilot, but I do feel safer with two engines. Just sayin'.


When it comes to the large commercial jets this is a true statement. Some years back the FAA decided the jet engines had reached sufficient reliability to make long international over water flights and cleared two engine flights. But with the smaller piston engine driven twin engine aircraft popular view of many pilots was that the second engine will usually just take you a little farther to the crash scene.
The Pratt & Whitney turbine PT6 engine used on Caravans is one of the most reliable engines in use today. I believe Twin Otters use two of these engines.
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MrBillM
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[*] posted on 3-2-2020 at 10:18 AM
Got ICE ?


Aircraft engines (Piston or Turbine) are exceptionally reliable. There are VERY few engine failures not due to maintenance issues OR fuel quality/delivery problems. While my own ('70s era) piloting experience was limited to under 300 hours, others have flown single-engine aircraft for many thousands of hours without mishap.

In any case, while we will likely never know for sure, the consensus opinion seems to indicate icing as the likely culprit. A surprisingly light accumulation of wing ice can have a disastrous effect on lift and control. In which case, the number of engines isn't a factor.

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LancairDriver
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[*] posted on 3-2-2020 at 11:01 AM


In the last 20 years I have owned ten airplanes, all piston engines. Never had a serious failure in 6,000 hrs. Turbines are far ahead of piston engines by far in reliability. Just ask the FAA. Having said that, it would be great if aircraft engines matched the reliability of current auto engines. True, bad weather flying decisions including fog and ice accounts for most aircraft accidents. The latest high profile example being the tragic Kobe Bryant crash.
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bajaric
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[*] posted on 3-5-2020 at 02:31 PM


A sad situation, condolences.
This is my speculation as an armchair observer, and not as a pilot;
Iced up. Tried to outrun it south and did not make it. The weather satellite that was posted at the time showed a large cold front, was exceptionally cold in So Cal at the time.

In the last few days a freak storm dumped snow on the mountains above San Felipe. New ice age?

On another note, where can I get some of those sustainably harvested shrimp?
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thebajarunner
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[*] posted on 3-5-2020 at 03:49 PM
Know why twins have two engines????


Cuz they won't fly on just one.....

I owned and flew four different singles, all the way from an experimental to a T210

Had one icing issue in my Cutlass, but that had nothing to do with having only one engine.
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[*] posted on 3-5-2020 at 06:22 PM


Quote: Originally posted by thebajarunner  
Cuz they won't fly on just one.....

I owned and flew four different singles, all the way from an experimental to a T210

Had one icing issue in my Cutlass, but that had nothing to do with having only one engine.

They most certainly fly on 1 engine. I am not inclined to explain it here. I have landed twins on 1 engine. 4 engine dc6 on 2 engines and 3 engine jet on 2.
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