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Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: church@art.ohiou.edu (Bob Church)
Subject: Controlled Flight Into Terrain cite
Date: Fri, 17 Nov 1995 18:18:22 GMT

I've seen several posts recently speculating on whether Controlled Flight Into Terrain is a legitimate term for certain aircrashes. I found this in the July 10, 1995 edition of 'Aviation Week & Space Technology'. (I owe the librarian another jelly for all the help). The article is written by David Hughes.

Some excerpts

"The Flight Safety Foundation's Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) task force is working with the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group to develop a simulator-based training aid for pilots aimed at preventing the type of accident that is the leading cause of fatalities in civil aviation."

later, it says

"Earl F. Weener, director of systems engineering for the Boeing Commercial Group and chairman of the CFIT task force steering committee, said a common misconception about CFIT is that it involves crews getting lost and flying into the side of a mountain. While this does occur, the data shows that CFIT accidents usually occur on final approach, with the aircraft lined up with the runway and at a normal rate of descent. "It [CFIT] is largely a vertical position error problem [on final approach]", Weener said."

With apologies to anyone flying home for the holidays. I *never* land in planes, thus eliminating the most dangerous part of the flight.

Bob Church