Scapegoat: A Flight Crew's Journey from Heroes to Villains to Redemption

by Emilio Corsetti III

118 simulator tests took place. None of the simulator trials were able to accurately duplicate the TWA 841 FDR traces. There were two simulator tests that led to a loss of control and also had some correlation to the 841 FDR traces. In one instance, the pilots had to delay taking corrective action for 16.5 seconds. Interestingly, if the delay was sixteen seconds, control was regained with only a 6,000-foot altitude loss. In the second test that produced a correlation to the 841 FDR traces, the pilots delayed action for twelve seconds and then disconnected the autopilot and rapidly applied left aileron and full left rudder until the plane had rolled 285 degrees to the left, which was about 45 degrees past inverted. This was followed by a loss of altitude and an uncontrollable roll back to the right. The plane continued to roll to the right, despite full left aileron and full left rudder, until the slat was retracted and the pilot regained control.