Two airline pilots joked and laughed as they flew an empty commercial jet to its limits, switched seats in mid-air and ignored automated warnings before crashing into a residential area, a cockpit voice recorder has revealed.
Captain Jesse Rhodes and First Officer Peter Cesarz were both killed after they decided to ”have a little fun” and take the 50-seat Pinnacle Airlines jet they were flying to 41 000ft — the limit of its capability. No one was hurt on the ground in Jackson City, Missouri, where the plane came down after suffering catastrophic engine failure.
”Ooh look at that,” Cesarz said, apparently referring to cockpit readings. ”Pretty cool.”
”Man, we can do it. Forty-one it,” the captain replied. ”Forty thousand, baby.”
Two minutes later Cesarz said: ”Made it, man.”
But seconds later, as an automatic system began warning of a stall, one of the pilots is heard to say: ”Dude, it’s losing it.” A voice then said: ”We don’t have any engines. You got to be kidding me.”
The plane crashed 4km from the runway, missing houses.
The transcripts were released as part of a federal investigation into whether pilots of small regional airlines are getting adequate training and supervision. – Guardian Unlimited Â