Night terrors
The black hole departure
But when departing a well-lit runway into a moonless night over water or a featureless terrain, pilots can quickly find themselves in an unsafe situation.
An illusion is a discrepancy between what we see and what we feel (think: seat of the pants). A pilot experiences the black hole effect when flying a nighttime approach into an airport with inadequate illumination between the airplane and the runway. This illusion causes the pilot to misjudge their aircraft as too high, so they may adjust their position, too often crashing well short of the runway.
There’s another black hole effect not as well-known. One waiting at the departure end of the airfield. The moon has set, and as the aircraft accelerates down the runway, darkness floods the distance between the pilot and any visible horizon rendering flight by visual references impossible. If the pilot doesn’t quickly recognize their confusion, they might succumb to the illusion. These are the tragic circumstances of the round-the-world father-and-son team Babar and Haris Suleman in 2014. Although the NTSB could not determine the accident’s probable cause, the prevailing opinion is that the black hole effect may be a contributing factor.
The Sulemans set out from their Indiana home to navigate the globe in the shortest time in a single-engine airplane, and Haris, a 17-year-old private pilot, would be the youngest to lead such an endeavor.
Witness accounts document N20TC’s final minutes as it departed Pago Pago International Airport on July 22, 2014.
As the Beech accelerated down the airstrip, its turbo-normalizing engine roared with a confidence that reassured its onlookers, lifting off just before reaching the runway’s end. However, the gusty crosswind soon proved unruly, buffeting the low-winged aircraft that sent it lurching from side to side.
The team’s handler received a tracking ping at 9:56 p.m. local time, which confirmed the Bonanza was airborne. Another ping followed shortly after, indicating the pilots were passing 97 feet at 77 knots. Sadly, this ping would be the last known communication from N20TC.
As the father-son crew continued to climb away from the bright lights of the airport and beyond any visible horizon, the aircraft became engulfed in total darkness over the Pacific Ocean. Observers on the ground, eagerly watching what should have been a historic flight, noticed something wasn’t quite right. Witnesses recounted that the aircraft had stopped climbing, leveled off, then, within seconds, began banking to the right, continuing its fatal roll before slipping silently into the unforgiving sea.
To avoid this lethal trap, maintain situational awareness and remain alert to your surroundings. Adopt a bird’s-eye view when checking out a new airport or even an unfamiliar runway at a known airport. Add Google Earth to your preflight. Closely look at the environment around the airport to identify any potential hazards. Is the airport near a bustling cityscape or in the middle of sprawling cornfields?
As pilot in command, it’s your responsibility to scrutinize every airport you visit and know how to handle unconventional situations. By taking proactive measures and remaining alert, you can avoid killer illusions and ensure a safe takeoff and landing.
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