Doh! I now see that the Lat/Longs stayed the same… 
But the premise of my comment remains. 
I have to backup azav8r here. If you are planning on going to a Flight Level you better have oxygen. You never assume your oxyen is charged and working. You check it in your cockpit checks(ground) and at least twice between 10K and 18K.
On another note, how many of you know of RVSM’d Pilatus out there?
YO- give credit where credit is due- I said it!!
Preflight- O2 on, Green, O2
FL180- Green, O2
FL410- Green, O2
Sorry Man
You’re right. Been a long day.! Good call by the way.
Thanks! You fly out of OPF?
What percentage of pilot of privately owned/operated aircraft do you think actually include emergency oxygen checks in their preflight?
Wow. So now you want to insinuate that a owner/operator is less responsible as a PIC? 
That’s a ridiculous rhetorical question that has no legitimate answer.
I like to give ridiculous answers so I will take this one.
I would say 100% of privately owned/operated aircraft that the PIC and or SIC gives a crap whether or not the flight is conducted safely. Those same pilots more than likely conduct themselves professionally and care about the certificates and ratings they have earned.
Perhaps the question was poorly worded, but the fact remains that the NTSB accident logs are filled with the after action reports of owners who followed less than stellar decision trees in their pre-flights.
Given all the pilots we know of who have taken off without enough fuel to reach their destination, why is it such a stretch to believe that someone could take off without enough oxygen?
Is it on the preflight checklist?
Yep it is.
JHEM, has a good point also.
All I can tell you is that the number of pilots who religiously check every item on their preflight checklist is less than 100%. If you believe otherwise, you’re living in a dream world. Many GA pilots take chances (gambles?) every day with their equipment, fuel, CG/WB, weather, you name it.
I’ve known pilots who not only don’t check their oxygen before each flight, but they stowed it in the luggage compartment. I’ve known pilots who routinely operated over long stretches of the Atlantic with a single life preserver (I wonder who gets that when the sh*t hits the fan). The list goes on.
Anyway, this has gotten way off topic and it no longer has anything to do with the original post.
How many flightaware members? I don’t know how to answer that question.
How many PC12s are RVSM equipped and certified? Most.
Yes, inspection of the oxygen system pressure is checked directly at the bottle during the exterior checks. There’s an oxygen supply pressure gauge inside the cockpit. Also, there are four oxygen related steps during the “Before Starting Engine” checklist.
- OXYGEN lever - ON
- Oxygen pressure gage - CHECK 1850 psi MAX
- PASSENGER OXYGEN switch - ON. CHECK CAWS PASS OXY caption on. SET switch to AUTO
- Oxygen masks - AVAILABLE for all occupants, as required.
I think this discussion is very close to the heart of the topic. We are just talking about apples and oranges though.
The apples are GA Joe who flies his Cessna 210 at 12-15000 feet and throws in a canula of oxygen in the baggage compartment to say he has oxygen to meet requirements and these may be the people you are speaking of.
The oranges are GA Jim that flies his King Air/Pilatus that has an oygen system installed for cew and pax and he probably went to a formal school for insurance purposes. This pilot would religously check the oxygen level as CFI James laid out. This is more likely the pilot Dorsch was based upon the scuttlebut in the Tampa aviation community.
Agreed JHEM…on both counts. And it’s the way the question was worded that strikes the nerve. Seriously…trying to quantify willful irresponsibility?
Just as James points out checklist discipline, and gr8pilot1’s apples/oranges analogy… a PC12 isn’t your joe six-pack GA airplane. Absolutely there are pilots like the “acquaintances” that TorstenHoff speaks of. But to quantify it and categorize Dorsch as such…I’m not buyin’ that load.
There’s certainly something else afoot here JHEM…
I fly right seat on a part 91 PC-12 every once in a while and it would be downright stupid to discount the backup oxygen system. I check it every flight. And it by all means is on the before start checklist.
PC-12 Captain, routine single pilot ops
Definitely check O2 for every flight above 15000, had a bleed air line come off at 210 already. Quick don masks are there and ready to use if needed and O2 available.
That being said, a -45 is going to have a heck of a time getting above 280 to begin with, especially in IMC with the inertial seperator open, robs about 4-5 psi of torque. I do not know of any part 91 PC-12 operators that spend the extra 100k+ for RVSM for the extra 2000 ft of altitude availability that it takes forever to get to anyway.
Service ceiling is 300, pressurization dial stops at 300, you will get a cabin alt light shortly after that. I agree with the “panel” problem being instrumentation related based on the acual transcripts, not quotes being reported. Had to be running out of airspeed trying to climb that high, and if the pusher is disabled, the PC-12 rolls promptly over on it’s back, no if’s ands, or buts. That’s why it has a pusher.
Just a very very sad situation, I’m sorry for all those involved
I am a FO for US Airways Express and was about 5 miles to the east of the aircraft climbing though FL250 for FL 270 when we heard his first radio call to ATC.
His words as I rememeber it was “I lost my panel and need a vector”
The Captain and I assumed that he had lost his instument panel and needed a vector to his next fix on his route of flight. It was IMC at the time however there was no icing. ATC gave him a vector and asked if everything was alright. His next transmission was something to the effect that he was unable to hold his altitude…and then the transmission stopped.
ATC told us to stop our climb and immediatly descend to FL240. We asked if our heading was ok and he told us to immediatly turn to 090 as he said “I don’t know where this guy is”.
We did have him on TCAS and and saw him descending and then start to move in a circle to the right similar to what a spin might look like on TCAS.
The Captain was contacted by the NTSB and we both reviewed and submitted a report of what we heard and saw. I know another aircraft, I think it was American Eagle, also heard the exchange between N578DC and ATC.
My best guess is for some reason he lost his instrument panel and was unable to maintain control in IMC.
Needless to say, both the Captain and I were effected by those events for the rest of the day. I still think about it. Sad
anyone been above 15k with no O2?