Radar Contact Lost: The Podcast
"Radar Contact Lost: The Podcast" will discuss the tragic circumstances involved with some of the worst airplane crashes. When weather conditions are at fault or are a contributing factor to the accident (as is so often the case), the meteorology will be examined and explained. Hosted by a meteorologist with 40 years of professional experience including U.S. Air Force, broadcast and commercial meteorology. The Radar Contact Lost team includes experts from the fields of commercial meteorology, commercial aviation and air traffic control.
Radar Contact Lost: The Podcast
When Winter Survival Skills and a Little Bit of Luck Overpowered Mountain Wave Turbulence, Severe Icing and a Winter Storm
On Tuesday morning, December 5, 1978, 22 people were rescued off the side of a high Colorado mountain in the southern regions of the Rocky Mountains. They had survived the frigid night at an altitude above 10,000 feet (over 3,000 meters). This was in the midst of a snowstorm, with temperatures well below freezing and winds howling above 30 miles per hour (that’s nearly 50 kilometers per hour). There was only minimal shelter. Some reports estimated the snow to be 8 feet deep and wind chill temperatures approaching 50 below zero. That they survived the brutal weather conditions is remarkable, but that they had also survived the reason for being stranded on the mountain – a plane crash – is even more remarkable. What follows is the story of that winter survival miracle, and the crash of Rocky Mountain Airways Flight 217.
