I'd be interested in knowing if the canopy was found. Could have been a
canopy release that killed him on the spot. If that happened, the airplane
would simply roll off and go in under the preset power setting, which at 35K
would have been high percent wise...probably around 85 to 90 percent for a
Mig 17.
Anyway, it would account for the high DR.
Don't know what kind of arrangement the 17 uses for it's fuel pumps, but
from that rate of descent, it doesn't look to me like a flameout situation.
Besides, a flameout wouldn't necessarily equate with loss of control.
My guess is something catastrophic that left the power set all the way
through the event like a canopy failure.
But....with things like this....only a guess. Actually, unless they get
extremely lucky in the investigation, it will be a "probable cause" most
likely. It usually is!!
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/ CFI Retired
For personal email, please replace
the z's with e's.
dhenriquesATzarthlinkDOTnzt


"Big John" wrote in message
...
Any Monday morning quarterbacks on this one ?

Assuming that radar contact was lost at 5K it would mean a rate of
descent of around 30,000 feet per minute????

BJ

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Quote from NTSB.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain
errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final
report has been completed.

On March 25, 2004, at 0728 mountain standard time, a Mikoyan Gurevich
MiG-17, N508M, was destroyed when it impacted terrain following a
departure from cruise flight near Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico.
The airline transport pilot, the sole occupant in the airplane, was
fatally injured. The airplane was being operated under Title 14 CFR
Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal,
cross-country flight that originated from Roswell, New Mexico, at
0659. The pilot had filed and opened an IFR flight plan with a
destination of Phoenix, Arizona, (Phoenix Deer Valley Airport).

The Albuquerque Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) radar data
indicates that the airplane leveled off at his assigned cruising
altitude (35,000 feet) at approximately 0715. At 0727:30, the pilot
declares an emergency; he reported that he had a fuel transfer
problem. Approximately 1 minute later, ARTCC personnel reported that
the aircraft disappeared from their screen. Search and rescue teams
located the airplane's impact crater on the afternoon of March 27,
approximately 3.5 nautical miles northwest of the last radar return.