14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, February 03, 2012 in Dinsmore, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 02/14/2013
Aircraft: CESSNA 172E, registration: N3879S
Injuries: 1 Serious,1 Minor.
NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
According to postaccident statements from both pilots, the flight instructor took control of the airplane from the student pilot either at touchdown or just before. The airplane bounced several times after touchdown while veering to the right, and the right main wheel rolled off the 48-foot wide runway into the grass. The flight instructor added full engine power to go around. The flight instructor stated that he pulled back on the yoke to try to clear the trees beyond the end of the runway, and the airplane stalled and hit the ground. After the airplane’s right wing tip contacted the ground, the airplane reversed direction and came to a stop. Shortly after the airplane came to rest, a postimpact fire began, which consumed the airplane. The student pilot, who was the airplane owner, reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The flight instructor's delayed remedial action, inadequate recovery from a bounced landing, and failure to attain/maintain adequate airspeed during an attempted go-around.
On February 3, 2012, about 1230 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172E, N3879S, veered off runway 27 during an aborted landing at the Dinsmore (uncontrolled) airport, Dinsmore, California. The airplane came to rest in a field about 50 yards beyond the runway’s end. A post impact ground fire occurred, which consumed the substantially damaged airplane. The commercial pilot holds a certified flight instructor (CFI) certificate, and he was seriously injured. The CFI was providing flight instruction to a student pilot, who was the airplane’s registered owner. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight was performed under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. No flight plan was filed. The flight originated about 1115.
The student pilot reported to the National Transportation Safety Board investigator that the CFI directed him to land at the Dinsmore airport. However, on final approach, the CFI took the flight controls away from him. The student released the controls, and he did not touch them again. The wing flaps were extended to the 30-degree setting, and the CFI attempted to land. After touching down on the runway, the airplane bounced several times, the right main wheel rolled off the 48-foot wide runway into the grass, and the CFI attempted to go around. The CFI added full engine power, and the stall warning sounded as the airplane veered back across the runway as it continued to bounce. After the airplane’s right wing tip contacted the ground, the airplane reversed direction as it cartwheeled to a stop. Shortly after coming to rest, a post impact fire began, which consumed the airplane.
During a telephone conversation the CFI said they took off from Garberville about 1130 for an instructional session. He said he does not recall completely but believes he took over the controls either just after the student had landed or just before he touched down. The airplane was veering to the right and he decided to do a go around. The stall warning was going off during the go around at the west end of the runway. He said he was trying to go over the trees beyond the end of the runway; he pulled on the yoke to clear the trees and the airplane stalled and hit the ground.
The student pilot owner said there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane.
PHOTO BY RANDAL LOCKE
Jesse Gray gives the thumbs after a successful loading of his friend Dennis Lichty into the aircraft at Sacramento Executive Airport. Blue Star Gas founder and co-pilot Bill Stewart is all smiles because no one got a hernia or threw their back out in the process. Dennis is all smiles... really... it’s just a little harder after all his front teeth were knocked out.
PHOTO BY RANDAL LOCKE
Pilot Jeff Stewart with father and pilot Bill Stewart, wanna-be pilot Randal Locke and pilot Jesse Gray just before leaving from Rohnerville Airport in Fortuna to pick up Dennis Lichty at U.C. Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.
PHOTO BY RANDAL LOCKE
Randal Locke, Dennis Lichty, Bill Stewart and Jesse Gray right after loading Dennis into his comfy bed at Seaview Rehabilitation and Wellness Center just south of Eureka. This picture was taken by Lindsay Locke, President of EAA Chapter 1418 in Fortuna, who met the plane at Rohnerville, and drove EAA1418 member Dennis in her car to Seaview.
The recent private aircraft crash on Feb. 3, at Dinsmore Airport resulted in the student pilot, Garberville resident Tyler Lewis walking away from the wreck; the airplane owned by Tyler being burned to a cinder; and the flight instructor, Whitethorn resident and Garberville Airport supervisor Dennis Lichty, being airlifted by Reach Air Ambulance in critical condition to Mercy Medical Center in Redding.
Though the precise cause of the accident will not be reported by the NTSB for some time, the real story, besides that both pilots survived, is what happened after the accident. Although it was initially reported that Dennis’s injuries were not major, in fact he was severely injured.
Student pilot, passenger, and owner of the plane Tyler Lewis said when the aircraft crashed, he was able to “go fetal” and curled up in a ball, which is why, despite a bloody nose and some cuts and bruises he was able to escape the wrecked airplane and walk away. In fact Tyler gave a TV interview to KIEM TV that afternoon from the scene.
However, Dennis Lichty had his legs extended on the control pedals and his hands on the yoke while he rode the plane down to the ground where it crashed on its right side, the side Dennis was in. As a result both of his feet were badly mangled and his face slammed into the control panel, causing multiple facial fractures, and knocking out most of his upper front teeth, some of which ended up stuck deep in his left lung. The bruised knees, cuts, badly bruised neck and severe concussion simply added to the situation the first responders had to deal with.
Caltrans employees, Dave Ackley and Dain Heartman, heard and saw the crash. They assisted after the crash and were justifiably given credit for their efforts by Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Matt Helm.
However, it appears that there was another hero who apparently wishes to remain anonymous. During the live call-in Pilot Lounge radio show on KMUD at 7 p.m. on Feb. 10, a gentleman called in to the program and said that he was a 74-year-old, 135-pound pilot who was at the Dinsmore Airport at the time and witnessed the crash. He described in vivid detail how he was the first person to attempt to extricate Dennis Lichty from the plane and how he called out to Dave Ackley to assist, which Dave and Dain did. Additionally, the many other first responders deserve credit even though they too are largely anonymous.
Dennis was airlifted from Dinsmore Airport to Mercy Medical Center, where due to massive swelling of his face and neck his windpipe became constricted. He lost the ability to breath voluntarily, and he was intubated and placed on a respirator. Mercy emergency room and ICU staff stabilized Dennis as best they could and performed X-rays, CAT scans and the normal battery of tests conducted on trauma patients. Mercy Medical Center then decided to airlift Dennis to U.C. Davis Medical Center, around 8 p.m. on the evening of the accident.
Dennis remained on a ventilator for five days and endured multiple surgeries over the next two weeks including two separate rounds of surgery on his feet, the last operation lasting eight hours. The teeth in his lung had to be left there initially because the ventilator tube down his throat prevented a bronchoscopy from being performed. After his facial and skull surgeries, an attempt was made to retrieve the teeth. The attempt failed. Three days later another attempt was made and this time succeeded. Dennis was now out of danger and was moved out of intensive care.
U.C. Davis then notified Dennis’s friends Jesse Gray and Randal Locke that Dennis would be released from the medical center no later than Feb. 20, (Presidents Day) and would have to go to a skilled nursing facility either in Sacramento, or if transportation could be arranged, to a facility in Humboldt County. Unfortunately, the cost and discomfort (even hazard) of transporting Dennis by ground put that option out of the question. And Dennis did not want to stay in Sacramento. He wanted to come home.
While Jesse and Randal plotted and schemed on how to get their friend home, a call came in from Bill Stewart, founder of Blue Star Gas, who said his son Jeff had offered to fly Dennis from U.C. Davis to anywhere in Humboldt. Bill and Jeff also offered to fly Jesse and Randal to Sacramento so they could assist in loading Dennis into the plane as well as provide the “companion ride-alongs” requested by U.C. Davis in the ambulance and the aircraft.
With the vexing transportation issue solved by the generosity of Jeff and Bill, the search began for a place that Dennis could come home to that was acceptable to Dennis’ doctors and U.C. Davis. Jerold Phelps Community Hospital in Garberville was the obvious choice, and with the help of Kathy Duke RN, and case manager for the trauma department at U.C. Davis, the search for a bed was initiated there.
Unfortunately, Jerold Phelps had no skilled nursing or “swing” beds available, and said they would not know if they might have a bed until 8:30 a.m. Monday morning, the day of the airlift! Very quickly the search became desperate, as one by one, every facility in Humboldt County told us they had no place for Dennis. In the next few days, Duke became the “Angel of U.C. Davis.”
After a fruitless five-day search, and with the wonderful, patient and dogged assistance of Duke and Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Dubuque at Redwood Healthcare Services, a bed was finally located at Seaview Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Eureka late Friday, Feb. 17.
Duke verified everything with Gabby; Jesse and Randal made arrangements with Jeff and Bill; and then they made arrangements with EAA1418 President Lindsay Locke to assist in ground transportation from Fortuna to Seaview Rehabilitation. Naturally the weather report for Monday was not good, but not to worry. Jeff Stewart is an Instrument Rated Pilot and his plane is a twin-engine pressurized Cessna 421C which can handle almost any weather. Everyone relaxed a bit over the holiday weekend knowing everything was in place and that if they got lucky they might even get Dennis into Garberville. At least that’s what they thought. Fools.
The first four hours of Monday turned into panic. By 8:30 a.m. it was confirmed by a personal visit from Jesse Gray that Jerold Phelps could not, or would not, be able to take Dennis. It was a holiday and there was no one who could verify if a bed was available or not. At 9 a.m. it was learned that the bed originally scheduled at Seaview Rehabilitation was no longer available due to mandatory placement of someone over the weekend. Suddenly there was no place for Dennis to go.
Jeff and the airplane were poised to go in Santa Rosa. Randal and Jesse were poised to fly from Garberville to Fortuna to meet Jeff in Fortuna because the weather prevented him from landing at Garberville safely. Lindsay Locke was on standby to drive to Fortuna and meet them when they returned. But now it looked like the whole plan was busted.
At 10 a.m. it was learned that Jeff Stewart was scheduled for knee surgery on Wednesday morning and could not fly for 12 days afterwards. That meant any reschedule could only be for the next day, Tuesday. After that, Dennis would have to be placed in a still unidentified facility in the Sacramento area.
Constant phone calls between all the participants continued with Kathy Duke and Gabby Dubuque doing everything in their power to save the situation. Coincidently, Joe Reis, marketing director of Redwood Healthcare Services just happened to be returning from a much needed three-day vacation in Las Vegas, and was driving up Interstate 5 when he got an “I’m sorry to call you on your vacation” call from Gabby. After talking with Gabby, Joe took it upon himself to swing by U.C. Davis and do a personal assessment of Dennis in his hospital room. Randal and Jesse were notified by Gabby that the process might take one or two hours and everything and everyone was kept on hold, waiting expectantly for the verdict.
Just before noon, Randal received the news, and it was good. Joe Reis had gotten corporate sanction to make sure Dennis had a bed at Seaview. The race was on. By this time the weather had deteriorated so Randal and Jesse couldn’t fly to Fortuna. Randal picked up Jesse and Bill Stewart in Redway and the three of them drove to Rohnerville Airport. Jeff landed at the airport at the exact same time they arrived. Dr. George Jutila met the group at the airport five minutes later and gave them orthopedic straps, a wheel chair and a pulse oximeter, and the four men took off for Sacramento Executive Airport.
After a 75-minute flight at 15,000 feet, they landed and Jesse jumped into a cab to go and accompany Dennis in the ambulance. Jesse was surprised to learn that Dennis didn’t know he was leaving. "You mean I’m leaving now?" said Dennis. Jesse said "Yes, right now."
Within minutes Dennis was moved to a gurney, and he and Jesse were in an ambulance on their way to the airport. When they arrived, Jesse gave Dennis his aviator’s jacket that Dennis thought had burned in the crash. The jacket had been handed to Tyler Lewis by emergency personnel after Dennis was pulled from the plane before it exploded. Everyone there witnessed a moving and special moment when Dennis took the jacket and placed it over himself. With the help of the two ambulance drivers, the six men heaved and squeezed the nearly naked 260-pound Dennis into the aircraft. Before taking off, they helped Dennis put on his jacket. No one, especially Dennis, could stop grinning.
With a 30-knot tailwind, the ride back to Fortuna was quicker, and with an infectious happiness permeating the cabin, a lot more fun. Dennis was going home. After a flawless landing at Rohnerville Airport, Dennis was stuffed like a pimento in an olive into the back seat of Lindsay Locke’s Ford Focus and driven to Seaview, where he is today, recuperating happily and singing the praises of both the staff and the food. The food? "Yes" Dennis says, "It’s great." Go figure.
Maybe the moral of this story is that ultimately everyone can be a hero. They can be: Caltrans workers, anonymous strangers, firemen, policemen, air ambulance pilots, administrative assistants, doctors, and of course friends and family. Ultimately it is love, generosity and caring by everyone that makes it all happen. Of course the consummate skill of the professionals who make this kind of work their career turn tragedy into joy. Dennis is doing very well with his therapy, and says thank you to everyone. He looks forward to moving one hour south as soon as he is able.
Of course his friends have to find him a bed first.
NTSB Identification: WPR12LA090
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, February 03, 2012 in Dinsmore, CA
Aircraft: CESSNA 172E, registration: N3879S
Injuries: 1 Serious,1 Minor.
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 February 3, 2012, about 1230 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172E, N3879S, veered off runway 27 during an aborted landing at the Dinsmore (uncontrolled) airport, Dinsmore, California. The airplane came to rest in a field about 50 yards beyond the runway’s end. A post impact ground fire occurred, which consumed the substantially damaged airplane. The commercial pilot holds a certified flight instructor (CFI) certificate, and he was seriously injured. The CFI was providing flight instruction to a student pilot, who was the airplane’s registered owner. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight was performed under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. No flight plan was filed. The flight originated about 1115.
The student pilot reported to the National Transportation Safety Board investigator that the CFI directed him to land at the Dinsmore airport. However, on final approach, the CFI took the flight controls away from him. The student released the controls, and he did not touch them again. The wing flaps were extended to the 30-degree setting, and the CFI attempted to land. After touching down on the runway, the airplane bounced several times, the right main wheel rolled off the 48-foot wide runway, and the CFI attempted to go around. The CFI added full engine power, the stall warning sounded, and the CFI lost control of the airplane. After the airplane’s right wing tip contacted the ground, the airplane reversed direction as it cartwheeled to a stop.
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