14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, May 26, 2012 in St. George, UT
Aircraft: CESSNA 172S, registration: N953SP
Injuries: 4 Fatal.
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. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On May 26, 2012, about 0120 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172S, N953SP, collided with terrain shortly after departing from St. George Municipal Airport, St. George, Utah. Diamond Flying LLC was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The commercial pilot and three passenger sustained fatal injuries; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The local personal flight was departing from St. George with a planned destination of Mesquite, Nevada. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
A review of the recorded security camera footage at the airport revealed that the airplane could be seen in the nighttime conditions by the blinking left-wing strobe light and the navigation light mounted on the tail. The airplane appeared to depart from runway 19 and maneuver at a low altitude for the length of the runway while increasing its airspeed. Near the end of the runway, the airplane began a rapid ascent and continued out of the view of the camera. After about 7 seconds, the airplane reappears further down the frame in a rapid descent.
The accident site was located in the hard dirt area (the southerly primary surface) adjacent to the departure end of runway 19. Situated on the level terrain, the airplane came to rest in an inverted attitude and was oriented on a 315-degree magnetic bearing. The main wreckage, which consisted of a majority of the airframe and engine, was located about 525 feet from the edge of the runway's center point.
The first identified point of impact was a ground scar impression about 40 feet from the main wreckage that dimensionally and geometrically resembled the wings with a crater-like impression in between. The span of the ground disturbance was about 36.5 feet, with red lens fragments located near the east side and green fragments on the westerly side; the airplane's wingspan was 36.1 feet. Imbedded in the center crater was a portion of a propeller blade and the nose wheel. In the debris field from the ground scar to the main wreckage was the oil sump, the propeller, and engine accessories.
A routine aviation weather report (METAR) generated by an Automated Surface Observation System (ASOS) at the airport, indicated that about 5 minutes prior to the accident the conditions were as follows: wind was from 260 degrees at 9 knots; temperature 66 degrees Fahrenheit; dew point 28 degrees Fahrenheit; and altimeter 29.60 inHg.
ST. GEORGE – The Federal Aviation Administration investigation into the recent plane crash of May 26, 2012, at St. George Municipal Airport seeks public input.
FAA Inspector Lewis Olsen, out of Salt Lake City, is the investigator
in charge of the FAA investigation. He said that he has confirmed that
Tanner Holt flew the plane that was involved in the crash of May 26 to
Phoenix, Ariz., and back to St. George the week before the crash,
returning on May 20. He has not been able to identify the airport in
Phoenix that Holt flew into and out of.
“I need to calculate the weight and balance,” said Olsen. In order to
do so, he said he needs to determine “how much fuel could he possibly
have on board.”
Olsen asked that anyone who knows the passengers that accompanied
Holt to Phoenix, and those passengers themselves, contact him directly.
He said the questions he will ask are: ”Who went to Phoenix? Where did
you park? Did you see him get fuel? And, if so, how much?”
Olsen said that the bodies of the victims of the crash have been transported to the coroner in Salt Lake City.
“Amongst the four there is the smell of alcohol,” Olsen said. “We are doing toxicology.”
He said toxicology is being run on more than just one of them.
Anyone with any information to assist Olsen in his investigation is asked to contact him as follows:
Email: Lewis.C.Olson@FAA.gov
Telephone: 801-257-5053
The FAA Investigation is a separate investigation from that being performed by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Written by Joyce Kuzmanic on May 28, 2012:
ST. GEORGE – When Justin Ross telephoned his friends, Tanner Holt, Jordan Chapman, Alex Metzger and Colby Hafen, at 1:10 a.m. on May 26 to tell them he had decided not to join up with them to go to Mesquite, he had no idea it would be the last time he ever spoke with them – or that his decision to not go may have saved his own life. “I was the last one to talk to them,” Ross said.
Ross had spent most of the evening on May 25, with Holt, Chapman, Metzger and Hafen.
“We were at a house just having some fun,” Ross said. “You know, everyone was just kind of hanging out, then one of my buddy’s was having a party at his house and we were on our way over there –and we ended up getting pulled over.”
A Washington City police officer had ran Chapman’s plates and pulled us over for lack of insurance. Ross said they were pulled over at the Hart’s gas station in Washington in the area of Albertson’s and Home Depot. Ross said that Chapman apologized to the officer for not having insurance, that he had just bought his car on Monday.
“And in the meantime, while the cop was running his license and everything, we came up with the idea, ‘guys, let’s just go to Mesquite and just skip out on going to that party,’ and so all of just agreed to go to Mesquite.”
While they were waiting for the officer to finish what he was doing, Ross decided not to go with the guys to Mesquite.
A friend of his, Allie Davis, who he had planned to get together with, happened to be on her way to Wal-mart at the time. So she came and picked up Ross, and the other four guys headed to Mesquite.
“So me and Allie were driving around,” Ross said, and “Tanner called and said ‘dude, don’t you want to go to Mesquite with us? You should come.’
“So I asked Allie – she agreed.
“So I was like, let me call you back I’ll let you know.
“We were turning off bluff street onto the freeway,” Ross said. “Something ran through me that said ‘Justin, don’t go,’ and those guys were on the freeway, so I ended up calling those guys back and telling them we’re not going to go – and I think that’s why they ended up taking that plane, because there were just four of them – if I would’ve ended up going with them they probably would’ve ended up just driving there.”
Ross said with certainty that he called the guys at 1:10 a.m. he repeated that it was 1:10 a.m. when he called them to tell them he was not going with them to Mesquite.
He said that was the last time he talked to them.
Ross has been a good friend with all four guys killed in the plane crash from one to two years each.
“We were really good volleyball friends, we’d go to the lake, lay out by the pool, we were just always doing something fun.”
He said they have partied together, but he does not remember any time that they were not responsible doing so.
Before the guys left the first party, which had 17-20 people including Ross and the four, Ross said that they were “pre-gaming” for the other party. “I know Tanner had a couple shots of alcohol. Jordan was the only one who was not drinking, because I actually offered him a thing of alcohol and he said ‘no, I’m driving, I’m designated driver (moving his hands in sign language to show the “driving” gesture Jordan had given him).” He said he knows Holt had two shots of something like Southern Comfort because they had them together, but could not say if Holt had any more than those. He said Metzger and Hafen were drinking also. He said there was no alcohol in the car with them when they left the party.
Ross said he has seen speculation that the four headed to a game in San Diego.
“I know they were not going to San Diego because we were all going to San Diego in the morning and we had rented a van. Alex had rented a van to go to San Diego on Saturday – we was going to leave right after my buddy Kazj Briggs got off work at 3 p.m. Kazj is one of our friends, we was actually at his house, that’s where we were at when we was drinking.”
Ross said he thinks that maybe they decided to fly to Mesquite because they had just been pulled over for no insurance, and they were partying and having a good time and decided, ‘let’s just fly there.’ He said that Tanner did fly that same plane out to Phoenix with a couple friends to visit him last weekend.
Ross said that he doesn’t know one person that doesn’t like these kids:
“They were all friends and they always put a smile on people’s faces, they always brightened up a room when they walk through the door. I am extremely sad for the loss of these four, and my prayers are going out to the families of each of them.
“These were the happiest kids alive, they were social, they knew everybody, they were just the happiest people alive.”
Read more and comments: http://www.stgeorgeutah.com
Related stories:
Investigation into May 26 plane crash, public input requested
Names of plane crash victims released
Fatal plane crash discovered by airport security at dawn
Ross had spent most of the evening on May 25, with Holt, Chapman, Metzger and Hafen.
“We were at a house just having some fun,” Ross said. “You know, everyone was just kind of hanging out, then one of my buddy’s was having a party at his house and we were on our way over there –and we ended up getting pulled over.”
A Washington City police officer had ran Chapman’s plates and pulled us over for lack of insurance. Ross said they were pulled over at the Hart’s gas station in Washington in the area of Albertson’s and Home Depot. Ross said that Chapman apologized to the officer for not having insurance, that he had just bought his car on Monday.
“And in the meantime, while the cop was running his license and everything, we came up with the idea, ‘guys, let’s just go to Mesquite and just skip out on going to that party,’ and so all of just agreed to go to Mesquite.”
While they were waiting for the officer to finish what he was doing, Ross decided not to go with the guys to Mesquite.
A friend of his, Allie Davis, who he had planned to get together with, happened to be on her way to Wal-mart at the time. So she came and picked up Ross, and the other four guys headed to Mesquite.
“So me and Allie were driving around,” Ross said, and “Tanner called and said ‘dude, don’t you want to go to Mesquite with us? You should come.’
“So I asked Allie – she agreed.
“So I was like, let me call you back I’ll let you know.
“We were turning off bluff street onto the freeway,” Ross said. “Something ran through me that said ‘Justin, don’t go,’ and those guys were on the freeway, so I ended up calling those guys back and telling them we’re not going to go – and I think that’s why they ended up taking that plane, because there were just four of them – if I would’ve ended up going with them they probably would’ve ended up just driving there.”
Ross said with certainty that he called the guys at 1:10 a.m. he repeated that it was 1:10 a.m. when he called them to tell them he was not going with them to Mesquite.
He said that was the last time he talked to them.
Ross has been a good friend with all four guys killed in the plane crash from one to two years each.
“We were really good volleyball friends, we’d go to the lake, lay out by the pool, we were just always doing something fun.”
He said they have partied together, but he does not remember any time that they were not responsible doing so.
Before the guys left the first party, which had 17-20 people including Ross and the four, Ross said that they were “pre-gaming” for the other party. “I know Tanner had a couple shots of alcohol. Jordan was the only one who was not drinking, because I actually offered him a thing of alcohol and he said ‘no, I’m driving, I’m designated driver (moving his hands in sign language to show the “driving” gesture Jordan had given him).” He said he knows Holt had two shots of something like Southern Comfort because they had them together, but could not say if Holt had any more than those. He said Metzger and Hafen were drinking also. He said there was no alcohol in the car with them when they left the party.
Ross said he has seen speculation that the four headed to a game in San Diego.
“I know they were not going to San Diego because we were all going to San Diego in the morning and we had rented a van. Alex had rented a van to go to San Diego on Saturday – we was going to leave right after my buddy Kazj Briggs got off work at 3 p.m. Kazj is one of our friends, we was actually at his house, that’s where we were at when we was drinking.”
Ross said he thinks that maybe they decided to fly to Mesquite because they had just been pulled over for no insurance, and they were partying and having a good time and decided, ‘let’s just fly there.’ He said that Tanner did fly that same plane out to Phoenix with a couple friends to visit him last weekend.
Ross said that he doesn’t know one person that doesn’t like these kids:
“They were all friends and they always put a smile on people’s faces, they always brightened up a room when they walk through the door. I am extremely sad for the loss of these four, and my prayers are going out to the families of each of them.
“These were the happiest kids alive, they were social, they knew everybody, they were just the happiest people alive.”
Read more and comments: http://www.stgeorgeutah.com
Related stories:
Investigation into May 26 plane crash, public input requested
Names of plane crash victims released
Fatal plane crash discovered by airport security at dawn
FAA IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 953SP Make/Model: C172 Description: Skyhawk
Date: 05/26/2012 Time: 0800
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Substantial
LOCATION
City: SAINT GEORGE State: UT Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED ON TAKEOFF UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES. ST. GEORGE, UT
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 4
# Crew: 0 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 3 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Take-off Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: SALT LAKE CITY, UT (NM07) Entry date: 05/29/2012
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