Thursday, May 31, 2012

Beech V35B Bonanza, N6658R and Piper PA-28, N23SC: Accident occurred May 28, 2012 in Sumerduck, Virginia

NTSB Identification: ERA12RA367A
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, May 28, 2012 in Sumerduck, VA
Aircraft: BEECH V35B, registration: N6658R
Injuries: 2 Fatal,1 Serious.


 NTSB Identification: ERA12RA367B 
 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, May 28, 2012 in Sumerduck, VA
Aircraft: PIPER PA-28-140, registration: N23SC
Injuries: 2 Fatal,1 Serious.


The foreign authority was the source of this information.

On May 28, 2012, about 1604 eastern daylight time, a Beech V35B, N6658R, and a Piper PA-28-140, N23SC, collided in flight in the vicinity of Sumerduck, Virginia. The Beech was destroyed, and the pilot and flight instructor were fatally injured; the Piper was substantially damaged, and the pilot was seriously injured. Neither of the local flights was operating on a flight plan, and both were being conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The Beech departed Warrenton-Fauquier Airport, Warrenton, Virginia, on a flight review for the private pilot, and the Piper departed Culpeper Regional Airport, Culpeper, Virginia, on a personal flight.

On May 28, 2012, about 1604 eastern daylight time, a Beech V35B, N6658R, and a Piper PA-28-140, N23SC, collided in flight in the vicinity of Sumerduck, Virginia. The Beech was destroyed, and the pilot and flight instructor were fatally injured; the Piper was substantially damaged, and the pilot was seriously injured. Neither of the local flights was operating on a flight plan, and both were being conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The Beech departed Warrenton-Fauquier Airport, Warrenton, Virginia, on a flight review for the private pilot, and the Piper departed Culpeper Regional Airport, Culpeper, Virginia, on a personal flight.

The pilot/owner of the Beech was an employee of the NTSB, and the pilot/owner of the Piper was an employee of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Under the provisions of Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation and by mutual agreement, the United States delegated the accident investigation to the government of Canada. The NTSB designated an accredited representative to the investigation on behalf of the United States, and the FAA designated an advisor to the accredited representative.

The investigation is being conducted by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada under its statutes. Further information may be obtained from:

Transportation Safety Board of Canada
Place du Centre
200 Promenade du Portage, 4th Floor
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 1K8

Tel: 1 (800) 387-3557
Fax: 1 (819) 997-2239
Email: airops@tsb.gc.ca
Web: http://www.tsb.gc.ca

Occurrence Number: A12H0001

This report is for informational purposes only, and only contains information released by or provided to the government of Canada.




Credit: Transportation Safety Board of Canada
~

Plane crash site in Fauquier County. 
(Scott Shenk/The Free Lance-Star)
~





WARRENTON, Va. — Canadian officials are continuing the investigation into what led two small, private planes to collide in mid-air on Memorial Day in Fauquier County.

Sixty-year-old James M. Duncan of Bethesda, Md., and 57-year-old Paul Gardella Jr. of Burke, Va., were killed when the Beech Bonanza owned by Duncan crashed and burned after colliding with a Piper PA-28 near Warrenton-Fauquier Airport, the state medical examiner said. The pilot of the second plane, 70-year-old Thomas Proven, of Broad Run was injured. He has since been discharged from Mary Washington Hospital, hospital spokeswoman Debbie McInnis said Thursday.

The crash is being investigated by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada because Duncan was a doctor with the National Transportation Safety Board and Proven is an inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration. Gardella was a flight instructor and volunteered with the Civil Air Patrol in Washington.

The Free Lance-Star reports (http://bit.ly/KZ9jVu) that investigator Jon Lee said at a late Wednesday news conference that it's too early to tell what led to the collision.

"Our emphasis is working on the accident sites," said Lee. He called it the "field phase" during which investigators will focus on perishable evidence.

Investigators also hope to listen to any radio communications by the pilots, but they haven't been able to check flight recordings yet, Lee said.

Another key will be talking to Proven, who landed his 1965 plane at a nearby farm while the other plane caught fire and crashed into a wooded area.

But whatever the cause, Lee said midair collisions are rare and having a survivor is even more unusual.

Proven's plane remained mostly intact after the collision, and the other plane broke into at least two pieces, Lee said. The planes went down about a mile apart, and debris was scattered between two crash sites.

Witnesses said the plane caught fire in the air and plummeted to the ground near numerous houses.

Proven's plane came "gliding almost with no sound," said 67-year-old Jim Flanagan, who owns nearby Sumerduck Wood Farm. "It hit the ground, glanced up as if it were a ramp and went right through the only opening in the tree line."

After the plane landed, Flanagan said, Proven told him the two planes collided in the air "and that this was his only hope, was to find a field, which he did, very successfully."

 
FAA IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 6658R        Make/Model: BE35      Description: 35 Bonanza
  Date: 05/28/2012     Time: 1600

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Fatal     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION
  City: WARRENTON   State: VA   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH ANOTHER AIRCRAFT IN FLIGHT. WARRENTON, VA

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   2
                 # Crew:   0     Fat:   2     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    


OTHER DATA
  Activity: Unknown      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER


  FAA FSDO: WASHINGTON IAD, DC  (EA27)            Entry date: 05/29/2012 

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