Monday, August 27, 2012

Mooney M20C, N557M: Accident occurred August 26, 2012 in East Hampton, New York

 NTSB Identification: ERA12LA532
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, August 26, 2012 in East Hampton, NY
Aircraft: MOONEY M20C, registration: N557M
Injuries: 2 Serious.

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 August 26, 2012, at 1715 eastern daylight time, a Mooney M20C, N557M, registered to a private owner, experienced a total loss of engine power on initial takeoff climb from East Hampton Airport (HTO) East Hampton, New York. The pilot attempted to return to the airport and the airplane collided with trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage due to impact and a postcrash fire. The private pilot and one passenger received serious injuries. The flight was operating as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed HTO at 1714.

The pilot stated he conducted a preflight inspection and no anomalies were noted. He completed an engine start, taxi, and engine run up. No anomalies were noted. He departed from runway 10. The airplane became airborne and he retracted the landing gear and flaps. The engine rpm decreased from 2,750 rpm to 2,400 rpm. He verified the carburetor heat was off, and the throttle, propeller, and mixture controls were full forward. He declared an emergency with East Hampton Control Tower and turned left in an attempt to return to a closed runway. During the turn "the engine became quiet" and the airplane collided with trees.

The airplane has been recovered pending further examination.

 =======================


Driving home from work at Levain Bakery in Wainscott, N.Y., Sunday evening, a crowd protesting outside East Hampton Airport caught bread baker Craig Schum's eye.

Schum, 33, stopped to investigate the protest over aircraft noise at the airport -- and his curiosity may have saved two lives.

Minutes after he got out of his car barefoot, as he liked to be after a long day on his feet, trees across the street shattered as a plane fell from the sky.

"My first thought was, 'That was a plane crash,' and that was pretty much my last thought," Schum told ABCNews.com.

A gut reaction propelled him forward, and he rushed through the nearby woods to see what happened.

"I did not make a conscious choice to help," Schum said. "That crappy cartoon stuff is really true. I was just going, I was running barefoot through the woods."

Steven Bochter, 51, and his female passenger, Kim Brillo, had taken off from East Hampton Airport a few minutes earlier to head back to Taunton, Mass., but ran into trouble shortly after they were airborne.

East Hampton Town Police Chief Ed Ecker said the pilot was trying to return to the airport when the Mooney single-engine plane crashed in the woods about 100 yards east of Daniels Hole Road, which borders the airport.

As Schum ran across the street to try to reach the victims, he came to a deer fence, 12 to 14 feet in height. Seeing its expanse left and right, he quickly decided the only way to go was over.

"One of the only thoughts I remember having was at the top, thinking, 'You shouldn't jump over this.' But then I jumped."


IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 557M        Make/Model: MO20      Description: M20C
  Date: 08/26/2012     Time: 2136

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

LOCATION
  City: EAST HAMPTON   State: NY   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO A WOODED AREA SHORTLY AFTER DEPARTURE, NEAR EAST 
  HAMPTON, NY

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   2     Fat:   0     Ser:   2     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: FARMINGDALE, NY  (EA11)               Entry date: 08/27/2012 

http://registry.faa.gov/N557M

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N557M

http://www.airplane-pictures.net/photo

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