Saturday, October 20, 2012

Piper PA-23-250 Aztec B, Island Birds, N5553Y: Accident occurred October 13, 2012 in Charlotte Amalie, United States Virgin Islands

 http://registry.faa.gov/N5553Y 


NTSB Identification: ERA13LA019 
 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, October 13, 2012 in Charlotte Amalie, VI
Probable Cause Approval Date: 09/12/2013
Aircraft: PIPER PA-23-250, registration: N5553Y
Injuries: 3 Fatal,1 Serious.

NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The accident airplane departed over water on a dark night and flew toward its destination airport at an altitude of about 1,700 feet above the water. Radar data showed that the airplane began a gradual descent on about the same heading before it leveled off at 200 feet above the water. The airplane continued at 200 feet above the water for another 18 seconds before its radar target disappeared about 5 miles from the destination airport.

The surviving passenger stated that she had flown with the pilot on this flight many times before. She stated that during the en route portion of the accident flight, the pilot flew progressively lower to "get under the weather." The passenger stated that she could see lights on the shore near the destination airport, and could see that it was raining. She recalled light turbulence and observed the pilot make his "usual" radio call. She next remembered the airplane "hitting a wall," and the airplane filled with water. She said that the pilot broke the window on his side of the airplane, and that she and the pilot egressed through it. She did not see any of the other occupants of the airplane after that. When asked if she noticed anything unusual with the flight or if the pilot provided any warning before striking the water, the passenger said no, and indicated that everything was normal.

Examination of the wreckage revealed damage consistent with a high-speed, shallow-angle impact with water, and no evidence of preimpact mechanical anomalies.

Weather data and imagery were consistent with the passenger’s account of flying beneath outer rain bands associated with a developing tropical storm southeast of the accident site. There was little to no illumination from the moon. Based on a search of flight service and commercial vendor records, the pilot did not obtain a weather briefing or file a flight plan before the accident flight.

The destination airport was tower-controlled, but the tower was closed at the time of the accident. The runway was located along the shore, with the approach end surrounded by water on three sides. Multiple instrument approach procedures were available for the airport; however, those instrument approaches were not authorized while the tower was closed. A caution printed in the plan view of the approach charts stated, "CAUTION: Pilots may encounter false illusory indications during night approaches to Runway 10 when using outside visual cues for vertical guidance."

It is likely that the pilot descended the airplane to remain clear of the lowering clouds and descended into the water due to the lack of visual cues.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot's attempted visual flight rules (VFR) flight into marginal VFR conditions on a dark night over water and his failure to maintain sufficient altitude, which resulted in the airplane’s controlled flight into water. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's inadequate preflight weather planning.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On October 13, 2012, about 0458 Atlantic Standard Time (AST), a Piper PA-23-250, N5553Y, was substantially damaged during a collision with water in cruise flight near Charlotte Amalie, United States Virgin Islands (U.S.V.I.). The airline transport pilot was not found after the accident and is presumed fatally injured. Two passengers were fatally injured. One passenger survived the accident, and was found at sea with serious injuries. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the business flight carrying newspapers which was operated by Rainbow International Airlines under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight departed Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (TISX), Christiansted, U.S.V.I. about 0445 and was destined for Cyril E. King Airport (TIST), Charlotte Amalie, U.S.V.I.

Review of radar data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that a target identified as the accident airplane climbed to 1,700 feet after departure from TISX, where it leveled in cruise flight on a 330 degree heading for about 2 minutes. The airplane then entered a steady descent on the same approximate heading for the next 10 minutes until it leveled at 200 feet. The airplane cruised at 200 feet for the final 18 seconds of the flight until the radar contact was lost, approximately 5 miles from the destination airport.

The surviving passenger was interviewed by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). She stated that she was acquainted with the pilot and had flown with him on the newspaper carrying flights "many" times before. During the en route portion, the airplane flew progressively lower to "get under the weather." The passenger stated that she could see lights on the shore near the destination airport, and could see that it was raining. She recalled light turbulence, and observed the pilot as he made his "usual" radio call. She next remembered the airplane "hitting a wall" and "seeing a flash" before the airplane filled with water. She said the pilot broke the window on his side of the airplane, and that she and the pilot egressed through it. She did not see any of the occupants of the airplane after that. When asked if she noticed anything unusual with the flight, or if the pilot provided any warning before striking the water, she said no, and indicated that everything was "normal."

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with multiple type ratings. His most recent FAA first class medical certificate was issued June 1, 2012. He reported 17,000 total hours of flight experience on that date.

The pilot's most recent FAR Part 135 flight review was completed 12/30/2011.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The airplane was manufactured in 1963 and was registered to Cardair, Inc. It's most recent 100-hour inspection was completed on September 12, 2012, at 6,576 total aircraft hours.

The accident airplane was not listed in the operations specifications of the Rainbow International Airlines 14 CFR Part 135 operating certificate.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

An NTSB Senior Meteorologist provided a study of the weather surrounding the route of flight and the accident site at the time of the accident. A tropical storm advisory (Rafael) was in effect.

At 0453, the weather reported at TIST included few clouds at 3,300 feet, a broken ceiling at 4,600 feet, with 10 miles of visibility in light rain. The winds were from 070 degrees at 9 knots gusting to 15 knots.

The terminal area forecast for TISX in effect at the time of the accident expected northeast wind at 4 knots, visibility better than 6 statute miles with thunderstorms in the vicinity and a broken ceiling at 3,000 feet agl in cumulonimbus type clouds.

The terminal area forecast for TIST in effect at the time of the accident expected wind from the east at 8 knots with visibility better than 6 miles, showers in the vicinity of the airport, scattered clouds at 4,000 feet, and a broken ceiling at 10,000 feet.

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite number 14 (GOES-14) infrared image at 0445 depicted an area of enhanced clouds associated with the developing Tropical Storm Rafael to the southeast of the accident site. In the vicinity of the accident site several towering cumulus type clouds were evident, and were associated with rain showers immediately east of the accident site, and over the route between TISX and TIST.

According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the moon was in the eastern sky, 9 degrees above the horizon, with 5 percent of the moon's visible disc illuminated.

The weather data and imagery were consistent with the passenger’s account of flying beneath outer rain bands associated with the developing tropical storm southeast of the accident site.

According to a search of Lockheed-Martin flight service and commercial vendor records, the pilot did not obtain a weather briefing nor file a flight plan prior to the accident flight.

AERODROME INFORMATION

Cyril E. King Airport (TIST) was located about 2 miles west of Charlotte Amalie, USVI, at an elevation of 23 feet. The airport was tower-controlled, but the tower was closed at the time of the accident. Runway 10/28 was 7,000 feet long and 150 feet wide, and was located along the shore, with the approach end of runway 10 surrounded by water on three sides. Instrument landing system and area navigation approaches were published for Runway 10, and a very high frequency omni-directional range approach was also published for the airport.

The instrument approach procedures were not authorized while the tower was closed. A caution printed in the plan view of the approach charts stated, "CAUTION: Pilots may encounter false illusory indications during night approaches to Runway 10 when using outside visual cues for vertical guidance."

WRECKAGE INFORMATION

Examination of photographs taken by divers revealed the airplane came to rest inverted on the ocean floor. The right wing was partially separated but remained attached to the airframe. Both engines were in their respective nacelles, and the landing gear appeared extended and locked, or in transit. The photographs revealed that no landing gear doors remained attached to the airplane.

Hydraulic deformation and tearing of the left wing and the belly skin of the airplane was consistent with a high-speed, shallow-angle impact.

The airplane was recovered on October 20, 2012, and examined by a representative of the Piper Aircraft Company as well as FAA aviation safety inspectors. The examination revealed control continuity from the cockpit to all flight control surfaces, and no evidence of any pre-impact mechanical anomalies.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

The pilot was not recovered, and therefore no medical or pathological testing was conducted.



NTSB Identification: ERA13LA019
 Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Accident occurred Saturday, October 13, 2012 in Charlotte Amalie, VI
Aircraft: PIPER PA-23-250, registration: N5553Y
Injuries: 3 Fatal,1 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. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.


On October 13, 2012, about 0458 Atlantic standard time, a Piper PA-23-250, N5553Y, was substantially damaged during a collision with water in cruise flight near Charlotte Amalie, United States Virgin Islands (U.S.V.I.). The certificated airline transport pilot and two passengers were lost, and presumed fatally injured. One passenger survived the accident, and was found at sea with serious injuries. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the cargo flight operated by Rainbow International Airlines under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135. The flight departed Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (TISX), Christiansted, U.S.V.I. about 0445 and was destined for Cyril E. King Airport (TIST), Charlotte Amalie, U.S.V.I.

Preliminary radar data revealed that the target identified as the accident airplane climbed to 1,700 feet after departure from TISX, where it leveled in cruise flight on a 330 degree heading for about 2 minutes. The airplane then entered a steady descent on the same approximate heading for the next 10 minutes until it leveled at 200 feet. The airplane cruised at 200 feet for the final 18 seconds of the flight until the radar target disappeared, approximately 5 miles from the destination airport.

The surviving passenger was interviewed by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). She stated that she was acquainted with the pilot and had flown with him on this flight "many" times before. During the en route portion, the airplane flew progressively lower to "get under the weather." The passenger stated that she could see lights on the shore near the destination airport, and could see that it was raining. She recalled light turbulence, and observed the pilot as he made his "usual" radio call. She next remembered the airplane "hitting a wall" and "seeing a flash" before the airplane filled with water. She said the pilot broke the window on his side of the airplane, and that she and the pilot egressed through it. She did not see any of the occupants of the airplane after that. When asked if she noticed anything unusual with the flight, or if the pilot provided any warning before striking the water, she said no, and indicated that everything was "normal."

The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with multiple type ratings. His most recent first class medical certificate was issued June 1, 2012. He reported 18,000 total hours of flight experience on that date.

The airplane was manufactured in 1963, and its most recent 100-hour inspection was completed on September 12, 2012, at 6,576 total aircraft hours.

The airplane was recovered on October 20, 2012 and examination of the wreckage was scheduled for a later date.

At 0453, the weather reported at TIST included few clouds at 3,300, a broken ceiling at 4,600 with light rain. The winds were from 070 degrees at 9 knots gusting to 15 knots. According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the moon was in the eastern sky, 9 degrees above the horizon, with 5 percent of the moon's visible disc illuminated.

FAA  IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 5553Y        Make/Model: PA23      Description: PA-23-150/160 Apache
  Date: 10/15/2012     Time: 1200

  Event Type: Incident   Highest Injury: None     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Unknown

LOCATION
  City: ST CROIX   State:      Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT REPORTED MISSING NEAR ST. CROIX, VI

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   1
                 # 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: SOUTH FLORIDA, FL  (SO19)             Entry date: 10/18/2012 


 
Captain Kirby Hodge


 ST. CROIX - What began as a search and rescue mission more than a week ago, ended Saturday when search and recovery crew members located the Piper Aztec aircraft that crashed Oct. 13 in waters south of St. Thomas.  

 Sunday morning crews were brought in to remove the bodies of Rachel Hamilton and attorney Darwin Carr from the plane that had crashed just before sunrise with Hamilton, Carr, pilot Kirby Hodge and Valerie Jackson Thompson on board.

Hodge remains unaccounted for and Thompson, who was rescued hours after the crash, remains in stable condition at Schneider Hospital.

Government House spokesman Jean Greaux Jr. said that the aircraft was located on the ocean floor, five miles southwest of the King Airport runway, a little more than one mile northeast of where the plane disappeared from the radar screen a week before.

Greaux said DPNR Commissioner Alicia Barnes made the official calls to notify the families that the two passengers were confirmed dead and the medical examiner will be contacting them to do the official identification of the bodies before an autopsy is conducted later this week.

Family and friends continued to grieve on Sunday, and Hamilton's mother, Ramona Hamilton, said finding the bodies brings a sense of closure for them.

No information has been made available as yet about funeral or memorial services.

Thompson continues to recover at Schneider Hospital on St. Thomas, where families say she continues to be under close observation by her doctors and has been recovering slowly. She initially had been expected to be released after a few days last week, but took a turn for the worse, and is now also struggling after confirmation that her cousin, Hamilton, has been confirmed dead, according to Thompson's father, Valencio Jackson.

Despite Hodge still being missing, Greaux said the recovery mission has been officially suspended, but some consideration has been given by members of his family and the aviation community to do a few more independent missions, including sweeps of the many cays around the island in hopes that his body may have washed up in recent days.

Greaux said that situations such as this do not happen often and there is much to learn for all of the parties involved.

He said an official debriefing meeting will be held later this week that will include the government agencies, private entities and all of the volunteers who were a part of the search, rescue and recovery efforts.

"Through this, we found Capt. Cleo Hodge and the pilots of Ace Flight Center as very valuable resources," he said. "They provided essential information about the how, where, when and what, when it came to the flight information."

Saturday afternoon about 1 p.m. an area of oil sheen was discovered on the ocean's surface, and dive crews entered the water at that location in search for the missing aircraft, according to Greaux. Divers went into more than 100 feet of water and spotted the aircraft.

The aircraft was resting on its roof with one wing-tip separated and the other wing bent under the body of the aircraft; the engines were not separated from the wing.

Though scraped and dented, the fuselage, otherwise, was generally intact.

About four hours after the plane was located, the fuselage was floated and towed by Sea Tow Inc., using an inflatable air bag device. Divers secured the plane's openings and began the slow process of towing the aircraft to St. Thomas to facilitate removal of the bodies and securing the aircraft for investigations into the cause of the crash.

Greaux said recovery crews, including a number of local government agencies, a salvage company and a number of private boat operators had been involved in the search missions.

"At sunrise Sunday, the multi-agency team pulled the craft into a small jetty area and raised it more out of the water near UVI's marine center," Greaux said. "We removed the bodies at that time, and then proceeded to take the plane out of the water."

Neither of the two passengers had been fastened in their seats when they were found, Greaux said.

According to Greaux, a crane had been positioned from Saturday night and was used to lift the aircraft from the water and onto a waiting platform truck where it will remain for processing by the local and federal agencies handling the parallel ongoing investigations.

Eric Weiss, spokesman with the Transportation Security Administration Board, and Ronald Herwig, speaking on behalf of the Federal Aviation Administration both have said that their agencies have launched investigations into the crash and will be deploying on-site investigation to the territory once the plane was located.

Greaux said Sunday the agencies are expected to have men on the ground as early as today.

A Coast Guard helicopter had located Thompson in the water around 2 p.m. - nine hours after the crash - and vectored in a marine unit from the Department of Planning and Natural Resources to rescue her.

Thompson had been swimming and struggling to stay afloat in the water without out a life vest, according to her statement to authorities.

She said the flight from St. Croix to St. Thomas had appeared to be a normal one with just minor turbulence along the way until she felt the aircraft hit the sea.

She said she felt water rushing into the plane and someone held her and pushed her out of the plane and into the cold dark Caribbean Sea, but she did not believe that the others aboard the plane were able to make it out, because the plane was sinking fast and she never saw anyone again.

Hodge had delivered a shipment of The Daily News newspapers to St. Croix and was returning to St. Thomas about 4:40 a.m. with a shipment of St. Croix Avis newspapers and the three passengers when the plane went down. Searchers found a bundle of The St. Croix Avis newspapers about 3 miles west of Buck Island off St. Thomas the next day.

Hodge is the only occupant of the plane still unaccounted for as of early today.

Greaux said Friday night the search crews had initially been using plotted paths based on Hodge's most probable flight path and the fact that Hodge was located eight miles away from the airport when he last made contact with the St. Thomas tower. Greaux said searchers later received information from the U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center in Florida that gave a more specific location of where the aircraft was when it disappeared from the radar before the crash.

Hodge's plane fell off radar shortly thereafter at 4:57 a.m., more than 17 minutes into the 20 minute flight.

The U.S. Coast Guard led the rescue mission until they suspended the search and pulled their resources after three days. The mission of the remaining crews then shifted to that of recovery and was led by DPNR with the ultimate objective being to locate the aircraft and recover the missing passengers.

Greaux said the private and public multi-agency recovery team has also included: VITEMA; the Office of the Governor; St. Thomas Rescue; the V.I. Port Authority; and Sea Tow Inc. On Saturday, the Medical Examiner's Office and the V.I. Police Department's Forensics Unit joined the recovery efforts which were completed Sunday afternoon.


http://virginislandsdailynews.com


A crane lifting the plane from the waters adjacent to Cyril E King airport. 
Photo credit: The St. Thomas 
Source and Government House

 
The aircraft in water. 
Photo Credit: The St. Thomas 
Source and Government House

US Virgin Islands – A second body has been found aboard the Piper Aztec aircraft that crashed in the US Virgin Islands just over a week ago. 

 The St. Thomas Source is reporting that a crane lifted the bodies of Rachel Hamilton and Darwin Carr from waters adjacent to Cyril E. King Airport runway today (October 21).

Earlier reports indicated that the plane was spotted yesterday with one body aboard. However, when the aircraft was fully removed from the waters a second body also emerged.

Pilot Kirby Hodge is still missing.

The lone survivor, Valerie Jackson Thompson, was pulled from the water about nine hours after the plane crashed on October 13 during one of its usual newspaper delivery trips between St. Croix and St. Thomas.

On Thursday, the U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Team in Florida provided local authorities with radar coordinates that were very instrumental in locating the plane early yesterday afternoon.

A search team found the aircraft after spotting oil sheen on the water relatively close to where the crash took place.

According to the St. Thomas Source, “the aircraft was lying on its roof with one wing separated but the fuselage generally intact”.

It took the search team several hours to remove the plane using an inflatable air-bag device as well as the crane.


http://bvinews.com


 
A wing of the recovered plane breaks the surface. 
The plane was floated using air bags.
 (Government House photo)

Searchers Saturday located the missing Piper Aztec airplane that disappeared Oct. 13 on a routine newspaper delivery run between St. Croix and St. Thomas.

Government House spokesman Jean Greaux said there was one body on board. He said searchers found no trace of the other missing people.

“It’s suspected to be a female, but I can’t confirm,” Greaux said of the body on board the plane.

He later said the identity of the passenger recovered from the fuselage will not be made public until it has been confirmed and the next of kin notified.

In addition to pilot Kirby Hodge, the plane had Rachel Hamilton, Darwin Carr, and Valerie Jackson Thompson on board. Thompson was pulled alive out of the water about nine hours after the plane went down when a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter spotted her. A Planning and Natural Resources boat picked her up. Until Saturday no trace of the plane or the three missing people had been found, although searchers found a bundle of St. Croix Avis newspapers Oct. 14.

Hodge and his passengers left Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix at 4:40 a.m. Oct. 13 bound for St. Thomas. Hodge’s last radio contact to the Federal Aviation Airport control tower at Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas came when he was about eight miles out from the airport. Hodge’s plane fell off radar shortly after at 4:57 a.m.

Using radar coordinates supplied Thursday by the U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Team in Florida, searchers were able to close in on the area where the plane went down. Greaux said at about 1 p.m. Saturday they spotted an oil sheen on the water a little over one mile northeast of where the plane fell off the radar a week ago. He said searchers located the plane in about 100 feet of water. The aircraft was lying on its roof with one wing separated but the fuselage generally intact. Divers also spotted one body in the aircraft.

About four hours later, using an inflatable air-bag device, the fuselage was floated. Divers secured the plane’s openings and began the slow process of towing the aircraft to St. Thomas to facilitate removal of the body and secure the aircraft for a subsequent investigation into the cause of the crash.

At 8:30 p.m., searchers were still bringing the plane with the body on board into the west end of Cyril E. King Airport, but it was expected to arrive sometime Saturday night, Greaux said.

The Coast Guard launched a mission early Oct. 13 with searchers from several government agencies as well as the Sea Tow company joining in. The Coast Guard suspended what was termed a rescue operation at sunset Oct. 15, but teams from the Planning and Natural Resources Department, the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency and the V.I. Port Authority continued searching in recovery mode throughout the week.

The multi-agency recovery team also included the Governor’s office, the Medical Examiner’s Office within the Department of Justice and the V.I. Police Department’s Forensics Unit.

This story updates and replaces an earlier version posted at 6 p.m. Saturday.


ST. CROIX - A full week of searching after veteran pilot Kirby Hodge and three passengers aboard his Piper Aztec aircraft plunged into the dark Caribbean Sea just south of St. Thomas about an hour before sunrise has yielded no signs of the wreckage.

Today, the crews are expected to return to the seas to continue looking.

Hodge and passengers Rachel Hamilton and Darwin Carr have not been found.

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter located passenger Valerie Jackson Thompson in the water about 2 p.m. Saturday. By then she had been in the water swimming and struggling to stay afloat for more than nine hours. She was taken to Schneider Hospital where she received emergency treatment and has been there since.

Friday's search-and-recovery operation marked the first time since the crash that searchers have had specific data to use to try and find the plane.

Government House spokesman Jean Greaux Jr. said Friday night the search crews began using information provided by the Federal Aviation Administration that gave a more specific location of where the aircraft was when it disappeared from the radar just minutes before 5 a.m. on Oct. 13.

"We requested the data from the U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center in Florida earlier in the week, and they got it to us on Thursday," he said. The data was requested once it became apparent that the search, based on where the plane would have been eight miles out from St. Thomas, turned up no findings for several days in a row, according to Greaux.

Sea Tow, a private company that has been volunteering its time and resources all week, and government assets were back on additional missions Friday, Greaux said.

The last radio contact Hodge had with the FAA control tower on St. Thomas was when he was eight miles away from the King Airport. At that point, he radioed in his location to a recording system at the tower. Greaux said the tower was not operating at that time of the flight either to St. Croix from St. Thomas or from St. Croix back to St. Thomas.

Greaux said the search ended at sunset Friday night and was scheduled to resume at sunrise today.

"The objective remains to locate the passengers and the aircraft," he said. "The search mission will continue as long as it remains practical to do so."

Since the mission turned from rescue to recovery on Monday, Sea Tow, has led the volunteer efforts with a boat equipped with a side-scan sonar device that has capabilities to scan the sea floor to identify any objects that might be the aircraft.

The sonar system on the Sea Tow boat sends out sound waves to create images of the sea floor in 400-foot wide swaths as they traverse a path plotted out by other pilots that showed the most probable route taken by Hodge as he approached St. Thomas.

Friday night Thompson's father, Valencio Jackson, said she had developed some complications and may be hospitalized into next week.

"We are just being patient with her and following the advice and judgement of the doctors," he said. "We are still praying and hoping that she continues to get better, but it was a great ordeal for her. It has all been very traumatic."

Authorities said Thompson told them that she may have been the only occupant aboard the plane who made it out of the aircraft because water was rushing in and the plane was sinking fast.


http://virginislandsdailynews.com