The Federal Government yesterday read the riot act to pilots, reiterating they must obtain and confirm their destination weather reports from the Aeronautical Information Service (AIS) before take-off and landing.
The Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, explained that the government was compelled to take the position, because it has been observed lately that only Flight Dispatchers go to the AIS to obtain Meteorological Folders without the pilots getting the briefings.
She said this accounts for why aircraft take off and get to their destinations but are unable to land.
Oduah said the recklessness on the part of airline operators and pilots will no longer be tolerated, vowing that infractions will be met with serious sanctions.
According to the Minister: " Henceforth, all Airline Operators and Pilots are required to obtain and confirm their destination weather reports from the AIS before start-up and take-off according to international standard and best practices in order to prevent incidents of avoidable air returns due to unfavorable weather condition.
"There is, therefore, absolutely no reason and justification for an aircraft to make an air return on the basis of poor weather condition since initial weather report from the AIS would have been adequate to indicate the futility of an initial take-off under such harsh weather conditions. "
She also denied government is contemplating selling off the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Zaria.
Oduah, in a statement said:" Those circulating this malicious rumor have clearly ulterior motives that are not in tandem with the current administration's desire and determination to reposition the college as a premier aviation training institute on the African continent.
"The speculation is only intended to malign and distract the management of the college from its clear objective of repositioning the college as a veritable source of manpower development and recruitment for the aviation industry in Nigeria."
http://www.thenationonlineng.net
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Piper PA-24-250, N7774P: Accident occurred August 25, 2012 in Milner, Colorado
NTSB Identification: CEN12FA571
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, August 25, 2012 in Milner, CO
Aircraft: PIPER PA-24-250, registration: N7774P
Injuries: 1 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.
On August 24, 2012, at an unknown time, a Piper PA-24 -250, N7774P, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain under unknown circumstances near Milner, Colorado. The pilot was fatally injured. The aircraft was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was being operated without a flight plan. The flight originated from Glenwood Springs Municipal Airport (KGWS), Glenwood Springs, Colorado at an undetermined time.
According to the Routt County Sheriff’s Office, a sheepherder found the wreckage around 1000 on August 25, 2012. The airplane was not in contact with air traffic control and no flight plan had been filed. According to a family member, the airplane departed Glenwood Springs, Colorado, and was en route to Minnesota. The airplane had not been reported missing by friends or family and an Alert Notification for a missing airplane had not been filed.
The wreckage came to rest upright on an heading of 010 degrees in the bowl of a valley, surrounded by trees and bushes. The main wreckage included the engine and propeller assembly, the fuselage, empennage, and the right and left wings. Paint chips, Plexiglas, and small components surrounded the main wreckage. One ground scar, approximately 8 inches in depth, was located just forward of the engine. There were no other ground scars or points of impacted noted.
The airplane was recovered and relocated to a hangar for further examination.
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N7774P
Steamboat Springs — The Routt County Sheriff’s Office was investigating a plane crash Saturday and the death of the plane’s only occupant.
The crash was discovered at about noon by a sheep herder about three miles north of the Camilletti Ranch house, which is at the end of Routt County Road 48 near Milner.
Undersheriff Ray Birch wrote in an email that the crashed plane is a single engine Piper and that it was being flown by a male.
Routt County Coroner Rob Ryg wants to make sure all of the family members are notified before the man is identified. The man's name should be available Sunday morning.
Birch added that the man was not from the area.
Birch said it is not known when the plane crashed. He said that the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board has been notified and that NTSB investigators were expected to arrive at the crash Saturday evening.
http://www.steamboattoday.com
Photo by Matt Stensland
MILNER, Colo. (CBS4) – One person is dead after a plane crash in Routt County on Saturday.
The plane was discovered by a sheep herder at about noon north of Milner, which is about eight miles west of Steamboat Springs.
It’s not known when the crash occurred. Deputies arrived and confirmed a male solo occupant was deceased.
The aircraft is a single engine Piper. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration have been notified.
http://www.steamboattoday.com
http://denver.cbslocal.com
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, August 25, 2012 in Milner, CO
Aircraft: PIPER PA-24-250, registration: N7774P
Injuries: 1 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.
On August 24, 2012, at an unknown time, a Piper PA-24 -250, N7774P, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain under unknown circumstances near Milner, Colorado. The pilot was fatally injured. The aircraft was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was being operated without a flight plan. The flight originated from Glenwood Springs Municipal Airport (KGWS), Glenwood Springs, Colorado at an undetermined time.
According to the Routt County Sheriff’s Office, a sheepherder found the wreckage around 1000 on August 25, 2012. The airplane was not in contact with air traffic control and no flight plan had been filed. According to a family member, the airplane departed Glenwood Springs, Colorado, and was en route to Minnesota. The airplane had not been reported missing by friends or family and an Alert Notification for a missing airplane had not been filed.
The wreckage came to rest upright on an heading of 010 degrees in the bowl of a valley, surrounded by trees and bushes. The main wreckage included the engine and propeller assembly, the fuselage, empennage, and the right and left wings. Paint chips, Plexiglas, and small components surrounded the main wreckage. One ground scar, approximately 8 inches in depth, was located just forward of the engine. There were no other ground scars or points of impacted noted.
The airplane was recovered and relocated to a hangar for further examination.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 7774P Make/Model: PA24 Description: PA-24 Comanche
Date: 08/25/2012 Time: 1900
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Unknown
LOCATION
City: STEAMBOAT SPRINGS State: CO Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE 1 PERSON ON BOARD WAS
FATALLY INJURED, NEAR STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 1
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 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: DENVER, CO (NM03) Entry date: 08/27/2012
http://registry.faa.gov/N7774P
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N7774P
Steamboat Springs — The Routt County Sheriff’s Office was investigating a plane crash Saturday and the death of the plane’s only occupant.
The crash was discovered at about noon by a sheep herder about three miles north of the Camilletti Ranch house, which is at the end of Routt County Road 48 near Milner.
Undersheriff Ray Birch wrote in an email that the crashed plane is a single engine Piper and that it was being flown by a male.
Routt County Coroner Rob Ryg wants to make sure all of the family members are notified before the man is identified. The man's name should be available Sunday morning.
Birch added that the man was not from the area.
Birch said it is not known when the plane crashed. He said that the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board has been notified and that NTSB investigators were expected to arrive at the crash Saturday evening.
http://www.steamboattoday.com
Photo by Matt StenslandMILNER, Colo. (CBS4) – One person is dead after a plane crash in Routt County on Saturday.
The plane was discovered by a sheep herder at about noon north of Milner, which is about eight miles west of Steamboat Springs.
It’s not known when the crash occurred. Deputies arrived and confirmed a male solo occupant was deceased.
The aircraft is a single engine Piper. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration have been notified.
http://www.steamboattoday.com
http://denver.cbslocal.com
Plane makes emergency landing after fuel problem – southeastern Wisconsin
MT. PLEASANT — After a plane released a group of skydivers it experienced a fuel issue and had to make an emergency landing.
At 9:34 a.m. officers from the Mt. Pleasant Police Department responded to a report of a plane landing upright in a bean field near I-94 and Louis Sorenson Rd in the Village of Mt. Pleasant.
The pilot of the twin engine plane, John Helmle, 41, was seen walking around the plane after the landing.
It appears that the pilot was forced to land due to a fuel issue. Either it ran out of fuel or there was a malfunction with the fuel system.
Prior to this emergency landing, Helmle had taken a group of skydivers into the air and released them. He then attempted to land on at the Sky Diving business near the West side of I-94 in Racine County.
Due to the engine failure Helmle was forced to land on the East side of I-94.
A witness observed the plane flying very low to the ground facing westbound before it landed safely.
The FAA was contacted and will investigate the incident further.
There was no damage to the plane and Helmle, the sold occupant of the aircraft, was not injured.
http://www.cbs58.com
At 9:34 a.m. officers from the Mt. Pleasant Police Department responded to a report of a plane landing upright in a bean field near I-94 and Louis Sorenson Rd in the Village of Mt. Pleasant.
The pilot of the twin engine plane, John Helmle, 41, was seen walking around the plane after the landing.
It appears that the pilot was forced to land due to a fuel issue. Either it ran out of fuel or there was a malfunction with the fuel system.
Prior to this emergency landing, Helmle had taken a group of skydivers into the air and released them. He then attempted to land on at the Sky Diving business near the West side of I-94 in Racine County.
Due to the engine failure Helmle was forced to land on the East side of I-94.
A witness observed the plane flying very low to the ground facing westbound before it landed safely.
The FAA was contacted and will investigate the incident further.
There was no damage to the plane and Helmle, the sold occupant of the aircraft, was not injured.
http://www.cbs58.com
Schleicher ASW-19 glider, N438AS: Accident occurred August 25, 2012 in Dansville, New York
NTSB Identification: ERA12LA528
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, August 25, 2012 in Dansville, NY
Aircraft: SCHLEICHER ASW-19, registration: N438AS
Injuries: 1 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 may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On August 25, 2012, about 1530 eastern daylight time, a Schleicher ASW-19 glider, N438AS, sustained substantial damage when it collided with the ground in Danville, New York. The commercial pilot received fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, personal flight. The flight originated from the Danville Municipal Airport (DSV) Danville, New York, about 1230.
Witnesses at the departure airport observed the glider depart and it was seen again upon its return to the airport. It was observed about one mile from the approach end of runway 14 in a right 90-degree bank heading west just above the treetops. The glider leveled out on the approach end of the runway. Moments later, the glider rolled toward the north away from the airport as it was lost from sight behind trees. One witness observed the glider flying slow and its wings were “tipping back and forth” before it descended toward the ground, impacting nose first, followed by the right wing, and came to rest flat on its belly in the open field.
A wreckage examination by the responding Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the landing gear was in the down and locked position, the right wing separated from the spoiler box outward, the left wing had impact damaged underneath and at the wing tip. The forward section was ripped open and crushed back into the cockpit area. The canopy assembly was opened but remained attached to the fuselage with the Plexiglas broken and shattered throughout the debris field. The tail boom was partially separated and bent toward the right of the glider. Flight controls continuity was established during the examination.
The wreckage was retained for further examination.
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=438AS
Dansville, N.Y. – A Rochester man was killed after his glider crashed in a field near the Dansville Airport Saturday afternoon.
That man has been identified as 66-year-old James Rizzo, an active member of the Fingerlakes Soaring Club based out of the Dansville Airport.
Rizzo's glider plane went down around 3:30 Saturday afternoon in the area of Zerfass and Meter Roads.
The Fingerlakes Soaring Club was known to fly over this area often, it was a popular gliding area.
The soaring club was hosting a contest Saturday out of the airport but members from the club tells 13 wham that Rizzo was not a part of that competition.
Rizzo was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police are trying to figure out the cause of the crash.
"We're trying to determine that now, we'll work with the medical examiner to determine if there was a medical cause or in fact there was a flying issue," Livingston County UnderSheriff James Szczesniak said.
The glider Rizzo was flying is also called a sailplane.
They're usually engineless aircrafts that glide through the air.
In this setting, police say there are not radio communications back and forth from a tower.
Police say there are data systems that will be collected and examined by the F.A.A and NTSB, who are also joining the investigation.
Livingston County deputies say that one man died after his glider crashed in a field near the Dansville Airport on Saturday afternoon.
First responders got to the scene at about 3:30 in the afternoon, to find the damaged glider and the pilot, 66 year old James Rizzo of Rochester, with serious injuries.
He later died at Noyes Hospital.
Rizzo is a member of the Fingerlakes Soaring Club. The club was hosting a flying event for the Soaring Society of America at the Dansville Airport, but it says Rizzo was on his own and was not part of those activities.
The sheriff’s department, along with the FAA and the NTSB are investigating the cause of the accident.
http://www.wham1180.com
Dansville Fatal Glider Crash
One man is dead after the glider he was operating crashed in Dansville.
The Livingston County Sheriffs Office tells us the crash happened just outside the Dansville airport near Zerfass Road.
YNN was told that the glider aircraft was taken up by a powered aircraft and was supposed to fly back to the airport.
There is no information as to what caused the crash at this time.
The pilot was taken by ambulance to Noyes Memorial Hospital.
Police are not releasing the victim’s name at this time.
http://fingerlakes.ynn.com
13WHAM News has a crew on the scene. We will have the latest on 13 WHAM News at 6, as well as updates on 13wham.com.
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, August 25, 2012 in Dansville, NY
Aircraft: SCHLEICHER ASW-19, registration: N438AS
Injuries: 1 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 may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On August 25, 2012, about 1530 eastern daylight time, a Schleicher ASW-19 glider, N438AS, sustained substantial damage when it collided with the ground in Danville, New York. The commercial pilot received fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, personal flight. The flight originated from the Danville Municipal Airport (DSV) Danville, New York, about 1230.
Witnesses at the departure airport observed the glider depart and it was seen again upon its return to the airport. It was observed about one mile from the approach end of runway 14 in a right 90-degree bank heading west just above the treetops. The glider leveled out on the approach end of the runway. Moments later, the glider rolled toward the north away from the airport as it was lost from sight behind trees. One witness observed the glider flying slow and its wings were “tipping back and forth” before it descended toward the ground, impacting nose first, followed by the right wing, and came to rest flat on its belly in the open field.
A wreckage examination by the responding Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the landing gear was in the down and locked position, the right wing separated from the spoiler box outward, the left wing had impact damaged underneath and at the wing tip. The forward section was ripped open and crushed back into the cockpit area. The canopy assembly was opened but remained attached to the fuselage with the Plexiglas broken and shattered throughout the debris field. The tail boom was partially separated and bent toward the right of the glider. Flight controls continuity was established during the examination.
The wreckage was retained for further examination.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 438AS Make/Model: ASW1 Description: SCHLEICHER ASW-19 GLIDER
Date: 08/25/2012 Time: 1930
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: DANSVILLE State: NY Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE 1 PERSON ON BOARD WAS
FATALLY INJURED, NEAR DANSVILLE, NY
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 1
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 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: ROCHESTER, NY (EA23) Entry date: 08/27/2012
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=438AS
That man has been identified as 66-year-old James Rizzo, an active member of the Fingerlakes Soaring Club based out of the Dansville Airport.
Rizzo's glider plane went down around 3:30 Saturday afternoon in the area of Zerfass and Meter Roads.
The Fingerlakes Soaring Club was known to fly over this area often, it was a popular gliding area.
The soaring club was hosting a contest Saturday out of the airport but members from the club tells 13 wham that Rizzo was not a part of that competition.
Rizzo was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police are trying to figure out the cause of the crash.
"We're trying to determine that now, we'll work with the medical examiner to determine if there was a medical cause or in fact there was a flying issue," Livingston County UnderSheriff James Szczesniak said.
The glider Rizzo was flying is also called a sailplane.
They're usually engineless aircrafts that glide through the air.
In this setting, police say there are not radio communications back and forth from a tower.
Police say there are data systems that will be collected and examined by the F.A.A and NTSB, who are also joining the investigation.
Livingston County deputies say that one man died after his glider crashed in a field near the Dansville Airport on Saturday afternoon.
First responders got to the scene at about 3:30 in the afternoon, to find the damaged glider and the pilot, 66 year old James Rizzo of Rochester, with serious injuries.
He later died at Noyes Hospital.
Rizzo is a member of the Fingerlakes Soaring Club. The club was hosting a flying event for the Soaring Society of America at the Dansville Airport, but it says Rizzo was on his own and was not part of those activities.
The sheriff’s department, along with the FAA and the NTSB are investigating the cause of the accident.
http://www.wham1180.com
Dansville Fatal Glider Crash
One man is dead after the glider he was operating crashed in Dansville.
The Livingston County Sheriffs Office tells us the crash happened just outside the Dansville airport near Zerfass Road.
YNN was told that the glider aircraft was taken up by a powered aircraft and was supposed to fly back to the airport.
There is no information as to what caused the crash at this time.
The pilot was taken by ambulance to Noyes Memorial Hospital.
Police are not releasing the victim’s name at this time.
http://fingerlakes.ynn.com
13WHAM News has a crew on the scene. We will have the latest on 13 WHAM News at 6, as well as updates on 13wham.com.
Ultralight pilot injured in crash near Vashon Municipal Airport (2S1), Washington
VASHON ISLAND, Wash. – A pilot was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center after his ultralight plane crashed in a Vashon Island field Friday evening, officials said.
The small gas-powered aircraft crashed at about 8 p.m. Friday in a horse pasture just south of Vashon Municipal Airport, said King County sheriff’s spokesperson Katie Larson.
When medics reached the scene, they found the pilot still conscious and breathing. He was airlifted to Harborview with non-life-threatening injuries.
The FAA has been notified and will investigate the crash, Larson said.
The small gas-powered aircraft crashed at about 8 p.m. Friday in a horse pasture just south of Vashon Municipal Airport, said King County sheriff’s spokesperson Katie Larson.
When medics reached the scene, they found the pilot still conscious and breathing. He was airlifted to Harborview with non-life-threatening injuries.
The FAA has been notified and will investigate the crash, Larson said.
Destiny XLT powered-parachute, N1674A: Accident occurred August 24, 2012 in Hart, Michigan
NTSB Identification: CEN12LA578
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, August 24, 2012 in Hart, MI
Aircraft: DESTINY XLT, registration: N1674A
Injuries: 1 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.
On August 24, 2010, about 1800 eastern daylight time, an experimental Destiny XLT powered-parachute, N1674A, impacted terrain following a downwind turn at the Silver Lake State Park near Hart, Michigan. The airline transport pilot and the passenger sustained fatal injuries. The powered-parachute’s frame structure sustained substantial damage. The aircraft was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Day visual flight rules (VFR) conditions prevailed for the flight, which did not operate on a VFR flight plan. The flight’s origination and destination are unknown.
At 1754, the recorded weather at the Fremont Municipal Airport, near Fremont, Michigan, was: Wind 150 degrees at 5 knots; visibility 7 statute miles; sky condition clear; temperature 30 degrees C; dew point 13 degrees C; altimeter 30.02 inches of mercury.
Condolences to friends and family of the Austin’s.
GOLDEN TOWNSHIP, MI – A Shelby couple died when the powered parachute they were flying at Silver Lake State Park crashed on Friday evening.
The accident happened shortly after 6 p.m. in an area of the park known as “Test Hill” in Golden Township.
Henry H. Austin, 66, was flying the aircraft and his wife, Carol Austin, was riding in the passenger seat when it crashed into the dunes. Oceana County Sheriff’s Lt. Craig Mast said both of the victims were killed on impact.
Oceana County Sheriff Robert Farber said an investigation into what caused the crash is continuing. The Federal Aviation Administration was at the scene Friday evening and allowed the aircraft to be removed from the dune.
Farber said autopsies on both of the Austins will be performed in Grand Rapids on Saturday following FAA protocols.
Henry Austin was well-known around Muskegon for years with his hobby of flying powered parachutes. He trained dozens of people how to fly powered parachutes over the years through Shelby Paraflite School, the business he owned with his wife.
Farber said Henry Austin was a retired commercial pilot.
“He’s very experienced,” Farber said.
Henry Austin also volunteered as a reserve Oceana County sheriff deputy for many years, assisting with several searches for lost people and with other police functions. Farber described Henry Austin as a “wonderful person.”
“It tears me up,” Farber said. “Hank was such a busy guy but he always found time to help out.”
He said the Austins were nearly inseparable, especially in the air.
“His wife was always with him,” Farber said of Henry Austin. “Carole was always his second set of eyes riding in the back.”
Managing Producer Ryan Jeltema also contributed to this report.
Story and comments
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, August 24, 2012 in Hart, MI
Aircraft: DESTINY XLT, registration: N1674A
Injuries: 1 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.
On August 24, 2010, about 1800 eastern daylight time, an experimental Destiny XLT powered-parachute, N1674A, impacted terrain following a downwind turn at the Silver Lake State Park near Hart, Michigan. The airline transport pilot and the passenger sustained fatal injuries. The powered-parachute’s frame structure sustained substantial damage. The aircraft was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Day visual flight rules (VFR) conditions prevailed for the flight, which did not operate on a VFR flight plan. The flight’s origination and destination are unknown.
At 1754, the recorded weather at the Fremont Municipal Airport, near Fremont, Michigan, was: Wind 150 degrees at 5 knots; visibility 7 statute miles; sky condition clear; temperature 30 degrees C; dew point 13 degrees C; altimeter 30.02 inches of mercury.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 1674A Make/Model: EXP Description: DESTINY XLT PARASAIL
Date: 08/24/2012 Time: 2304
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: MEARS State: MI Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE 2 PERSONS ON BOARD WERE
FATALLY INJURED, NEAR SILVER LAKE PARK, OCEANA COUNTY, NEARS MEARS, MI
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 2
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Pleasure Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: GRAND RAPIDS, MI (GL09) Entry date: 08/27/2012
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=1674A
Condolences to friends and family of the Austin’s.GOLDEN TOWNSHIP, MI – A Shelby couple died when the powered parachute they were flying at Silver Lake State Park crashed on Friday evening.
The accident happened shortly after 6 p.m. in an area of the park known as “Test Hill” in Golden Township.
Henry H. Austin, 66, was flying the aircraft and his wife, Carol Austin, was riding in the passenger seat when it crashed into the dunes. Oceana County Sheriff’s Lt. Craig Mast said both of the victims were killed on impact.
Oceana County Sheriff Robert Farber said an investigation into what caused the crash is continuing. The Federal Aviation Administration was at the scene Friday evening and allowed the aircraft to be removed from the dune.
Farber said autopsies on both of the Austins will be performed in Grand Rapids on Saturday following FAA protocols.
Henry Austin was well-known around Muskegon for years with his hobby of flying powered parachutes. He trained dozens of people how to fly powered parachutes over the years through Shelby Paraflite School, the business he owned with his wife.
Farber said Henry Austin was a retired commercial pilot.
“He’s very experienced,” Farber said.
Henry Austin also volunteered as a reserve Oceana County sheriff deputy for many years, assisting with several searches for lost people and with other police functions. Farber described Henry Austin as a “wonderful person.”
“It tears me up,” Farber said. “Hank was such a busy guy but he always found time to help out.”
He said the Austins were nearly inseparable, especially in the air.
“His wife was always with him,” Farber said of Henry Austin. “Carole was always his second set of eyes riding in the back.”
Managing Producer Ryan Jeltema also contributed to this report.
Story and comments
Bell 407, N407N: Accident occurred August 24, 2012 in Abingdon, Virginia
NTSB Identification: ERA12FA527
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, August 24, 2012 in Abingdon, VA
Aircraft: BELL 407, registration: N407N
Injuries: 1 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.
On August 24, 2012, about 2230 eastern daylight time, a Bell 407, N407N, crashed into South Holston Lake during a night departure from a river bank in Abingdon, Virginia. The airline transport pilot was fatally injured. The helicopter was substantially damaged when it impacted the water. The helicopter was registered to and operated by K-VA-T&W-L Aviation LLC under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, as a personal flight. Visual night meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
According to a witness in a boat, he watched the helicopter land with the landing light on and the passengers exit the helicopter. The helicopter then departed without the landing light on and turned toward the lake, descended down an embankment, and made a turn over the lake. The helicopter traveled approximately 150 yards when the bottom skids collided with the lake. The helicopter nosed over and made a loud splash. The witness waited for a short moment and then turned on his spot light and moved towards the position of the helicopter. As he moved forward, his boat collided with the tail boom which was floating away from the fuselage. He continued forward and the cabin area was floating upside down.
The helicopter was recovered from the lake and is pending further examination by the NTSB.
By Mike Still - A barge pushes a recovery crane near the site of a helicopter crash on South Holston Lake Saturday evening. Crews are still searching the site of a Friday night helicopter crash believed to have involved Food City chief pilot Bill Starnes, but the crane was sent back to a nearby marina until Sunday.
By David Crigger/Bristol Herald Courier
Spectators gathered on the shoreline early this morning as rescue crews continued the search for a helicopter pilot who crashed into the lake late Friday.
Rescue crews assist divers in the search for a missing helicopter pilot this morning. The aircraft crashed into South Holston Lake late Friday.
Photo by AP Photo/Jason Smith, CIA Bristol Motor Speedway, Pool
Story and comments: http://www2.tricities.com
Keep checking Tricities.com for more information. On Twitter, follow @BHC_Allie and@tricities_com as reporter Allie Robinson posts updates throughout the day.
Emergency 911 calls on the downed helicopter
Calls on the helicopter traffic begin about a third of the way into the audio. Go to about 11 minutes in to catch the start. Live Scanner Audio Credit: http://Scannerfood.com and hosted by http://RadioReference.com
UPDATE: 9 p.m. SATURDAY
Jerry Caldwell, general manager at Bristol Motor Speedway, made the following announcement over the Speedway public-address system regarding the accident prior to the start of the race: “As you may have heard, our partners at Food City need our prayers. They are like family to us. When they hurt, we hurt. So please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.”
UPDATE: 7 p.m. SATURDAY
The Sullivan County, Tenn., Sheriff’s Office dive team joined the search Saturday for a missing corporate pilot whose helicopter crashed lated Friday in South Holston Lake.
Search crews who had spend the night searching the wreckage, spent much of Saturday using side-sonar in their efforts.
The divers will continue their work through the night Saturday as well, and until the pilot is found, Corinne N. Geller, a public relations officer with the Virginia State Police, said in a written news statement updating the search.
Geller confirmed Saturday that the helicopter did break apart upon impact with the water, with the bulk of the aircraft still submerged.
The depths of the water at the crash site ranges from about 25 to 40 feet.
UPDATE: 12:15 p.m. SATURDAY:
Dive crews are still searching the wreckage this afternoon for the pilot of the crashed helicopter, said Virginia State Police Sgt. Michael Conroy.
The crews will "keep searching until they find" him, Conroy said. Police still haven't named the pilot missing from Friday night's wreck.
------------------------------
UPDATE 11:32 A.M. SATURDAY:
Castlewood, Va., resident Larry Buchanan was sitting around a campfire with his friends and family late Friday, watching as helicopters flew in and over the area at Washington County Park on South Holston Lake.
They were watching the helicopter that crashed take off again after its second visited to the area, Buchanan said.
The helicopter had just taken off from the house when it crashed, he said.
“It smacked the water and sounded like a big wall falling and then there was silence," Buchanan said. "We came running down here, but there was nothing we could do from the shore.”
He said boats that were already out on the lake rushed over to the site.
The helicopter was flying low over the lake, he said, but that was normal from what they had seen; the aircraft would stay low until it cleared the trees, he said.
Police and rescue squads were on the scene pretty quick after the crash, he said.
--------------------------------------
UPDATE 10:45 A.M. SATURDAY:
Additional divers and sonar equipment arrived at South Holston Lake this morning to aid in the search for the pilot of a Food City helicopter that crashed into the water near Washington County Park late Friday.
The helicopter has been located, but rescue teams working through the night were still unable to find the pilot, who was the only person on board when the helicopter crashed, Virginia State Police Sgt. Michael Conroy said.
“Right now we’re searching around the crash scene,” Conroy said.
The crash occurred about 10:30 p.m., shortly after the end of the Food City 250 race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The pilot is the only person believed to have been on board; authorities have declined at this point to release the pilot’s name.
“Last night when they first got on scene, it [the helicopter] was skids up,” Conroy said. “That may have changed with the current and everything. It did break up into pieces; we’re not sure how many pieces. It’s still submerged in probably 20 to 25 feet of water.”
The helicopter, according to the Federal Aviation Administration registry, was registered to K-VA-T and W-L Aviation LLC in Abingdon, Va. It was a Bell model 407, manufactured in 1996.
“Right now, we’re focusing on recovering the pilot,” Conroy said this morning. “After that we’ll move the helicopter for inspection. That’s down the road.”
----------------------------------------------
Virginia State Police divers and troopers continue this morning to for the pilot of a Food City helicopter that crashed into South Holston Lake late Friday.
Divers spent much of the night searching the wreckage for the pilot, said Corinne Geller, state police spokesperson, in a written statement sent out this morning.
The police search and recovery team will use side-scan sonar today to help look for the pilot. The helicopter remains in the water upside down, she said. Police will work to remove the wreckage today, she said.
The corperate Bell helicopter had been bringing passengers from Bristol Motor Speedway to a private residence along Lake Road, Geller said. One of the passengers had just been dropped off when the crash occurred, she said.
Keep checking back to Tricities.com for more information. On Twitter, follow @BHC_Allie and@tricities_com as reporter Allie Robinson posts updates throughout the day.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
3:03 a.m.:
Divers continued searching early this morning for the pilot of a helicopter that crashed into South Holston Lake late Friday.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12:30 a.m.:
A Bell helicopter registered to Food City’s parent company and an Abingdon, Va., aviation company crashed late Friday into South Holston Lake, near the Washington County Park on County Park Road, which is just north of the state line.
The helicopter, according to the Federal Aviation
Administration registry, was registered to K-VA-T and W-L Aviation LLC
in Abingdon, Va. It was a Bell model 407, manufactured in 1996.
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, August 24, 2012 in Abingdon, VA
Aircraft: BELL 407, registration: N407N
Injuries: 1 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.
On August 24, 2012, about 2230 eastern daylight time, a Bell 407, N407N, crashed into South Holston Lake during a night departure from a river bank in Abingdon, Virginia. The airline transport pilot was fatally injured. The helicopter was substantially damaged when it impacted the water. The helicopter was registered to and operated by K-VA-T&W-L Aviation LLC under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, as a personal flight. Visual night meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
According to a witness in a boat, he watched the helicopter land with the landing light on and the passengers exit the helicopter. The helicopter then departed without the landing light on and turned toward the lake, descended down an embankment, and made a turn over the lake. The helicopter traveled approximately 150 yards when the bottom skids collided with the lake. The helicopter nosed over and made a loud splash. The witness waited for a short moment and then turned on his spot light and moved towards the position of the helicopter. As he moved forward, his boat collided with the tail boom which was floating away from the fuselage. He continued forward and the cabin area was floating upside down.
The helicopter was recovered from the lake and is pending further examination by the NTSB.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 407N Make/Model: B407 Description: Bell 407
Date: 08/25/2012 Time: 0220
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Substantial
LOCATION
City: ABINGDON State: VA Country: US
DESCRIPTION
N407N BELL 407 ROTORCRAFT CRASHED INTO A LAKE, THE 1 PERSON ON BOARD IS
MISSING AND PRESUMED FATAL, NEAR ABINGDON, VA
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 1
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: 0
# 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: RICHMOND, VA (EA21) Entry date: 08/27/2012
Photo by Mike Still
Flags fly at half-mast at Virginia Highlands Airport in Abingdon, Virginia
~
By Mike Still - A barge pushes a recovery crane near the site of a helicopter crash on South Holston Lake Saturday evening. Crews are still searching the site of a Friday night helicopter crash believed to have involved Food City chief pilot Bill Starnes, but the crane was sent back to a nearby marina until Sunday.
By David Crigger/Bristol Herald Courier
A police boat keeps boaters away from the area of Friday nights corporate helicopter crash on South Holston Lake. The helicopter belonged to Food City and was leaving the home of CEO and President Steve Smith when it went into the lake.
Spectators gathered on the shoreline early this morning as rescue crews continued the search for a helicopter pilot who crashed into the lake late Friday.
Rescue crews assist divers in the search for a missing helicopter pilot this morning. The aircraft crashed into South Holston Lake late Friday.
Photo by AP Photo/Jason Smith, CIA Bristol Motor Speedway, Pool
A Food City corporate helicopter crashed into a South Holston Lake in upper East Tennessee after leaving Bristol Motor Speedway following the Nationalwide race late Friday, August 24, 2012. The race is sponsored by the grocery chain. The search continued early Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012 for the pilot of the craft, who authorities believe was the lone occupant.
(AP Photo/Jason Smith, CIA Bristol Motor Speedway, Pool)
Story and comments: http://www2.tricities.com
Keep checking Tricities.com for more information. On Twitter, follow @BHC_Allie and@tricities_com as reporter Allie Robinson posts updates throughout the day.
Emergency 911 calls on the downed helicopter
Calls on the helicopter traffic begin about a third of the way into the audio. Go to about 11 minutes in to catch the start. Live Scanner Audio Credit: http://Scannerfood.com and hosted by http://RadioReference.com
UPDATE: 9 p.m. SATURDAY
Jerry Caldwell, general manager at Bristol Motor Speedway, made the following announcement over the Speedway public-address system regarding the accident prior to the start of the race: “As you may have heard, our partners at Food City need our prayers. They are like family to us. When they hurt, we hurt. So please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.”
UPDATE: 7 p.m. SATURDAY
The Sullivan County, Tenn., Sheriff’s Office dive team joined the search Saturday for a missing corporate pilot whose helicopter crashed lated Friday in South Holston Lake.
Search crews who had spend the night searching the wreckage, spent much of Saturday using side-sonar in their efforts.
The divers will continue their work through the night Saturday as well, and until the pilot is found, Corinne N. Geller, a public relations officer with the Virginia State Police, said in a written news statement updating the search.
Geller confirmed Saturday that the helicopter did break apart upon impact with the water, with the bulk of the aircraft still submerged.
The depths of the water at the crash site ranges from about 25 to 40 feet.
UPDATE: 12:15 p.m. SATURDAY:
Dive crews are still searching the wreckage this afternoon for the pilot of the crashed helicopter, said Virginia State Police Sgt. Michael Conroy.
The crews will "keep searching until they find" him, Conroy said. Police still haven't named the pilot missing from Friday night's wreck.
------------------------------
UPDATE 11:32 A.M. SATURDAY:
Castlewood, Va., resident Larry Buchanan was sitting around a campfire with his friends and family late Friday, watching as helicopters flew in and over the area at Washington County Park on South Holston Lake.
They were watching the helicopter that crashed take off again after its second visited to the area, Buchanan said.
The helicopter had just taken off from the house when it crashed, he said.
“It smacked the water and sounded like a big wall falling and then there was silence," Buchanan said. "We came running down here, but there was nothing we could do from the shore.”
He said boats that were already out on the lake rushed over to the site.
The helicopter was flying low over the lake, he said, but that was normal from what they had seen; the aircraft would stay low until it cleared the trees, he said.
Police and rescue squads were on the scene pretty quick after the crash, he said.
--------------------------------------
UPDATE 10:45 A.M. SATURDAY:
Additional divers and sonar equipment arrived at South Holston Lake this morning to aid in the search for the pilot of a Food City helicopter that crashed into the water near Washington County Park late Friday.
The helicopter has been located, but rescue teams working through the night were still unable to find the pilot, who was the only person on board when the helicopter crashed, Virginia State Police Sgt. Michael Conroy said.
“Right now we’re searching around the crash scene,” Conroy said.
The crash occurred about 10:30 p.m., shortly after the end of the Food City 250 race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The pilot is the only person believed to have been on board; authorities have declined at this point to release the pilot’s name.
“Last night when they first got on scene, it [the helicopter] was skids up,” Conroy said. “That may have changed with the current and everything. It did break up into pieces; we’re not sure how many pieces. It’s still submerged in probably 20 to 25 feet of water.”
The helicopter, according to the Federal Aviation Administration registry, was registered to K-VA-T and W-L Aviation LLC in Abingdon, Va. It was a Bell model 407, manufactured in 1996.
“Right now, we’re focusing on recovering the pilot,” Conroy said this morning. “After that we’ll move the helicopter for inspection. That’s down the road.”
----------------------------------------------
Virginia State Police divers and troopers continue this morning to for the pilot of a Food City helicopter that crashed into South Holston Lake late Friday.
Divers spent much of the night searching the wreckage for the pilot, said Corinne Geller, state police spokesperson, in a written statement sent out this morning.
The police search and recovery team will use side-scan sonar today to help look for the pilot. The helicopter remains in the water upside down, she said. Police will work to remove the wreckage today, she said.
The corperate Bell helicopter had been bringing passengers from Bristol Motor Speedway to a private residence along Lake Road, Geller said. One of the passengers had just been dropped off when the crash occurred, she said.
Keep checking back to Tricities.com for more information. On Twitter, follow @BHC_Allie and@tricities_com as reporter Allie Robinson posts updates throughout the day.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
3:03 a.m.:
Divers continued searching early this morning for the pilot of a helicopter that crashed into South Holston Lake late Friday.
The pilot was the only person on board the Bell
helicopter, owned by K-VA-T Food Stores, the parent company for the Food
City grocery chain, Virginia State Police Sgt. Michael Conroy said.
The helicopter crashed into the lake about 10:30
p.m. Friday, Conroy said, near Lake Road and County Park Road just north
of the Tennessee border.
As of 2 a.m. the pilot still had not been found, and police and rescue crews plan to search until he is located, Conroy said.
“Right now the focus is on finding the pilot,” he said just before 2 a.m.
State police dive crews and a state police
helicopter could be seen around the site of the crash early Saturday.
The helicopter’s spotlight swept the lake as the dive teams methodically
checked the area between Painters Creek Marina and Washington County
Park. The water in some places near the crash site is at least 40 feet
deep.
The helicopter was found, and is still in the lake, Conroy said.
The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to
be on the scene this morning and will investigate the cause of the
crash, Conroy said.
Food City is the corporate sponsor of the Food City
250 Nationwide Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The crash occurred
less than an hour after the race concluded Friday.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office, conservation
officers with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and
the Green Springs Volunteer Fire Department responded to assist with the
search, Conroy said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12:30 a.m.:
A Bell helicopter registered to Food City’s parent company and an Abingdon, Va., aviation company crashed late Friday into South Holston Lake, near the Washington County Park on County Park Road, which is just north of the state line.
Washington County Sheriff Fred Newman confirmed that
the aircraft had gone down just before 11 p.m., landing in the water,
and that search and rescue teams from his office and several other
agencies were searching for survivors. The search was expected to last
well into the morning.
Food City President and CEO Steven C. Smith was not
on board when the helicopter went down, but the crash occurred not far
from his home on South Holston Lake.
It is unclear at this time how many passengers were
on board the helicopter at the time of the crash, which happened less
than an hour after the end of the Food City 250 at Bristol Motor
Speedway.
Food City has sponsored that NASCAR Nationwide Series race for 20 years.
The emergency agencies assisting in the search late
Friday include the Virginia State Police, the Washington County
Lifesaving Crew and the Green Springs Volunteer Fire Department. The
state police medical helicopter was providing support with spotlights on
the water.
Cessna 172S, C-FNET: Accident occurred August 24, 2012 in Moorefield, Canada
NTSB Identification: CEN12WA575
14 CFR Non-U.S., Non-Commercial
Accident occurred Friday, August 24, 2012 in Moorefield, Canada
Aircraft: CESSNA 172, registration: C-FNET
Injuries: 4 Fatal.
On August 24, 2012, about 2030 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172S, Canadian registration C-FNET, was substantially damaged on impact with terrain near Moorefield, Ontario, Canada. The pilot and three passengers sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions existed in the vicinity of the accident site. The local personal flight originated from the Kitchener/Waterloo Airport.
The investigation of this accident is under the jurisdiction and control of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information released by or obtained from the Government of Canada. Further information pertaining to this incident can be obtained from:
Transportation Safety Board of Canada
Place du Centre
200 Promenade du Portage, 4th Floor
Gatineau, Québec, Canada
J8X 4B7
Three men and one woman are dead after a single-engine plane crashed in a cornfield northwest of Kitchener, Ont.
The small, four-seat Cessna 172 was located in the field near the town of Moorefield, Ont., about 150 kilometres northwest of Toronto, late Friday night.
Const. Keith Robb of Wellington County OPP confirmed that there were four occupants on board the plane and none survived the crash.
The woman was 19-years-old and the three males are in their twenties, said police.
The passengers had been out on a sightseeing trip over Niagara Falls and Toronto for nearly two hours before they crashed, CTV Toronto’s Ashley Rowe reported.
Police had received a call at about 8:40 p.m. Friday alerting them to a plane spiralling out of control above Mapleton Township, Robb said.
Robb said the plane had apparently disappeared from radar about 20 minutes earlier.
Officers, firefighters and paramedics located the plane shortly after 10 p.m.
Resident Llori Nicholls told CP she and her husband spotted a plane weaving uncontrollably in the sky Friday night.
Nicholls said before the crash she saw the plane’s engine sputter, though the pilot appeared to regain control of the plane.
“The pilot got the engine going again," said Nicholls. "It was nice and strong, full power, but only for a second or two. Then it just went dead."
The couple went back to their home to find supplies to help locate any survivors, but when they returned they could not locate the crash site.
The couple then went to a neighbour’s house to call 911.
Resident Curtis Bultz, 21, heard strange noises Friday evening followed by the sound of the crash.
Bultz then drove his ATV through neighbouring cornfields to investigate, but after 10 minutes of searching he returned home.
“I heard it but there was no smoke or anything," said Bultz. "There was no smoke at all. That's what you think, (that) there'd be something but there was nothing."
Bultz, his neighbours and emergency crews did a grid search by foot, tractor and four-by-fours.
Two hours later, they were able to locate the wreckage, said Bultz.
Once the wreckage was located, Bultz’s father used a tractor to clear a path for crews to get to the scene.
OPP said weather is not believed to be a factor in the crash.
According to investigators, the 20-year-old pilot of the plane was fully licensed to fly.
He was also a regular client of the nearby Waterloo-Wellington Flight Centre from where the plane was rented, Rowe reported.
The pilot’s grief-stricken uncle arrived at the scene of the crash on Saturday and told reporters he was at a loss for words over his nephew’s death.
“Very special. Better than my heart. He was something like…,” he said, trying to describe his nephew. “I don’t have words for it.”
Bob Connors, the general manager of the flight centre, would not comment on the pilot’s flying experience.
Connors told CP that the school had not seen a crash like this in a “long, long, long time.”
Two investigators from the Transportation Safety Board were at the scene of the crash Saturday trying to determine if the plane suffered mechanical failure.
“We’re looking at all the aircraft systems and determining if the aircraft was without power at the time, if all the flight controls were hooked up and working properly,” TSB investigator Ken Webster told reporters.
The bodies of the victims have been transported to a Hamilton hospital for autopsies. The victims will not be identified until all the next of kin have been notified.
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca
Cessna 172S, C-FNET, crashed Friday night in a cornfield near Moorefield; about 50 kilometres northwest of Kitchener.
MOOREFIELD, Ont. - When Llori Nicholls and her husband first spotted a plane weaving back and forth in the sky Friday night, they had thought it was putting on a show.
Seconds later, the small plane disappeared out of sight and then they heard it nose-dive into the ground, killing all four people on board.
"It was doing these spirals but really high up in the air, like at first, we thought it was controlled," said Nicholls, who was out walking her dog.
"But then as we watched, we realized that it didn't look like controlled movements. It looked like it had lost control and it was going down."
Investigators are now trying to piece together what caused the light-coloured Cessna 172 to crash into a cornfield near Moorefield, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say three men and one woman were pronounced dead at the scene following the accident, which occurred around 8:30 p.m. Friday.
One of the victims was a 19-year-old woman. The three others were in their 20s, according to police. All were from the Greater Toronto Area.
Nicholls said before the crash, she saw the plane's engine sputtering but as it got closer to the ground, it looked like the pilot had been able to regain some control.
"The pilot got the engine going again," she said. "It was nice and strong, full power, but only for a second or two. Then it just went dead."
She and her husband then raced back to their nearby home to grab a first aid kit and sleeping bag, in hopes of finding any survivors. But when they returned in their pick-up truck, they couldn't locate the crash site.
They then went to a neighbour's house to call 911.
Nicholls said she's distraught over how scared the passengers must have been.
"There was definitely time in their descent for them to be terrified, and it just kind of doesn't sit good with me," said Nicholls, her voice quivering.
Curtis Bults was getting ready to leave for a baseball game when the Nicholls' showed up.
Moments earlier, he had heard strange noises behind his house.
"It sounded like a whiny noise, like a go-kart, like a small plane going 'Eee Eeee Eeeee!,' said the 21-year-old.
"And (then) a couple second delay, and I heard a thud. I heard kind of a shake in the ground."
Bults said his two dogs were "absolutely freaking" from the commotion, which could be heard clearly even though all the house's windows were closed.
He then drove his ATV through the adjacent cornfields to investigate. After about 10 minutes, he returned home after finding nothing.
"I heard it but there was no smoke or anything," said Bultz. "There was no smoke at all. That's what you think, (that) there'd be something but there was nothing."
Bultz said he, his neighbours and emergency crews did a grid search on foot, tractors and four-by-fours.
It wasn't until two hours later that they were able to locate the plane wreckage.
Once it was found, his father used a tractor to carve out a path for the emergency crews to get to the scene, he said.
"It was the middle of nowhere," said Bultz. "It was in the middle of a 50-acre cornfield."
OPP Const. Keith Robb said an emergency transponder signal had been activated when the plane went off the radar around 8:20 p.m.
It's unclear how long the plane had been in flight before it crashed.
At this point, the investigation remains in its preliminary stages but police do not believe weather was a factor.
"It was a clear, sunny night," he said.
Two investigators from the Transportation Safety Board remain at the scene, and are trying to determine whether mechanical failure is at fault. The plane was expected to be removed from the field later Saturday.
Bob Connors, the general manager of the Waterloo-Wellington Flight Centre, said the plane was one of his and it was a rental.
He said the flight school, which operates out of the Waterloo Region International Airport, had not had a crash like this in a "long, long, long time."
Connors would not comment on the pilot's flying experience.
The victims' bodies have been transported to a hospital in Hamilton for autopsies and police were in the process of contacting their families.
14 CFR Non-U.S., Non-Commercial
Accident occurred Friday, August 24, 2012 in Moorefield, Canada
Aircraft: CESSNA 172, registration: C-FNET
Injuries: 4 Fatal.
On August 24, 2012, about 2030 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172S, Canadian registration C-FNET, was substantially damaged on impact with terrain near Moorefield, Ontario, Canada. The pilot and three passengers sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions existed in the vicinity of the accident site. The local personal flight originated from the Kitchener/Waterloo Airport.
The investigation of this accident is under the jurisdiction and control of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information released by or obtained from the Government of Canada. Further information pertaining to this incident can be obtained from:
Transportation Safety Board of Canada
Place du Centre
200 Promenade du Portage, 4th Floor
Gatineau, Québec, Canada
J8X 4B7
Three men and one woman are dead after a single-engine plane crashed in a cornfield northwest of Kitchener, Ont.
The small, four-seat Cessna 172 was located in the field near the town of Moorefield, Ont., about 150 kilometres northwest of Toronto, late Friday night.
Const. Keith Robb of Wellington County OPP confirmed that there were four occupants on board the plane and none survived the crash.
The woman was 19-years-old and the three males are in their twenties, said police.
The passengers had been out on a sightseeing trip over Niagara Falls and Toronto for nearly two hours before they crashed, CTV Toronto’s Ashley Rowe reported.
Police had received a call at about 8:40 p.m. Friday alerting them to a plane spiralling out of control above Mapleton Township, Robb said.
Robb said the plane had apparently disappeared from radar about 20 minutes earlier.
Officers, firefighters and paramedics located the plane shortly after 10 p.m.
Resident Llori Nicholls told CP she and her husband spotted a plane weaving uncontrollably in the sky Friday night.
Nicholls said before the crash she saw the plane’s engine sputter, though the pilot appeared to regain control of the plane.
“The pilot got the engine going again," said Nicholls. "It was nice and strong, full power, but only for a second or two. Then it just went dead."
The couple went back to their home to find supplies to help locate any survivors, but when they returned they could not locate the crash site.
The couple then went to a neighbour’s house to call 911.
Resident Curtis Bultz, 21, heard strange noises Friday evening followed by the sound of the crash.
Bultz then drove his ATV through neighbouring cornfields to investigate, but after 10 minutes of searching he returned home.
“I heard it but there was no smoke or anything," said Bultz. "There was no smoke at all. That's what you think, (that) there'd be something but there was nothing."
Bultz, his neighbours and emergency crews did a grid search by foot, tractor and four-by-fours.
Two hours later, they were able to locate the wreckage, said Bultz.
Once the wreckage was located, Bultz’s father used a tractor to clear a path for crews to get to the scene.
OPP said weather is not believed to be a factor in the crash.
According to investigators, the 20-year-old pilot of the plane was fully licensed to fly.
He was also a regular client of the nearby Waterloo-Wellington Flight Centre from where the plane was rented, Rowe reported.
The pilot’s grief-stricken uncle arrived at the scene of the crash on Saturday and told reporters he was at a loss for words over his nephew’s death.
“Very special. Better than my heart. He was something like…,” he said, trying to describe his nephew. “I don’t have words for it.”
Bob Connors, the general manager of the flight centre, would not comment on the pilot’s flying experience.
Connors told CP that the school had not seen a crash like this in a “long, long, long time.”
Two investigators from the Transportation Safety Board were at the scene of the crash Saturday trying to determine if the plane suffered mechanical failure.
“We’re looking at all the aircraft systems and determining if the aircraft was without power at the time, if all the flight controls were hooked up and working properly,” TSB investigator Ken Webster told reporters.
The bodies of the victims have been transported to a Hamilton hospital for autopsies. The victims will not be identified until all the next of kin have been notified.
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca
Debris from a plane crash sits in a field in Moorefield, Ontario
Cessna 172S, C-FNET, crashed Friday night in a cornfield near Moorefield; about 50 kilometres northwest of Kitchener.
Photo Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Transportation Safety Board
MOOREFIELD, Ont. - When Llori Nicholls and her husband first spotted a plane weaving back and forth in the sky Friday night, they had thought it was putting on a show.
Seconds later, the small plane disappeared out of sight and then they heard it nose-dive into the ground, killing all four people on board.
"It was doing these spirals but really high up in the air, like at first, we thought it was controlled," said Nicholls, who was out walking her dog.
"But then as we watched, we realized that it didn't look like controlled movements. It looked like it had lost control and it was going down."
Investigators are now trying to piece together what caused the light-coloured Cessna 172 to crash into a cornfield near Moorefield, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say three men and one woman were pronounced dead at the scene following the accident, which occurred around 8:30 p.m. Friday.
One of the victims was a 19-year-old woman. The three others were in their 20s, according to police. All were from the Greater Toronto Area.
Nicholls said before the crash, she saw the plane's engine sputtering but as it got closer to the ground, it looked like the pilot had been able to regain some control.
"The pilot got the engine going again," she said. "It was nice and strong, full power, but only for a second or two. Then it just went dead."
She and her husband then raced back to their nearby home to grab a first aid kit and sleeping bag, in hopes of finding any survivors. But when they returned in their pick-up truck, they couldn't locate the crash site.
They then went to a neighbour's house to call 911.
Nicholls said she's distraught over how scared the passengers must have been.
"There was definitely time in their descent for them to be terrified, and it just kind of doesn't sit good with me," said Nicholls, her voice quivering.
Curtis Bults was getting ready to leave for a baseball game when the Nicholls' showed up.
Moments earlier, he had heard strange noises behind his house.
"It sounded like a whiny noise, like a go-kart, like a small plane going 'Eee Eeee Eeeee!,' said the 21-year-old.
"And (then) a couple second delay, and I heard a thud. I heard kind of a shake in the ground."
Bults said his two dogs were "absolutely freaking" from the commotion, which could be heard clearly even though all the house's windows were closed.
He then drove his ATV through the adjacent cornfields to investigate. After about 10 minutes, he returned home after finding nothing.
"I heard it but there was no smoke or anything," said Bultz. "There was no smoke at all. That's what you think, (that) there'd be something but there was nothing."
Bultz said he, his neighbours and emergency crews did a grid search on foot, tractors and four-by-fours.
It wasn't until two hours later that they were able to locate the plane wreckage.
Once it was found, his father used a tractor to carve out a path for the emergency crews to get to the scene, he said.
"It was the middle of nowhere," said Bultz. "It was in the middle of a 50-acre cornfield."
OPP Const. Keith Robb said an emergency transponder signal had been activated when the plane went off the radar around 8:20 p.m.
It's unclear how long the plane had been in flight before it crashed.
At this point, the investigation remains in its preliminary stages but police do not believe weather was a factor.
"It was a clear, sunny night," he said.
Two investigators from the Transportation Safety Board remain at the scene, and are trying to determine whether mechanical failure is at fault. The plane was expected to be removed from the field later Saturday.
Bob Connors, the general manager of the Waterloo-Wellington Flight Centre, said the plane was one of his and it was a rental.
He said the flight school, which operates out of the Waterloo Region International Airport, had not had a crash like this in a "long, long, long time."
Connors would not comment on the pilot's flying experience.
The victims' bodies have been transported to a hospital in Hamilton for autopsies and police were in the process of contacting their families.
Pilatus PC-12/47, Swiss registration HB-FPZ, operated by Air Sarina GmbH
NTSB Identification: CEN12WA674
14 CFR Non-U.S., Non-Commercial
Accident occurred Friday, August 24, 2012 in Solemont (Doubs), France
Aircraft: , registration:
Injuries: 4 Fatal.
The foreign authority was the source of this information.
On August 24, 2012, at 1558 universal coordinated time, a Pilatus PC-12/47, Swiss registration HB-FPZ, operated by Air Sarina GmbH, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain under unknown circumstances near Solemont (Doubs), France. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The flight originated from Antwerp (EBAW), Belgium, and was en route to Saanen (LSGK), Switzerland.
On August 24, 2012, at 1558 universal coordinated time, a Pilatus PC-12/47, Swiss registration HB-FPZ, operated by Air Sarina GmbH, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain under unknown circumstances near Solemont (Doubs), France. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The flight originated from Antwerp (EBAW), Belgium, and was en route to Saanen (LSGK), Switzerland.
Preliminary information from investigators indicate the airplane broke up in flight. There was a post-impact fire. Weather at LFSX at 1600 UTC was as follows: Wind, variable at 3 knots; ceiling 900 feet, broken; 1,300 feet overcast; temperature, 20 degrees Celsius (C.); dew point, 18 degrees C.
The accident investigation is under the jurisdiction and control of the
French Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses. This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information released by or obtained from the French government or BEA.
Further information pertaining to this accident may be obtained from:
Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau
Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses
Zone Sud
200 rue de Paris
Aêroport du Bourget
93350 Le Bourget Cedex
France
Tél. : +33 1 49 92 72 00
Fax : +33 1 49 92 72 03
www.bea.aero
http://www.bazl.admin.ch/fachleute/luftfahrzeugregister/index.html?lang=en&lfrSucheDetailKnz=HB-FPZ
A tourist plane with four people on board crashed near Montbeliard in eastern France on Friday, officials said.
Local police said the plane had taken off from Belgium and was headed to Switzerland. All four occupants were Swiss.
Rescuers found wreckage of the plane about 40 minutes after it sent a distress call. There was no immediate sign of survivors.
Local mayor Didier Grillot said several witnesses had told him the plane was struck by lightning.
"There's nothing but a mass of debris, the plane was torn to pieces," he said after visiting the crash site.
Four Swiss citizens died when their light airplane crashed near Montbéliard, eastern France, on Friday evening. Local people say the plane was struck by lightning.
The aircraft took off from Antwerp in Belgium and was heading for Switzerland when it crashed in Solemont, near Montbéliard.
Police at first said that three people were in the plane but aviation officials later said that four Swiss nationals got on board before take-off.
Belfort public prosecutor Alexandre Chevrier on Saturday morning confirmed that there were no survivors.
The plane sent out a distress signal at about 6.00pm before plummeting into rocks, scattering debris over a large area.
The cause of the crash has not yet been officially determined but a storm was taking place at the time and several local people have told Solemont mayor Didier Grillot that they saw lighting hit the aircraft.
Economy Minister Pierre Moscovici, who is also a local councillor, expressed his deep sympathy for the victims’s families.
Tourist plane explodes after struck by lightning
A tourist plane with four people on board has crashed after being hit by a lightning, 500 meters from the town of Solemont, France, killing all on board. The light plane, built by Pilatus Aircraft, took off from Belgium and was headed to Switzerland. All four occupants were Swiss.
Rescuers found wreckage of the plane about 40 minutes after it sent a distress call. “There’s nothing but a mass of debris, the plane was torn to pieces,” said Solemont Mayor Didier Grillot.
Quatre Suisses ont été tués vendredi lorsque l’avion de tourisme à bord duquel ils se trouvaient s’est écrasé au sud de Montbéliard (France).
Des techniciens spécialistes en catastrophes aériennes sont venus de Paris samedi prêter main forte à la gendarmerie du Doubs pour investiguer le site du crash aérien dans lequel quatre Suisses ont péri vendredi soir. L’avion de tourisme à bord duquel les victimes se trouvaient s’est écrasé au sud de Montbéliard (France).
Suspendues vendredi peu après 21h00, les recherches ont repris samedi matin, a indiqué à l’ats la brigade de gendarmerie de Pont-de- Roide.
Les causes du crash étaient toujours indéterminées, mais de fortes précipitations tombaient sur la région au moment où l’accident s’est produit et la visibilité était limitée. Un point de presse est prévu vers 16h00.
L’avion, un appareil de type PC-12 qui avait décollé d’Anvers en Belgique et se dirigeait vers la Suisse, s’est écrasé à proximité de la commune de Solemont vers 18h00. Les débris de l’appareil ont été retrouvés vers 18h30, a indiqué vendredi la préfecture.
Dans un communiqué publié tard vendredi, le ministre de l’Economie et des Finances et conseiller délégué de l’agglomération du Pays de Montbéliard, Pierre Moscovici, fait part de son «émotion» et de «sa profonde sympathie» à l’égard des victimes.
http://www.bazl.admin.ch/fachleute/luftfahrzeugregister/index.html?lang=en&lfrSucheDetailKnz=HB-FPZ
14 CFR Non-U.S., Non-Commercial
Accident occurred Friday, August 24, 2012 in Solemont (Doubs), France
Aircraft: , registration:
Injuries: 4 Fatal.
The foreign authority was the source of this information.
On August 24, 2012, at 1558 universal coordinated time, a Pilatus PC-12/47, Swiss registration HB-FPZ, operated by Air Sarina GmbH, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain under unknown circumstances near Solemont (Doubs), France. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The flight originated from Antwerp (EBAW), Belgium, and was en route to Saanen (LSGK), Switzerland.
On August 24, 2012, at 1558 universal coordinated time, a Pilatus PC-12/47, Swiss registration HB-FPZ, operated by Air Sarina GmbH, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain under unknown circumstances near Solemont (Doubs), France. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The flight originated from Antwerp (EBAW), Belgium, and was en route to Saanen (LSGK), Switzerland.
Preliminary information from investigators indicate the airplane broke up in flight. There was a post-impact fire. Weather at LFSX at 1600 UTC was as follows: Wind, variable at 3 knots; ceiling 900 feet, broken; 1,300 feet overcast; temperature, 20 degrees Celsius (C.); dew point, 18 degrees C.
The accident investigation is under the jurisdiction and control of the
French Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses. This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information released by or obtained from the French government or BEA.
Further information pertaining to this accident may be obtained from:
Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau
Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses
Zone Sud
200 rue de Paris
Aêroport du Bourget
93350 Le Bourget Cedex
France
Tél. : +33 1 49 92 72 00
Fax : +33 1 49 92 72 03
www.bea.aero
http://www.bazl.admin.ch/fachleute/luftfahrzeugregister/index.html?lang=en&lfrSucheDetailKnz=HB-FPZ
A tourist plane with four people on board crashed near Montbeliard in eastern France on Friday, officials said.
Local police said the plane had taken off from Belgium and was headed to Switzerland. All four occupants were Swiss.
Rescuers found wreckage of the plane about 40 minutes after it sent a distress call. There was no immediate sign of survivors.
Local mayor Didier Grillot said several witnesses had told him the plane was struck by lightning.
"There's nothing but a mass of debris, the plane was torn to pieces," he said after visiting the crash site.
Four Swiss citizens died when their light airplane crashed near Montbéliard, eastern France, on Friday evening. Local people say the plane was struck by lightning.
The aircraft took off from Antwerp in Belgium and was heading for Switzerland when it crashed in Solemont, near Montbéliard.
Police at first said that three people were in the plane but aviation officials later said that four Swiss nationals got on board before take-off.
Belfort public prosecutor Alexandre Chevrier on Saturday morning confirmed that there were no survivors.
The plane sent out a distress signal at about 6.00pm before plummeting into rocks, scattering debris over a large area.
The cause of the crash has not yet been officially determined but a storm was taking place at the time and several local people have told Solemont mayor Didier Grillot that they saw lighting hit the aircraft.
Economy Minister Pierre Moscovici, who is also a local councillor, expressed his deep sympathy for the victims’s families.
Tourist plane explodes after struck by lightning
A tourist plane with four people on board has crashed after being hit by a lightning, 500 meters from the town of Solemont, France, killing all on board. The light plane, built by Pilatus Aircraft, took off from Belgium and was headed to Switzerland. All four occupants were Swiss.
Rescuers found wreckage of the plane about 40 minutes after it sent a distress call. “There’s nothing but a mass of debris, the plane was torn to pieces,” said Solemont Mayor Didier Grillot.
Quatre Suisses ont été tués vendredi lorsque l’avion de tourisme à bord duquel ils se trouvaient s’est écrasé au sud de Montbéliard (France).
Des techniciens spécialistes en catastrophes aériennes sont venus de Paris samedi prêter main forte à la gendarmerie du Doubs pour investiguer le site du crash aérien dans lequel quatre Suisses ont péri vendredi soir. L’avion de tourisme à bord duquel les victimes se trouvaient s’est écrasé au sud de Montbéliard (France).
Suspendues vendredi peu après 21h00, les recherches ont repris samedi matin, a indiqué à l’ats la brigade de gendarmerie de Pont-de- Roide.
Les causes du crash étaient toujours indéterminées, mais de fortes précipitations tombaient sur la région au moment où l’accident s’est produit et la visibilité était limitée. Un point de presse est prévu vers 16h00.
L’avion, un appareil de type PC-12 qui avait décollé d’Anvers en Belgique et se dirigeait vers la Suisse, s’est écrasé à proximité de la commune de Solemont vers 18h00. Les débris de l’appareil ont été retrouvés vers 18h30, a indiqué vendredi la préfecture.
Dans un communiqué publié tard vendredi, le ministre de l’Economie et des Finances et conseiller délégué de l’agglomération du Pays de Montbéliard, Pierre Moscovici, fait part de son «émotion» et de «sa profonde sympathie» à l’égard des victimes.
http://www.bazl.admin.ch/fachleute/luftfahrzeugregister/index.html?lang=en&lfrSucheDetailKnz=HB-FPZ
Friday, August 24, 2012
Vaimoso, Samoa: Near mid-air collision investigated
An investigation has been launched into an incident where a
Polynesian Airlines plane nearly collided with a Samoa Air aircraft
above Vaimoso on 21 June this year.
The investigation is being carried out by the Civil Aviation division of the Ministry of Works, Transport and Infrastructure (MWTI), CEO of Polynesian Airlines, Taua Fatu Tielu confirmed.
“The near collision was the result of miscommunication,” Taua said adding that it’s the first time such an incident has surfaced.
“Both airlines have lodged reports with the Civil Aviation and the investigation has already started on the matter.”
Repeated attempts to get a comment from Civil Aviation yesterday were unsuccessful.
But Taua said a report filed by the Polynesian Airline pilot who manned the aircraft that day indicated that Samoa Air did not advise them about the path of its flight.
“But Samoa Air claims that they did advise us,” said Taua.
The miscommunication resulted in the two planes being on the same flight path.
Chief Pilot for Samoa Air, Peniata Maiava, who flew the airline’s plane that day, downplayed the incident. Mr Maiava said he was with a co-pilot during the flight.
He told the Samoa Observer they were flying out of Fagali’i Airport while Polynesian Airlines was heading to Fagali’i and both planes had no passengers on board.
“There are many stories being thrown around,” Mr Maiava said. “The incident was the result of poor communication with the tower and the other aircraft.
“We have already sent a report through the proper channel to get it investigated. Nothing happened, people just think it did and a lot of stories are made up to make others look bad.”
Mr Maiava is unsure when the investigation would be completed.
“It will take some time,” he said. “We’ve filed our report with Civil Aviation and we have left it to the Airport Authority and the tower to deal with it.”
Mr Maiava said the result of the investigation should improve the safety of flights for the two airlines.
Taua agrees. He said he has already written to Samoa Air pointing out certain procedures they need to follow.
“That they must advise us before departure and before landing,” said Taua.
The CEO said safety is paramount and its something Polynesian values highly.
“Lets make sure we work together for the safety of passengers and also for the smooth running of all operations”.
http://www.samoaobserver.ws
The investigation is being carried out by the Civil Aviation division of the Ministry of Works, Transport and Infrastructure (MWTI), CEO of Polynesian Airlines, Taua Fatu Tielu confirmed.
“The near collision was the result of miscommunication,” Taua said adding that it’s the first time such an incident has surfaced.
“Both airlines have lodged reports with the Civil Aviation and the investigation has already started on the matter.”
Repeated attempts to get a comment from Civil Aviation yesterday were unsuccessful.
But Taua said a report filed by the Polynesian Airline pilot who manned the aircraft that day indicated that Samoa Air did not advise them about the path of its flight.
“But Samoa Air claims that they did advise us,” said Taua.
The miscommunication resulted in the two planes being on the same flight path.
Chief Pilot for Samoa Air, Peniata Maiava, who flew the airline’s plane that day, downplayed the incident. Mr Maiava said he was with a co-pilot during the flight.
He told the Samoa Observer they were flying out of Fagali’i Airport while Polynesian Airlines was heading to Fagali’i and both planes had no passengers on board.
“There are many stories being thrown around,” Mr Maiava said. “The incident was the result of poor communication with the tower and the other aircraft.
“We have already sent a report through the proper channel to get it investigated. Nothing happened, people just think it did and a lot of stories are made up to make others look bad.”
Mr Maiava is unsure when the investigation would be completed.
“It will take some time,” he said. “We’ve filed our report with Civil Aviation and we have left it to the Airport Authority and the tower to deal with it.”
Mr Maiava said the result of the investigation should improve the safety of flights for the two airlines.
Taua agrees. He said he has already written to Samoa Air pointing out certain procedures they need to follow.
“That they must advise us before departure and before landing,” said Taua.
The CEO said safety is paramount and its something Polynesian values highly.
“Lets make sure we work together for the safety of passengers and also for the smooth running of all operations”.
http://www.samoaobserver.ws
Piper PA-24-250, N8218P: Accident occurred Thursday, August 02, 2012 in Truckee, California
NTSB Identification: WPR12FA339
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, August 02, 2012 in Truckee, CA
Aircraft: PIPER PA-24-250, registration: N8218P
Injuries: 1 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 August 2, 2012, about 0814 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-24-250, N8218P, sustained substantial damage when it impacted a hangar during takeoff initial climb from Truckee-Tahoe Airport (TRK), Truckee, California. The airplane was registered and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The commercial pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight which was originating at the time of the accident.
Representatives from Los Medicos Voladores reported that the pilot was participating in a flight to Baja, Mexico for medical outreach and was transporting two passengers and medical supplies.
Two witnesses, who were previously onboard the airplane during a first takeoff attempt reported that the accident flight was the second attempted takeoff by the pilot. Prior to the first takeoff, the pilot and passengers loaded baggage into the aft baggage compartment and rear seat area. After a normal taxi out and pre-takeoff checks, the pilot initiated takeoff on runway 19. The passengers stated that the airplane appeared to have accelerated and lifted off normally, however, as the airplane ascended through about 20 feet above the runway, the airplane wobbled to the left and right, and drifted slightly to the left. The pilot told the passengers that something did not feel right and that the airplane was not climbing. Subsequently, the pilot aborted the takeoff and landed uneventfully on the remaining runway.
During the taxi back to the terminal area, the pilot and his two passengers discussed various ideas why the airplane was not climbing, including potential weight and balance issues and center of gravity issues. The witnesses further reported that the pilot told them that he was going to try and takeoff alone in order to troubleshoot. Upon returning to the terminal area, the pilot had both passengers exit the airplane while the engine was still running and taxied back to runway 19.
The witnesses further stated that while observing the airplane takeoff a second time from runway 19, the takeoff roll seemed to be uneventful and the airplane lifted off about one-third down the runway and entered a nose high attitude. The witnesses said that the airplane seemed to wobble back and forth several times as it was ascending. One witness said that as the airplane was over the departure end of the runway, at an altitude of about 150 feet above the runway, it appeared to enter a right turn and bank. As the turn continued, the bank angle of the airplane increased beyond 90-degrees as it descended behind a hangar.
Additional witnesses located within the vicinity of the accident site reported that the airplane lifted off normally and entered a nose high attitude as if it was going to “stall.” The witnesses continued to watch the airplane continue its takeoff initial climb and noticed that it began to wobble back and forth prior to entering a right turn. Subsequently, witnesses observed the airplane descend into an airplane hangar. All witnesses reported that during the takeoff and accident sequence, the engine sounded normal and appeared to be producing power.
Examination of the accident site revealed the airplane impacted an enclosed airplane hangar about 924 feet northwest of runway 19, and about 4,166 feet from the approach end of the runway. Wreckage debris was located within about 350 feet of the main wreckage. All major structural components of the airplane were located within the wreckage debris path. The wreckage was transported to a secure location for further examination.
Truckee-Tahoe Airport (KTRK), California
Friday, August 24, 2012
By Margaret Moran, Sierra Sun
TRUCKEE, Calif. — Additional laboratory testing on fuel sold to Truckee Tahoe Airport prior to a fatal single-engine plane crash earlier this month found it to be in compliance with international regulations, officials said Thursday.
World Fuels, Truckee Tahoe Airport’s Chevron distributor, recently had samples of its July 20 fuel shipment to the airport tested by Inspectorate, an independent laboratory in Torrance, Calif., after previous surveys by a separate company indicated the fuel had substandard octane levels.
The tests were made following the Aug. 2 plane crash at the airport that killed 66-year-old James R. Ungar of Yreka, Calif., the cause of which is still unknown. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident, said Ian Gregor, a spokesperson for the FAA, in a previous story.
Shortly after the accident, Truckee Tahoe Airport contacted World Fuels for a lab recommendation on where to have the July 20 fuel shipment tested, which was sold at the airport between July 20 and Aug. 2, and was referred to Saybolt Lp, in Martinez, Calif.
“Fuel sampling and testing after aircraft incidents is standard airport operating procedure,” according to press release by the Truckee Tahoe Airport District.
Initial tests of the 100 Low Lead fuel on Aug. 5 indicated a “slight discrepancy” in its octane content, according to the airport. Octane content needs to be at a 99.7 rating in order to meet international regulations for aviation gasoline — results of a small sample of the July 20 delivery showed the content to be at a 97 octane rating.
Due to the discrepancy, World Fuels replaced the airport’s fuel on Aug. 6 and Aug. 7.
“They (World Fuels) were still maintaining that they didn’t feel anything was wrong with the fuel,” said Kevin Smith, general manager of Truckee Tahoe Airport, at Thursday’s airport district board of directors meeting in Truckee.
World Fuels is federally regulated, so before it ships any fuel, the company tests it to ensure it’s in compliance with international specifications and attaches a certificate of analysis stating as such.
“They swapped it out to get us going, and also they wanted to run their own tests,” Smith said.
While Truckee Tahoe Airport waited for World Fuels to get its own tests results from Inspectorate, the airport decided to contact its customers.
“The airport had an obligation to inform our customers that the fuel purchased between July 20 and Aug. 2 could have potential octane discrepancy,” Smith said. “Potential, because World Fuels was saying we need to do additional testing.”
Approximately 130 customers had the fuel in their airplanes, Smith said, including Ungar’s Piper Comanche 250. The airport began to notify customers early Aug. 8, after Saybolt re-tested its fuel sample, confirming its Aug. 5 findings.
“You did a good job,” Jim Morrison, an airport board member, told Smith and other airport staff, a sentiment echoed by other board members.
But one meeting attendee disagreed.
“My concern, to be honest with you, is my plane was fueled with that, and my wife’s plane, and we weren’t contacted on Wednesday (Aug. 8) or on Thursday (Aug. 9),” said Rob Lober, of Crystal Bay. “Only until I called the airport on Thursday and was told, ‘Oh, yeah, you’re on the list, we’re getting to you.’ I think there was a lack of urgency on this, so, sorry, I don’t go for the kudos on job well done.”
After the meeting, Smith discussed the issue in an interview.
“There’s a lot of people that said we didn’t call them, but that’s because they had heard — we did e-blasts and got word out,” he said. “The idea is that you get word out so people will know and then we’ll either call them or they’ll call us. So, yeah, we didn’t call him, but we didn’t call him because he called us and we told him the information.”
Smith said airport staff learned many lessons from this experience, among which: how to best notify customers in the event of a fuel quality control or safety issue.
As for how initial tests by Saybolt showed a discrepancy with the fuel’s octane rating, Smith said it could have been caused by several factors, such as how the samples were stored and the lab’s testing protocols.
“We’re confident in our fuel here now and we’re confident in the quality control in the airport,” Smith said.
http://www.sierrasun.com
http://www.flyingdocs.org/index.php/members/46-trips/274-lmv-grieves-the-loss-of-jim-ungar-flying-doctor
Photos from Jim’s May 2012 LMV Trip to San Pedro de la Cueva, Sonora, Mexico
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, August 02, 2012 in Truckee, CA
Aircraft: PIPER PA-24-250, registration: N8218P
Injuries: 1 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 August 2, 2012, about 0814 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-24-250, N8218P, sustained substantial damage when it impacted a hangar during takeoff initial climb from Truckee-Tahoe Airport (TRK), Truckee, California. The airplane was registered and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The commercial pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight which was originating at the time of the accident.
Representatives from Los Medicos Voladores reported that the pilot was participating in a flight to Baja, Mexico for medical outreach and was transporting two passengers and medical supplies.
Two witnesses, who were previously onboard the airplane during a first takeoff attempt reported that the accident flight was the second attempted takeoff by the pilot. Prior to the first takeoff, the pilot and passengers loaded baggage into the aft baggage compartment and rear seat area. After a normal taxi out and pre-takeoff checks, the pilot initiated takeoff on runway 19. The passengers stated that the airplane appeared to have accelerated and lifted off normally, however, as the airplane ascended through about 20 feet above the runway, the airplane wobbled to the left and right, and drifted slightly to the left. The pilot told the passengers that something did not feel right and that the airplane was not climbing. Subsequently, the pilot aborted the takeoff and landed uneventfully on the remaining runway.
During the taxi back to the terminal area, the pilot and his two passengers discussed various ideas why the airplane was not climbing, including potential weight and balance issues and center of gravity issues. The witnesses further reported that the pilot told them that he was going to try and takeoff alone in order to troubleshoot. Upon returning to the terminal area, the pilot had both passengers exit the airplane while the engine was still running and taxied back to runway 19.
The witnesses further stated that while observing the airplane takeoff a second time from runway 19, the takeoff roll seemed to be uneventful and the airplane lifted off about one-third down the runway and entered a nose high attitude. The witnesses said that the airplane seemed to wobble back and forth several times as it was ascending. One witness said that as the airplane was over the departure end of the runway, at an altitude of about 150 feet above the runway, it appeared to enter a right turn and bank. As the turn continued, the bank angle of the airplane increased beyond 90-degrees as it descended behind a hangar.
Additional witnesses located within the vicinity of the accident site reported that the airplane lifted off normally and entered a nose high attitude as if it was going to “stall.” The witnesses continued to watch the airplane continue its takeoff initial climb and noticed that it began to wobble back and forth prior to entering a right turn. Subsequently, witnesses observed the airplane descend into an airplane hangar. All witnesses reported that during the takeoff and accident sequence, the engine sounded normal and appeared to be producing power.
Examination of the accident site revealed the airplane impacted an enclosed airplane hangar about 924 feet northwest of runway 19, and about 4,166 feet from the approach end of the runway. Wreckage debris was located within about 350 feet of the main wreckage. All major structural components of the airplane were located within the wreckage debris path. The wreckage was transported to a secure location for further examination.
Truckee-Tahoe Airport (KTRK), California
Plane Crash Scene on Thursday, August 02, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
By Margaret Moran, Sierra Sun
TRUCKEE, Calif. — Additional laboratory testing on fuel sold to Truckee Tahoe Airport prior to a fatal single-engine plane crash earlier this month found it to be in compliance with international regulations, officials said Thursday.
World Fuels, Truckee Tahoe Airport’s Chevron distributor, recently had samples of its July 20 fuel shipment to the airport tested by Inspectorate, an independent laboratory in Torrance, Calif., after previous surveys by a separate company indicated the fuel had substandard octane levels.
The tests were made following the Aug. 2 plane crash at the airport that killed 66-year-old James R. Ungar of Yreka, Calif., the cause of which is still unknown. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident, said Ian Gregor, a spokesperson for the FAA, in a previous story.
Shortly after the accident, Truckee Tahoe Airport contacted World Fuels for a lab recommendation on where to have the July 20 fuel shipment tested, which was sold at the airport between July 20 and Aug. 2, and was referred to Saybolt Lp, in Martinez, Calif.
“Fuel sampling and testing after aircraft incidents is standard airport operating procedure,” according to press release by the Truckee Tahoe Airport District.
Initial tests of the 100 Low Lead fuel on Aug. 5 indicated a “slight discrepancy” in its octane content, according to the airport. Octane content needs to be at a 99.7 rating in order to meet international regulations for aviation gasoline — results of a small sample of the July 20 delivery showed the content to be at a 97 octane rating.
Due to the discrepancy, World Fuels replaced the airport’s fuel on Aug. 6 and Aug. 7.
“They (World Fuels) were still maintaining that they didn’t feel anything was wrong with the fuel,” said Kevin Smith, general manager of Truckee Tahoe Airport, at Thursday’s airport district board of directors meeting in Truckee.
World Fuels is federally regulated, so before it ships any fuel, the company tests it to ensure it’s in compliance with international specifications and attaches a certificate of analysis stating as such.
“They swapped it out to get us going, and also they wanted to run their own tests,” Smith said.
While Truckee Tahoe Airport waited for World Fuels to get its own tests results from Inspectorate, the airport decided to contact its customers.
“The airport had an obligation to inform our customers that the fuel purchased between July 20 and Aug. 2 could have potential octane discrepancy,” Smith said. “Potential, because World Fuels was saying we need to do additional testing.”
Approximately 130 customers had the fuel in their airplanes, Smith said, including Ungar’s Piper Comanche 250. The airport began to notify customers early Aug. 8, after Saybolt re-tested its fuel sample, confirming its Aug. 5 findings.
“You did a good job,” Jim Morrison, an airport board member, told Smith and other airport staff, a sentiment echoed by other board members.
But one meeting attendee disagreed.
“My concern, to be honest with you, is my plane was fueled with that, and my wife’s plane, and we weren’t contacted on Wednesday (Aug. 8) or on Thursday (Aug. 9),” said Rob Lober, of Crystal Bay. “Only until I called the airport on Thursday and was told, ‘Oh, yeah, you’re on the list, we’re getting to you.’ I think there was a lack of urgency on this, so, sorry, I don’t go for the kudos on job well done.”
After the meeting, Smith discussed the issue in an interview.
“There’s a lot of people that said we didn’t call them, but that’s because they had heard — we did e-blasts and got word out,” he said. “The idea is that you get word out so people will know and then we’ll either call them or they’ll call us. So, yeah, we didn’t call him, but we didn’t call him because he called us and we told him the information.”
Smith said airport staff learned many lessons from this experience, among which: how to best notify customers in the event of a fuel quality control or safety issue.
As for how initial tests by Saybolt showed a discrepancy with the fuel’s octane rating, Smith said it could have been caused by several factors, such as how the samples were stored and the lab’s testing protocols.
“We’re confident in our fuel here now and we’re confident in the quality control in the airport,” Smith said.
http://www.sierrasun.com
http://www.flyingdocs.org/index.php/members/46-trips/274-lmv-grieves-the-loss-of-jim-ungar-flying-doctor
Photos from Jim’s May 2012 LMV Trip to San Pedro de la Cueva, Sonora, Mexico
Pilot recounts 'miracle' crash landing: Thoughts of death lost out to survival instincts on approach - Piper PA-24-260, N8546P, Accident occurred August 16, 2012 in Holton, Kansas
PHIL ANDERSON/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL
Hours after crash-landing the plane he was piloting, Dave Osborne, of Berryton, holds a picture of the wrecked Piper Comanche. "It's a miracle," he said of surviving the crash.
August 24, 2012
By Phil Anderson
THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL
I still can’t get over how all three people in a small Piper Comanche airplane lived to tell about their harrowing crash landing last week near Holton.
A miracle?
Maybe. No, probably. No, definitely.
How else do you explain how the pilot, David F. Osborne, 58, of Berryton, was able to get the plane to land in complete darkness, on a rural gravel road, between a tree line on his right and a electrical poles and lines on his left, with virtually no margin for error?
If that doesn’t seem fantastic enough, consider the plane had lost all of its power about 5 minutes before the crash landing. And that its cockpit was filling up with smoke.
I spoke with Dave at his home Aug. 17 afternoon, about 18 hours after the incident. Stiff and sore, he looked exhausted. Yet he was still able to describe in detail what had happened the night before.
Osborne, who owns DF Osborne Construction, told me how he and his passengers, Steven L. Stutzman, 52, and Stephen M. Graff, 47, of Topeka, had taken off earlier Thursday afternoon from New Town, N.D., wrapping up a business trip.
The trio landed in Mitchell, S.D., home of the Corn Palace, where they were planning to refuel and get a bite to eat. Only they didn’t refuel, because no one was on duty at the airport. No big deal — the plane had enough fuel to get back to Topeka.
After dinner, the three took off again and headed for Topeka. With about 600 miles behind them, the plane began to lose power about 35 miles north of Topeka.
“We lost oil pressure,” Osborne recounted. “And the constant speed propeller began to run wild as the instrument panel lit up.
“Since the engine oil and propeller oil work together, the engine began to run rough, at which time I called Kansas City Center, the controlling agency for the Federal Aviation Administration in this area, and declared an emergency.”
At the same time, Osborne said, the instrument panel began to “light up like a Christmas tree.” And the cabin of the four-seat plane began to fill with smoke.
I’m not sure what I would have done had I been on board that plane. I’m guessing I would’ve started praying — hard.
Osborne said the thought of dying did cross his mind, knowing these situations don’t often work out for the best for the pilot or his passengers. But rather than panic, he put into practice all the training he’d received through the years.
“Since there were no airports within flying distance of the glide path of the airplane and remaining engine time,” he said, “I began to look for a road or another suitable place to land. However, by this time, the airplane was vibrating violently.”
Making matters worse, he said, “the skies were overcast and there was no moon. So, in the darkness, finding a suitable landing spot was nearly impossible.”
Osborne said he thought he saw the lights of an automobile below him, on a country road. With little speed or altitude left, he headed for that road.
“Getting closer to the road, I noticed that there were power poles close on one side and trees on the other, with insufficient room in between to land. I allowed the airplane to glide through the edge of the trees, which brought it to a rapid decrease in horizontal speed, followed by a rapid vertical decrease from the treetops to the edge of the road, where we finally came to a halt with a severe stop. We were fortunate there was not a fire.
“That’s about the size of it. There were three of us on board. The back-seat passenger was virtually unharmed, except for a few scrapes and bruises. The right-seat passenger suffered multiple fractures.
“It was the wildest ride of my life.”
The whole thing happened in five or 10 minutes, from the point where the plane lost power to when it crash-landed. With his life, and that of Stutzman and Graff’s, in his hands, Osborne kept his cool and made a number of instantaneous decisions, all of which proved to be the right ones.
“It’s a miracle,” he said. “It’s hard to explain. You have to make split-second judgment. You can’t see anything at night until you’re right there, even with your landing lights on.”
It hurt Osborne to move the next day. It hurt him to breathe. He had severe bruising in his chest area, but no broken bones.
Blessed to see the light of the next day, Osborne realized just how amazing it was that he and his passengers had all survived.
“I suppose after the initial shock of knowing you have an emergency, that’s probably where some of the training came in,” he said, “because I was able to continue to fly the airplane and make the best of a bad situation.”
Did he ever, even for a moment, think this might be it? That this could be the date he would meet his destiny?
“Well, the thought did occur to me that our chances of survival were not necessarily good,” he said. “But I needed to stay calm and do the things I’d been trained to do — to fly the airplane and do the very best I could possibly do to put that airplane down with the least amount of consequence to my passengers and myself.”
Then he added, “People usually don’t survive this type of plane crash.”
He insists planes are still “a very safe thing,” but “as with anything in life, there are dangers.”
He said he was thankful to God for the outcome and the chance to live another day.
“We’re very thankful to the Lord for sparing our lives,” he said. “God was gracious.”
Some have said that God is their co-pilot. After last week’s experience, Osborne would probably be the first to say “amen.”
Story and photo: http://cjonline.com
NTSB Identification: CEN12LA551
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, August 16, 2012 in Holton, KS
Aircraft: PIPER PA-24-260, registration: N8546P
Injuries: 2 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 August 16, 2012, at 2154 central daylight time, the pilot of a Piper PA-24-260, N8546P, made a forced landing on a rural road 3 miles south of Holton, Kansas. The pilot and a pilot-rated passenger were seriously injured. Another passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by N8546 PAPA, LLC, Tecumseh, Kansas, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 as a business flight. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The cross country flight originated in Tioga (KD60), North Dakota approximately 1930, and was en route to Topeka, Kansas (KFOE).
Preliminary information indicates the pilot reported to air traffic control that the propeller was overspeeding, there was smoke in the cockpit, the engine was losing power, and he couldn't maintain altitude. The pilot attempted to land on a rural road but clipped trees and impacted a ditch. There was no evidence of fire in flight.
Pilot error may have caused plane crash: Piper PA-34-200T Seneca II, Aviatour Air, RP-C4431, off Masbate, Philippines
The body of 22 year-old Kshitiz Chand (shown in photo) of the ill-fated plane that crashed on Aug. 20, 2012, off Masbate City, was retrieved by fishermen on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012.
PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK
Student pilot Kshitiz Chand may have panicked at the first
sign of engine trouble and caused him to mishandle the ill-fated Piper
Seneca aircraft that carried Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and his
aide, Senior Insp. June Paolo Abrazado.
According to
Cesar Lucero, special investigator 1 of the Civil Aviation Authority of
the Philippines (CAAP), Capt. Jessup Bahinting, the owner of the
aircraft and flying school Aviatours, would have faced a string of
charges had he survived the plane crash.
“Nepalese pilot Chand was
the one occupying the left side of the cockpit after Capt. Bahinting
was found seated on the right seat when he was retrieved by the
technical divers 180 feet beneath Masbate Sea,” Lucero said during a
weekly news forum in Quezon City on Friday.
Citing the initial
results of their probe, Lucero said that it seemed Bahinting was not the
one flying the plane since being a highly-skilled and experienced pilot
as he was, he could have switched on all the emergency buttons before
gliding the plane to safety.
The CAAP prober added that had
Bahinting been on the main pilot seat, he could have safely crash landed
into the sea and radioed for rescue.
“Malamang nag-panic na yung
Nepalese pilot dahil kulang pa sa experience [It seems the Nepalese
pilot panicked because he lacked experience],” he said.
Double compensation
Lucero
also disclosed that Bahinting could have made a double compensation
from his last flight because a student pilot pays P27,500 for every
flight hour on the main pilot seat which is on the left side of the
cockpit. Besides, Robredo paid for their air fare.
“Double
compensation yan. Kita ka na sa student pilot who is after to complete
the 10-hours required flights to familiarize the Piper Seneca, kita ka
pa kay Secretary Robredo na pasahero nya [It’s double compensation. He
earned from the student pilot who paid to complete his 10-hours required
flights to familiarize the Piper Seneca and from Secretary Robredo who
was a passenger],” Lucero pointed out.
Bahinting was chief executive officer of Aviatours, which operates a flying school and air taxi.
Lucero
said that Bahinting should not have allowed his co-pilot to occupy the
left seat of the plane because it is exclusively for the senior pilot if
the plane is being used as air taxi or during commercial flight.
He
said that Aviatours violated Civil Air Regulations part 8 that
prohibits any air taxi to allow student pilots to be on the pilot seat
whenever the aircraft is being used for commercial purposes.
Lucero
stressed that the same incident happened to another plane of Aviatours
that crashed in Camiguin province earlier this year. Transportation
Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas 2nd ordered the suspension of Aviatours but
the company blamed the incident on the prevailing weather condition at
that time.
Distress calls
According to Lucero, there were two distress calls made by the pilot, one received by the control tower at Cebu City minutes after they took off and the second was received by the control tower of Masbate airport.
Bahinting, who was also an aircraft mechanic, was known to have used second hand and reconditioned engines and plane parts.
Besides
Lucero, an inspection by the three-man Aircraft Accident Investigation
and Inquiry Board investigating team of the CAAP indicated that the
emergency location transmitter (ELT) of the Piper Seneca plane was in
the off position, explaining why it failed to activate upon the plane’s
impact off the waters of Masbate on August 18.
CAAP Director
General William Hotchkiss 3rd said that prior to the accident, the
plane’s ELT was functioning well when they conducted, regular routine
check.
An ELT is a plane device that automatically activates when a
plane encounters emergency landing or any disaster. CAAP last checked
the plane’s ELT on November 21, 2011 and is valid for operation within a
year.
Missing engine
The ELT was found with the plane wreckage on Wednesday but the right engine of the plane is yet to be recovered. The plane wreckage is now under tight security at Masbate airport.
“The engine is a key part of our investigation.
This will determine if indeed it was due to technical or mechanical
problem that caused it to fail,” Hotchkiss said.
Hotchkiss also
dismissed speculations that diluted aviation fuel was used by the plane
that caused the fatal crash. He said that premature conjectures like
this will not help CAAP’s investigation.
The Board is also
reconstructing the flight path of the ill-fated plane including
communication between control towers and the pilot. CAAP has also taken
the statements of key witnesses and will issue subpoena to others to
shed light on the incident.
Hotchkiss also said that CAAP will
look into the unsafe practices of aviation firms that enable them in the
past to continue operating in spite of getting involved in previous
plane accidents.
PNP probe
Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said also on Friday that it is ready to assist in the investigation.
Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo Jr., PNP spokesman, said that the police are ready to provide any kind of assistance to the CAAP.
Cerbo said that they will help in securing evidence and making available witness or witnesses in the accident.
“The PNP is ready to help in the investigation and we will ensure the available of Abrazado,” Cerbo told reporters in Camp Crame.
With a report from Anthony Vargas
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