OAKLAND
-- The Oakland Aviation Museum, at Oakland International Airport, will
be open for visitors from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, museum
officials announced.
The museum features exhibits about Bay Area
and naval aviation history. Features include a display of aircraft and
information about black Americans and woman in Aviation, Trans Ocean
Airlines, and Jimmy Doolittle and 8th Air Force.
A gift shop offers books, T-shirts, caps, coasters and models, and is open to the public.
The
Oakland Aviation Museum is located at old North Field at Oakland
Airport in the 1939 Boeing School of Aeronautics building at 8252
Earhart Road. It is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A West Texas man has pleaded guilty to shooting into a crop duster as the plane was spraying a neighbor's fields.
Prosecutors say 68-year-old James R. Cate of Talpa pleaded guilty Tuesday to making a threat to an aircraft. Cate, who appeared in federal court in Lubbock, faces up to five years in prison. No sentencing date was immediately set.
Investigators say Cate on Feb. 29 shot three rounds near the chemical-hauling crop duster in an effort to keep the plane away from his fields.
The last round Cate fired hit the propeller, went through the engine cowling and into the chemical hopper. The bullet broke into pieces as it entered the cockpit, going through the leg of the pants the pilot was wearing. The pilot wasn't hurt. http://www.themonitor.com
Ray
Conner’s mission is to sell airplanes — that is hundreds of Boeing
airplanes of all sizes. He has built airplanes, sold airplanes and
serviced airplanes, capping his 34-year career with Boeing by becoming
its president and CEO for commercial airplanes in June this year. The
man who lives and breathes aircraft talks to Khaleej Times on what
Boeing has up its sleeves.
Q: Emirates airline is ready to put
money — an estimated $36 billion — on the proposed 777x. President Tim
Clark recently went on record saying that the airline would love to
replace the entire 777 fleet with a new variant. How far have your talks
with prospective buyers for the 777x reached?
A: The talks
are very preliminary at this point. But we’re gathering information from
airlines today as to exactly what they are looking for in terms of
size. Size is really the most important thing for us, so that we can
start to focus our energy around the design characteristics of an
airplane of a particular size. That’s what we are trying to nail down
right now. Once we get that right in terms of the feedback from our
customers, then we know what the airplane will look like, and then get
down to the nuts and bolts of building the airplane.
The 777
is a proven aircraft. If the proposed 777x incorporates most of the
new-gen interior and performance features, don’t you think it might take
the sheen out of the Dreamliner?
No, it’s a completely
different market. When you look at the seat counts, that’s where you
start to see the difference. You have a family of the 787 starting with
the 787-8. Then you go to a stretched version, the 787-9, which would be
15 per cent longer. Then we would stretch again with a potentially new
airplane, the -10, which would be another 15 per cent on top of that, so
[that’s] a 30 per cent longer figure than the 787-8 plane.
Here,
the 777x will be much bigger than that. So if the -10 is around 323
seats, the 777x will be much larger than that, more like 300 yards,
which is about 365 seats in three class configurations. Maybe, even
bigger than that. So you might get closer to the 400-seat range. So we
always have customers for different models depending on the seat counts. Would it be right if I qualify the 787 as the ultimate flying machine?
Yes,
the 787 is the ultimate flying machine so far from Boeing. It’s a big
technological leap. This is a new-generation plane that benefits both
the airline and the passenger. The airplane has unmatched fuel
efficiency, burning 20 per cent less fuel than its conventional
counterparts. It is also a more productive asset for airlines because it
takes less maintenance. Is the Dreamliner meant for long-haul use like the ones most of your present customers are operating? A good aspect
of the 787 is it can do shorter hauls too and still be very efficient.
One of the reasons why you have bigger airplanes is that it’s the only
way we can make it economical — put lots of seats in them and fly that
way. But the operating cost of this airplane is a lot more economical.
You can have more seat counts and fly shorter distances, and still be
very profitable. And that is one of the great things about the operating
cost of this machine.
You have used composite material for
fuel efficiency on the 787. Will you consider using similar material in
other sought-after models?
It depends on — as we move forward
— what exactly we want to do, like things you could do particularly
with the wings. Obviously, the composite brings a lot more performance.
Composite wings are phenomenal in terms of their characteristics, in
terms of performance. And that will be very difficult to move away from;
if you’re gonna move away from it, it’ll have to be a move to get
something that gives you better performance. The fuselage is also
unique. It’s one single-piece round barrel so it takes away lots of the
typical joints and panels and those kinds of things. So to what extent
we can go in the material use would vary from airplane to airplane. How many orders are there now for the 787?
At
this point, 838 orders. Middle East customers include Etihad Airways,
Qatar Airways, Saudia, Gulf Air, Royal Jordanian and Oman. The order
book is quite big actually. So, yes, we are very excited about it.
There is talk that some Asian carriers are planning to reschedule the delivery program. Will it impact your project in any way?
No,
no. We’ll be fine. We have so much demand, to be honest with you. If we
have somebody that does want to move or something like that, we have
the ability to move other people there.
Some airline chiefs,
including Qatar Airways’ Akbar Al Baker, have talked about the
flexibility to switch models or variants. Is that true?
We
always have that kind of conversation with customers. What he was
talking about was a switch within the family. He has a number of
airplanes on order, like the 787. So if he has -8, and then -9 and -10
are available, he may want to switch to any of the variants. So if we
are given enough time and we have the capability to do that, we always
try to accommodate our customers. That’s what we do. Now, if you are
talking about switching from one model to another model, that’s a little
bit of a different story. Then it becomes a matter of whether or not I
can do it or [if the switch] makes sense.
A couple of months
ago, Mr Al Baker was talking about some “material defects” on the 787 GE
engine. Then the delivery came soon. Has that matter been sorted out?
Yes.
It is a well-known situation in the industry. That was just a one-time
occurrence. The situation is under control. GE addressed it right away
and, yes, it has been taken care of.
Is the 787-9 under active development?
Yes, it is scheduled to enter service in early 2014.
NTSB Identification: WPR13LA047 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation Accident occurred Tuesday, November 20, 2012 in San Rafael, CA Aircraft: CESSNA 210, registration: N3919Y Injuries: 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. 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 November 20, 2012, about 1200 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 210D, N3919Y, sustained substantial damage as a result of a forced landing following a loss of engine power during initial climb near San Rafael, California. The certified commercial pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the proposed cross-country flight, which was being operated in accordance with 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 as a personal flight, and a flight plan was not filed. The flight was originating from the Martin Ranch Airport (CA35), San Rafael at the time of the accident. It was destined for Chico, California.
In a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) about an hour after the accident, the pilot reported that after taking off and climbing to an altitude of about 400 to 600 feet above ground level, and without warning, the engine quit. The pilot stated that because of the low altitude he only had time to set up for a forced landing, which he performed to an open marsh area with the landing gear retracted. The pilot estimated that he had about 32 gallons of fuel on board at the time of the takeoff.
Postaccident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that as a result of the forced landing the airplane had sustained substantial damage to the right forward area of the fuselage.
In a telephone conversation with the NTSB IIC, a first responder reported that while walking toward the accident site and when he was about 75 yards from the wreckage, he detected a very strong odor of fuel. He further reported that when he was about 30 yards from the airplane he observed a distinct sheen on the surface of the water that surrounded the airplane.
The wreckage was recovered to a secure location for further examination.
The pilot was able to walk away from the plane and was treated by
paramedics at the scene for a cut on his forehead, Lt. Jamie Scardina
said.
Scardina said he is not authorized to release the pilot's name, but
San Rafael Fire Department Battalion Chief Jeff Buscher identified him
as Zack Kinsey.
Scardina said the pilot took off from San Rafael Airport and was at 700 feet when the single-engine plane experienced an unknown mechanical failure.
The pilot tried to land at San Rafael Airport but the plane lost
power and crashed belly down about a quarter-mile from the runway,
Scardina said.
The plane sustained moderate damage and the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident, Scardina said.
The crash was reported around 11 a.m. about a mile southeast of the
airport located at 400 Smith Ranch Road, Federal Aviation Administration
spokesman Ian Gregor said.
Buscher said the plane slid underneath high-tension electrical power
lines and came to rest near a wooden walkway that is about three feet
above the marsh.
One of the plane's wing tips was damaged when it hit the walkway, Buscher said.
The plane was still in the marsh this morning, Buscher said. --Bay City News Service http://sanrafael.patch.com
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 3919Y Make/Model: C210 Description: 210, T210, (Turbo)Centurion
Date: 11/20/2012 Time: 1900
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Minor Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Substantial
LOCATION
City: SAN RAFAEL State: CA Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT FORCE LANDED 1 MILE FROM THE AIRPORT, SAN RAFAEL, CA
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
# Crew: 1 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 1 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: OAKLAND, CA (WP27) Entry date: 11/21/2012
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. —
A plane made an emergency landing into a marsh this morning after its
pilot had trouble taking off from nearby San Rafael Airport, San Rafael
fire officials said.
The
pilot, the lone occupant of the plane, crashed just after 11 a.m. after
taking off from the airport located at 400 Smith Ranch Road, San Rafael
Fire Chief Chris Gray said.
The pilot walked away from the crash with only minor injuries and the plane sustained minor damage, Gray said.
Federal
Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said he did not
immediately have information that afternoon on the identity of the pilot
or the type of aircraft that crashed.
Authorities do not yet know what caused the plane to crash.
San
Rafael fire Battalion Chief Jeff Buscher said the pilot maneuvered a
controlled crash that landed the plane belly down into a marsh.
The aircraft then hit a ditch and spun around.
The
damaged plane was resting under power lines near the airport Tuesday
afternoon and fire crews were monitoring it for possible fuel spills,
Buscher said.
The pilot of a small
plane suffered only minor injuries after his aircraft apparently lost
power after takeoff at the San Rafael Airport on Tuesday morning,
landing in an isolated, marshy area, authorities said.
The man was walking to McInnis Parkway to meet police and firefighters, a police spokeswoman said.
"He (the pilot) may have minor injuries, but he was talking" to responders, said San Rafael police spokeswoman Margo Rohrbacher.
Rohrbacher
said the plane was "way out in the marshland. The pilot got out on his
own and is walking to McInnis Parkway to meet the responding unit."
The Marin County Sheriff's Office was handling the case, Rohrbacher said.
NTSB Identification: WPR13FA053 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation Accident occurred Saturday, November 17, 2012 in Bondurant, WY Aircraft: CESSNA 182D, registration: N61LN 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 November 17, 2012, about 1345 mountain standard time, a Cessna 182D, N61LN, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain south of Bondurant, Wyoming. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. The private pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was fatally injured. Visual and instrument meteorological conditions prevailed throughout the route of flight and a flight plan was not filed. The cross-country flight originated from Stevensville, Montana, about 1130 with an intended destination of Pinedale, Wyoming.
Information provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that the family of the pilot contacted the FAA on the evening of November 17, 2012, after they became concerned when the pilot had not arrived at his intended destination. The FAA subsequently issued an Alert Notification (ALNOT). The Civil Air Patrol, United States Air Force, and local law enforcement, commenced search and rescue operations throughout the area of the pilot's intended flight path. The wreckage was located by aerial units on the afternoon of November 24, 2012.
Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane impacted mountainous terrain approximately 35 miles west of the flights intended destination. The wreckage debris path was about 133 feet in length and oriented on a magnetic heading of about 200 degrees at an elevation of about 10,150 feet. All major structural components of the airplane were located within the debris path.
The wreckage will be recovered to a secure location for further examination.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 61LN Make/Model: C182 Description: 182, Skylane
Date: 11/17/2012 Time: 0000
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: BONDURANT State: WY Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE 1 PERSON ON BOARD WAS
FATALLY INJURED, SUBJECT OF AN ALERT NOTICE ISSUED 11/17/12, WRECKAGE
LOCATED 15 MILES FROM BONDURANT, WY
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: CASPER, WY (NM04) Entry date: 11/26/2012
Courtesy photo
Search crews looking for a missing plane in Wyoming are coping with deep snow and low clouds. The plane departed from the Stevensville Airport on Saturday.
JACKSON, Wyo. – Crews searching for a small plane missing for a week in the rugged terrain of the Upper Hoback found wreckage of the aircraft and the body of its pilot, Sublette County sheriff’s officials said Saturday.
The sheriff’s office said the only person on board, 63-year-old Miles McGinnis, died in the plane crash near the Lincoln and Sublette County line. He and his single-engine Cessna 182 were reported missing a week ago when it failed to arrive in Pinedale on the afternoon of Nov. 17.
McGinnis was flying to Wyoming from Stevensville, the Jackson Hole News and Guide reported.
An air crew from Teton County found the wreckage more than a mile from the location of the last radar contact with the plane, in the Wyoming Range, and a ground crew hiked to the crash site. The sheriff’s office said search crews had been in that area of the Upper Hoback earlier in the week but the debris field had been covered by snow, which melted during recent warmer temperatures.
Search and rescue teams from both counties had spent the past week searching the area for the La Barge pilot and his single-engine Cessna. The Sublette County Sheriff’s Office began distributing fliers Wednesday for help from hunters and hikers.
Authorities plan to recover the body Sunday. Federal transportation and aviation officials will investigate the crash.
PINEDALE, Wyo. — Officials have identified the pilot of a small plane that went missing Saturday over rugged terrain in western Wyoming.
The Sublette County Sheriff's Office says 63-year-old Myles McGinnis of LaBarge, Wyoming, was the only occupant of the Cessna 182 that left Stevensville, Montana, on Saturday. The plane was bound for Pinedale but disappeared from radar between Jackson and Bondurant.
Public Information Officer Steve Smith of the sheriff's office says two search planes and a helicopter were searching for the McGinnis plane on Tuesday. Temporary flight restrictions are in place over the search area.
More searchers on the ground are traveling by foot and by snow machine. Nearly two feet of new snow has fallen in the search area since Saturday afternoon.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 8000S Make/Model: C150 Description: 150, A150, Commuter, Aerobat
Date: 11/20/2012 Time: 1420
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: None Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Substantial
LOCATION
City: RED OAK State: IA Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT ON LANDING, WENT OFF THE RUNWAY INTO A FIELD, RED OAK, IA
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
# Crew: 1 Fat: 0 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: Pleasure Phase: Landing Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: DES MOINES, IA (CE01) Entry date: 11/21/2012
Photo courtesy Montgomery County Emergency Management Director Brian Hamman.
Photo courtesy Montgomery County Emergency Management Director Brian Hamman.
Photo courtesy Montgomery County Emergency Management Director Brian Hamman.
Emergency crews from the Red Oak Fire Department this (Tuesday)
morning responded to a reported airplane crash at the Red Oak Airport.
Emergency Manager Brian Hamman reports the fire department was
dispatched at around 8:30-a.m. Crews arriving on scene found a single engine aircraft that appeared
to have gone off the runway during landing and entered a bean field in
the middle of the airport complex. The pilot and single occupant of the
aircraft was outside the aircraft walking around. The unidentified pilot
was uninjured in the crash that involved a 1965 Fixed Wing
Single-Engine Cessna Model 150F registered to Call One Incorporated, out
of Clarinda.
Hamman says the airport was closed for a short period of time while
emergency crews were on the runway. At this time the scene has been
turned over to the FAA for investigation. The Red Oak Fire Dept was
assisted on scene by the Red Oak Police Dept, Montgomery County
Sheriff’s Office, Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency, City of
Red Oak officials and airport authorities.
Around 8:30 Tuesday morning, the Red Oak Fire Department responded to the Red Oak Airport for a reported plane crash.
Crews arrived on the scene and found a single engine aircraft which appeared to have gone off the runway during landing, and stopped in a bean field in the middle of the airport complex. The pilot was the only person on board, and was outside the aircraft walking around with no injuries.
The aircraft involved is a 1965 Cessna 150F, registered in Clarinda, Iowa.
The airport closed for a short time while emergency crews were on the runway. The scene was handed off to the FAA for investigation.
The Red Oak Fire Dept was assisted on scene by the Red Oak Police Dept, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency, City of Red Oak officials and airport authorities. http://www.wowt.com
(Red Oak) -- The pilot of an airplane escaped injury after a plane crash in Red Oak.
According to Montgomery County Emergency Management Coordinator Brian Hamman, the Red Oak Fire Department was dispatched to the scene of the crash at around 8:30 Tuesday morning. A single-engine aircraft had gone off the runway during landing at the Red Oak Airport, coming to rest in the middle of a beanfield in the middle of the airport complex. The pilot, who was the plane's sole occupant, has not been identified.
The airport was closed for a brief period while emergency crews were on the runway. The FAA is currently handling the investigation. Fire officials were assisted at the scene by Red Oak Police, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, the Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency, officials with the city of Red Oak, and airport authorities.
Despite the prominence of Robinson R22 helicopters in crash statistics - further highlighted by the recent death of a Queenstown pilot near Wanaka - the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA) has no specific safety concerns about the make of helicopter, providing it is used within its parameters.
Figures released by the CAA show the accident rate in R22 helicopters - about 20 accidents per 100,000 flying hours - is almost double the overall New Zealand-registered helicopter accident rate, estimated at just over 10 accidents per 100,000 flying hours.
CAA corporate communications manager Mike Richards said the higher-than-average accident rate for the R22 could be mostly accounted for by the large amount of training carried out in the machines, which meant they were often flown by inexperienced pilots or students.
"They have a higher proportion of learner drivers than bigger, more expensive, machines," Mr Richards said. "There are also occasions where they are used at, and in some instances beyond, their design limits."
CAA had "no particular safety concerns about this helicopter type when it is operated as intended by the manufacturer and within its design, maintenance and flight parameters".
There were 62 R22 accidents in New Zealand in the past 10 years.
The total number of accidents for all other helicopter makes over the same period was 122.
Fatalities occurred in nine of the 62 R22 accidents, five of which were in the Otago-Southland region (see fact box).
The most recent was on November 8, when Queenstown pilot Julian Kramer (52), also known as Julianne, died while flying a friend's R22 during a private flight over the Criffel Range.
Wanaka Helicopters owner Simon Spencer-Bower, regarded as the world's most experienced R22 pilot, shared the CAA's view.
He said because R22s were the lowest-cost helicopter to rent and fly, there were plenty in use, particularly by "low-houred" pilots.
"Most of the people who learn to fly around the world, probably 70% to 80%, are training in the Robinson helicopter," he said.
"They're not always crashing; it's just that there's a lot being used. I think now they're ... one of the most prolific helicopters in the world."
While the R22 had a big safety margin between its normal operations and its limits, he agreed that was sometimes compromised.
"Someone might exceed the limitations of the helicopter for whatever reason, but that's not unique to a Robbie."
Mr Spencer-Bower rated the R22 one of the most reliable makes of helicopter in the world in terms of its mechanics.
"I sit in them all day and I have over 40,000 hours in them and they've never let me down.
"They are a wonderfully reliable aircraft."
There are 154 R22s on the New Zealand register, making it the second-most-popular helicopter in the country behind its big brother, the R44, of which there are 170 registered.
Mr Richards said it could be a year before the final CAA report into the crash that killed Mr Kramer was complete.
Mounting toll Fatal Robinson R22 accidents in Otago-Southland: March 5, 2006: Wanaka pilot Keith McKenzie (29), of
Canada, and passenger American tourist Jonathan Stein (61),
killed in crash on Homestead Peak, near Wanaka.
November 1, 2008: Haast pilot Morgan Saxton (31)
killed during routine flight between Haast and Wanaka.
October 14, 2010: Bluff pilot and instructor
Jason Wright (29) and trainee pilot Avondale farmer Allan
Munro (67) killed in crash in Bluff Harbour.
April 27, 2011: Wanaka pilot and instructor Graham
Stott (31) and trainee pilot Marcus Hoogvliet (21), of
Queenstown, killed in crash at head of Arawhata River.
November 8, 2012: Queenstown pilot Julian Kramer (52)
killed in crash on Criffel Range, near Wanaka.
Story and photo: http://www.odt.co.nz
NTSB Identification: ERA13LA065 Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter Accident occurred Tuesday, November 20, 2012 in Roanoke, VA Aircraft: BEECH C90A, registration: N702DK Injuries: 4 Uninjured.
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 November 20, 2013, at 1030 eastern standard time, a Beech C90A, N702DK, was substantially damaged during a landing gear collapse after a precautionary landing at Roanoke Regional Airport (ROA), Roanoke, Virginia. The pilot, copilot, and the two passengers were uninjured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the air taxi flight conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 which departed Chesterfield County Airport (FCI), Richmond, Virginia, originally destined for Montgomery Executive Airport (BCB), Blacksburg, Virginia.
According to the pilot, after departing FCI for BCB, the flight was uneventful until the landing gear was lowered while on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern for runway 12 at BCB, when the pilot realized that the right main landing gear was not down and locked in position for landing. The landing gear annunciator panel indicated that both the nose landing gear and left main landing gear were in the proper position but, the right main landing gear "green light" was not illuminated.
The pilot and copilot then tested the light to ensure that it was operating properly and it illuminated when pressed. The landing gear "handle" was then moved to the up position with no change in the landing gear position indication. It was then was placed back into the "down" position with no change in indication. At this point the pilot decided to abort the landing.
Further attempts to extend the right main landing gear were unsuccessful and the pilot made a decision to divert to ROA since the runways were longer than the ones at FCI or BCB. After executing the manual gear extension checklist the flight crew made a low pass down runway 24 at ROA and the air traffic controller who was in the control tower advised that from his vantage point it appeared the landing gear appeared to be in the down position. The pilot then made a decision to land without flaps and to shutdown the right engine and feather the propeller to minimize damage should the right main landing collapse.
During the landing the touchdown was normal and no "abnormal feelings" were observed. After applying the brakes and adding reverse thrust on the operating engine the airplane slowed normally however as the airplane exited the runway the right main landing gear collapsed.
Post accident examination of the airplane revealed that the right main landing gear actuator support bracket was broken and had separated from its mounting position. Further examination revealed the presence of discoloration on its mounting surfaces around the fasteners on the outboard side of the support bracket which attached it to the airplane's structure.
The right main landing gear actuator support bracket, and portions of the right main landing gear assembly were retained by the NTSB for further examination.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 702DK Make/Model: BE9L Description: 90, A90 TO E90 KING AIR (T-44, VC-6)
Date: 11/20/2012 Time: 1530
Event Type: Incident Highest Injury: None Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Unknown
LOCATION
City: ROANOKE State: VA Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT ON LANDING RIGHT MAIN GEAR COLLAPSED, ROANOKE, VA
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
# Crew: 1 Fat: 0 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: Landing Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: RICHMOND, VA (EA21) Entry date: 11/21/2012
ROANOKE, Va.—
The Roanoke Regional Airport is playing catch up after an emergency landing forced the airport to close its runways today. A small plane's landing gear collapsed around 10:30 this morning.
Because of this malfunction, no planes left or landed at the airport for 3-hours leaving passengers and their families playing the waiting game; on this a very busy travel holiday.
Chad Anderson, a pilot who witnessed the landing said "It looked sluggish. That's when I heard emergency equipment and it was very evident something was wrong."
The private plane came from outside of Richmond, heading to Blacksburg. But, instead the pilot had to detour to Roanoke after learning there was trouble with his plane's landing gear.
Anderson says the pilot tried to turn and the gear snapped and the propeller hit the ground.
Initially, it looked like a quick clean up but it took longer than expected. A big crane and tow truck were called in to help remove the disabled plane and spilled fuel that closed the runways.
While crews worked outside, inside people waited. Roanoker James Gerstenmaier said he'd been waiting for over 2-hours for his son to arrive.
Trish Woodie from Lynchburg had been at the airport for a couple of hours leaving Lynchburg early in the morning to pick up family.
Jennifer Busch of Salem was hoping to make a connecting flight in Atlanta. Busch said "For someone who doesn't like to fly that much anyway, it makes extra anxiety."
________________________
A private King Air plane with four people on board crashed at the Roanoke Regional Airport Tuesday morning when its landing gear collapsed on touch down. No one on board was injured and there was no fire. The pilot had some warning before he landed that the landing gear might malfunction and radioed ahead to the tower. Emergency crews were standing by when the plane touched down.
Both runways at the Roanoke Regional Airport were closed for about three hours. The crash delayed two inbound flights and five outbound flights.
UPDATE: Roanoke Regional Airport says one runway should open within half an hour.
Roanoke Regional Airport's Sherry Wallace now says the Roanoke Regional Airport runways could be closed for another two hours because of a plane crash there this morning. A crane is on its way to remove a twin-engine King Air from the tarmac.
A private King Air plane with four people on board crashed at the Roanoke Regional Airport this morning when its landing gear collapsed on touch down. No one one on board was injured and there was no fire. The pilot had some warning before he landed and radioed ahead to the tower. All the runways at the Roanoke Regional Airport are temporarily closed.
The landing gear appears to have collapsed when a twin engine plane landed at Roanoke Regional Airport this morning. Emergency crews have responded. There are no details yet on injuries.
Emergency crews are responding to the Roanoke Regional Airport where a small plane may have had a problem with landing gear as it landed. The plane and emergency crews are on the runway right now.
By Times of Trenton Editorial Board on November 20, 2012 at 7:56 AM, updated November 20, 2012 at 7:57 AM
No sooner had Frontier Airlines established operations at Trenton-Mercer Airport, airline officials announced an expansion of its twice a week service to Orlando.
The airline, which launched its inaugural flight late last week from
the Ewing facility, also will add nonstop flights to Fort Lauderdale,
Fort Myers and Tampa, Fla., as well as New Orleans.
The welcome news eases the sting of Streamline Airlines’ decision to quit the airport and its service to Boston.
While Streamline catered primarily to business travelers and offered
just the one destination, Frontier’s focus is trained on leisure
travelers eager for a vacation or weekend of balmy weather away from the
cold clench of winter. It may prove to be the airline -– and airport —
of choice for families making a long-anticipated trip to one of the
Orlando-area theme parks as it draws some passengers from Atlantic City
or Lehigh Valley international airports.
And why not?
A Frontier Airlines official sees the airport as an undiscovered gem,
valuable by virtue of its accessibility from New York and Philadelphia
and spacious parking.
Passengers also will find value with low introductory fares until
Nov. 29 made possible partially by a lack of the traffic that’s often
apparent at other airports. Here, they won’t face the headaches of
parking congestion, long lines at check-in or often tardy takeoffs.
“When you spend 30 minutes on a plane waiting to take off in
Philadelphia, the pilots and flight attendants are being paid and the
airplane is burning fuel,” Daniel Shurz, Frontier’s senior vice
president for commercial, said in an interview with Times staffer Mike
Davis. “All that unproductive time frustrates customers and makes flying
out of those airports more expensive.”
Frontier’s new service also will open up the Mercer area to travelers
from Florida and Louisiana. The region has a lot to offer; according to
the state’s Division of Tourism and Travel, the county attracted more
than $1 billion in tourism dollars and travel spending in 2010.
The airline’s investment and quick service additions could be a
catalyst for other carriers. In the meantime, it certainly demonstrates
recognition of the region’s potential.
“The expansion of Frontier is one more step in a series of steps we will
take to develop this airport and the area as a whole,” Mercer County
Executive Brian Hughes said last week.
Operating for almost a century, Trenton-Mercer Airport continues to
act as an economic engine for the area with tax revenue and jobs it
provides.
We’re glad to see an expanded flight plan taking hold.
GE Aviation has
acquired locally based Morris Technologies and Rapid Quality
Manufacturing, precision manufacturing companies that make everything
from parts for unmanned military vehicles to hip replacement prototypes.
Terms were not disclosed.
The
two privately held companies employ about 130 people locally in
additive manufacturing, an automated process for creating rapid
prototypes and end-use production components.
Evendale-based GE
Aviation says the acquisition allows the jet engine maker to expand its
engineering and manufacturing capabilities to meet growing demand over
the next five years.
“Morris Technologies and Rapid Quality
Manufacturing are parts of our investment in emerging manufacturing
technologies,” Colleen Athans, vice president and general manager of the
Supply Chain Division at GE Aviation, said in a statement.
“Our
ability to develop state of the art manufacturing processes for emerging
materials and complex design geometry is critical to our future. We are
so fortunate to have Morris Technologies and Rapid Quality
Manufacturing just minutes from our headquarters. We know them well.”
Founded
by Cincinnati natives Greg Morris, Wendell Morris and Bill Noack in
1994, Morris Technologies in Sharonville and Rapid Quality Manufacturing
in West Chester have supplied parts to GE Aviation for several years.
The companies have made everything from lightweight parts for unmanned
aerial vehicles for the U.S. military to hip replacement prototypes for
the medical field.
The Sharonville and West Chester facilities will become part of GE Aviation’s global network of manufacturing operations.
In
a statement, GE Aviation said it already has contracted with the
companies to produce components for the best-selling LEAP jet engine
being developed by CFM International, a 50/50 joint company of GE and
Snecma (SAFRAN) of France. The LEAP engine, which is scheduled to enter
service in the middle of this decade on three different narrow-body
aircraft, has received more than 4,000 engine orders before the first
full engine has even gone to test.
Morris Technologies and Rapid Quality Manufacturing focus on the aerospace, energy, oil & gas, and medical industries.
NTSB Identification: ERA13LA060 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation Accident occurred Saturday, November 17, 2012 in White Plains, NY Aircraft: BEECH 35-B33, registration: N8519M Injuries: 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. 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 November 17, 2012, about 0005 eastern standard time, a Beechcraft B33, N8519M, operated by a private individual, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following loss of engine power while on approach to Westchester County Airport (HPN), White Plains, New York. The private pilot incurred minor injuries. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight that departed Rock Airport (9G1), Tarentum, Pennsylvania.
The pilot stated that while turning on to final for the instrument landing system approach to runway 34 at HPN, and while at 1000-1500 feet mean sea level, he noticed that he was above the glide path for a normal landing. The pilot said that he "performed a brief slip to lose altitude quicker." It was then that he pushed the propeller control forward and the engine made an unusual noise; a "roaring", as he described. The pilot declared an emergency on the common traffic advisory frequency. The pilot switched from the left fuel tank feed to the right fuel tank feed and deduced that he was not going to be able make a safe landing on the runway and performed the emergency checklist for an engine failure by memory; as he stated. The pilot lined up on a lighted parking lot and executed an emergency landing about one half of a nautical mile short of runway 34.
Examination of the airplane by Federal Aviation Administration inspectors revealed damage to the firewall, left wing root and wing spar. Although the left wing tank was punctured, no fuel pooling, and no leakage or fumes were present at the accident site. FAA inspectors were also able to drain 14 gallons of fuel from the right wing tank.
The airplane is equipped with a J. P. Instruments Fuel Scan 450, designed to record various parameters with the fuel system onboard the airplane. The FAA inspectors recovered the instrument from the airplane and forwarded it to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory, Washington, DC, for data download.
Photo Credit: John Stiloski
~
Beechcraft 35-B33 Debonair (N8519M) in a parking lot off King Street in Rye Brook around midnight Friday. / Courtesy Irwin Gary Marks
Judah Holstein did not see his life flash before his eyes late Friday when he realized his plane couldn’t make it to the Westchester County Airport.
Rather, the 43-year-old father of three, vice president of the Westchester Flying Club in Purchase, said his sole focus was landing his single-engine aircraft without taking out himself or any people or property on the ground.
“Once I recognized I was not going to be able to land safely at the airport, the parking lot was the safest option I found at the time,” Holstein said Monday. “That’s where I attempted to land. If not for that tree, it would have turned out a little better.”
Holstein, who has hundreds of hours of flight experience, radioed ahead to declare an emergency in the air.
After clipping a tree, the Beechcraft landed hard on its belly — with one wheel lying on the hardtop near the nose — in a corporate park’s lot on King Street, less than a mile south of the airport.
“The tree wasn’t real tall, probably 15 to 20 feet tall,” Holstein said Monday. “I didn’t see it until there wasn’t much I could do about it.”
He cut his eyebrow on the airplane’s sun visor and also suffered a minor back injury.
He was treated at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla. Monday, he returned to work as president of Miracom Computer Corp. in Eastchester.
His employees showered him with attention, amazed he escaped without much more than a scratch.
Holstein, who was interviewed by representatives for the Federal Aviation Administration, said he couldn’t share more specifics of the crash because the investigation is open.
The pilot was returning from a round-trip flight between Westchester County Airport and Rock Airport in Pittsburgh, a 560-nautical-mile trip.
He arrived at Rock at 6:22 p.m. and took off on the return flight at 9:53 p.m., according to FlightAware, a plane-tracking website.
He said he’d taken the route before, and had flown twice before that in the past week, to Washington, D.C. and Norwood, Mass.
“I just followed my training,” he said of the emergency landing. “My number one priority was making sure no one got hurt, or too hurt. A little cut in the eyebrow isn’t too bad, all things considered.”
Brian McCloskey, president of the Westchester Flying Club, said Holstein left a voice mail message with him immediately after landing.
“He was still in the parking lot and he sounded a little shaken up,” McCloskey said. “He said he had a cut on his forehead and that his back was a little sore.”
Holstein said he feels lucky. He expects he’ll fly again.
“I’m pretty pragmatic generally,” he said. “I’ve dealt with plenty of things in my life, so I’ll deal with this too.“
Tallahassee Regional Airport will have its formal opening today of a self-serve general aviation fuel station and the expanded north-south runway.
The fueling facility was a joint project with fixed-base operator Million Air, which provides services for private pilots. Aircraft owners and pilots now have a chance to reduce their fuel costs. The self-serve aviation gas is $1.15 per gallon less than the normal full-service price.
Pilots and aircraft owners are also urged to attend the 11 a.m. ceremony for a second reason — completion of the airport’s extended north-south runway, which is the airstrip closest to the general aviation facilities at TLH.
Grand Cayman was the center of all things aviation during a special Airport Executives Conference. The get-together was held at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort on Friday, 9 November and brought delegates from around the world to discuss matters ranging from certification to redevelopment, safety, construction and even hostage taking.
The event coincided with 60 years of land-based aviation in the Cayman Islands, noted Richard Arch of the Cayman Islands Airports Authority.
Jeremy Jackson, chief executive officer of the Cayman Islands Airports Authority, said it was the first such conference since his authority had come into being in 2004.
He told delegates that he and his colleagues had noted that other destinations and regional bodies held similar conferences over the years and in a meeting with his counterpart in Turks & Caicos Islands he realized that problems and issues were similar across different territories. Conferences such as this were therefore useful.
Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush welcomed delegates and said that the last 60 years were “a milestone”.
“I am more than pleased I can be part of such a celebration,” the premier said.
He noted that key members of the regional industry getting together would be beneficial not just to the Cayman Islands, but also the Caribbean. Mr. Bush said that commercial aviation had been a factor of development for many countries and regions and was the key not just to tourism but also the financial sector.
Delegates were also able to take advantage of Pirates Week festivities during the weekend which followed.
WICHITA, Kansas — A
bankruptcy judge sided Monday with a group of current Hawker Beechcraft
customers who balked at a move by the Kansas plane maker to immediately
sell off its inventory of discontinued Hawker 4000 jet aircraft at
substantial discounts as part of the company's bankruptcy proceedings.
Hawker
Beechcraft wants to sell the remaining inventory on "an expedited
basis," without bankruptcy court approval of each sale, because it
believes the value of the discontinued line of planes will continue to
decline as competitors introduce new aircraft and further dilute the
company's share in the business jet industry.
The Ad Hoc
Committee of Hawker 4000 Customers, which is comprised of current
customers, contended in a bankruptcy court filing Monday that the 20
aircraft in question normally retail at about $20 million apiece,
amounting to $400 million in assets. The group objects to Beechcraft
selling those planes for as little as a third of their retail value —
little more than the cost of the engines and avionics.
U.S.
Bankruptcy Judge Stuart Bernstein cited the committee's objection in
rejecting the company's request. The judge wrote that Hawker Beechcraft
failed to identity any imminent sales or how the failure to obtain an
expedited hearing on their motion will affect sales.
Hawker
Beechcraft filed for bankruptcy protection in May and talks to sell its
operations to China's Superior Aviation Beijing Co collapsed last month.
It has said it now plans to emerge from bankruptcy protection as a
slimmed down company in the first quarter of 2013.
The latest
legal dustup comes in the wake of a Thursday filing in which the company
sought court permission to renege on warranty and support obligations
related to the Hawker 4000 and Premier I and IA jets. On Friday Hawker
Beechcraft filed a related motion for an order authorizing it to sell
its remaining Hawker 4000 inventory without warranty or support
commitments.
The current customers also argued that Hawker
Beechcraft has insisted it intends to "act responsibly" in dealing with
them and has assured them it is committed to developing a service and
support solution for the planes they bought. They contend that if Hawker
Beechcraft does that the confidence it would generate in prospective
Hawker 4000 customers should help increase the value of the remaining
inventory of aircraft.
"This process will require a reasonable
amount of time, not an accelerated process," the committee argued in its
filing. "Thus, there is simply no reason to race to sell the Hawker
4000 inventory before those efforts play out."
NTSB Identification: ERA13FA064 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation Accident occurred Monday, November 19, 2012 in Canton, CT Aircraft: PIPER PA-28-180, registration: N8826J Injuries: 2 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 November 19, 2012, about 1825 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28-180, N8826J, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain near Canton, Connecticut, while on approach to Simsbury Airport (4B9), Simbury, Connecticut. The private pilot and passenger were fatally injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed from Heritage Field Airport (PTW), Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and was destined for 4B9. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
Review of preliminary air traffic control information provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that the pilot contacted Bradley Approach at 1810 and reported he was at 2,500 feet mean sea level (msl) and inbound to land at 4B9. Bradley Approach informed the pilot he was in radar contact and 30 miles west of Bradley International Airport (BDL), Windsor Locks, Connecticut. At 1814, the pilot stated he was at 2,500 feet and was told to report 4B9 in sight. The pilot’s last transmission to Bradley Approach was at 1822 when he acknowledged a previous traffic advisory was no longer a factor. No further transmissions were received from the flight, and radar contact was lost about 1 minute later at an altitude of 900 feet msl.
According to FAA records, the pilot held a private pilot certificate. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on April 20, 2011, at which time he reported 960 total hours of flight experience.
The accident site was located on a heavily wooded ridgeline approximately 6 miles southwest of 4B9. The initial impact point was identified by several damaged tree limbs, and a wreckage path about 75 feet in length, oriented approximately 070 degrees magnetic, extending through the impact area. Fragments of the airplane, including portions of the right wing, right main landing gear, and outboard portion of the left wing were located along the wreckage path. The engine remained attached to the fuselage, and one of the two propeller blades exhibited impact-related damage. One blade was bent aft about 45 degrees near the mid-span and had no leading edge gouging or chord-wise scratching. The other blade was under the engine and will be examined along with the engine after the aircraft is recovered.
Donald J. Derocher in the photo that serves as the ‘wallpaper’ on Bob Derocher’s phone.
Credit Courtesy of Bob Derocher
Donald J. Derocher used to say there was one thing that would keep him from flying.
“The day he stopped flying is the day there’ll be a hole in the sky,” was the phrase, his brother Bob said Wednesday.
It was Monday evening when the plane piloted by Donald J. Derocher, 73, crashed into the top of Onion Mountain in Canton, killing Derocher and wife Josephine, 74.
“Now I guess there’s a hole in the sky,” Bob Derocher said.
Bob Derocher said he is still shocked about the accident. His brother
was “meticulous” about keeping the plane up to date and running and had
numerous years' experience flying that route and others many times,
even at night.
“I really couldn’t believe it; he’s such a good pilot,” Bob Derocher said.
The Derocher brothers grew up with five siblings in the Hartford area.
Donald and Josephine later lived in Tolland for many years before
moving to Windsor Locks for a short time and then to Florida
approximately three years ago, Bob Derocher said.
The couple had two kids, including a daughter who now lives in Canton, according to Bob Derocher. In Florida, Donald Derocher love to disc jockey for senior centers.
He also played bass and loved country and western music, Bob Derocher
said.
Bob Derocher said his brother and sister-in-law shared a special bond.
“They were inseparable,” he said.
Compounding the family’s loss is the earlier death of the Derochers’
father, Donald A. Derocher, who passed away at age 96, just two days
before the son who shared his first name.
The family will proceed with the senior Donald A. Derocher’s funeral Friday but will first gather on Thanksgiving.
Bob Derocher said, “We’ll have a moment of silence in honor of Josephine, my brother Donald, and my Dad.”
Live Oak, FL - Dana Brindle is the facilities manager at the Suwannee County Airport. He knew the Derochers for years. "She was a good lady; really good lady," said Brindle. "Don was a good guy and he really looked after her quite a bit." Don was a member of the local Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 797 where fellow pilots met. "On the pancake breakfast [Don] would be the one that would cook up the eggs and flip the jacks." Friends say the couple were inseparable and Don spent a lot of his time volunteering at the EAA. He even helped construct the flag pole at the area chapter. "He's been right in there he'd pick up a hammer a paint brush whatever had to be done he was right there for them." It could be months before the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board figure out what went wrong on the couple's last flight. The following is a link to the EAA Chapter 797 website
CANTON, Conn. -- November 20, 2012 A husband and wife from Florida have been killed in a small plane crash in a wooded area in Connecticut. The couple was found dead inside the single-engine aircraft in Canton on Monday night. Canton police said the victims were 73-year-old Donald Derocher and 74-year-old Josephine Derocher. Police Chief Christopher Arciero said they were living in Live Oak, Fla., but were flying to Connecticut to visit family. Arciero said Federal Aviation Administration investigators are on the scene and a team from the National Transportation Safety Board is expected later Tuesday. A state police helicopter located the wreck on a ridge after the FAA notified Simsbury Airport that the plane, which was tracked by Bradley International Airport, had dropped from the radar. The plane was registered to Donald Derocher.
CANTON, Conn. (WTNH) -- It was a tragic end for a Florida couple who died in a small plane crash in Canton Monday night.
News 8 has learned that the two former Canton residents were on their way to a funeral when the plane went down.
The crash scene, in the woods near the Canton and Simsbury line, is the reason Lori Savino's parents never showed up while she waiting for them at the airport.
"It was devastating," said Mafalda Savino. "I couldn't say anything, they couldn't say anything, all we did was cry."
Savino is talking about her conversation with her son Steven and daughter-in-law Lori. She didn't want to show her face, but talked about the pain her loved ones are going through from the tragic crash.
Lori's parents, 73-year-old Donald Derocher and 74-year-old Josephine Derocher flew the plane from Florida with a stop in Pennsylvania, but never made it. As if that isn't heartbreaking enough, the couple was flying to CT to attend Mr. Derocher's 96-year-old father's funeral.
"I said 'oh my god' that was more than what I expected," Savino said. "Three people."
Canton police say Bradley International airport air traffic reported lost radar contact. About two hours later, a State Police helicopter then located the aircraft on top of the ridge known as Onion Mountain. About 20 minutes later, they were able to get to the site.
"Believe it or not they had to cut their way through the trees and brush to get there," said Captain Lawrence Terra, Canton PD.
When they did, they found the crashed plane, the couple, and their belongings.
"What comes next is gonna be hard, especially for my daughter-in-law," said Savino. "She's broken up, naturally."
The wreckage of a Piper PA-28-180 that crashed on Onion Mountain, killing two.
Photo Credit: John Fitts
Photo Credit: John Fitts
Photo Credit: John Fitts
Photo Credit: John Fitts
Photo Credit: John Fitts
Photo Credit: John Fitts
Photo Credit: John Fitts
Photo Credit: John Fitts
Photo Credit: John Fitts
Photo Credit: John Fitts
Police and firefighters are searching for a plane that went down on its way to Bradley International Airport.
Photo Credit: John Fitts
Canton
Police have identified the two victims of a small plane crash on Monday
night as Donald Derocher, 73, and Josephine Derocher, 74.
Police
said they were one-time Canton residents who were flying in from
out-of-state. The preliminary FAA report on the crash said the couple
lived in Live Oak, Florida.
The single-engine airplane plane
crashed on Onion Mountain in Canton, according to Canton police. The FAA
said the plane was a 1965 Piper, fixed-wing single-engine plane owned
by Donald Derocher, who was the pilot.
Canton police said the
incident was reported at approximately 8 p.m. after Bradley
International Airport Traffic Control reported they lost radar contact
with the plane, according to a Canton Police press release.
Aided
by a state helicopter Monday night, numerous crews from the town of
Canton Volunteer Fire and EMS Department searched the woods off of Red
Fox Run while crews in Simsbury were searching off Quorn Hunt Road.
The wreckage was found with the assistance of a state police helicopter
On
the Canton side, firefighters largely blazed a new path into the woods
and had to cut down some trees and navigate moss-covered rocks. Some old
logging roads cut through the area but much of the trail was through
unmarked areas. Police were also on scene.
"They actually had to
cut their way through the trees and brush," Canton Police Capt.
Lawrence Terra said. "They did a good job."
The plane was located and initially LifeStar was called but soon canceled.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident further.
The couple was found dead inside the single-engine aircraft in Canton on Monday night.
Canton
police said the victims were 73-year-old Donald Derocher and
74-year-old Josephine Derocher. Police Chief Christopher Arciero said
they were living in Live Oak, Fla., but were flying to Connecticut to
visit family.
Arciero said Federal Aviation Administration
investigators are on the scene and a team from the National
Transportation Safety Board is expected later Tuesday.
A state
police helicopter located the wreck on a ridge after the FAA notified
Simsbury Airport that the plane, which was tracked by Bradley
International Airport, had dropped from the radar.
The plane was registered to Donald Derocher.
CANTON -- A pilot and passenger were killed in a small plane crash in a wooded area in Canton late Monday. A
man and a woman were found on board the plane which crashed into a
wooded area known as Onion Mountain. Their names have not been released,
but the two were the only passengers, according to a Federal Aviation
Administration report.
The plane, a 1965 PA-28 Cherokee, is registered to Donald J. Derocher of Live Oak, Fla., according to the FAA.
An FAA spokesman said that the plane was headed to Simsbury Airport, but it's departure location was unclear.
A team from the National Transportation Safety Board will begin its investigation later today, the spokesman said.
The
FAA notified Simsbury Airport that the plane, which was tracked by
Bradley International Airport, had dropped from the radar.
Searchers
combing an area between Morris and Simsbury late Monday located the
wreckage of a small airplane on a ridge in Canton shortly after 11 p.m.
Firefighters
said the plane was found in a rugged area of Canton, which borders
Simsbury to the west. Rescuers early today were trying to reach the
site.
Two Life Star helicopters were dispatched to the scene, but were canceled.
Matthew J. Kelly, manager of Waterbury-Oxford Airport in Oxford, disputed reports that the plane originated from there.
"It had nothing to do with it," said Kelly, who was in Canton helping officials at the crash scene.
He said the plane may have left an airport south of Oxford, but he did not know which one.
He
also did not know where the plane was supposed to land, but there were
reports it was headed to a small airfield in Simsbury called Simsbury
Airport.
Lt. J. Paul Vance, state police spokesman, said state
police were contacted by officials at Bradley International Airport in
Windsor Locks shortly after 8 p.m. to report an aircraft had disappeared
from radar.
Vance said state police initially searched a grid between Morris, Simsbury and Bradley Airport.
"It's like looking for a needle in a haystack," he said.
He said there were no reports of a crash or fire to state police anywhere in the grid area.
Trooper
1, the state police helicopter, spotted the plane on the ridge in
Canton around 11 p.m., and was shining its bright spotlight on the crash
scene to help rescuers. CANTON, CONNECTICUT -- A pilot and passenger were killed in a small plane crash in a wooded area in Canton.
The single-engine plane with a man and a woman on board was found late Monday night. Their identities have not been released.
The Federal Aviation Administration notified Simsbury Airport at that the plane, which was tracked by Bradley International Airport, had dropped from the radar. The plane had left from Waterbury-Oxford airport around
7 p.m. It was located by State Police helicopter on a ridge around
10:30 p.m. near the Canton/Simsbury town line. It took first responders
at least a half-hour to reach the wreckage in the deep woods.
The plane struck the hillside of Onion Mountain, a 900-foot ridge of trap rock created by lava flows.
State
Police troopers, some using the department's helicopter, searched the
area surrounding Morris. No explosions or fires in the area were
reported.
Mike Safranek, assistant administrator of Danbury
Municipal Airport, said the plane was reported missing when it dropped
off the radar system operated by Bradley International Airport.
Safranek
added that members of the Civil Air Patrol are often called upon as
part of their mission to confirm or deny a downed aircraft. Members of
the patrol use either visual confirmation or search for a signal from
the plane's emergency locator transponder.
Simsbury airport is a
non-towered public use airport, maintained and operated by the nonprofit
Simsbury Flying Club for members and transient general aviation
aircraft. Its single runway is about 2,200 feet long. Oxford airport,
operated by the state of Connecticut, has a 5,800 runway and has a
control tower.
The plane crashed in the Simsbury-owned Onion
Mountain Park. The heavily-wooded 190-acre park has hiking trails and a
steep ridge.The park is located several miles south of Simsbury airport.
The
rust-colored ridges are common through central Connecticut and
Massachusetts. According to the state Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection, the steep ridges were formed by broad, liquid
outpourings of lava millions of years ago. Three major lava flows
covered the central Connecticut valley floor. Each one cooled and
hardened into traprock (also called basalt) and was gradually covered by
sand and mud eroded from the surrounding hills.
CANTON ——
Two people were killed Monday night when their small plane crashed on a ridge in Canton.
The aircraft was headed to Simsbury Airport Monday evening when air traffic controllers at Bradley International Airport reported that it dropped off radar. A search began and about 10:20 p.m. state troopers in a helicopter spotted the aircraft on Onion Mountain in Canton.
About 20 minutes later rescuers on the ground were able to reach the aircraft, Canton police said. Both occupants were dead, police said. Police did not release the names of those aboard the aircraft.
The plane was headed from Waterbury-Oxford Airport when it struck the ridge to Simsbury when it was reported overdue.
Canton police said the Federal Aviation Administration is now investigating the accident.
Onion Mountain is a ridge just east of Gracey Road and Sextons Hollow Road and rises about 800 feet. It is 7 to 8 miles southwest of Simsbury Airport.
Bill Thomas, the manager of Simsbury Airport, said he received a phone call about 7 p.m. from air traffic control indicating that an airplane was approaching the airport, but that the plane had been lost on the radar.
SIMSBURY, CT (WFSB) -
A small plane bound for the Simsbury Airport has been located, crashed into a ridge on the Canton/Simsbury town line killing two people. Rescue crews located the plane after searching for more than two hours in the heavily wooded area near Onion Mountain State Park. The aircraft was eventually spotted with the help of Trooper-1, a state police helicopter, at about 10:45 p.m.
According to officials from the FAA, the small plane was being tracked by Bradley International Airport air traffic control and dropped off the radar before reaching the airport.
Both Lifestar helicopters were dispatched to the scene and subsequently canceled a short time after. Two people were killed in a
plane crash Monday night after their airplane went missing off the radar
about 8 miles outside of Simsbury Airport.
The F.A.A. reached out to the Simsbury Airport around 7:30 p.m. to
report that a plane headed towards Bradley International Airport had gone missing from
the radar. CT State Police initially began searching for the plane in
an area between Morris and Windsor Locks and located the wreckage just
before 10:30 p.m.
A State Police helicopter located the plane on top of a ridge off
Gracey Rd. known as Onion Mountain in Canton. It took emergency crew
about 20 minutes to reach the plane because it is in a heavily wooded
area and is difficult to reach.
Initial reports are that the victims
are a male and female. Police are not releasing their ID's right now
but officials also say the plane was registered in Florida.
