14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, January 01, 2013 in Jasper, AL
Probable Cause Approval Date: 04/07/2015
Aircraft: PIPER PA-30, registration: N7700Y
Injuries: 3 Fatal.
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.
According to the airport manager, who was also a flight instructor, the student pilot had completed 10 hours of dual instruction in a single-engine airplane and completed three supervised solos. After the student pilot's third supervised solo, he discontinued his training with the airport manager and enrolled in a flight program at a community college. The airport manager did not know if the student pilot continued with his training. A review of the student pilot's records revealed that he had no entries or endorsements related to multiengine, night, or instrument flights.
Instrument meteorological conditions existed on the night of the accident. An airport security video showed the accident airplane taxiing to the active runway. Shortly thereafter, the airplane’s strobe lights can be seen reflecting off of the runway and then illuminating in the low clouds; the strobe lights then disappear from the camera’s view. A witness in the area reported hearing an airplane flying low and then the sound of a loud crash. The witness subsequently contacted the local authorities, and the airplane was located 1 mile from the airport in a heavily wooded area. The airplane’s owner reported that he had not given the student pilot permission to use the airplane. An examination of the airplane did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The student pilot’s poor judgment to take a multiengine airplane for which he did not have experience or permission to operate and depart into night instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in a loss of airplane control and impact with terrain.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On January 1, 2013, about 2240 central standard time, a twin-engine Piper PA-30, N7700Y, collided with terrain during an uncontrolled descent in Jasper, Alabama. The student pilot and two passengers were fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was unregistered and was owned by a private individual. The unauthorized flight was conducted in night, instrument meteorological conditions and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed from Walker County Airport-Bevill Field, Jasper, Alabama, at 2235.
Witnesses stated that, on the night of the accident, it was dark and raining. They heard an airplane flying very low and, shortly thereafter, they heard a loud crash. The witnesses called the local authorities and reported that the airplane had crashed.
According to the airport manager/instructor, the student pilot worked as a cleanup person at the airport in trade for flight lessons. The airport manager said that the student pilot completed 10 hours of dual instruction and a solo flight on April 27, 2012. He also said that the student pilot received his flight lessons in a Cessna C-172 airplane. The student pilot completed two other supervised solos before enrolling at the Wallace State Community College aviation program. He continued coming to the airport and doing odd jobs for various airplane owners in exchange for rides. The airport manager and had no knowledge of the student ever taking any other lessons.
The owner of the airplane stated that he knew the student pilot from seeing him around the airport. He went on to say that he never gave permission to the student pilot to fly his airplane. He said that the student pilot did not have a key for his airplane, and it was not kept locked. On the night of the accident, the owner was informed that his airplane was missing from the airport. When he arrived at the airport, he verified that his airplane was missing and reported that it was last seen on December 23, 2012.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the student pilot made no contact with air traffic control facilities prior to the accident, and there were no known radio transmissions.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
The pilot, age 17, held a student pilot certificate and reported a total of 6 hours of flight time in the last 6 months as of the exam dated February 28, 2012. The student pilot was issued a class 3 medical certificate with limitations for corrective lenses. Review of FAA records did not reveal any other certifications other than the student pilot certificate. A review of copies of the student pilot's logbook revealed that he had accumulated total of 15.5 flight hours as of September 16, 2012. The logbook showed that, on April 27, 2012, he was signed off on his first solo flight. On August 26, 2012, he was signed off for the private pilot knowledge test, but there are no records of him taking the test. The student pilot's logbook did not show any entries or endorsements related to multi-engine, night, or instrument flights.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The four-seat, low-wing airplane, serial number 30-785, was manufactured in 1965. It was powered by two Lycoming model IO-320-B1A 160-hp engines equipped with Hartzell HC-E2YL-2BS hubs and F7663-4 blades. Review of copies of maintenance logbook records showed an annual inspection was completed August 13, 2012, at a recorded airframe total time of 1369.5 hours and a total time of 5160.6 hours.
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
The recorded weather at the Walker County-Bevill Field, Jasper, Alabama (JFX) at an elevation of 483 feet, revealed at 2255, conditions were wind 350 degrees at 8 knots, cloud conditions broken at 400 feet above ground level, temperature 45 degrees Celsius (C); dew point 43 degrees C; altimeter 30.11 inches of mercury. A witness reported that there was fog and mist in the area at the time of the accident.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
The airplane was found in heavily wooded area about 1 mile southwest from JFX. The fuselage of the airplane came to rest on a course of 050 degrees magnetic. The cockpit and cabin were crushed and fragmented. The nose gear assembly was broken away from the fuselage and located along the debris path. The instrument panel and instruments were impact damaged. The empennage remained attached to the fuselage and was buckled. The vertical and horizontal stabilizers were still attached and buckled. The rudder and elevators remained attached to the flight surfaces at the attachment points, and the respective flight control cables were connected. The left and right aileron cables were broken in overstress, and the ends of the cables remained attached to their respective bellcranks. Flight control continuity was established from the flight controls to the flight control surfaces. The left and right fuel selectors were found in the on position.
The right wing was attached to the fuselage at the wing root, and the outboard section was fragmented throughout the debris path. The right engine was broken away from the wing nacelle and was impact damaged. The right main fuel tanks were breached, and the fuel caps were secured to the wing. The main landing gear assembly was broken away from the wing and was located on the debris path in the extended position.
The left wing was attached to the fuselage at the wing root, and the outboard section extending past the engine nacelle was fragmented throughout the debris path. The engine remained attached to the wing nacelle and was impact damaged. The left main fuel tanks were breached, and the fuel caps were secure. The left main landing gear was found in the extended position.
Examination of both engines revealed that the propellers remained attached to the hubs. Both propeller blade assemblies displayed "S" bending and scoring throughout the blade spans. There was evidence of propeller blade cuts on tree branches throughout the accident site. The branches measured approximately 4-inches in diameter and were found within the debris path severed cleanly in diagonal linear patterns. There were no discrepancies noted that would have precluded normal operation of both propeller blade assemblies. Both engines remained attached to their respective wings, and each showed crush damage. Examination of both engines did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
An autopsy was performed on the student pilot on January 3, 2013, by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, Huntsville, Alabama. The autopsy findings included blunt force injuries, and the report listed the specific injuries. The cause of death was reported as three of the listed injuries.
Forensic toxicology was performed on specimens from the pilot by the FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The toxicology report stated no ethanol was detected in the liver or the muscle, and no drugs were detected in the liver.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
A review of video footage retrieved from the airport security camera showed that, on the night of the accident, an airplane is seen taxiing on the ramp at a high rate of speed to the active runway. As the airplane departs the strobes lights are seen reflecting off of the runway and continue up into a low cloud ceiling. The strobes are then seen pulsating in the clouds before being lost from the camera's view.
Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 61.89(a) states, in part, that a student pilot may not act as pilot in command of an aircraft that is carrying a passenger, or when the flight cannot be made with visual reference to the surface, or in any manner contrary to any limitations placed in the pilot's logbook by an authorized instructor.
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, January 01, 2013 in Jasper, AL
Aircraft: PIPER PA-30, registration: N7700Y
Injuries: 3 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 January 1, 2013, about 2240 central standard time, a twin engine Piper PA-30, N7700Y, collided with terrain during an uncontrolled descent in Jasper, Alabama. The student pilot and two passengers were fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was unregistered, and is owned by a private individual. The unauthorized flight was conducted in night, instrument meteorological conditions and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed from Walker County Airport-Bevill Field, Jasper, Alabama, at 2235.
Witnesses stated that on the night of the accident, it was dark and raining. They heard the airplane flying very low and, shortly thereafter they heard a loud crash. The witnesses called 911 and reported that the airplane had crashed.
According to the airport manager/instructor, the pilot worked as a cleanup person at the airport in trade for flight lessons. The airport manager said that student pilot completed his first solo flight on April 27, 2012. He also said that the student pilot received his flight lessons in a single engine Cessna C-172 airplane. After the student pilot’s solo, he no longer received lessons from the airport manager.
The owner of the airplane stated that he knew the student pilot from his work at the airport. He went on to say that he never gave permission to the student pilot to fly his airplane. The owner was asked if he ever took the student pilot flying in his airplane and he responded “no.” He said that the student pilot did not have a key for his airplane and it was not typically locked. On the night of the accident, the owner was informed that his airplane was missing from the airport. When he arrived at the airport, he verified that his airplane was missing and reported that it was last seen on December 23, 2012.
According to preliminary information obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration, no air traffic control assistance and no radio transmissions were made by the pilot prior to the accident.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 7700Y Make/Model: PA30 Description: PA-30/39 Twin Comanche, Twin Comanche CR
Date: 01/02/2013 Time: 0440
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: JASPER State: AL Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE 3 PERSONS ON BOARD WERE
FATALLY INJURED, SUBJECT OF AN ALERT NOTICE, WRECKAGE LOCATED IN A WOODED
AREA 1 MILE FROM JASPER, AL
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 3
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 2 Fat: 2 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: BIRMINGHAM, AL (SO09) Entry date: 01/02/2013
Jordan Smith.
Source: Family photo/WBRC
Tommy Smith, Jordan's father, was serving in Afghanistan with the National Guard when Jordan passed away.
Source: WBRC
JASPER, AL (WBRC) - Monday evening, family and friends attended the visitation for 17-year-old Jordan Smith, one of three teens who perished in a plane crash last week near the Walker County airport.
Tommy Smith, Jordan's father, has only been in town for a few days. He's in the National Guard and was away in Afghanistan when he got the horrible news about his son.
It's still a lot he doesn't know about the accident. He says his only concern right now is dealing with having to bury his son.
"I'm holding strong for my wife and other two boys," Smith said.
Tommy Smith and his family are getting a lot of support during a very difficult time. Hundreds of people were there for Jordan's visitation.
"That has helped me and my wife get through this. Just people we don't even know come up to us told us how much they love Jordan."
"I wish people could see him for love he had, had such a big heart," family friend Savannah Gilbert said. "He was always such a happy kid, do anything for anybody wish people knew him for the happy person he was."
Authorities say Jordan was flying the plane that crashed last week in Walker County. He, along with 17-year-old Jordan Montgomery and 19-year-old Brandon Ary, were all killed.
Jordan was a student pilot and his family says flying was his passion.
"I flew with him on Father's Day and that was my Father's Day gift. He was good at what he did," Smith said.
According to FAA records the plane Jordan and his friends flew that night was not registered to fly. Jordan's father couldn't tell us anything about why his son got into that plane.
"I've not even had a chance to get into that…my wife hasn't been able to make funeral arrangements until I got here. That's what my main focus has been," Smith said.
Smith says he doesn't know how life will be without his son. He hopes to deal with the heartbreak by relying on the fond memories.
"I'm gonna remember Jordan the way he lived .This is just a step to bury the body but my son I will remember him how he lived."
Smith says his son was not a typical teen. He was very outgoing and responsible. He worked at Cafe Bills, a restaurant in Jasper.
Jordan was a junior at Meeks High School and a lot of his classmates were at the visitation tonight. His funeral was held after the visitation.
This photograph shows security measures at Auburn University Regional Airport on April 24, 2012, as witnessed by al.com staffer Brian McAlister. The sign offers instructions to gain "temporary" access to the airfield -- the only security measure between the public parking and the planes themselves.
(Brian McAlister | al.com)
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The facts about a fatal plane crash in Walker County late Tuesday night, in which three teens were killed, are trickling in Wednesday, but the situation has already raised questions regarding security protocols at small airports.
The little that is known at this time suggests that the teens did not have permission to use the aircraft, a Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche.
The aircraft, which authorities said was taken on a "joy ride," took off from the Walker County Airport. The plane crashed about 10:40 p.m., less than a mile from the airport, according to an FAA spokesperson.
The victims have been identified as Jordan Montgomery, 17, Jordan Smith, 17, and Brandon Ary, 19.
What is security like at small airports?
"The security at airports varies from okay, to good, to none," Robert Collins, president of the Aviation Crime Prevention Institute, told al.com Wednesday. "The only time the Federal Aviation Administration gets involved in security is if there are scheduled flights" at the airport.
Access to small airports is supposed to be restricted to tenants (people who have aircraft at the airport) according to Barry Franks, who spoke with al.com Wednesday and described security protocols at Shelby County Airport. Franks works airport services at the Calera-based airfield, and spoke specifically to security there -- not for other small airports.
"All of the airports have a secure gate around them, a fence all the way around airport property," Franks said. "For you to get on the property, you have to buzz at the gate, and we have to okay everyone who comes through the gate."
During business hours -- 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at the Shelby County Airport -- an airport staffer verifies the identity of people at the gate using a video camera system, and either lets them in or denies them. The first and last names of the tenants are recorded, Franks said.
But, at night, there is no attendant on duty to buzz tenants in. Access at that point is controlled by a gate code system.
"After hours, there is no access to the airport unless you're a tenant that has an aircraft here," Franks said. "At that point, you have to have your own code so you can get in the gate."
Once inside, tenants do not have their belongings checked, and they don't go through the extensive security checks that commercial passengers expect when they go to the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. During the day, video cameras help make sure that tenants are going where they're supposed to go. At night, there is added security at the Shelby County Airport because a Shelby County Sheriff's office substation is located on the property, Franks said, although that's not true of every airport.
The Transportation Safety Administration also requires airport employees to undergo airport security awareness training, which helps airport employees recognize suspicious behavior.
Rules require aircraft to be locked when not in use, but that does not always happen, according to Franks.
"One hundred percent of people, do they lock them? I couldn't tell you that," Franks said. "Probably not. But that is something that everybody is supposed to do."
Keys are required to start most aircraft, and the PA-30 Twin Comanche does require a key to operate, Franks said.
But could an unlicensed pilot fly a plane at a small airport? It could happen, Franks said, although he said airport staff would confront anyone who looks suspicious, or who they knew to be unlicensed.
"There's no way we could police that, and we don't have the authority to police that, really."
Aircraft thefts are very rare in the U.S., according to Robert Collins.
"It's rare that an airplane is stolen these days, and it's more rare that they are stolen for joy rides," Collins said. According to ACPI, two aircraft were stolen in 2012. "There are more aircraft burglaries," meaning thefts of avionic equipment from planes, than thefts of actual aircraft, according to Collins.
Fred Montgomery, the father of crash victim Jordan Montgomery, said Wednesday that he didn't think the plane that crashed late Tuesday was stolen.
"I don't think my son would steal a plane,'' he said. "If he was bad, I would tell you. But he's gone now."
Unauthorized joy rides aren't unheard of in Alabama's recent history. In 2005, for instance, a 14-year-old boy managed to gain access to the Fort Payne Municipal Airport, unhook the tie downs on a single-engine plane, take the keys he found on a clipboard and steal the plane for a 26-minute joy ride over Fort Payne. The boy crashed the plane trying to land, and was arrested.
Updated at 4:10 p.m. to include comments from Robert Collins, and a link to the al.com article identifying the victims of the Walker County crash. Updated at 3:45 p.m. to emphasize that Franks was speaking to security protocols only at Shelby County Airport, not at any other small airport.
Story and Photos: http://blog.al.com
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