Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche, N830SS: Accident occurred June 22, 2013 in Idaho Falls, Idaho

http://registry.faa.gov/N830SS 

NTSB Identification: WPR13FA281 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, June 22, 2013 in Idaho Falls, ID
Aircraft: PIPER PA-30, registration: N830SS
Injuries: 2 Fatal,1 Serious.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators 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 June 22, 2013, about 1335 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-30, N830SS, collided with the ground shortly after takeoff from runway 17 at the Idaho Falls Regional Airport (IDA), Idaho Falls, Idaho. The airplane was registered and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a cross-country personal flight. The private pilot and one passenger were fatally injured and one passenger was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed. The flight was originating at the time of the accident, with an intended destination of Jackson Hole Airport, Jackson, Wyoming.

In a written statement, a controller from the Air Traffic Control Tower reported that after clearing the accident airplane for takeoff, she watched as the airplane started it’s takeoff roll and subsequent climb about 3,000 feet down the runway. The controller stated that she turned her attention to inbound traffic and shortly after heard an airplane’s engine revving up. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw dust in the air in the area of the accident site.

Witnesses adjacent to the accident site reported observing the airplane depart runway 17 and that it sounded like the engines were “surging and popping.” Witnesses stated that the airplane climbed to an altitude of about 150 feet above ground level, and turned to the right, in a steep turn toward a small open grass lot. Subsequently, the airplane impacted terrain near an office building and about 1,000 feet southeast of the terminal building at IDA.





The 13-year-old boy who was rescued from the wreckage of a Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche plane on Saturday is recovering.

Joelyn Hansen, public information officer for the Idaho Falls Police Department, said the boy was listed in good condition on Tuesday.

His improvement is the only bright spot in the tragic plane crash that took place south of the Idaho Falls Regional Airport on Saturday. Both Idaho Falls resident Mark J. Schell, 64, and Rexburg resident Brian W. Hymas, 43, died at the scene.

Idaho Falls Police Department patrol officer Mark Burnell, who is stationed at the airport, was one of the first emergency responders on scene. He was able to hear the teen talking from inside the passenger compartment of the plane, and watched as emergency crews successfully extricated him later.

“It was a very good moment in a bad situation,” Burnell said, adding that he was relieved when the boy was pulled to safety. “It was something to hang onto.”

The accident occurred shortly after the plane left the Idaho Falls airport around 1:30 p.m.

Teofilo Romero was returning to his desk at Center Partners on International Way at that time, when he noticed the airplane flying low. “It sounded like the engines sputtered. I heard at least three ‘pops,’” he said.

From where Romero was standing, it appeared that the pilot was trying to gain altitude. The plane appeared to be traveling on a direct line toward Romero and the call center at 1755 International Way.

“He looked like he was trying to climb, I could see the plane’s under belly,” Romero said.

Seconds later, the plane nose-dived.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be good from there,” he said.

The plane slammed into a vacant lot across the street from the call center.

“It was so eerie. You could hear the sound of crunching metal (but) it didn’t really make any noise ... just a poof,” Romero said.

There was no explosion. No fireball. No plume of thick, acrid smoke.

“My co-worker called 911 (and) I ran over there to see what I could do to help,” Romero said. “I couldn’t see anyone (in the plane). The plane was so mangled I couldn’t tell where the cockpit was ... or the cabin.”

One of the engines — attached to a wing pointing up from the wreckage — appeared to be leaking fuel. Romero said he heard what sounded like the popping of electrical components within the plane, then the engine caught fire.

Others also rushed to the crash site. Someone brought a fire extinguisher, Romero said, and quickly doused the engine fire.

“Initially, when I got there, I didn’t hear anything,” he said.

That soon changed.

Romero heard someone calling out. It was the voice of the 13-year-old boy who survived the crash.

“He talked to my co-worker,” Romero said. “She asked him, ‘What’s your name?’ He said, ‘Jacob.’ He was calling for his father. He kept saying: ‘I’m over here. I’m over here. I’m over here.’”

Romero went to the back of the plane and peered into the twisted metal and debris that once had been a cabin.

“I looked to see it (the voice) was coming from. I could see someone pushing on a piece of the plane,” Romero said.

Burnell said some witnesses reported the crash to him, and he quickly responded to the scene a few hundred yards from the airport.

Transportation Security Administration officer Mitchell Barney and several civilians were already there.

Although the engine fire had been extinguished, Burnell said he was still concerned about another fire starting.

“Airplane fuel was running down both wings,” he said. “It was running onto dry grass so all we needed was a spark to create a bigger problem.”

Burnell, a former firefighter volunteer who has experience responding to plane crashes, said he kept vehicles and people out of the area until emergency crews arrived.

“I knew we were not going to get the survivor out of the small area quickly,” he said, adding that it was obvious that the teen would have to be extricated and he didn’t want to see any other problems arise in the meantime.

Emergency crews arrived on scene a short time later, which made things easier, Burnell said.

“We had the right people on scene with the right gear,” he said, adding that everyone worked together to help the teen.

It was quickly apparent that the boy was the only survivor, but his life gave the responders hope.

“As every firefighter (and responder) will witness, you’re energized by the thought that there is the potential to save a life here,” he said.

Burnell is not sure how long it took them to reach the boy, but he was grateful that they were able to get him out safely and in time. The teen was transported to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in stable condition on Saturday.

“It’s a classic example of everybody going about what needed to be done,” Burnell said, adding that all of the responders, including some of the civilians, worked together to help the teen.

“I couldn’t be prouder ... ” he said.

Although they were able to rescue the boy, Burnell said he hurts for the families of the two men who didn’t survive.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to them,” he said.

An investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board began combing the crash scene Sunday morning for evidence of what caused the plane to go down. Efforts to contact the investigator failed on Tuesday.

Romero speculated that before the plane went down, the pilot was trying to avoid crashing into the call center and the nearby homes.

“If that’s what he was doing, I think he was a hero,” Romero said.