National Transportation Safety Board - Docket And Docket Items: http://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms
National Transportation Safety Board - Aviation Accident Data Summary: http://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
NTSB Identification: CEN14FA077
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, December 08, 2013 in Los Alamos, NM
Probable Cause Approval Date: 11/17/2014
Aircraft: AVIAT AIRCRAFT INC A-1C-200, registration: N80MF
Injuries: 2 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.
The pilot and passenger were on a cross-country flight and stopped at an en route airport. After waiting for weather to improve, they took off to the west. A witness reported seeing the airplane depart the runway and then enter a steep left turn, before descending and impacting terrain. The airport directory noted that all landings are to the west, and all takeoffs to the east. A commuter pilot reported that the accident pilot asked him if east takeoffs and west landings were mandatory. The commuter pilot responded that he believed it was but that the commuter crew had permission from the airport manager to depart to the west, if needed. The commuter pilot added that if they departed to the west, they would make a turn before the terminal building. The automated weather reporting station, located on the field recorded about 5 minutes after the accident, the wind from 270 degrees at 12 knots, gusting to 23 knots. An examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact abnormality with the engine or airframe.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot’s loss of airplane control while maneuvering after takeoff in gusty wind conditions.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On December 8, 2013 about 0810 mountain standard time (MST), an Aviat Aircraft Inc., "Husky", A-1C-200 airplane, N80MF, impacted terrain near the Los Alamos County Airport (KLAM), Los Alamos, New Mexico. The private pilot rated pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to Blackhawk Leasing LLC, Harmony, Minnesota, and operated by a private individual. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 cross-country flight. The flight was originating from KLAM at the time of the accident.
The flight originally departed from Harmony, Minnesota, three days earlier, with a planned stop in Iowa, to pick up the passenger, before going to Denver, and then to their final destination of Chandler, Arizona. The flight landed at KLAM due to poor weather en route.
Refueling records indicated that the airplane was filled with 32 gallons of fuel on the afternoon of December 7, 2013.
The crew of a small commuter plane reported talking to the accident pilot and passenger the morning of the accident flight. The commuter crew reported arrived on the morning of December 8, and that the runway had ½ to 1 inch of snow on it. While getting ready for their departure, the commuter pilot recalled that accident pilot asked via radio, if the east takeoff and west landings were mandatory. The commuter pilot responded that he believed it was, but that the commuter crew had permission from the airport manager to depart west, if needed. The commuter pilot added if they departed to the west, they would make a turn before the terminal building. The accident pilot responded, "that makes sense, thank you". Shortly after their departure, the commuter crew heard the accident pilot announce his taxi on runway 27.
There were no reported distress calls from the pilot.
Two witnesses reported seeing the airplane. The first witness reported seeing the airplane appear out of whirling snow and then make a 180-degree turn. The other witness reported seeing the airplane about 100 feet in the air; it then made a steep left bank turn before disappearing from sight.
PILOT INFORMATION
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single engine land. The pilot's last class 3 medical exam was conducted on January 7, 2011, and had the limitation "must have available glasses for near vision." At the time of the exam, the pilot reported his flight experience as 500 total and 100 hours in last six months.
The passenger held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single engine land. The passenger's last class 3 medical exam was conducted on June 5, 2013. At the time of the exam, the passenger reported his flight experience as 151 total hours and 2.5 hours in last six months.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
Aviat Husky is a tandem two-seat, high wing airplane. The structure is steel tube frame and fabric covered fuselage. The airplane was powered by 200 horsepower (hp) Lycoming IO-360-A1D6 reciprocating engine, driving an MT, 3 bladed constant speed propeller. Flight controls are installed at each seat. The accident airplane was manufactured in 2012, and received its standard airworthiness certificate on July 2, 2012. A review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records revealed the pilot purchased the airplane on July 2, 2012.
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
At 0815, the automated weather observation facility located at KLAM, reported wind from 270 degrees at 12 knots, gusting to 23 knots, visibility 10 miles, a clear sky, temperature 26 Fahrenheit (F), dew point 14 F, and a barometric pressure of 29.78 inches of mercury.
AIRPORT INFORMATION
The Los Alamos (KLAM) airport is a public-use, non-towered airport. Pilots are to use the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF), for communications. The airport has a single 6,000 feet by 120 feet runway aligned east-west (09 and 27). The facility directory notes all landings are to the west and all takeoffs to the east. The airport also has a restricted area (R-5101) on the south side that is continually active from the surface to 12,000 feet mean sea level; as a result, west go-arounds or missed approaches are to turn right, to avoid the restricted area.
WRECKAGE and IMPACT INFORMATION
The accident site was located about 900 feet south of the airport's runway, in a lightly wooded ravine. The wreckage area consisted of several impact/ground scars about 25 feet in front of the wreckage. The airplane came to rest in an upright position, turned about 180-degrees and facing the first impact point; on a westerly heading. A post-crash fire consumed much of the airplane. Control continuity was established at each control surface, except the left side flap cable was broken. The broken section was removed for further examination. Each blade from 3-bladed wood propeller was splintered and separated before the propeller hub. After initial documentation and examination of the wreckage site, the engine was removed for examination at a nearby facility.
MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
The Office of the Medical Investigator, Albuquerque, New Mexico conducted an autopsy on the pilot and pilot rated passenger. The cause of death on both occupants was determined to be, "blunt force injuries".
The FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, conducted toxicologically testing on the on both occupants. The specimens were negative for carbon monoxide and ethanol. The test on the pilot was positive for diphenhydramine in the urine and blood (0.198 ug/ml, ug/g).
Diphenhydramine is a nonprescription antihistamine and is generally used to treat the symptoms of allergies and the common cold. The drug contains a warning that is may impair mental and/or physical ability required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks (e.g. driving, operating heavy machinery). Diphenhydramine is marketed under the trade name Benadryl.
TEST and RESEARCH
The section of broken flap cable was sent the NTSB Materials Lab, in Washington, D.C. for examination. The exam found the fractured ends were frayed; some of the cable wires exhibited necking and other wires a slant facture. The broken cable was consistent with a tensile over stress fracture, under a high strain rate.
The engine was removed from the airframe wreckage and examined off site. The engine had sustained both impact and fire damage. Both magnetos were thermally damaged along with the fuel pump, and could not be examined. The engine was rotated by hand; a thumb compression test was done on each cylinder. Engine and valve train continuity was confirmed. Each cylinder was borescoped; no preimpact abnormalities were no found with the engine that would have prevented normal operation.
http://registry.faa.gov/N80MF
NTSB Identification: CEN14FA077
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, December 08, 2013 in Los Alamos, NM
Aircraft: AVIAT AIRCRAFT INC A-1C-200, registration: N80MF
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 December 8, 2013 about 0810 mountain standard time (MDT), an Aviat Aircraft Inc., Husky, A-1C-200 airplane, N80MF, impacted terrain near the Los Alamos County Airport (KLAM), Los Alamos, New Mexico. The private rated pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to Blackhawk Leasing LLC, Harmony, Minnesota, and operated by a private individual. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 cross-country flight. The flight was originating from KLAM at the time of the accident.
Two witnesses reported seeing the airplane. The first witness reported seeing the airplane appear out of whirling snow and then make a 180-degree turn. The second witness reported he saw the airplane about 100 feet in the air and then make a steep left bank turn before disappearing from sight.
The accident site was located about 900 feet south of the airport's runway, in a lightly wooded ravine. The wreckage area consisted of several impact/ground scars about 25 feet in front of the wreckage. The airplane came to rest in an upright position, turned about 180-degrees and facing the first impact point on a westerly heading. A post-crash fire consumed much of the airplane. After initial documentation and examination of the wreckage site, the engine was removed for examination at a nearby facility.
The Los Alamos (KLAM) airport is a non-towered airport. It has a single 6,000 feet by 120 feet, east-west (09 and 27) runway. It also notes that all landings are to the west and all takeoffs to the east. The airport also has a restricted area (R-5101) on the south side; west go-arounds or missed approaches are to turn right, to avoid the restricted area.
Obituary
Memorials can be made to the family as they are planning to establish a scholarship fund in his name.
Kevin John Burrs was born November 15, 1961, in Belmond, Iowa, the son of John and Sue (Ayers) Burrs. He grew up in the Corwith area and graduated from the Corwith-Wesley High School in 1980. After his schooling he worked for Corwith Community Co-op from 1981-1986.
On September 25, 1982, Kevin was united in marriage to Susan Harson at the Kanawha United Methodist Church. After their marriage they lived near Corwith and in 1986, he continued his schooling at NIACC, graduating in 1988, with a Mechanical Design Technology Degree. Kevin worked at Best Way in Clear Lake for a short time before going to work for Winnebago Industries. In 1991, he went to work for IMT in Garner for a year before going back to Winnebago, where he worked until May of 2008. He then worked at Haige in Clarion. In August of 2011, Kevin went to work for Stellar Industries working in the Kiefer Manufacturing Plant in Kanawha.
Besides his job as a designer, Kevin also farmed and had started an excavating business and in April of 2004, obtained his private pilot's license. He loved to work and stay busy and was always thinking of things that he and his boys could do together for their future. He had a strong work ethic and passed that on to his boys and was always there to help out anyone who needed a helping hand. He loved his family, friends and especially children.
Kevin also loved to fly and died doing what he loved with one of his best friends, Mike Fjetland. Kevin died Sunday morning, December 8, 2013, in a plane crash about a mile south of the Los Alamos Airport in Omega Canyon, NM.
He is survived by his wife, Susan Burrs; sons, Cory and Matthew Burrs; parents, John and Sue Burrs; brother, Scott and Kathy Burrs, all of Corwith; sisters, Nancy Rasmussen of Kanawha; Ann and Bruce Carroll of Corwith; mother and father-in-law, Bill and Arlene Harson of Kanawha; brother-in-law, Mike Harson of Falls City, NE, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles.
Kevin was preceded in death by grandparents, Martin and Clara Burrs, Wilfred Ayers and Margaret Peterson and a nephew, Andrew Rasmussen.
Visitation
Friday, Dec 20, 2013
4:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Location
CWL Middle and High School
408 SE Elm St.
Corwith, Iowa 50430
Service
Saturday, Dec 21, 2013
10:30 AM
Location
CWL Middle and High School
408 SE Elm St.
Corwith, Iowa 50430
Inurnment: Corwith Cemetery ~ Corwith, Iowa
Obituary: http://www.oakcrestfuneralservices.com
Michael D. Fjetland
Obituary
Michael Dan Fjetland, 51, of Harmony, died Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013, as a result of an airplane crash in Los Alamos, N.M.
Michael was born Jan. 5, 1962, in Belmond, Iowa, to Larry and Ruby (Gunsallas) Fjetland. He lived at Corwith, Iowa, before moving with his family to a farm outside of LeRoy in 1974. He graduated from LeRoy-Ostrander High School in 1980. Michael farmed near Harmony from 1980 to present. He also had worked at Hormel in Austin for a few years at the start of his farming career. He had other business interests in Wyoming and Arizona. He married Susan Kay (Phillips) Fjetland on Oct. 3, 1987, and they later divorced. They had two sons, Matthew and Lucas.
His passions were spending time with his sons and flying his planes. He will always be remembered for his famous hugs and his shenanigans. He was an incredible uncle who made sure he spent memorable times with each of his nieces and nephews. He will be extremely missed by all.
He is survived by his sons, Matthew Fjetland of Rochester and Lucas Fjetland of Harmony; parents, Larry and Ruby Fjetland of Edgemont, Ariz.; sisters, Julie Fjetland of Lake City and Lori (Randy) Back of Fountain; nieces and nephews, Nicole (Jason) Howard of Spring Valley, Dustin Thorson (Gena Anway) of Kasson, Tyler Back of Fountain, Trista Back Sioux Falls, S.D., Danielle (Lance) Peters of Sioux Falls, S.D., and Makayla Fjetland of Zumbro Falls; and great-niece and nephew, Ayden and Emma Howard.
Visitation will be Sunday, Dec. 22, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Spring Valley.
The funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Dec. 23, at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Spring Valley, with Pastors Dennis Timmerman and Laura Fladten leading the service. There will be a luncheon at the church following the service. Burial will be in the spring with a private family ceremony.
Hindt Funeral Home in Spring Valley, is in charge of the arrangements. hindtfuneralhomes.com.
Obituary: http://www.legacy.com
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| Kevin Burrs |
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| Michael Fjetland |
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. | A Corwith, Iowa, man was one of two people killed Sunday morning in a plane crash about a mile south of the Los Alamos County Airport in Omega Canyon, N.M.
Los Alamos authorities have confirmed the identity of the passenger in the single-engine plane as Kevin Burrs of Corwith, according to the Los Alamos Monitor newspaper.
News of Burrs' death "hit the community hard," the Rev. Bea Kinzler, pastor of the United Methodist Church in Corwith, where Burrs was a member since his youth, told the Globe Gazette.
The pilot, Mike Fjetland, 51, of Harmony, Minn., a close friend of Burrs, was a successful and prominent Minnesota businessman, according to the newspaper report.
Fjetland is originally from the Corwith area and his family later moved to Minnesota, according to a family member.
Susan Burrs, Kevin's wife, told the Los Alamos Monitor that crash authorities contacted her earlier about her husband.
"HE WAS A GREAT MAN, always willing to help everybody, and always did help everybody,” Susan Burrs said. “He was called on quite a bit by his friends and family.”
Susan also said Burrs was a good dad to his two sons. She added that he worked as a design engineer and that he, too, was looking forward to the trip with his best friend.
Burrs worked at Stellar Industries in Garner, according to Corwith Mayor Jay Gourley.
"It's certainly a tragedy and a shock," he told the Globe Gazette.
The family doesn't know when Burrs' remains will be coming back to Corwith for funeral services, "so it's particularly hard for the family not to be able to have closure for a while," Gourley said.
Kinzler said Burrs was one of the people at the church who liked to work behind the scenes.
She said he was heavily involved not only in the church, but in the community of Corwith as a whole, along with the rest of his family.
Kinzler said Burrs' wife, two sisters and a brother, and his parents, John and Sue Burrs, are also part of the church congregation.
FJETLAND'S FIANCEE DARLA REYNOLDS told The Los Alamos Monitor that the last text he sent to her was on Sunday morning. It said he was about to take off from the Los Alamos County Airport to fly to Chandler, Ariz.
She said they have a house in Stellar Airpark and she was going to join him later.
Reynolds said one of the goals of their trip was to solidify a business deal in Denver, Colo. When Fjetland did not call her at the prescribed time, she had a family friend who was also an experienced pilot help in trying to track him down. That’s when they came across an article about the early Sunday plane crash just south of LA Airport on LAMonitor.com.
From there, she said, they were able to make contact with investigators in New Mexico. The Los Alamos Monitor was able to confirm through a description of the plane and a cross reference of the tail number supplied by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Even though she was still grieving, she thought it was important that people know what kind of a man Fjetland was.
“He was a very smart man, very business oriented.” Reynolds said. “Anything anyone ever said went into his head and he turned it into a business deal and made money off it.”
She also described him as unflappable. “He was always happy, you could never make him mad or upset. To him, everything was going to be okay, he would always figure something out. He was a very sweet man,” she said.
“I was supposed to be in that plane, but I decided I was going to have a late Thanksgiving and an early Christmas with my adult children, so I stayed home,” she said. “He then told me that he was going to make it a guys’ weekend and take his friend he’s known since grade school. He was very excited.”
FJETLAND AND REYNOLDS SHARED a farm in Harmony that has its own hangar. That’s where he started his journey from, she said. The two men were trying to make it to Chandler when the inclement weather forced them into Los Alamos on Saturday morning. The last text he sent her was at 7:56 a.m. Sunday. It simply read “Good morning sweetheart, I’m in my plane, it’s warming up. I’m going to try it again. I love you.”
The plane crashed around 8:15 a.m., about one mile south of of the Los Alamos County Airport in Omega Canyon, on land that is owned by the U.S. Dept. of Energy. On Sunday, The Los Alamos Fire Department and police used a section of Canyon Rim Trail off of East Road as a staging area to get to the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board has since taken over the crash site, and investigators are due at the site 9 a.m. Tuesday to start their examination of what caused the crash.
According to sources at the Federal Aviation Administration, Fjetland was flying a Husky A-1C-200, manufactured by Aviat Aircraft. It was built in 2012, and was powered by a Lycoming 10-360-A1D6 engine.
This particular model’s gross weight is 2,250 pounds. Depending on option choices the Husky model can have an additional payload variance between 842 and 925 pounds.
GARNER | The employer of a Corwith man killed Sunday in New Mexico plane crash is remembering him as a caring and hardworking employee.
Stellar Industries, Inc. and its subsidiary, Kiefer Manufacturing, are grieving the loss of their friend and co-worker, Kevin Burrs, according to a statement issued by the company.
Burrs and his friend Michael Fjetland, Harmony, Minn., were heading to Chandler, Ariz. on vacation when Fjetland's single-engine plane crashed shortly after take-off from the Los Alamos County Airport in Omega Canyon, N.M.
Fjetland was also killed in the crash.
Burrs started at Stellar on Aug. 29, 2011 as a design manager.
He spent his time working at Kiefer Manufacturing in Kanahwa, where he managed its engineering department and worked on updating current and new trailer designs.
"Kevin was an ideal employee," said Jim Fisk, general manager at Kiefer. "He was a hard-working and unselfish person who was always willing to help out above and beyond what anyone expected."
Matt Schroeder, engineering manager at Stellar Industries said, "Kevin was such a positive and pleasant person to be around. He had such an exceptional work ethic and a ‘can do’ attitude. He will certainly be missed by all of us around both Kiefer and Stellar."
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
http://globegazette.com
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Burrs was a passenger aboard the plane piloted by friend Michael Fjetland. Both men died in the plane crash.
The duo had left from Iowa earlier en route to Chandler, Ariz., where Fjetland had a house in Stellar Airpark. Fjetland had flown his Husky A-1C 200 single engine airplane from his hangar at his home in Harmony, Minn., and picked up Burrs in Mason City for the trip.
The airplane set down at the Los Alamos County Airport on Saturday morning because of inclement weather. Burrs and Fjetland attempted to take off from Los Alamos early Sunday morning, and the airplane crashed south of the Los Alamos County airport. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident.
Fjetland and Burrs were high school classmates and long-time friends, remaining in contact with each other through the years after Fjetland and his family moved to Harmony, Minn., over 10 years ago. Both men were looking forward to the trip to Chandler, Ariz.
Burrs farmed with his family in the Corwith area, and also worked at Stellar Industries in Garner and worked at Kiefer Built, L.L.C. in Kanwaha as a draftsman. He was also a member at United Methodist Church in Corwith.
Burrs leaves behind his wife, Susan, and their two sons Cory and Matthew.
Cory is employed at Stellar Industries in Garner, and Matthew is a student at Fort Dodge.
His parents, John and Sue Burrs, his brother and two sisters also still reside in the Corwith area.
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) — Authorities now say that two people were killed when a small plane crashed Sunday morning in a canyon about a mile south of the Los Alamos Airport.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com
Crashed plane was registered in Minn.
The single engine private plane that crashed early Sunday in a canyon near the Los Alamos Airport, killing at least one person on board, was registered to a company in Minnesota, according to the FAA Registry of aircraft.
Authorities have not yet released the victim’s identity, nor have they been able to confirm whether the plane had only a single occupant, said National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway.
The plane was registered to Blackhawk Leasing LLC of Harmony, Minn. No telephone listing for the company could be found. The NTSB investigates all fatal plane crashes and they have an investigator at the site today, said Holloway. It can sometimes take a year or more to determine the probable cause of a crash.
The plane, a model A-1C-200 Husky made by Aviat Aircraft, Inc., is what is known as a “tail dragger,” meaning it has a small rear landing wheel that is moveable, which can make it more difficult to handle during takeoff and landing.
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