Sunday, March 17, 2013

Nigeria’s Dana Air Flights Suspended Over Plane Safety Issue

Dana Air flights were suspended after one of its planes had a safety issue with its batteries, according to the Nigerian Aviation Ministry.

“We did it for a safety precaution,” Joe Obi, a spokesman for the ministry, said by phone today from the capital, Abuja. “The flights are suspended, but they still have their license.”

Dana Air operations resumed in January after one of its flights from Abuja carrying 146 passengers and seven crew members crashed last June in a suburb of Lagos, the commercial capital, killing everyone on board and about 10 people on the ground. It was Nigeria’s deadliest airline crash in almost 40 years. Officials are still probing the crash.

The airline has received notice of the suspension, the company said on its website. Dana Air wasn’t informed of the reason for the grounding and will meet with the ministry officials tomorrow.

Piper Aztec PA-23-250, West Metro Aviation LLC, N6222M: Accident occurred March 15, 2013 in Winsted, Minnesota

Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board: http://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Docket And Docket Items  -   National Transportation Safety Board: http://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms

Aviation Accident Data Summary  -  National Transportation Safety Board:   http://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

http://registry.faa.gov/N6222M

NTSB Identification: CEN13LA201
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, March 15, 2013 in Winsted, MN
Probable Cause Approval Date: 11/13/2014
Aircraft: PIPER PA23-250, registration: N6222M
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.

NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The pilot reported that the twin-engine airplane’s right engine lost power following a descent in icing conditions. The pilot’s attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful, and the pilot chose to land at an alternate airport. The airplane subsequently landed short of the runway. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed icing on both engines’ induction air intakes and air filters. The right engine induction air filter was 100 percent obstructed, and the left engine induction air filter was about 35 percent obstructed. No further engine anomalies were found. Based on the available evidence, it is likely that the icing of the right engine’s induction air system resulted in a lack of airflow in the system, which prevented combustion and led to the subsequent loss of engine power. 

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The obstruction of the right engine’s induction air system by ice, which resulted in a loss of engine power.

On March 15, 2013, about 1910 central daylight time, a Piper PA23-250, N6222M, impacted terrain during a forced landing following a loss of engine power on the right engine. There were no injuries to the pilot or five passengers. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage during the forced landing. The aircraft was registered to West Metro Aviation LLC and operated by Tri-State Drilling under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a business flight. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. The flight originated from the Jamestown Regional Airport (JMS), Jamestown, North Dakota, at 1809, and was en route to the Buffalo Municipal Airport (CFE), Buffalo, Minnesota.

The pilot reported that the takeoff, climb and cruise portions of the flight were uneventful. As the airplane descended from 9,000 feet above mean sea level (msl) it entered clouds at 7,500 feet msl, and at 7,000 feet msl it began to rain. The pilot reported that the outside air temperatures were about 50 degrees. He reported that when the airplane was between 5,000 feet msl and 3,300 feet msl moderate to severe icing was experienced and he activated the airframe de-icing system 4 to 6 time before descending below the clouds at 3,300 feet msl. He stated that he could not see through the windshield due to a thick covering of ice but that he had good visibility to each side. He reported that moments after he cancelled his IFR flight plan the right engine lost power. He attempted to restart the engine, including switching fuel tanks, activating the alternate air system, and using both hot and cold start procedures to no avail. At this point the pilot attempted to fly to an alternate airport to land. Due to the ice accumulation on the airframe, the airplane landed short of the intended alternate airport.

Examination of the airplane after the accident revealed icing of the induction air intake and air filter of both engines. The right induction air filter was 100 percent obstructed and the left induction air filter was about 35 percent obstructed. No further anomalies were found with respect to either engine.


The engine had an electronic engine monitor installed. The unit was retained for possible download of any recorded data. It was found that the unit did not have recording capability.

NTSB Identification: CEN13LA201 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, March 15, 2013 in Winsted, MN
Aircraft: PIPER PA23-250, registration: N6222M
Injuries: 1 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 March 15, 2013, about 1910 central daylight time, a Piper PA-23-250, N6222M, impacted terrain during a forced landing following a loss of engine power on the right engine. There were no injuries to the pilot or five passengers. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage during the forced landing. The aircraft was registered to West Metro Aviation LLC and operated by Tri-State Drilling under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a business flight. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The flight originated from the Jamestown Regional Airport (JMS), Jamestown, North Dakota, at 1809, and was en route to the Buffalo Municipal Airport (CFE), Buffalo, Minnesota.





WINSTED, Minn. (KMSP) - A pilot had to make an emergency landing into a field in Winsted on Saturday, elevating the heart rate of the pilot and the farmer whose field served as his landing pad. 

All six people in the plane walked away safely, and farmer Wally Kerber told FOX 9 he was glad the plane landed where it did, even though the airport was not too far away.

"It was a good thing he landed out there," Kerber said. "Plenty of room, as long as he didn't crash."

Kerber has had nightmares about planes crashing into his Winsted farm over the years.

On Saturday morning, he came out to see his nightmare was just narrowly averted.

A pilot deftly maneuvered this Piper fixed-wing aircraft into an emergency farm field landing after he lost one of the engines in mid flight Friday evening.

"I just hoped that if plane went down, it didn't go into my building there, they were plenty far away," Kerber said.

FAA investigators as well as the McLeod County sheriff's office were on scene Saturday morning.

The plane is owned by West Metro Aviation was en route from Jamestown, North Dakota heading to nearby Buffalo.

A full load of six people, most of them employees of a local drilling company, were on board.

The failed engine combined with icing on the plane forced the pilot to act decisively.

It's unclear why he couldn't make it all the way to Winsted Municipal Airport, no more than a mile away, but he chose Kerber's soybean field.

A representative with the plane's ownership told FOX 9 that this is the kind of landing pilots practice over and over and are thankful for the outcome.

Kerber is no aviation expert, but thinks all the snow out here probably helped in providing a softer landing.

Winsted area pilots said the plane's landing was remarkable: The pilot was able to belly flop their aircraft and manage to avoid flipping it over. Over a year ago, an Eden Prairie man was killed with the small plane he was flying crashed in that very same area.

Florida earmarked millions for Treasure Coast jobs that never materialized

TALLAHASSEE — Since 1996, Florida has inked 18 deals with companies and institutes promising 3,098 new jobs for the Treasure Coast.

Florida officials were willing to trade more than $127 million to put thousands of people to work in X-ray technology, digital movies, airplane parts manufacturing and state-of-the-art biotechnology.

But the state’s efforts over 17 years have yielded just 381 new jobs on the Treasure Coast, according to the state Department of Economic Opportunity. With $114.5 million already handed out, those positions came at about $300,400 state cost per local job produced.

Only six deals, which have pledged $99,771,666 to create 704 jobs, are still active. The rest were terminated without the companies receiving a dime, except for the $20 million Digital Domain took down when it collapsed into bankruptcy last year.

On the heels of Digital Domain Media Group’s downfall, state lawmakers want more proof that incentives are paying off. Amid their skepticism, Governor Rick Scott has asked lawmakers to nearly triple the incentive money available this year to $297 million.

“The government is probably not handing most of you a check every year to keep you in Florida,” Sen. Joe Negron, a Stuart Republican in charge of the Senate budget committee, told Treasure Coast business leaders at the Capitol last week. “That’s generally thought to be a private sector issue. On the other hand, we can’t unilaterally disarm.”

State economic development officials released their updated database this month detailing how Florida’s economic incentives programs are faring. The state estimates it has put $677.5 million into incentives to create more than 88,000 jobs. The database doesn’t include newer projects shielded by Florida economic development public records exemptions, or other projects like Space Florida or film tax credits.

But the Department of Economic Opportunity has struggled to get its numbers together on incentives. The new database omits five Treasure Coast projects previously listed as incentives recipients. The Department of Economic Opportunity’s last database said Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute hadn’t received any state money yet, even though it used most of the $60 million to build its Port St. Lucie headquarters.

The new database also hasn’t been updated to include TurboCombustor Technology in Stuart. With its expansion, the gas turbine engine part manufacturer promised to hire 200 more employees by 2016 in exchange for a $900,000 county grant and up to $3 million from the state.

It also lists a $6.7 million payout for Piper Aircraft Inc., but doesn’t factor in any job totals or new job requirements. Piper, which was due $20 million incrementally from the state, missed the mark when it laid off employees in 2011. The company can keep $3.3 million of the $6.6 million it received in Florida taxpayer help, and possibly all of it, as long as employment stays above 650 through 2015. Piper, which employed about 1,014 in 2009, has about 755 employees now.

Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies and VGTI sealed the biggest deals, but they’re both hiring on track. In Torrey Pines’ $32 million state deal, the database states the nonprofit has created 120 en route to goal of 189 by the end of 2016. VGTI has 90 employees and needs to hire another 110 by 2018.

Digital Domain’s case is well-known now. Millions of dollars in local incentives went to waste, 350 employees were laid off and $20 million in state investment could be gone for good. The state is asking lawmakers for $500,000 of taxpayer money to try to recover the $20 million — approved under Gov. Charlie Crist’s watch — in bankruptcy court.

The Treasure Coast features a mixed bag of companies that reneged on their contracts before getting payouts.

Connecticut electrical manufacturer Carling Technologies Inc. planned to move to Tradition, but balked because their employees though St. Lucie schools were lousy, The Hartford Courant reported. That deal, which was approved in 2006, promised 150 jobs averaging $55,000 a year in exchange for $615,000 in state incentives.

Xstream Systems Inc. in Sebastian, which dealt with molecular X-rays, in 2005 signed a $2.5 million state deal to create 546 jobs. The company didn’t follow through on the contract and was bought out in 2011 by Veracity Network Inc., which specializes in molecular screening for counterfeit drugs.

Lawmakers already are floating a variety of proposals aimed at incentives, from increased reporting requirements to forcing companies to post surety bonds as collateral before they get state money.

Talking to Treasure Coast business leaders last week, Florida Commerce Secretary Gray Swoope said jobs created by incentives are up 75 percent since Scott took office two years ago. He said capital investment is up 95 percent from participating companies.

“We’re continuing to do things to clean up that process, work with DEO to improve on it so that there’s transparency there, and that people are held accountable for what they do,” Swoope said.

Cessna 182: Emergency landing on highway in west Broward - Florida

FT. LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – The pilot of a small plane is okay after he was forced to make an emergency landing on U.S. 27 in western Broward County.

Around 8 a.m. the pilot of a Cessna 182, who had left Opa-locka airport on a flight to Sebring, brought the plane on the U.S. 27 between Griffin Road and Sheridan Street, according to the FAA.

The pilot to Broward Sheriff’s deputies he was forced to land after the plane developed an oil leak.
The plane was not damaged and pilot was not injured. 


A small private plane made an emergency landing Sunday morning on busy northbound lanes of U.S. 27 in west Broward County.

No one on board the plane or on the ground was injured, but traffic is being stopped in a section of the highway.

The emergency landing occurred at around 9 a.m. when the pilot encountered mechanical problem and put down the plane on the major roadway in Southwest Ranches, near the Griffin Road exit.

As of 10 a.m., the northbound lanes remain closed to traffic. Southbound traffic was moving.

The emergency landing comes two days after three people were killed in a fiery small plane crash in Broward.

Arkia plane lands at Ovda base after hitting bird

An Arkia Israeli Airlines passenger plane, which served the Defense Ministry, landed at the Ovda airbase in the Negev on Sunday after it struck a bird.

After the pilot reported that the plane had struck a bird, Israel Air Force ground crews positioned ambulances and fire trucks near the runway. Arkia stressed that the plane's original destination was Ovda and that it did not make an emergency landing.

Arkia said the plane's exterior was damaged. "It is important to note that during the flight the passengers and the plane were never in danger and the plane did not make an emergency landing," the airlines said.

Two months ago an ATR-type Arkia plane carrying 67 people was forced to make an emergency landing at Ben Gurion Airport while flying from Eilat to the Sde Dov Airport in Tel Aviv.

When a light came on in the cockpit indicating that one of the engine's had caught fire, the pilot radioed in his intention to carry out an emergency landing, Ben Gurion Airport declared a level-2 emergency situation.

The plane's captain later said, "There was no fire in the engine at any stage. When we noticed that the warning light was on, we immediately turned the engine off. The passengers were never in danger."

Budget cuts don't hamper NAF El Centro air show for all

NAVAL AIR FACILITY EL CENTRO — The crowd that formed at the U.S. Naval installation here was wowed by sights and sounds of Naval aviation on display.

But some noticed a few changes from the past few years due to budget tightening.

There seemed to be fewer vendors and fewer displays, and those on display weren’t all military, said Jim Ballard, who lives at the RV park at the Naval facility. He and his wife, Pat, have been going to the air show for six or seven years, and he saw a number of planes that looked odd to have at the air show.

This year was also the first time he’d seen a group charging to tour planes at the air show, he said.

Overall it’s good to get to speak with the people who own and operate the planes, as well as to see them on display, said Pat. The air show overall is “absolutely wonderful.”

While a few current military planes were on display, a number of private plane owners showed off their vintage military aircrafts in the static display area, including Spike McLane with the Commemorative Air Force museum. He oversees the B-25 plane on display, which did have a sign asking for donations to tour the cockpit.

Those donations cover the costs of fuel and maintenance for the aircrafts, he said. The B-25 burns about 150 gallons per hour, and with airline fuel at about $6 a gallon, it adds up quickly.

His group tours air shows around the country, and this year is set to go to states like Minnesota and Ohio. For privately owned war birds, problems like sequestration, which has grounded a number of teams, including the Air Forces Thunderbirds, is probably going to be a good thing, he said.

“Everybody wants to see a show,” he said. “If the military can’t do the shows, the private groups will.”

Sequestration, a series of automatic, across-the-board cuts to government agencies, totaling more than $1 trillion through a 10-year period, did even play a short role in the show.

One of the early acts in the show ended with jokes about sequestration during a special performance among announcer Jon “Huggy” Huggins and pilots Bill Cornick in his Big Bad Green plane and another pilot in a yellow plane. The yellow plane’s pilot surprised the crowd by interrupting Cornick in his show, getting in Cornick’s way as he was finishing off his performance. Even as pieces fell off the yellow plane because of a close call with Cornick, the yellow plane’s pilot told Huggins he wanted to help perform because he heard about the sequestration cuts.

After stumbling around in a plane and losing “paperwork” and pieces of his plane while in mid-air, he landed and drove toward the announcer, where Huggins told the crowd that it was actually Kent Pietsch in the yellow Jelly Belly plane playing around.

While there have been some changes in the line-up since sequestration went into effect, a number of people in the crowd didn’t notice.

Iliana Rascon of Imperial arrived in time to see the Blue Angels, the performance she really headed out for, she said. She’s not sure if sequestration had an impact on the show itself, but there were still a lot of people who came out to see the show. And the Blue Angels are always a good bet to watch.

“They always put on a good show, flying around,” she said.

Jetsetting mentality continues to slow: Budgets still tight among companies

Mementos from Ken Colthorpe's career as a pilot and director of travel services at Champion Spark Plug were strewn about his coffee table. 

Mr. Colthorpe, 91, reached for letters, photos, and telegrams as he recounted how aviation changed the world. One of the most telling letters -- penned in 1982 by R.A. Stranahan, Jr., upon Mr. Colthorpe's retirement -- showed just how much history he was witness to.

"Somehow or other time seems to shrink as we get a little older," the then head of Champion wrote. "It seems like only a short time ago when we were flying around in the DC-3. I still have a little nostalgia when I see one of those early birds literally 'floating' over. The progression to the Fairchild, the Falcon, and then the Grumman was a great stimulant to the sales and progress of our Champion organization, and I am certainly mindful that all this happened under your careful guidance."

As corporate-owned or leased planes became the norm in the 1960s and 1970s, Toledo-based companies extended their reach around the world. Luxe jets and planes were commonplace among the corporate landscape.

"We flew our airplanes for any reason that served the company's interest," Mr. Colthorpe said.


That jetsetting mentality has waned in recent years as companies have tightened their budgets. Whether schlepping it in a company car or flying high in a jet, representatives of local conglomerates said travel plans often are based on distance, time, and the number of passengers. 

Dana Holding Corp. had four planes at its disposal in 1992 and has none today. The company began selling its aircraft in 2002 as part of a business decision and completed the sale during its 2006-2008 bankruptcy, spokesman Jeff Cole said. The company rarely rents private planes, he added.

"Today, the vast majority of our corporate travel is on commercial aircraft," Mr. Cole wrote in a statement to The Blade. "We will occasionally utilize private charters solely for business purposes where it is more economical than flying commercially.

"Dana does not pay or reimburse for any personal use of aircraft by its executives."

Gene Swartz, a former Dana pilot who became a top company official, flew all over the world with Rene McPherson and Jack Martin, two of the company's former leaders. Mr. Swartz said he piloted company planes from 1963 until the early 1970s and traveled to exotic locations like Australia and the Philippines.

Mr. McPherson, Dana's former president and chief executive officer, believed face-to-face meetings were the best way to conduct business, Mr. Swartz said.

"His philosophy was to have as few executives as possible and was to make them very mobile," he said.


 Part of that mobile mindset included mixing business with pleasure. Rene McPherson's son, Doug, said he fondly remembers solo trips with his dad to New York, Chicago, and Florida.

 "My dad used to go to Chicago all the time on business, I was 10 or 11 years old at the very start," he said. "Whatever the airport on the lake was in Chicago there, my dad would give me 20 bucks and say go hang out at a museum and come back by 4 o'clock. I did that quite a bit with him and I'd either go to the Science and Industry Museum or the Field Museum."

Although Doug McPherson's father could use a company plane for personal purposes, he always reimbursed the company. It was a strict rule he abided by, Doug McPherson said.

Traveling by private plane was a luxury, and Doug McPherson said he's lucky to have experienced it.

"In today's age it's absolutely frowned on ... but it was fun for us," he said.

Incentives for executives might have been more lucrative in the 1970s because personal income tax rates where higher, said Charles Ballard, an economic expert and professor at Michigan State University. The United States has a culture of awarding its executives with generous perks and that tradition only has increased with time, he said.

The income tax rate soared to 70 percent in the 1970s for people and households making more than $100,000. That rate dropped to 50 percent in the 1980s and continued to decline into the 1990s.

Executives have a great deal of discretion in how they live their lives and what perks they request from their employers, Mr. Ballard said.

"It's always been true that executives could go to the board of directors and say, 'You're only paying me $5 million and this is ridiculous.' Studies have indicated there used to be social constraints that prevented executives from pushing to the limited and those constraints seem to have relaxed," he said.

Like Dana, Libbey Inc. and The Andersons Inc. don't own planes. Other companies have cut back on the use of their private aircraft to trim thousands -- if not hundreds of thousands -- from travel budgets.

Owens-Illinois Inc. adjusted its jet use when the economy soured. The company reduced costs and maximized chosen modes of transportation, spokeswoman Lisa Babington wrote in an email to The Blade.

Owens-Illinois owns two planes, the same number it had in 1992.

"Since 2004, O-I has maintained one global aircraft for international travel and a smaller more fuel-efficient plane for domestic needs," she said. "With the downturn in the economy, O-I took further steps to improve the efficiency of our flight operations by maximizing the number of passengers on each trip and reducing annual budgeted flight hours by 20 percent to 25 percent."

Owens-Illinois Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Al Stroucken is allowed a limited number of hours per year for personal use of a company airplane, per his contract.


"Mr. Stroucken typically does not use all hours allowed by contract, and any such use is reviewed annually by the Board of Directors," Ms. Babington said in a statement to The Blade.

 The company's chief financial office and chief legal counsel also can request the company plane for personal use, and those requests are subject to approval by Mr. Stroucken.

At Owens Corning, executives are not allowed to use the jets for personal purposes and all trips are business related, company spokesman Matt Schroder wrote in an email to The Blade.

Owens Corning uses its three jets to shuttle employees to business and customer meetings and functions, Mr. Schroder said. The use of a jet -- along with all other travel considerations -- is determined on a case-by-case basis.

"We manage the use of our jets the same as other aspects of our business," he said, adding that the economic turbulence of the past five years didn't affect the company's travel plans.

According to The Blade's archives, the company had two planes in 1992. It continued using jets throughout its 2000-2006 bankruptcy, and currently leases its fleet.

Although the economy didn't ground executive travel in the Toledo area, it has caused some cuts at National Flight Service Inc., the area's premier private aviation service since the 1960s.

Cutbacks at local companies caused an up to 30 percent decrease in business at National Flight Services since 2003, said Larry Mates, fixed base operations manager for the company. National Flight Services houses about 20 corporate and private planes at its facility, which is located at Toledo Express Airport in Swanton.

Because of the cuts, the firm trimmed its staff from four to five people at any given time to three, Mr. Mates said.

"A lot of the companies are cutting back on their spending," he said, adding that a round trip flight to Florida on a corporate jet could run about $50,000.

Ten planes were parked in the National Flight hanger recently. The aircraft didn't sport company logos or brand names, and Mr. Mates declined to publicly disclose the firm's clients.

National Flight Services does not rent, lease, or offer partial ownership of planes, nor does it provide pilots or a flight crew for its clients.

The company does provide a cornucopia of other services is customers, who pay thousands each month to store their aircraft.

Employees at the business will pick up food for passengers, arrange travel plans and hotel stays, and maintain aircraft. It acts a miniature airport for people who travel on private aircraft and has a pilot's lounge, a rest area for travelers, a conference room, and a kitchen area.

Mr. Mates said 2012 was better than 2011, and this year is expected to follow that trend. The growth, however, will not match the profitability of the early 2000s.

Choosing to own a company plane is all about providing an efficient means of travel, Owens-Illinois' Ms. Babington said. If a commercial airline can't easily reach a particular destination, a private plane offers executives another avenue to conduct business.

"O-I’s corporate aircraft are an important business tool to grow and manage our global business," she said. "Travel time for company leaders is significantly reduced using the company plane, and private transportation provides important safety and security for senior leaders.

"Corporate aircraft greatly increase schedule flexibility, and by using the corporate aircraft, leaders maximize their time by being able to work effectively and conduct meetings."

Cessna 150G, N6389S: Accident occurred March 16, 2013 in Baytown, Texas

NTSB Identification: CEN13CA197 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, March 16, 2013 in Baytown, TX
Aircraft: CESSNA 150G, registration: N6389S
Injuries: 1 Minor.

NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The pilot reported that she was on a night cross-country flight cruising below 4,000 feet mean sea level at “full throttle” and she did not lean the mixture. She estimated her fuel consumption was about 7.3 to 7.6 gallons per hour and had been inflight for about 3.3 hours when the engine suddenly went silent and stopped producing power. The airplane has a total fuel capacity of 26.0 gallons with 22.5 gallons of usable fuel. The pilot reported that because of the increased headwind she had briefly considered an enroute stop for additional fuel but decided to continue. During a shallow turn to enter the traffic pattern the airplane experienced a complete loss of power and the pilot made an emergency off-airport landing about 6 miles from the destination. The airplane impacted trees and bushes in a thickly wooded area which resulted in substantial damage to both wings, both ailerons, the engine mount, the fuselage, and the empennage. A postaccident examination found that only a trace of fuel remained. The pilot also attributed her lack of more serious or fatal injuries to her use of a shoulder harness. She said she would never again fly an airplane not equipped with a shoulder harness.
 

BAYTOWN, TX (KTRK) -- Investigators are looking into the cause of a plane crash in Baytown, which sent a woman to the hospital. 

Residents say they heard what they thought sounded like a major car accident when the small plane went down in a wooded area.

According to DPS, the single-engine Cessna was heading north, on its way to La Porte, when the engine stalled.

The crippled plane lost altitude, and crashed into some trees near Market Street and Goose Creek. The pilot, identified as 57-year-old Linda Shackleford, suffered some cuts and bruises. She was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital in stable condition.

According to DPS, Shackleford is affiliated with the NASA space program. Their initial report said she was an astronaut. A representative with NASA, though, tells us she works as a flight surgeon, monitoring astronaut's vitals from the ground.

She is expected to be OK.

The FAA will be arriving later this morning to investigate the crash.

Story and Video:  http://abclocal.go.com


BAYTOWN, Texas - A pilot was injured after her single-engine Cessna crashed in a wooded area in Baytown. 

Around 9 p.m. Saturday, the Baytown Fire Department responded to reports of a plane crash.  When they arrived at the scene near Highway 146 and Market Street, they found a female pilot injured in the crash.

Emergency crews said she was conscious and taken to the hospital in stable condition.

No other injuries were reported.


Source:  http://www.click2houston.com



BAYTOWN, TX (KTRK) -- A small plane goes down in a wooded area in Baytown late last night and still unclear what caused the crash.

Residents say they heard what they thought sounded like a major car accident when the small plane went down in a wooded area. It crashed on State Highway 146 near Market.

Authorities say one woman was inside the plane. She was headed to La Porte Airport when the engine stalled on her plane and it crashed.

She was taken to the hospital and at last check listed in stable condition.

Supermarine Spitfire Mk XXVI (replica), VH-VSF: Accident occurred March 17, 2013 near Parafield Airport - YPPF, north of Adelaide, SA, Australia

Loss of control involving scale-replica Spitfire, VH-VSF

What happened

On 17 March 2013, the owner-pilot of an amateur-built scale-replica Spitfire aircraft (VH-VSF) was participating in an air display at Parafield Airport, South Australia. The pilot performed a number of airborne passes above the runways in various directions and completed the display with a slow speed pass at 400 ft with the landing gear and some wing flap extended. Towards the end of this pass the pilot radioed the tower to coordinate a landing and accepted runway 21 Left with an 11 kt crosswind. By now the pilot had turned right and the Spitfire was near the extended runway centreline and 1 km from the runway threshold at a slow speed. A left turn was then observed and, soon after, a wing dropped and the aircraft entered a steep descent. The aircraft crashed in a factory car park, fatally injuring the pilot and substantially damaging the aircraft.  

What the ATSB found

The ATSB found that while coordinating a landing clearance with air traffic control and flying a low level circuit with a close downwind and base in turbulent conditions, the pilot inadvertently allowed the airspeed to decay. In the subsequent turn (downwind) to adjust the circuit the aircraft aerodynamically stalled, descended steeply, and impacted the ground.  The aircraft was prone to aerodynamically stall with little or no aerodynamic precursors and it was not fitted with a stall warning device, increasing the risk of inadvertent stall.

Safety message

Flying in an air display is different to normal operations and places additional demands on a pilot. Pilots who participate in air displays should consider the demands involved and to the extent possible ensure that the complete sequence, including landing, is planned and rehearsed.  Although amateur-built aircraft operated in the experimental category are not required to be fitted with a stall warning device (preferably with aural output), owner-pilots should consider the benefits of such devices as a last line of defense against stalling.

Accident report:  http://www.atsb.gov.au

Roger Stokes, picture in an ABC Mildura news report on his replica WWII Spitfire




 Mr.  Stokes - a World War II aircraft enthusiast - built the plane from a kit seven years ago.






Police investigators at the scene of the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. XXVI (Replica), VH-VSF, plane crash, which killed pilot Roger Stokes, in Salisbury. 



Police investigators at the scene of replica WWII Spitfire plane crash, which killed pilot Roger Stokes, in Salisbury. 




The wreckage of Supermarine Spitfire Mk. XXVI (Replica), VH-VSF, after it crashed in Salisbury, in Adelaide's north. The crash killed its pilot Roger Stokes. 




The remains of a replica World War II Spitfire plane that crashed at Frost Rd, in Salisbury, while it was flying as part of the Classic Jets airshow. 



Firefighters with the wreckage of the replica Spitfire which crashed in the RM Williams factory's carpark on Frost Road, Salisbury. 



Emergency services at the scene of the crash on Frost Road, Salisbury.




A pilot has been killed when his replica World War II Spitfire plane crashed between two businesses in Adelaide's northern suburbs, narrowly missing a soccer match.

Police said Roger Stokes, 73, of Monarto, died when his seven-year-old plane, a replica of the Mark XXVI Spitfire, crashed into a fence on Frost Rd, Salisbury, just before 2pm.

Relatives have been advised of Mr Stokes' death.

The fence runs between two adjoining businesses, which were both closed at the time.

The plane, powered by an Isuzu truck engine, went nose-down and crashed in the carpark of the RM Williams factory, about 200 metres from people playing soccer on a nearby field.

Mr Stokes had brought his aircraft to Adelaide for the Classic Jets airshow at Parafield Airport. While he was a Monarto resident, his plane was based in Murray Bridge.

About 5000 people at the airshow watched the plane go down before hearing an announcement over the public address system that there had been an accident.

The remainder of the air show was cancelled. Its organizer, Parafield Classic Jet museum director Bob Jarrett, could not be contacted for comment.

About 30 privately owned exotic, classic and vintage planes were participating in the air show, which was held to raise funds to restore a World War II American Corsair fighter retrieved from Vanuatu.

A selection of the old planes made a flypast at 11.30am to commemorate 103 years since the first powered flight in South Australia.

Aerial display pilot Chris Sperou - multiple winner of the Australian Aerobatic Championship - was due to perform his own aerobatics in a Supastinker biplane.

Police are appealing for anyone who witnessed the crash to contact the South Australia Police Assistance Line on 131 444.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will conduct an investigation into the crash and police will prepare a report for the Coroner.

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