Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Creditors watch Evergreen International Airlines for potential closure this week

Creditors seeking millions of dollars from McMinnville-based Evergreen International Airlines Inc. are watching to see what happens Saturday, when the company might shut its doors for good.

Company officials weren’t commenting this week on uncertainty surrounding the cargo airline, whose managers told the state they’d shut down – but whose founder maintains the business will stay open.

Claims are piling up against Evergreen for everything from back taxes to unpaid aviation fuel bills. Lawyers representing creditors are bracing for a potential Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, which would block lawsuits and appoint a trustee for orderly liquidation.

“That would be bad for us if they do file bankruptcy,” said Robert Kruckemeyer, a Houston attorney representing Associated Energy Group Inc., a Texas fuel supplier seeking $191,752.12 for unpaid invoices. “You just have to get in line, and you try to jockey for a better position.”

Privately held Evergreen, a major Yamhill County employer, has operated since 1974, at one time fielding a worldwide fleet of Boeing 747 cargo jets and earning hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue. But the company has always lived on a steady diet of loans, so expiring military contracts and a slowing commercial cargo market left it scrambling for cash to cover obligations.

Chief executive Delford Smith, founder of several Evergreen companies, issued a statement Nov. 8 dismissing news of the company’s demise as false rumors. He has not returned repeated phone calls for comment.

Some of the suits against Evergreen name Smith as a defendant, raising the question of whether the 83-year-old company owner can insulate himself from claims. Smith’s continuing financial support has been crucial for Evergreen’s nonprofits, which include the Wings & Waves Waterpark and the Aviation & Space Museum.

Managers of the popular attractions across Oregon 18 from Evergreen’s corporate headquarters insist they will stay open. The Oregon Department of Justice is investigating allegations of commingling funds between Evergreen’s profit and nonprofit arms.

Judgments against Evergreen include two for overdue contributions to its pilots’ pension plan. Last summer a Yamhill County judge granted the judgments for $744,651 and $680,359 against the airline. Representatives of the Air Line Pilots Association union say the amounts, due in May and August, have not been paid.

“It’s a shame to see this happening,” said pilot Bill Fink, a former union officer furloughed in 2012. “I don’t know if we’ll ever know the reasons why the company did not reinvest in itself.”

Fink and other pilots said they began noticing problems in 2011, when they’d arrive at hotels abroad after long flights, only to have their company credit cards denied. They’d call headquarters, where managers would try to get them to use their personal credit cards before coughing up a valid card number.

Pilot Dean Kidd said he began noticing problems four or five years before he retired in 2012.

“You could almost see that Del Smith’s heart wasn’t in it any longer,” Kidd said. “It seemed that all of his attention was directly across the street there at his legacy.”

Kidd said the airline has gone from a high of more than 450 pilots in the 1980s to perhaps fewer than 30 today.

Kidd used to fly one of Evergreen’s lucrative routes during the 1990s, departing from New York full of cargo for Australia via Chicago, Los Angeles, Honolulu and Pago Pago. The empty freighter would depart Sydney, Melbourne or Auckland for Hong Kong, where it would load to the gills with U.S.-bound freight. It would hop from Japan or Russia to Anchorage for fuel, then back to New York via Columbus or Chicago.

Evergreen also flew round-the-world flights, departing from Charleston or Dover Air Force Base with U.S. military cargo, stopping in Germany at Ramstein Air Base or Hahn, and from there to Incirlik, Turkey. At that point the flights would become commercial, departing for Shanghai via Kazakhstan or Kurdistan and loading Chinese cargo bound for New York via Japan, Anchorage and Chicago.

But Evergreen lost contracts, including the Australia route and high-profile Dreamlifter flights carrying parts for Boeing 787 factories, to competitor Atlas Air Inc. Soon Evergreen became a bottom feeder, competing for overflow Atlas cargo such as Humvee armor bound for Iraq and Afghanistan.

As income declined, Evergreen had trouble paying off leases and loans. The airline at one point owed more than $1 million to Hartford Aviation Group, which leased Boeing 747 engines to the company, according to Thomas Anderson, an attorney representing Hartford.

Hartford went after Smith, who had personally guaranteed a payment plan. On Nov. 14, Smith paid Hartford the outstanding balance of $431,000, using proceeds from farm property he sold, Anderson said.

Smith is named as a defendant along with his companies in other suits, such as a $10 million claim by 1st Source Bank of Indiana, for loans made by the bank. 1st Source made Evergreen fork over collateral in the form of a Learjet and seven helicopters.

On the home front, Smith and his wife, Maria, were sued this year by two former domestic-service employees who claimed the couple failed to pay them minimum wage for long shifts during several years of work. The parties settled out of court last week.

Anderson, the lawyer representing Hartford, believes Smith is doing everything he can to save Evergreen International Airlines. “But they’re just buried in debt, I think,” Anderson said.
 
Times have changed since 1996, when Smith’s legal and financial advisers recommended he file Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the airline after it defaulted on $125 million in junk bonds. Back then, Smith, 67, hired another lawyer who helped convince bankers to loan Evergreen $400 million, saving the company. 

Anderson said that isn’t likely this time. But at this point, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing might not mean much, either, given that the airline apparently leased its equipment and owned little or no property.

“If all their planes are gone and their income streams are gone, the bankruptcy wouldn’t have any assets,” Anderson said. “So it may not be worth it to anybody to go through bankruptcy, because if there’s no assets the creditors won’t get paid anything.”

Story and Comments/Reaction:   http://www.oregonlive.com

Report blames human error

KATHMANDU, NOV 27 -

The commission formed to investigate the causes of the accident of Nepal Airlines Corporation’s (NAC)  de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 aircraft 9N-ABO in Jomsom blamed “human error” for the crash.

The plane had skidded off the runway and plunged 25 meters down the Kali Gandaki River while landing at Jomsom airport on May 16. There were 21 people, including three crew members, on board, but no human casualties were reported.

Unveiling the report on Tuesday, the commission’s member-secretary Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane said the pilot, Deependra Pradhan, did not follow the instructions of the control tower. “There was no technical problem in the airplane,” he said.

According to the commission, the pilot attempted to land the plane on Runway-06 despite the control room warned of high air wave speed. “The plane was suggested to land on Runway- 24 instead of Runway-06,” it said.

The report said the plane went out of control due to high-speed landing on the short runway. The crew members did not follow the standard threshold for landing, it said. The length of the Jomsom airport runway is 2,424 ft, and a plane has to start the landing process 300 ft ahead of the threshold. “But the plane launched the landing gear beyond the threshold limit,” it said.

After landing, the plane skidded off on the grass surface, 705 ft away from the runaway. But instead of leaving the plane in its state — as speed slows on a grass surface — the pilot increased the speed to take off again, according to senior aeronautical engineer Meghendra Kumar Shrestha, a member of the commission.

As per the report, the ground speed of the plane, which should not have exceeded 90 nautical miles during landing, was at 118 nautical miles, and there was lack of coordination between pilot Pradhan and the co-pilot Suresh KC during the landing.

To prevent similar mishaps due to human error, the report has suggested the authority to introduce an inspection mechanism to closely observe the activities of pilot and engineer. It has recommended reviewing airports that have shorter runways, which pose risk to regular flights. “There is a need for imparting training on pilots on the safety management system,” the report stated.


Source:    http://www.ekantipur.com

Fathers of plane-crash victims to compare notes: Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche, C-GLGJ



Lauren Sewell snaps one of the last photos taken of her and boyfriend Dallas Smith prior to the Aug. 13, 2012 plane crash that claimed both their lives.
 Image Credit:  Contributed photo




The father of a former South Surrey resident who was killed in a plane crash near Kelowna a year ago has called a news conference to speak to findings in a report on the tragedy released this week by the Transportation Safety Board.

Greg Sewell said he and the father of another victim from an unrelated crash will address media in an 11 a.m. event today at Hazelmere Country Club.

“We feel that there’s a tie-in between the two incidents, a correlation that we think is worth pointing out,” Sewell told Peace Arch News.

Sewell’s daughter, Lauren, died after the plane she and her boyfriend, Dallas Smith, were passengers in crashed into a wooded area on Aug. 13, 2012.

Smith, a 30-year-old White Rock native, was pronounced dead at the scene, and 24-year-old Sewell, who grew up in the White Rock area, died in hospital two days after the crash.

The TSB report says that the pilot and another passenger, who both survived the crash although critically injured, have no memory of the final moments of the flight, the return leg of a trip from Boundary Bay Airport to Penticton.

It names potential factors in the crash as a reduced rate of climb due to summer atmospheric conditions, fuel-flow problems, overloading and impaired visibility as a result of forest-fire smoke in the area.

The report also finds that while likely travelling at low-speed and "relatively" low altitude in an area of reduced visibility, the "aircraft was unable to climb rapidly enough to provide adequate terrain clearance."

Wednesday, Sewell was not ready to discuss the report, but said there are “definitely things to learn from it.”

Source:  http://www.peacearchnews.com

Ceduna Airport, South Australia: Plane landing gear issue causes full emergency callout

Emergency services were called to the at Ceduna Airport on Monday after reports there was a plane having issues mid flight.

At around 11.10am, the Ceduna District Council received a call from Air Services Australia advising a plane enroute to Ceduna had reported main gear failure.

The Aero Commander aircraft was believed to have one person on board and no dangerous cargo.

The council was informed the pilot reported they didn't have three green lights, which showed one of the wheels hadn't engaged properly.

Air Services Australia notified the airport and initiated a full emergency callout.

Council staff and ambulance crews were first on the scene, with police and CFS arriving afterwards.

Nine minutes after the callout, the council said staff were informed the pilot reported three green lights and the main gear was now deploying properly.

Emergency services remained on site as the aircraft landed safely and taxied into the terminal.

The pilot wasn't available for comment.


Story and Photo:   http://www.westcoastsentinel.com.au

Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche, C-GLGJ: Harnesses could have saved lives in B.C. plane crash - TSB

A light plane crash that killed two people and critically injured two others in 2012 was caused by a low climb rate, excess weight and reduced engine power, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has found.

In its report on the incident released Wednesday​, the TSB said it also determined that lives could likely have been saved if the aircraft had been equipped with shoulder harnesses to complement the available lap belts, which the pilot and three passengers were all wearing.
A shoulder-harness kit was available from and recommended by the aircraft manufacturer but, according to the TSB, the plane's owners were not aware of this before the crash.

Two passengers died 

The PA 30 Piper Twin Comanche airplane had veered off course when it crashed 30 kilometres west of Kelowna, near Brenda Mines, in August 2012, after departing Penticton for Boundary Bay Airport, near Vancouver.

The plane was torn apart in the crash, killing passenger Jayson Dallas Wesley Smith, 30, of Vancouver, instantly. Fellow passenger Lauren Patricia Sewell, 24, of Surrey, died from her injuries two days later.

In its report, the TSB said the privately-operated plane veered off course due to a lower-than-expected rate of climb.

The report attributed the reduced rate of climb to atmospheric conditions, a high aircraft weight, a reduced power output in the right engine, and the pilot's failure to use available turbochargers.
 
According to the TSB's findings, the pilot, who was relatively inexperienced, continued into an area of higher terrain but the plane was unable to climb quickly enough to clear the terrain, leading the aircraft to crash.

Since the incident, the Penticton Regional Airport has installed new signs​ advising pilots to climb to 5,000 feet before turning west or east to depart the Okanagan Valley.

NAV CANADA, which operates Canada's civil air navigation system, has issued the same warning, amending its information relating to the airports in Penticton, Oliver and Osoyoos.​

Story and Photos:   http://www.cbc.ca

Read the TSB report online

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/842819-tsb-report.html

Millard Airport (KMLE), Omaha, Nebraska: Firefighters respond to aircraft incident







A pilot and his passenger escaped injury Wednesday afternoon as the small plane they were in made a hard landing at the Millard Airport.  

 According to a witness, the plane was coming in for a landing when it lost a wheel. The aircraft ended up on its nose.

It happened around 2:40 Wednesday afternoon. Airport Authority officials tell us an Aerona Champ aircraft had some difficulty on the landing.

Operations Manager Tim Schmitt told us, “Upon landing the left wheel came off of the aircraft, which caused it to veer left and go off to the left side of the runway at midfield."

At that point the aircraft tipped forward onto its nose. The pilot and one passenger were inside and unhurt.

Emergency crews were immediately on scene.

The Airport Authority tells us the plane is hangared at Millard. The airport was closed shortly after the incident but reopened later in the afternoon.

The FAA has been notified but there isn't going to be any follow-up investigation at this time.


Story and Video:  http://www.wowt.com 

OMAHA, Neb. —Authorities said a small plane has crashed while landing at Millard Airport, but there are no injuries. 

According to Tim Schmitt, operations manager, a wheel came off the plane as it landed around 2:40 p.m., which caused the plane to spin off the runway and into grass nearby.

The Aeronca Champion plane came to rest nose down but never rolled.

Officials said there was no fuel spill.

The two people on board were not injured. FAA records show it was registered in Nebraska, but the name of its owner is not available.

Story and Photo: http://www.ketv.com

Aircraft force landed in Bulgaria due to bad weather

A Turkish plane en route to Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Airport has made a forced landing in Bulgaria due to poor weather conditions.

The  twin-engine aircraft was reportedly being flown to Turkey by Turkish pilot Oben Oğultarhan and an American pilot.

The pilots' are reportedly in good condition after being found by search and rescue teams.

Four training planes were being flown to Turkey from the United States when bad weather affected their travel. One of the other planes was also forced to land in Bulgaria while another reached Çorlu, close to Istanbul.


Story and Comments/Reaction:  http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com

Smyth Sidewinder, N3786A: Fatal accident occurred November 27, 2013 in Boulder, Colorado

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

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: CEN14FA072
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, November 27, 2013 in Boulder, CO
Probable Cause Approval Date: 02/08/2016
Aircraft: BIESEMEIER DAVID I SMYTH SIDEWINDER, registration: N3786A
Injuries: 1 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.

Radar data showed that, during the first 15 minutes of the cross-country flight, the experimental, amateur-built, airplane had a normal departure and climbout. However, the airplane then suddenly turned and rapidly descended. A witness reported that he heard a loud sound, looked up, and saw the airplane falling out of the sky. Another witness reported seeing flocks of migrating birds in the area about the time of the accident. No radio calls or distress transmissions were received from the pilot. The airplane’s left wing was found about 1,156 ft from the main wreckage. Examination of the engine and flight controls did not reveal any mechanical anomalies that might have contributed to the accident. 

Examination of the left wing revealed no evidence of preexisting conditions that would have contributed to its separation. The wing’s left lower spar cap was fractured about 8 inches outboard of the attachment point through the two rivet holes immediately outboard of the wing-to-fuselage fittings. There was no obvious deformation of the lower spar cap members in the fracture area. The upper spar cap members were fractured between 10 and 12 inches outboard of the attachment point with significant S-type bending of the members in the fracture area. The upper shear bolt remained intact and installed, but the lug portion of the fuselage fitting was fractured. The fracture faces on the upper and lower spar cap members all had a dull, angled, grainy appearance consistent with overstress separation. The lack of deformation of the lower spar cap members, the bending deformation of the upper spar cap members, and the appearance of the fracture faces on the individual members are consistent with a tension overload failure of the lower spar cap and compression overload failure of the upper spar cap. The evidence is consistent with the separation of the left wing due to a positive overload condition. 

Although flocks of migrating birds were seen in the area about the time of the accident, no evidence was found indicating that an in-flight bird strike occurred. However, it is likely that the pilot made an abrupt maneuver, possibly to avoid birds, which resulted in excessive g forces on the wing structure and led to its separation. An autopsy of the pilot did not reveal any medical conditions that might have contributed to the accident.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot’s abrupt maneuver, which exceeded the structural limits of the left wing and resulted in its in-flight separation.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On November 27, 2013, about 1150 central daylight time, a Biesemeier manufactured Smyth Sidwinder experimental homebuilt airplane, N3786A, registered to the pilot, was destroyed when it impacted terrain after an in-flight separation of it's left wing while maneuvering over a rural area near Boulder, Colorado. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed throughout the area and a flight plan was not filed. The flight originated about 1130 from the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (BJC), and it's intended destination was Loveland, Colorado.

During examination on site, the airplane's fuselage was found in a creek bed. The left wing of the airplane was located about 1/3 of a mile from the main wreckage. The wreckage was recovered to a secure facility in Greeley, Colorado for further examination.

Radar data showed a normal departure and climbout from Rocky Mountain Airport during the first 15 minutes of flight, until a sudden turn and rapid descent. A witness in the area reported that he heard a loud sound, looked up, and saw the airplane falling out of the sky. Another witness reported that there were flocks of migrating birds in the area about the time of the accident. No radio calls or distress transmissions were reported from the pilot.

When the NTSB investigator arrived on-scene later in the day, he observed flocks of migrating birds in the area. Recovery of the airplane wreckage was accomplished on the day after the accident. Flocks of migrating birds were observed on that day as well.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot held a valid FAA Private Pilot certificate with an Airplane Single Engine Land rating. He also held a valid FAA Mechanic Airframe & Powerplant certificate. His total flight experience, as reported on his most recent FAA medical application, was about 1,977 hours. The FAA issued the pilot a Third Class Medical Certificate on June 4, 2013. The certificate had an annotation that the pilot "must wear corrective lenses." No pilot logbooks were located during the investigation. According to an associate of the pilot, he had about 900 hours in the accident airplane and flew it about once a week. 

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The pilot had built and owned the airplane since 1981. The airplane was issued its Experimental Amateur-Built airworthiness certificate on April 7, 1982. Build records that were provided exhibited detail and all maintenance logs were current and up to date. The two seat (side-by-side) airplane was powered by a Lycoming O-360 series reciprocating engine.

Documentation found with the maintenance logs showed that the Sidewinder design was conceived in the mid 1960s by a formal Naval fighter pilot. Contemporaries of the Sidewinder would be airplanes such as the Tailwind, T-18, Cavalier, and Mustang II. Its attributes included; fighter-like control response, a smooth aerodynamic look, and easy handling for low time pilots. Its design could accommodate limited aerobatics at plus-6 and minus-3 Gs. It's maximum cruise speed was 150 miles per hour.

The wings are all metal with built-up, riveted spars, formed aluminum ribs, and internal fiberglass wing fuel tanks. The wings are similar in design to the Mustang II, T-18, or RV-6. The airfoil is a NACA 64-212 laminar flow. There are 11 ribs in each wing, formed over wood blocks, and each rib is unique because the wing is tapered. 

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

The main wreckage was located along the side of a creek at grid coordinates: N40 03.740, W105 05.731. The separated left wing was located about 1,156 feet from the main wreckage on an 152 degree azimuth. The entire main wreckage was completely destroyed from impact forces. Control cable continuity was established from the flight control surfaces in the empennage and right wing forward to the cockpit controls. The breaks noted in the flight control cables were consistent with stretching and overload breaks upon impact. After on scene documentation of the main wreckage in-situ, the left wing was moved next to the fuselage to accomplish flight control continuity examination. The breaks on the flight control cables outboard to the left wing were consistent with stretching and overload breaks upon wing separation. Examination of the engine did not reveal any mechanical anomalies. Examination of the propeller assembly showed that the wooden propeller blades were severely fractured consistent with rotation/power upon impact. Examination of the separated left wing revealed that the lower left spar cap was found fractured about 8 inches outboard of the wing-to-fuselage attach point. The fracture appeared to exhibit overload evidence and the components were retained for further examination.

There was no evidence found of an in-flight bird strike.

TESTS AND RESEARCH

The main spar at the inboard end was a simple built up structure consisting of 8 aluminum straps on both the upper and lower spar caps with a thinner web installed between. Four straps are installed on the forward side of the web and four are installed on the aft side. Steel fittings are installed on the forward and aft sides of the spar caps at the inboard end to produce a clevis fitting for installation of the wing on the airplane. The clevis fittings mate with lugs at the airplane side-of-body with a shear bolt installed to attach the main spar to the fuselage.

The left lower spar cap fractured about 8 inches outboard of the attach point through the two rivet holes immediately outboard of the fittings. The lower shear bolt remained intact and installed in the fuselage with the section of lower spar cap attached. There was no obvious deformation of the lower spar cap members in the area of fracture. The upper spar cap members were fractured between 10 and 12 inches outboard of the attach point with significant S-type bending of the members in the area of fracture. The upper shear bolt remained intact and installed but the lug portion of the fuselage fitting was fractured.

The fracture faces on the upper spar cap members all had a dull, angled, grainy appearance consistent with over stress separation. There were some small areas of smearing on the fracture faces consistent with fracture face re-contact. There was no evidence of pre-existing cracks on any of the members. The fracture faces on the lower spar cap members all had a dull, angled, grainy appearance consistent with over stress separation. There was no evidence of preexisting cracks on any of the members.

The lack of deformation at the lower spar cap fracture and the appearance of the fracture faces of the individual members is consistent with a tension overload failure of the lower spar cap. The bending deformation of the upper spar cap members and the appearance of the fracture faces of the individual members is consistent with a compression overload failure of the upper spar cap. Taken together the evidence is consistent with the separation of the left wing due to a positive overload condition. There was no evidence of pre-existing conditions that would contribute to the separation.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

An autopsy of the pilot was performed by the Office of the Boulder County Coroner on February 1, 2014, and the cause of death was listed as "Multiple Blunt Trauma Injuries." Toxicology tests performed by the FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute were negative for drugs, alcohol, and carbon monoxide. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The airplane wreckage was released to the owner's representative.

http://registry.faa.gov/N3786A

NTSB Identification: CEN14FA072
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, November 27, 2013 in Boulder, CO
Aircraft: BIESEMEIER DAVID I SMYTH SIDEWINDER, registration: N3786A
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 27, 2013, about 1150 central daylight time, an experimental homebuilt airplane, N3786A, registered to the pilot, was destroyed when it impacted terrain after an in-flight separation of it's wing while maneuvering over a rural area near Boulder, Colorado. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed throughout the area and a flight plan was not filed. The flight originated about 1130 from the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (BJC), and it's intended destination was Loveland, Colorado.

During examination on site, the airplane's fuselage was found in a creek bed. The left wing of the airplane was located about 1/3 of a mile from the main wreckage. The wreckage was recovered to a secure facility in Greeley, Colorado for further examination.

Radar data showed a normal departure and climbout from Rocky Mountain Airport during the first 15 minutes of flight, until a sudden turn and rapid descent. A witness in the area reported that he heard a loud sound, looked up, and saw the airplane falling out of the sky. No radio calls or distress transmissions were reported from the pilot.


Love of flying kept Loveland pilot aloft: David Biesemeier, who died in crash Wednesday, built his own plane 32 years ago 

 
Loveland resident Dave Biesemeier flies his Smyth Sidewinder airplane along Colorado's Front Range in this picture provided by his wife, Lyne. Dave Biesemeier died Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013, when the plane that he built crashed in a field near Erie. 


LOVELAND -- On the last day of his life, David Biesemeier flew to Broomfield to help a friend with an airplane, had lunch with his pilot buddies and climbed into the plane he built 32 years ago for the trip back home to Loveland.

He made it as far as Erie, where his single-engine Smyth Sidewinder crashed in Boulder County open space near North 109th Street about 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27.

"He was a very helpful person," his wife, Lyne Biesemeier, said Monday. "He would do anything to help anybody with their airplanes."

Dave, as he liked to be called, had been flying since 1976, Lyne said. Shortly after getting his private pilot's license, he started building the Sidewinder at their Denver home.

"First we had to build a garage before we could build the plane," she recalled.

It took them four years, following a set of plans, with Lyne doing most of the riveting of the aluminum skin to the steel-tube frame.

Active in retirement, Dave, 66, loved to hike with Lyne in Rocky Mountain National Park, and he rode his bicycle "all over," she said. But his biggest love was flying.

"He flew that plane at least a couple of times a week," Lyne said. Every Saturday, Dave and a group of friends would pick a destination in Colorado or a neighboring state and fly there for breakfast. On Wednesdays, he would fly to Broomfield for lunch at the airport with his friends.

He had taken the two-seater as far west as San Francisco and as far east as Kitty Hawk, N.C., for the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture Cup Race to Oshkosh, Wis.

Lyne said she never really liked riding in the plane she helped build because, although it was a two-place aircraft, it was cramped. "I didn't fly in it very much."

But she didn't mind that her husband flew so often. "He was a great pilot," she said, and had logged about 1,900 hours in the plane.

Dave retired in 2003 as a tool and die maker after 29 years at Coors Brewing Co.'s container business in Golden. He combined his love of airplanes and his mechanical skill in his volunteer role as a technical counselor for the
Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) chapters in Broomfield and Loveland.

"He would go out and inspect other people's planes as they were building them, to make sure they were building them right," she said, and he also did inspections for people who were buying experimental planes.

An experimental plane, she explained, is one built from a kit or from plans, rather than at a factory - the "experimental" doesn't necessarily mean it's an unproven design.

On Wednesday, he had flown down to Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield to help with the friend's plane and then had his customary lunch with friends.

"He was flying back up here when the accident happened," Lyne said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash, but it hasn't issued a preliminary report yet.

"We don't know what happened," Lyne said. "There's speculation that it could have been a bird strike in that area.

"We may never know what happened," she said.

Dave Biesemeier, a native of Denver, is survived by his wife of 45 years, Lyne, two children, two grandchildren and two sisters.

Lyne said they plan to have a memorial service for Dave next summer at the Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport.


Story and Photo:  http://www.reporterherald.com


BOULDER COUNTY - The Boulder County Coroner's Office identified the 66-year-old pilot killed in a plane crash Wednesday. 

Loveland resident David Biesemeier died when his plane crashed to the ground in open space in the 4900 block of North 109th Street.

According to the FAA, the airplane was an experimental Smyth Sidewinder, a homebuilt kit aircraft.

The sheriff's office confirmed the plane had pieces falling off of it when it went down Wednesday afternoon.

Witnesses said they heard a large explosion just before the plane began to break apart.

Crews on the scene say Biesemeier was the only person on board.

A dive team was also working the scene because the craft was partially in the water.

The FAA and the NTSB are investigating this incident.

Biesemeier was the current president of the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 43.

The association's vice president, Lynn Miller, said that Biesemeier built the plane that crashed.

Miller said that Biesemeier was a wonderful man dedicated to flying.



A piece of the Smyth Sidewinder plane that crashed 


 A lone person can be seen standing near the plane wreckage.

Rescuers responded about 12:45 p.m. Wednesday to a plane crash on open space at 4900 N. 109th St. in Boulder County.


A witness called 911 and reported seeing the crash. 



The downed plane is east and slightly north of the washed out bridge on 109th Street. 



The Boulder County Sheriff's Office confirmed at least one fatality, the pilot of the plane.

Kira Cady, who lives on Lookout Road about a mile from the crash site, said she was cleaning up after her horses when she saw the plane.

"I saw the left wing of the plane fall off, it looked like half to three-fourths.  I heard the engine and then the wing broke, and then I saw debris going down. I immediately called 911."



Heard a "kaboom" at the end after the plane went down.

"It was crazy. I was crossing my fingers that he was going to end up alive."

Lori Greene, who lives at 4998 109th, just north of crash site, said she heard what sound like an explosion at 12:47 p.m. She knows the exact time because she was on her computer.

"I have animals, so I went to make sure no car had hit them. And when I came out, I saw debris in my neighbor's yard," she said.

That debris includes two long metal chunks. On her own property, she found smaller pieces of metal, glass and blue styrofoam, as well as an air sickness bag.

 "I certainly didn't think a plane had exploded and fallen out of the sky, but it didn't sound like a car accident.

There were no tires screeching or anything like that. ... When I saw the motion sickness bag in my own yard, that's when I knew."

Greene said that on warm days and weekends, there's usually a pilot overhead, sometimes doing aerobatics.

The Boulder County Sheriff's Office identified the plane as a Smyth Sidewinder, a homebuilt, kit aircraft.

 A plane tracker on the Denver International Airport website shows a general aviation aircraft heading north into the crash area around 12:45 p.m. The plane abruptly disappears from the tracker at that time.

Boulder County Sheriff's deputies, Colorado State Patrol, Mountain View Fire Protection and Lafayette police and fire were all on the scene of the crash, which happened a few hundred feet east of the road in a "washed out area" in or near Boulder Creek.  
National Transportation Safety Board investigators were expected on the scene around 4 p.m.

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