14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, June 20, 2014 in Sauk Rapids, MN
Probable Cause Approval Date: 03/02/2015
Aircraft: BRUMWELL RV-6, registration: N135BB
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.
About 5 minutes after the experimental amateur-built RV-6 airplane departed from a local airport, an air traffic controller notified the pilot that an Airbus was 30 miles southwest of the airport and inbound. About 7 minutes later, the pilot reported that he had the Airbus in sight and then stated that he was going to take a picture of it. No further communications were received from the pilot. A witness reported observing the RV-6 “rocking back and forth” before the “nose went down” and then seeing two objects come off the airplane when it entered a descent. Another witness reported hearing engine noise before observing the airplane enter a steep nose-down descent. The airplane impacted a house and was destroyed by a postimpact fire.
The two objects that the witness observed coming off the RV-6, which were a headset and PVC material, were later located near the accident site and did not exhibit thermal damage or soot. The exit of the two objects from the airplane’s interior indicates that the canopy likely opened in flight, which led to the loss of pitch control. Fire damage precluded examination of the airplane’s canopy and systems; therefore, the reason for the canopy opening in flight could not be determined. There was no radar or recorded position and time data for either airplane; therefore, the effects, if any, of wake turbulence from the Airbus on the RV-6 could not be determined.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot’s loss of pitch control due to the in-flight opening of the canopy during cruise flight for reasons that could not be determined because fire damage precluded examination of the airplane’s canopy and systems.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On June 20, 2014, about 2029 central daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Brumwell RV-6, N135BB, impacted a house after a departure from cruise flight near Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, and about 6 miles northwest of the St Cloud Regional Airport (STC), St Cloud, Minnesota. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed by post-crash fire. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight and was not operating on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The local flight originated from STC about 2010.
According to a transcript of STC Air Traffic Control Tower (ATC) communications, the pilot contacted STC ATC about 2011 and transmitted an initial departure heading of west/southwest.
About 2012, ATC cleared the airplane for takeoff from runway 13 and a turn to the west/southwest.
About 2016, the pilot transmitted that it would maneuver over the western part of town, then fly up the river, and contact ATC when inbound. The pilot transmitted the flight was an aerial tour of the city for the passenger aboard.
About 2017, ATC transmitted that an Airbus 319 [Allegiant Flight 108 (AAY108)] was 30 miles southwest of the airport and was inbound. The pilot transmitted, "I'll look for allegiant…"
About 2023, AAY108 transmitted that it was on a right base for runway 13. ATC then cleared AAY108 to land on runway 13. The pilot transmitted that they were over the river, by the hospital at 2,000 feet. The pilot then transmitted, "ah where's the airbus right now." AAY108 transmitted that it was 11 [miles] southwest of the airport.
About 2024, ATC and the pilot transmitted that they had AAY108 in sight. The pilot then transmitted, "and allegiant one three five bravo bravo i'm an r v six about your 12 o'clock position right over the river at two thousand feet." AAY108 transmitted that it had the airplane on its traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) and was currently descending through 3,300 feet. The pilot transmitted, "yeah we'll keep comms with you plenty of room to maneuver there."
About 2025, the pilot transmitted, "I got a camera out we're gonna take a picture of ya." AAY108 transmitted, "we have you in sight as well."
There were no further transmissions from the airplane.
A witness near the accident site stated seeing a jet flying east and a small airplane flying north. The small airplane started "wobbling and shaking" and then started "going down." The small airplane was offset from the jet about 45 degrees from the tail of the jet. The witness stated that the small airplane may have been at a higher altitude than the jet. The small airplane's wings were "rocking back and forth" before the "nose went down." The witness stated seeing a dark and a light colored object come from the small airplane.
Another witness stated that he was sitting and facing east in his house's driveway. He looked south when he heard engine noise from the accident airplane. He said the airplane was in a "nose-dive." He said that the airplane was heading north. The airplane had about a 70 degree nose down attitude while in the descent. He said there was no fire from the airplane. The airplane was not rotating while it was descending. He said the winds were from the south and that there was "not a lot of wind."
OTHER DAMAGE
The home that was struck by the airplane sustained impact and fire damage.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
The pilot, age 60, was employed as captain on Boeing 737 airplanes at an air carrier. He held an airline transport pilot certificate with airplane multiengine land, airplane single-engine land, airplane single- engine sea ratings. He held Boeing 727 and Boeing 737 type ratings. He held a flight instructor certificate with airplane single-engine and instrument airplane ratings. He held a flight engineer certificate with a turbojet powered rating.
A pilot logbook recovered from the wreckage had a beginning entry dated April 2013 with a tachometer time entry of 1,324.7 hours and the last entry was dated June 2014 with a tachometer time entry of 1,383.2 hours. All the pilot logbook were entries for the accident airplane.
The pilot's flight experience included 24,465 total hours, of which 478 hours were in the last six months as of his last airman medical examination dated January 23, 2014. The pilot was issued a first class airman medical certificate with the following limitation: must wear corrective lenses.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The airplane was a 1992 Brumwell RV-6, serial number 20598, experimental amateur-built airplane that was powered by a Lycoming O-360-A1A, serial number L-33015-36A, engine. The airplane was built by the previous owner/builder. The airplane was equipped with an upward (tip-up) opening canopy.
On December 19, 2012, the pilot purchased the airplane from the aircraft builder. On March 5, 2013, the airplane's registration to the pilot was accepted by the Federal Aviation Administration.
On January 6, 2013, at a total time in service and a tachometer time of 1,305.9 hours, the last aircraft logbook entry made by the previous owner/builder was for a pre-sale checkout of the airplane, which "checked ok."
The pilot logbook that was recovered from the wreckage had an entry dated August 24, 2013, for a flight in the accident airplane from JKJ [Moorhead Municipal Airport, Moorhead, Minnesota] to STC. The remarks section of this entry contained "canopy opened descending @ 120 kts STC" at a tachometer time of 1,359.6 hours. A review of the airframe logbook did not reveal a corresponding entry relating to the August 24, 2013, pilot logbook entry.
On April 14, 2014, at a total time in service and a tachometer time of 1,373 hours, an aircraft and engine logbook entries indicated that a condition inspection was completed and that the airplane and engine were found to be in a condition for safe operation. The entries were signed by an airframe and power plant mechanic. There were no additional aircraft logbook entries dated after April 14, 2014.
FLIGHT RECORDERS
There was no nonvolatile memory that could provide airplane position and time information due to the airplane's type of avionics installation and damage from the accident. There was no radar data available for the airplane. The flight data recorder from AAY108 was downloaded by the National Transportation Safety Board Vehicle Recorders Laboratory. The download included parameters of airplane position, altitude, speed, and configuration.
A plot of AAY108's flight track was produced by a National Transportation Safety Board Senior Air Traffic Investigator and is included in the docket of the report.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
The airplane was consumed by post-crash fire and by the fire of the home that the airplane impacted. The damage precluded functional testing and examination of the airplane systems. The canopy and its latching mechanisms were consumed by fire and could not be examined.
A headset case that contained an aviation head set and white PVC material were found at a neighboring house near the accident site. The pilot's name was on materials within the headset case. The head set and PVC material did not exhibit thermal damage or soot. PVC material has been used by builders of homebuilt airplanes for wheel chocks or control locks.
MEDICAL INFORMATION
An autopsy of the pilot was conducted by the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office, Ramsey, Minnesota, on June 21, 2014. The autopsy report stated the cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries due to plane crash.
The FAA's Final Forensic Toxicology Fatal Accident Report of the pilot stated that testing for carbon monoxide and cyanide were not performed, no ethanol was detected in the muscle and the liver, and no listed drugs were detected the in liver.
TESTS AND RESEARCH
The effects of wake turbulence, if any, could not be determined without relative position and time information from radar/recorded data for both airplanes.
The Lancair Legacy Canopy Safety Issue (Thorn 2014) discusses accidents resulting from flight with the upward opening canopies that become unlatched/open in flight for Lancair and not RV airplanes, which also have upward opening canopies. The paper states in part:
"There are several potential root causes of the Legacy's open canopy flight hazard. One is the canopy is large and, if not latched down in flight, it will open to varying degrees and alter the air flow over the tail/stabilizers and under some situations create significant pitch attitude stability and control issues.
Another potential root cause may be the pilot's loss of reliable airplane pitch attitude reference where the canopy's structural frame serves as a key attitude reference line and as the open canopy moves it corrupts the pilot's normal visual pitch attitude reference cues.
There may also be a tendency for pilots flying with the shock and chaos of an open canopy, with severe cockpit wind, noise, and debris flying about, to induce pitch attitude oscillations by their control inputs."
An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board couldn't determine why a small plane crashed into a Sauk Rapids house June 20, killing the pilot and a German foreign exchange student who was a passenger.
The eight-page report provides the known details of the flight flown by St. Cloud commercial pilot Scott A. Olson, 60, and carrying passenger Alexander Voigt, a 16-year-old Technical High School student.
Both were killed when the plane crashed into a home at 731 Garden Place. Olson was flying Voigt over the St. Cloud area so the foreign exchange student, who was staying in Minnesota with St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis, could take some pictures before the end of his stay in the United States.
A man who was in the house at 731 Garden Place escaped by jumping from a second-floor window and was unharmed.
Olson's daughter was friends with Voigt, and Olson had agreed to give Voigt an aerial tour of the St. Cloud area a week before Voigt was to fly home to Germany.
The NTSB report discusses the possibility that the cockpit's canopy opened during flight, causing Olson's plane to "wobble back and forth" before beginning a nose dive that ended with the crash.
The report indicates that the plane was too badly damaged by the crash and resulting fire to do testing on the canopy and its latching mechanisms. It indicates that Olson's plane had its canopy come open during a descent in August 2013 at St. Cloud Regional Airport.
The report also states that the effects of wake turbulence from an Allegiant flight that was in the area at the time of the crash "could not be determined" because there wasn't data to tell where those planes were in relation to each other right before the crash.
Witnesses reported seeing the Allegiant flight in the same area as Olson's plane before the crash.
The NTSB report indicates that Olson and the pilot of the Allegiant flight were communicating before the crash and that both were aware of the other's position.
Five minutes before the crash, the pilot of the Allegiant flight "transmitted that it had the airplane on its traffic collision avoidance system" and was about 1,300 feet above Olson's plane and descending," according to the NTSB report.
Olson transmitted that the Allegiant flight had "plenty of room to maneuver there," according to the report.
Four minutes before the crash, Olson transmitted that he had "a camera out we're gonna take a picture of ya."
The Allegiant pilot replied "we have you in sight as well."
That was the last transmission from Olson's plane.
A witness on the ground saw Olson's plane shake and wobble before the nose went down, according to the NTSB report. That witness reported seeing a dark and a light colored object come from Olson's plane as it was descending.
Investigators believe those objects were an aviation headset belonging to Olson that was found on a property near the crash site and a piece of PVC pipe that has been used on similar planes for wheel chocks or control locks, according to the report.
The NTSB report references a report about that addressed safety issues of cockpit canopies of the type on Olson's plane.
Not having the canopy latched tightly during flight can alter the air flow over the plane's tail and stabilizers, causing significant aircraft stability and control issues, according to the report.
A loose canopy can alter the pilot's visual references relating to altitude, and an open cockpit during flight can create a chaotic environment for a pilot trying to deal with severe wind, noise and debris flying around as the pilot tries to control altitude, the report said.
NTSB Identification: CEN14FA306
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, June 20, 2014 in Sauk Rapids, MN
Aircraft: BRUMWELL RV-6, registration: N135BB
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 June 20, 2014, about 2034 central daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Brumwell RV-6; N135BB, impacted a house after a departure from cruise flight about 6 miles northwest of the St Cloud Regional Airport (STC), St Cloud, Minnesota. The airplane was destroyed by post-crash fire. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight and was not operating on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The local flight originated from STC about 2010.
Investigating Flight Standards District Office: FAA Minneapolis FSDO-15
BRUMWELL ROBERT K, Van's RV-6, N135BB, Scott A. Olson, N135BB: http://registry.faa.gov/N135BB
Scott A. Olson, Alexander Voigt
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ST. CLOUD — A family friend of Scott A. Olson has confirmed to WJON that he was the pilot of the small engine plane that crashed into a home in Sauk Rapids.
Trina Sturlaugson says Olson had 30 to 40 years of pilot experience flying both commercial and small planes. She says, “He was a very special person to our family.”
The name of the passenger on the plane, who was also killed, was 16-year-old Alexander Voigt. Voigt was a German foreign exchange student hosted by St. Cloud mayor Dave Kleis. Kleis says Olson was an experienced pilot who was giving Voigt the thrill of a lifetime by allowing him to take aerial pictures of the St. Cloud area.
Voigt was attending Technical High School. Investigators are waiting to officially release both names once the family of the passenger has been notified.
Olson was giving Voigt an aerial tour of the St. Cloud area so the teen could take photos. Voigt was scheduled to return to Germany this week.
Kleis says Voigt loved the Olson family and stayed with them numerous times during his ten months in St. Cloud. Kleis says he has been in communication with Voigt’s mother who is planning a trip to St. Cloud.
The plane crashed into a Sauk Rapids home on Friday night. One person was in the house at the time, but he was able to get out safely. No one on the ground was hurt.
Sauk Rapids police chief Perry Beise says his department is no longer involved in the incident. He says, since it’s not a criminal investigation, the police department is not working the case.
Their primary role during the incident on Friday night was just public safety, and crowd control.
The National Transportation Safety Board the the Federal Aviation Administration are continuing to investigate what caused the plane to crash.
Meanwhile, services have been set for Olson. Visitation for family and friends will be from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Thursday at St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud and after 10:00 a.m. on Friday at Christ Church Newman Center in St. Cloud. A Memorial Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, June 27, 2014 at Christ Church Newman Center in St. Cloud.
Scott Olson
Age: 60
Born: 03-31-1954
Died: 06-20-2014
Visitation:
St. Mary's Cathedral, St. Cloud, Minnesota
Service:
Christ Newman Center, St. Cloud, Minnesota
Scott A. Olson, 60, St. Cloud MN made his final flight Friday, June 20, 2014.
A Memorial Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, June 27, 2014 at Christ Church Newman Center in St. Cloud. Reverend Anthony Oelrich will officiate. Military Honors will be held after mass on Friday.
Visitation for family and friends will be from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Thursday at St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud and after 10:00 a.m. on Friday at Christ Church Newman Center in St. Cloud.
Scott was born to Arland and Elsie (Carter) Olson and raised in rural Sheldon, ND. After graduation, Scott enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He graduated from UND with a degree in Business Aviation. Scott worked for various airlines, he was most recently employed by Sun Country Airlines. Scott was deeply grateful to be able to support his family doing something that he loved. He was very proud of Sun Country Airlines and considered his co-workers the best in the industry and good friends. While working at Sun Country, Scott felt honored to participate in numerous Honor Flights for our military veterans. Without fail, he was known to go way above and beyond to make a memorable or more comfortable flight for his passengers. His colleagues consistently described him as one of the best in the business.
While those of us left to mourn his loss think his departure was much too soon, we are confident in an on time arrival in heaven and we know that he has planned and packed well for this final journey. He had a deep faith in God and was a member of Christ Church Newman Center where so many deep and lasting friendships have been formed. He was especially proud of his children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and cherished the innumerable one on one experiences with each and every one of them on multiple occasions.
His love of aviation was most notably evident in his E.A.A. membership supporting the Young Eagles Program. Inspiring young people to love flying was his greatest joy. Providing airplane rides to people of all ages was his greatest passion. Joining the local “fly boys” at various fly in events was one of his greatest pleasures.
Scott was a devoted Husband, Father, Grandfather, Son, Brother, and Friend.
He is survived by his wife, Becky; daughters, Jessica (Sterling) Kuntz, Sadie and Anna; son, Jacob; grandsons, Connor and Carson Kuntz; father, Arland; sisters, Deb (Rod) Garland, Heidi (Allan) Krauter, Holly (Dale) Rosenkranz; brother, Warren (Shirley); brother-in-law, Scott Schmitz; sisters-in-law, Lori (Mason) Mehring and Tammy Lopez; mother-in-law, Delores Thompson; and numerous nieces, nephew, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends all across the country.
Waiting patiently for his arrival and ready to meet him at the gates are his beloved mother, Elsie; cherished brother-in-law, Bill Lopez; and several aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.
To those who were fortunate to have known him, we ask that you honor Scott’s memory by sharing a favorite memory with a friend…..preferably the long detailed version!
They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. Isaiah 40:31.
Source: http://www.danielfuneralhome.com/obituary
The area where a small plane hit a house Friday evening is likely just outside of what is considered St. Cloud's "controlled airspace," meaning that the pilot wasn't required to be in consistent contact with air traffic controllers about his location and plans for his flight.
St. Cloud Regional Airport's controlled airspace is about 4½ to 5 miles in each direction from the center of the airport, and the location of the crash is farther away from the airport than that. Investigators will look at what communication occurred between pilot Scott Olson and air traffic controllers and between those controllers and the pilot of an Allegiant Air flight that was seen in the area of Olson's plane just before the crash.
Witnesses reported seeing the planes close to one another just before Olson's plane crashed into a house at 731 Garden Place at about 8:26 p.m. Friday.
Killed in the crash were Olson, 60, and Alexander Voigt, 16, a German foreign exchange student whose host in the United States was St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis.
Olson was a tenant of St. Cloud Regional Airport, according to Bill Towle, director of St. Cloud Regional Airport. A spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed that Olson's Brumwell RV-6 experimental craft departed St. Cloud Regional Airport at about 7:55 p.m. and was scheduled to return later that night.
Because Olson's flight departed from the St. Cloud airport, he had to tell air traffic controllers there what he was planning to do after takeoff, Towle said. But once he got outside controlled airspace, he wasn't required to maintain that communication, Towle said.
That doesn't mean Olson wasn't talking to those air traffic controllers. Investigators likely will review recordings of the air traffic controllers' communications to determine whether Olson knew about the proximity of the Allegiant flight and whether Allegiant's pilot knew Olson's plane was in the area.
The Allegiant flight was required to contact the control tower before it entered controlled airspace, Towle said, and that typically happens when the flight is 10-15 miles out.
"Whether they're in the airspace or not, even if they are in the vicinity, aircraft that are coming to St. Cloud typically will call from a distance, 10 or 15 miles, and they'll radio their intentions," Towle said. "They'll talk about where they're coming from, where their location is, what their altitude and speed is."
The tower can then contact all other aircraft that might be in the vicinity to ensure that each pilot is aware of that.
"They are the conduit for the aircraft operating in the area," Towle said of the air traffic controllers.
The NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration are jointly investigating the crash and hope to have a preliminary report available within 10 business days of the accident. It could take up to a year for a final conclusion about what caused the crash.
The plane crashed into a home owned by Jeff Hille, a teacher and baseball coach at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School. Hille was not home at the time. His brother-in-law, Kole Heckendorf, was in the house and escaped out of a second-floor window. Hille, Heckendorf and Hille's sister, Kristen, had been living in the home and have since been staying with family.
Hille benefit fund
BankVista has established a benefit fund for Jeff Hille, who lost his home and belongs when a plane crashed into it Friday.
Funds can be mailed to the bank — 125 Twin Rivers Court, Sartell, MN 56377 — or donated in person. To reach the bank by phone, call 320-257-1600 or 877-415-0008.
Story and photo: http://www.sctimes.com
Sunday saw a quiet evening at St. Cloud Regional Airport, which is where 60-year-old Scott Olson stored his Brumwell RV-6 experimental airplane before it crashed into a home in Sauk Rapids, Minn.
"He was always here for everybody, and they're an awesome family," friend Bob Campbell told Fox 9 News. "I just feel sorry for everybody involved."
Family and friends are mourning the loss of a married father of 3 children who was also an experienced pilot for Sun Country airlines.
"You would never think of that happening to Scott," Campbell said. "He was meticulous at everything."
Investigators say that before the crash on Friday evening, Olson was sightseeing and taking photographs with a friend in his personal single-engine plane. Peter Knudson, with the National Transportation Safety Board, confirmed that witnesses saw Olson flying near an Allegiant Airlines plane coming from Arizona. That flight eventually landed at St. Cloud Regional Airport, but investigators are considering the possibility that Olson's plane may have been caught in the larger airliner's wake turbulence.
"Our investigator will be reviewing the radar as well as the air traffic control communications," Knudson assured. "When a plane flies through the air, it creates almost like a little tornado coming off those wing tips, but it's horizontal. So, instead of going up and down, it's side-to-side and trails the plane."
Andrea Pocklington lives in nearby Sartell, and she saw it all happen.
"The way that they were flying, it almost looked like if they kept going, they would have met," she said. "Then, the big plane turned to the right and the little plane turned towards the left and seemed to make a U-turn."
Olson eventually crashed into a home on the 700 block of Garden Place in Sauk Rapids. Somehow, Kole Heckendorf was able to survive the impact and jumped to safety from a second floor window. His brother-in-law, Jeff Hille, was not home at the time. Even so, he says his thoughts are now with the pilot and his passenger.
"Not too much to feel sorry for when you look at the pilot and whoever else was on the plane," Hille said.
Story and photo gallery: http://www.myfoxtwincities.com
SAUK RAPIDS – Authorities on Sunday were still in the process of identifying at least one of the two victims killed in a plane crash Friday night in Sauk Rapids. And a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board likely won't be ready until at least late this week.
Sauk Rapids Police Chief Perry Beise said, while one preliminary identification apparently has been made, a second continues to delay any official announcement as to who was in the small plane that crashed into a home at 731 Garden Place at about 8:26 p.m. Friday.
"One of the families hasn't been notified yet," Beise said. "So as soon as we can do that, hopefully as soon as possible — maybe (Monday) or the next day — we can get something out. It's going to take a bit to do a 100 percent positive identification of the remains ... they weren't identifiable in the house."
Beise said the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office in Ramsey is handling the identifications of the victims. The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office did not immediately return a message Sunday.
Peter Knudson, a spokesman for the NTSB, said Sunday the plane carried the marking N135BB. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane with that number, a Brumwell RV-6 experimental craft, is owned by Scott A. Olson of St. Cloud. According to his LinkedIn profile, Olson has been a pilot for Sun Country Airlines since 1989. The NTSB and FAA are in joint investigation of the crash, Knudson said.
"Our goal is to have a preliminary report available within 10 business days of the accident, however, it's possible it could be sooner," said Knudson, who is based in Washington, D.C. "I think the investigator has finished his on-scene work, so it could possibly be out this week ... it won't be very extensive. It usually lays out the time and location and a few factual things. To reach a final conclusion takes an average of about 12 months."
The plane is a single-engine model with two seats and a bubble-top canopy.
"We understand it was departing and returning to the St. Cloud airport," Knudson said. "It took off at about 7:55 p.m."
Before the crash, the Brumwell RV-6 was in the vicinity of an Allegiant Air flight from Mesa, Arizona, that landed at St. Cloud Regional Airport. The Allegiant Airbus 319 arrived at about 8:30 p.m. Friday. Allegiant officials are cooperating with the NTSB in an effort to find out what happened.
"We are aware of that," Knudson said. "I've been asked a lot if we're looking at that, and the answer is yes. It's one of the things we're looking at. But I want to stress that it's just one element of the investigation."
According to police, the small plane was on a sightseeing trip when it crashed. Beise said the area of the crash can be in the flight path to the airport. Bill Towle, who is director of St. Cloud Regional Airport, did not immediately return a message Sunday.
"We're pretty much done with the investigation, though we didn't really have a part in it other than doing scene security," Beise said. "Our job was basically to allow the NTSB and the FAA to do their jobs and remove the victims."
The plane crashed into a home owned by Jeff Hille, a teacher and baseball coach at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School. Hille was not home at the time, but his brother-in-law, Kole Heckendorf, was in the house but escaped out of a second-floor window. Hille, Heckendorf and Hille's sister, Kristen, had been living in the home and have since been staying with family in the area.
Friday's crash was the deadliest in Minnesota since three people were killed in a crash Nov. 1 near Caledonia. The previous most recent fatal crash in Central Minnesota was Oct. 28 when one person was killed near Princeton. Two people last died in an area plane crash on Dec. 30, 2010, near Milaca. All of those planes were Piper aircraft. The last fatal plane crash in the St. Cloud metro area was Oct. 11, 1984, when one person died. In the past 50 years, there have been 19 fatal crashes in the area involving the deaths of 33 people.
Fatal plane crashes in Central Minnesota
Below is a list of the fatal plane crashes in Central Minnesota during the past 50 years, according to the National Transportation Safety Board:
Date – Crash site – Plane – Victims
» Oct. 28, 2013 – Princeton – Piper PA 22-150 – 1
» Dec. 30, 2010 – Milaca – Piper PA 46-310P – 2
» Aug. 22, 2010 – Clearwater – Schneider Christen Eagle II – 2
» July 1, 2006 – Clear Lake – Cessna A185E – 1
» March 16, 2003 – Foley – Cessna 172N – 3
» June 1, 1998 – Little Falls – Cessna 421 – 1
» May 21, 1998 – Maple Lake – Kreatz Genesis – 2
» March 29, 1997 – Big Lake – Cessna 140 – 1
» Aug. 7, 1988 – Pierz – Aeronca 7AC – 1
» Nov. 4, 1986 – Becker – Skiorsky S-58ET – 1
» July 7, 1986 – Elrosa – Bell 47G-5 – 1
» Oct. 11, 1984 – St. Cloud – Harbaugh John T Cougar-1 – 1
» July 24, 1984 – Little Falls – Grumman AA-5 – 4
» June 17, 1979 – Clearwater – Grumman AA-1B – 1
» April 17, 1978 – St. Cloud – Piper PA-23 – 1
» June 20, 1976 – Rockville – Piper PA-18 – 2
» Sept. 4, 1972 – Princeton – Piper PA-22 – 4
» Oct. 25, 1970 – St. Cloud – Mooney M20C – 3
» July 5, 1968 – Clearwater – Cessna 172H – 1
For more, visit www.ntsb.gov.
Source: http://www.sctimes.com
SAUK RAPIDS – Authorities on Sunday were still in the process of identifying at least one of the two victims in a fatal plane crash Friday night in Sauk Rapids.
Sauk Rapids Police Chief Perry Beise said, while one preliminary identification apparently has been made, a second continues to delay any official announcement as to who was in the small plane that crashed into a home at 731 Garden Place at about 8:26 p.m. Friday.
"One of the families hasn't been notified yet," Beise said. "So as soon as we can do that, hopefully as soon as possible – maybe tomorrow or the next day – we can get something out. It's going to take a bit to do a 100 percent positive identification of the remains ... they weren't identifiable in the house."
Beise said the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office in Ramsey is handling the identifications of the victims. The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office did not immediately return a message on Sunday.
The National Transportation Safety Board has said it is investigating the crash, which involved a Brumwell RV-6 experimental airplane. The small plane crashed after it was in the vicinity of an Allegiant Air flight from Mesa, Arizona, that landed at St. Cloud Regional Airport. The Allegiant Airbus 319 arrived at about 8:30 p.m. Friday. Allegiant officials are cooperating with the NTSB in an effort to find out what happened.
Beise said the Federal Aviation Administration also is involved in the investigation, and the Brumwell RV-6 was kept at St. Cloud Regional Airport. The area of the crash can be in the flight path to the airport, Beise said. Bill Towle, who is director of the St. Cloud Regional Airport, did not immediately return a message on Sunday.
"We're pretty much done with the investigation, though we didn't really have a part in it other than doing scene security," Beise said. "Our job was basically to allow the NTSB and the FAA to do their jobs and remove the victims."
The plane crashed into a home owned by Jeff Hille, a teacher and baseball coach at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School. Hille was not home at the time but his brother-in-law, Kole Heckendorf, was in the house but escaped out of a second-floor window. Hille, Heckendorf and Hille's sister, Kristen, had been living in the home and have since been staying with family in the area.
Source: http://www.sctimes.com
SAUK RAPIDS, Minn. - It was a sightseeing trip gone wrong as a single-engine plane plummeted into a home around 8:30 p.m. Friday night in Sauk Rapids, sparking a massive fire.
There was a man in the home at the time, but he was able to escape through a window. Two people on board the plane died. Authorities have yet to release their names.
Investigators with the NTSB and FAA were at the home on the 700 block of Garden Place all day Saturday.
An NTSB tweet identified the plane as a Brumwell RV-6 experimental plane.
Neighbor Carrie Schueller saw the plane fall out of the sky. She was with her husband and some friends when she witnessed the crash.
"I looked up and saw a plane upside down," she told the St. Cloud Times. "I screamed run!"
The plane crashed into the kitchen of the Sauk Rapids home leaving the four external walls of the house standing.
"We turned around and watched it explode into the house," Schuller said.
Neighbor Allie Steinbach also saw the crash. She said a lot of people ran to see what happened.
"I saw the flames and it was very scary," she said.
The owner of the home Jeff Hille, a teacher and baseball coach at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School, had been standing in that kitchen with friends just minutes before the crash. He said they had just left the home to go out to eat, after a day of golf, and were only about a mile from the home when the crash occurred.
"My neighbor called me and she was just hysterical and she said, 'Your house is on fire and a plane ran into it,'" Hille said. "I couldn't believe her. I thought she was crazy at the time."
But she was right and timing was everything for Hille and his friends.
"We're very fortunate that we escaped that," he said.
Even more lucky was his brother-in-law, Kole Heckendorf, who was still inside the home.
"He just broke the window open, the second story window, broke it open with his forearm and bailed," Hille said.
Schueller and her friend Tammy Lewandowski saw Kole emerge from around the house.
"He was dazed," Schuller said. "Wth the impact, it's amazing he was alive. There had to be an angel helping get him out of the house."
Unfortunately, the two people inside the plane did not survive.
"We found two victims in the house later in the evening after the fire was out," Sauk Rapids police chief Perry Beise said.
Most of the fiberglass plane burned up in the flames. The pieces that remained were sitting out on the driveway Saturday as investigators went through them trying to figure out a cause.
Hille said he did lose his 5-year-old golden retriever, Storm, in the crash and fire but while he's missing her, he is still so grateful to be alive.
"We are very fortunate. We are obviously the lucky ones in this whole situation," Hille said.
Some witnesses reported seeing a commercial plane fly through the area moments before the small plane, but the Sauk Rapids police chief said it is unclear if there is any relationship between that larger plane flying by and the crash.
"There were conversations between the planes and they felt comfortable with their distance from each other," Beise said.
He said there was no distress call from the small plane.
Source: http://www.kare11.com
(Sauk Rapids, MN) – Based on witness accounts, there is speculation that turbulence from a larger aircraft might have caused the crash of a small plane last night in Sauk Rapids.
Authorities say two people have died after their small plane crashed into a home in the central Minnesota city of Sauk Rapids.
Sauk Rapids Police Chief Perry Beise said Saturday the people in the single-engine plane were sightseeing in the area prior to crashing Friday night. The victims’ names have not been released.
Beise says there was one person inside the home, which was set ablaze by the crash. The man was able to evacuate through a window.
One witness told WJON Radio(Townsquare Media) that she watched as a larger plane flew over her neighborhood toward the St. Cloud Regional Airport when the smaller plane appeared to get caught in the turbulence behind the larger aircraft and went straight down into the house.
The resulting fire from the crash largely destroyed the home.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have dispatched teams to Sauk Rapids to investigate the crash.
Two people in a small plane were killed Friday night after it crashed into a Sauk Rapids, Minn., home, with the only resident at the home jumping from a second-story window as fire consumed the structure.
The people in the plane were sightseeing in the area prior to the crash, according to the Sauk Center Police Department. Their identities have not been released.
“It’s surreal,” the homeowner, Jeffrey Hille, said as he watched the blaze on the city’s north side, near 18th Street and 9th Avenue N. Sauk Rapids is about 70 miles from Minneapolis, just north of St. Cloud.
Hille’s sister and brother-in-law lived with him in the 700 block of Garden Place, which is just west of Hwy. 10. She wasn’t home, Hille said, but his brother-in-law, Kole Heckendorf, 27, was in an upstairs bedroom when he heard an explosion.
“There was just flames, with smoke,” Hille said his brother-in-law told him. “He jumped out the second-story window.”
Hille said his brother-in-law was fine.
The first 911 calls about the crash came in at 8:26 p.m., the Sheriff’s Office said.
Neighbor Courtney Breth lives within sight of Hille’s house, which is on a cul-de-sac. She saw what happened, which included a bigger airplane being followed by the small plane that crashed.
“We were sitting at my neighbors’ pool and we watched the big airlines plane go low, turning and going toward the St. Cloud airport, and then we heard this little airplane, and all of a sudden we saw the little white single-engine plane behind the bigger plane. The little plane just turned and nose-dived straight down.
“We heard this big ka-boom! And it was like, Oh my gosh,’” Breth said.
Her friend tried to call 911 but was getting a busy signal as she ran toward the scene, seeing if she could offer aid.
The fire started instantly, she said.
“It was black smoke. It just happened so fast, and before you knew it, the house was in flames. The airplane landed in the kitchen area.”
Hille, 30, and his friend, Paul Schlangen, 27, had driven away from the house about 10 minutes earlier, when Hille got a call from his neighbor, who told him a plane had crashed into his house.
They returned to find fire raging through his sand-colored, split-level house.
Multiple police and fire agencies responded. As he watched firefighters battle the blaze, Hille said he’d heard nothing about what happened to the pilot, and he could only assume the plane was inside the house.
Because of the intensity of the fire, firefighters had difficulty getting into the house to look for the pilot or any possible passengers.
“It was crazy, scary, way too close to home,” Breth said.
Story, photo gallery and video: http://www.startribune.com
The turbulence formed behind an airborne aircraft is called “jet wash.” And while federal officials will investigate and piece-together what happened, at least one eyewitness says that turbulence may have contributed to the crash.
Sauk Rapids resident Courtney Breth lives near the crash scene. She says she was at her neighbor’s pool with her kids when a bigger airplane flew over heading towards the St. Cloud Regional Airport. She says she then saw a “little, white airplane” and within seconds, it came around the big airplane and “got stuck in the back wind or whatever.” She says it did a turn and then “went straight down.”
Sauk Rapids Police Chief Perry Beise confirmed a single-engine plane hit the home Friday night.
The homeowner, Jeff Hille, told the St. Cloud Times that his brother-in-law was in the house at the time but got out safe.
St. Cloud Regional Airport Manager Bill Towle says staff at his air traffic control tower notified him one plane reported another plane had crashed north of the airport.
Towle says the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are being notified. They will investigate the crash.
The plane crashed into the home in the Summit Avenue area in Sauk Rapids around 8:30 p.m. Friday, causing a large fire and belching thick, black smoke across the neighborhood.
Hundreds of bystanders watched as emergency crews roped-off a several block area and responded to the scene.
Story, photos and video: http://wjon.com
Story, photos and video: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com
Story, photos and video: http://www.sctimes.com
Story and photos: http://www.kare11.com
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