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
NTSB Identification: ERA14FA288
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, June 13, 2014 in White Plains, NY
Probable Cause Approval Date: 07/07/2015
Aircraft: PIPER PA-46-500TP, registration: N5335R
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.
The pilot arrived at the fixed-base operator on the morning of the accident and requested that his airplane be brought outside and prepared for an immediate departure; this occurred 1 hour 15 minutes before his scheduled departure time. Radar data showed that the airplane departed 23 minutes later. According to air traffic control data, shortly thereafter, the ground and departure controllers contacted the tower controller and asked if the airplane had departed yet; the tower controller responded, “I have no idea. We have zero visibility.” Weather conditions about the time of the accident included a 200-ft overcast ceiling with about 1/4-mile visibility.
Only five radar targets identified as the accident airplane were captured, and all of the targets were located over airport property. The first three radar targets began about midpoint of the 6,500-ft-long runway, and each of these targets was at an altitude of about 60 ft above ground level (agl). The final two targets showed the airplane in a shallow right turn, consistent with the published departure procedure track, at altitudes of 161 and 261 ft agl, respectively. The final radar target was about 1/2 mile from the accident site. Witnesses reported observing the airplane impact trees in a wings-level, slightly right-wing-down attitude at high speed.
Examination of the wreckage revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies of the airplane. The pilot’s personal assistant reported that the pilot had an important meeting that required his attendance on the day of the accident flight. His early arrival to the airport and his request to have the airplane prepared for an immediate departure were actions consistent with self-induced pressure to complete the flight. Due to the poor weather conditions, which were expected to continue or worsen, he likely felt pressure to expedite his departure to ensure he was able to make it to his destination and to attend the meeting. This pressure may have further affected his ability to discern the risk associated with departing in low-visibility and low-ceiling conditions. As noted, the weather conditions were so poor that the local air traffic controller stated that he could not tell whether the airplane had departed. Such weather conditions are highly conducive to the development of spatial disorientation. Further, the altitude profile depicted by the radar data and the airplane’s near wings-level attitude and high speed at impact were consistent with the pilot experiencing a form of spatial disorientation known as “somatogravic illusion,” in which the pilot errantly perceives the airplane’s acceleration as increasing pitch attitude, and efforts to hold the nose down or arrest the perception of increasing pitch attitude can exacerbate the situation. Such an illusion can be especially difficult to overcome because it typically occurs at low altitudes after takeoff, which provides little time for recognition and subsequent corrective inputs, particularly in very low-visibility conditions.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's failure to maintain a positive climb rate after takeoff due to spatial disorientation (somatogravic illusion). Contributing to the accident was the pilot's self-induced pressure to depart and his decision to depart in low-ceiling and low-visibility conditions.
On June 13, 2014, at 0808 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-46-500TP, N5335R, was destroyed when it collided with trees and terrain after takeoff from runway 16 at Westchester County Airport (HPN), White Plains, New York. The private pilot was fatally injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which was destined for Portland International Jetport (PWM), Portland, Maine. The flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
The pilot had flown from PWM to HPN the previous day for a family event. The fixed base operator (FBO) at HPN serviced the airplane with 60 gallons of fuel, which filled the tanks, and was advised to expect the pilot at 0900 the next day for his return flight to PWM. Instead, the pilot arrived at the FBO at 0745, and requested his airplane be brought outside and prepared for departure immediately. The pilot contacted HPN ground control and was provided taxi instructions, and was subsequently cleared for takeoff by the control tower.
Air traffic control and radar information from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that the airplane departed at 0808, and that the HPN air traffic control tower was contacted shortly thereafter by the ground controller and the departure controller, inquiring if the airplane had departed yet. The tower controller responded, "I have no idea. We have zero visibility."
Only five radar targets identified as the accident airplane were captured, and all were over HPN airport property. The first three radar targets began about mid-point of the 6,500-foot runway, and each indicated an altitude of about 500 feet mean sea level (msl). The airport elevation was 439 feet. The next and final two targets depicted a shallow right turn at 600 feet and 700 feet, respectively, before radar contact was lost. The final radar target was about one half-mile from the accident site.
The airplane collided with trees and terrain behind a house, and in front of horse stables on residential property. Two witnesses at the stables were interviewed, and their statements were consistent throughout. They each stated that the weather was "dark, rainy, and foggy," and their attention was drawn to the airplane when it "appeared" out of the clouds immediately above the trees, traveling "very fast." One witness stated that he heard the airplane before he saw it. They stated that the airplane impacted trees in a level attitude, and upon impact, was enveloped by a cloud of "blue smoke" with the odor of diesel fuel.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. His most recent FAA Class 3 Limited, Special Issuance medical certificate was issued on November 25, 2013 and was not valid for any class after July 31, 2014. The pilot reported 5,100 hours of flight experience on his most recent medical certificate application.
The pilot's total flight experience could not be reconciled, but examination of the pilot's most recent logbook revealed the pilot had logged 5,371.6 total hours of flight experience. In 2013, he logged 126.7 hours of flight experience, all of which was in the accident airplane. In 2014, he logged 7.3 hours, with the last entry on February 28, 2014.
On a separate page, a pre-printed sticker from a flight school dated May 14, 2014, reflected an aircraft specific instrument proficiency check and flight review were satisfactorily completed. The training included 9.9 hours of ground school and 1.1 hours of flight training on that date.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
According to FAA records, the airplane was manufactured in 2001, and was equipped with a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-42A, 850 hp turboprop engine. The most recent annual inspection was completed June 3, 2014, at a total aircraft time of 1,927.2 hours.
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
The 0815 weather observation at HPN, 1 mile north of the accident site, included an overcast ceiling at 200 feet and one-quarter mile visibility in fog. The wind was from 090 degrees at 6 knots. The temperature was 17 degrees C, the dew point was 17 degrees C, and the altimeter setting was 29.85 inches of mercury.
Weather at PWM at the proposed time of arrival included an overcast ceiling at 300 feet with 1.5 miles of visibility in light rain and fog.
WRECKAGE INFORMATION
The wreckage was examined at the accident site on June 14, 2014. There was a strong odor of fuel, and all major components of the airplane were accounted for at the scene. The wreckage path was oriented on a heading of 270 degrees magnetic and was approximately 360 feet in length. The initial impact point was in a tree approximately 60 feet high, and the airplane impacted several other trees before impacting the ground about 205 feet beyond the first tree strike. Several pieces of angularly-cut wood were found the length of the debris field.
The airplane was fragmented, and scattered along the length of the wreckage path. Control continuity to the wings could not be confirmed due to multiple breaks in the control cables and bellcranks, but all fractures appeared consistent with overload failure. Control continuity was confirmed from the cockpit to the rudder and elevator.
The fuselage lay on its left side against a tree, 280 feet down the wreckage path. The instrument panel and cockpit were destroyed by impact. The cabin and empennage were largely intact. The landing gear and wing flaps were retracted.
The engine and propeller were both about 290 feet down the wreckage path, and separated by approximately 20 feet. All four propeller blades exhibited similar twisting, bending, leading and trailing edge gouging, and chord-wise scratching. One propeller blade was fractured near its root and on its outboard tip, but the associated pieces were located at the accident site.
The engine was separated from the airplane and found upright. The accessory gearbox and inlet case were fractured at numerous locations. The accessory gearbox spur gears and fractured sections of the accessory gearbox were recovered at the site.
The first-stage compressor blades tips were all bent opposite the direction of rotation. The exhaust duct and gas generator were compressed from impact.
The gas generator case was sectioned between the "C" flange and the fuel nozzle bosses to access the hot section components. The upstream side of the first stage power turbine blades and disc exhibited rotational scoring from contact with the downstream side of the first-stage power turbine vane and baffle. The power turbine retention nut exhibited rotational scoring from contact with the downstream side of the first-stage power turbine baffle.
The downstream side of the compressor turbine disc and blades exhibited rotational scoring from contact with the upstream side of the first stage power turbine vane and baffle.
MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
The Westchester County Office of Laboratories and Research, Valhalla, New York, performed the autopsy on the pilot. The autopsy listed the cause of death as blunt force injuries.
Toxicological testing was performed on the pilot by the FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Testing was negative for carbon monoxide, ethanol, and all tested-for drugs and their metabolites.
TESTS AND RESEARCH
A touchscreen-capable personal tablet device and an airframe-mounted data acquisition unit were recovered and sent to the NTSB Recorder's Laboratory in Washington, DC for examination. No usable data was recovered from either device.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
According to Lockheed-Martin Flight Service (LMFS), the pilot did not obtain a weather briefing from either LMFS or from a Direct User Access Terminal Service (DUATS) vendor. The pilot filed an IFR flight plan through DUATS, but did not include an alternate airport in the flight plan.
According to 14 CFR Part 91.169, IFR flight plan: Information required; an IFR flight plan for aircraft other than helicopters must include an alternate airport when, "For at least 1 hour before and for 1 hour after the estimated time of arrival, the ceiling will be at least 2,000 feet above the airport elevation and the visibility will be at least 3 statute miles."
The pilot's family and personal staff provided a detailed timeline and narrative description of the pilot's activities on the day of and the days prior to the accident. They detailed work/rest cycles concurrent with a standard work day.
According to the pilot's personal assistant, the pilot had a meeting scheduled the day of the accident that was "very important to him. [He] was unusually punctual, never late and would have been focused on arriving on time."
The Westchester Four departure procedure from HPN included the instructions: "Takeoff Runway 16: Climb heading 162 [degrees] to 800 [feet], then climbing right turn heading 320 [degrees], maintain 3,000 [feet]."
The FAA Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3) described some hazards associated with flying when visual references, such as the ground or horizon, are obscured. "The vestibular sense (motion sensing by the inner ear) in particular tends to confuse the pilot. Because of inertia, the sensory areas of the inner ear cannot detect slight changes in the attitude of the airplane, nor can they accurately sense attitude changes that occur at a uniform rate over a period of time. On the other hand, false sensations are often generated; leading the pilot to believe the attitude of the airplane has changed when in fact, it has not. These false sensations result in the pilot experiencing spatial disorientation."
The FAA publication Medical Facts for Pilots (AM-400-03/1), described several vestibular illusions associated with the operation of aircraft in low visibility conditions. Somatogravic illusions, those involving the utricle and saccule of the vestibular system, were generally placed into one of three categories, one of which was "the head-up illusion." According to the text, the head-up illusion involves a forward linear acceleration, such as takeoff, where the pilot perceives that the nose of the aircraft is pitching up. The pilot's response to this illusion would be to push the control yoke forward to pitch the nose of the aircraft down. "A night takeoff from a well-light airport into a totally dark sky (black hole) or a catapult takeoff from an aircraft carrier can also lead to this illusion, and could result in a crash."
FAA Advisory Circular AC 60-22, Aeronautical Decision Making, stated, "Pilots, particularly those with considerable experience, as a rule always try to complete a flight as planned, please passengers, meet schedules, and generally demonstrate that they have 'the right stuff.'" One of the common behavioral traps identified was "Get-There-Itis." The text stated, "Common among pilots, [get-there-itis] clouds the vision and impairs judgment by causing a fixation on the original goal or destination combined with a total disregard for any alternative course of action."
http://registry.faa.gov/N5335R
NTSB Identification: ERA14FA288
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, June 13, 2014 in White Plains, NY
Aircraft: PIPER PA46 500TP, registration: N5335R
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 June 13, 2014, at 0808 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-46-500TP, N5335R, operated by a private individual, was destroyed when it collided with trees and terrain shortly after takeoff from Westchester County Airport (HPN), White Plains, New York. The private pilot was fatally injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which was destined for Portland International Jetport (PWM), Portland, Maine. The flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
The pilot had flown from PWM to HPN the previous day. The fixed base operator (FBO) at HPN serviced the airplane with 60 gallons of Jet-A fuel, which filled the tanks and FBO personnel were advised to expect the pilot at 0900 on the following day. The pilot subsequently arrived at the FBO at 0745 and requested his airplane be brought outside and prepared for an immediate departure.
Preliminary information from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that the flight departed HPN at 0806 and that the air traffic control tower was contacted shortly thereafter by the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control facility inquiring if the flight had departed. The local controller responded that the flight should have departed but that "visibility was so low he couldn't tell."
Review of recorded radar data indicates five radar targets identified as the accident airplane were captured, and all were over HPN airport property. The first three radar targets began about mid-point of the 6,500-foot runway and each were at 500 feet mean sea level (msl). The airport elevation was 439 feet msl. The final two targets depicted a shallow right turn and were at 600 and 700 feet msl respectively, before radar contact was lost. The final radar target was observed about 1/2 mile from the accident site, and the final track roughly aligned with the wreckage path.
Examination of the accident site indicated that the airplane collided with trees and terrain behind a house, and in front of horse stables on residential property. Two witnesses at the stables were interviewed and their statements were consistent throughout. They each stated that the weather was "dark, rainy, and foggy," and their attention was drawn to the airplane when it appeared out of the clouds immediately above the trees. One stated that he heard the airplane engine before he saw the airplane. The airplane was wings level when the outboard section of the left wing struck the first tree, the inboard section of the left wing struck the second tree, and then the airplane broke apart in a large cloud of blue "smoke" that smelled like "diesel" fuel.
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. His most recent FAA third class medical certificate was issued on November 25, 2013 and was not valid for any class after July 31, 2014. There were restrictions that required the pilot to wear corrective lenses for distant vision and possess glasses for near vision. The pilot reported 5,100 hours of flight experience on his last medical application.
According to FAA and maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 2001. According to a trip log recovered at the accident site, the airplane had accrued 1,931 total hours of flight time. The most recent annual inspection was completed June 3, 2014, at 1,927 total aircraft hours.
At 0815, the weather reported at HPN, located 1 nautical mile north of the accident site, included an overcast ceiling at 200 feet and 1/4 mile visibility in fog. The wind was from 090 degrees at 6 knots. The temperature was 17 degrees C, the dew point was 17 degrees C, and the altimeter setting was 29.85 inches of mercury.
Examination of the accident site revealed a strong odor of fuel and that all major components of the airplane were accounted for. No evidence of an in-flight or post-impact fire was observed on any of the airframe components. The wreckage path was oriented about a magnetic heading of 270 degrees and was approximately 360 feet in length. The initial impact point was in a tree approximately 60 feet above the ground. Other trees were struck before the initial ground scar, which was about 205 feet beyond the first tree strike. One tree, about 24 inches in diameter, had a 10-foot length of trunk sectioned and carried 50 feet down the wreckage path. Several pieces of angularly-cut wood were found along the length of the debris field.
The airplane was fragmented, and scattered along the length of the wreckage path. Control continuity was traced through multiple breaks in the control cables and bellcranks to the relevant flight controls, and each separation of the cables exhibited signatures consistent with tensile overload. Control continuity was confirmed from the cockpit to the rudder and elevator.
The fuselage came to rest on its left side against a tree, 280 feet down the wreckage path. The instrument panel and cockpit were destroyed by impact. The cabin and empennage were largely intact.
The engine and propeller were both about 290 feet down the wreckage path, and separated by approximately 20 feet. All four propeller blades exhibited similar twisting, bending, leading and trailing edge gouging, and chord-wise scratching. One propeller blade was fractured near its root and on its outboard tip, but the associated pieces were located at the accident site.
The engine was separated from the airplane and found upright. The accessory gearbox and inlet case were fractured at numerous locations. The accessory gearbox spur gears and fractured sections of the accessory gearbox were recovered at the site.
The first-stage compressor blades tips were all bent opposite the direction of rotation. The exhaust duct and gas generator were compressed from impact.
The gas generator case was sectioned between the "C" flange and the fuel nozzle bosses to access the hot section components. The upstream side of the first stage power turbine blades and disc exhibited rotational scoring from contact with the downstream side of the first-stage power turbine vane and baffle. The power turbine retention nut exhibited rotational scoring consistent with contact with the downstream side of the first-stage power turbine baffle.
The downstream side of the compressor turbine disc and blades exhibited rotational scoring from contact with the upstream side of the first stage power turbine vane and baffle.
An engine data acquisition unit and a tablet computer were recovered from the accident site and sent to the NTSB recorders laboratory for subsequent examination.
Flight Standards District Office: FSDO-11 in Farmingdale, New York
Dr. Richard Rockefeller
~
Stratford
Stables, owned by Karen and Danny Lutz, was the scene of the plane
crash that took the life of Dr. Richard Rockefeller.
An iPad and a piece of the engine the NTSB can get parameters off of were among the wreckage recovered from the Piper Meridian single-engine turboprop plane, which was piloted by 65-year-old Richard Rockefeller and crashed shortly after leaving Westchester County Airport, agency spokesman Eric Weiss said Sunday.
There are also witness reports the agency is going to follow up on, Weiss added, and the airplane is now in an undisclosed location before it is transferred to a storage facility in Delaware.
"We look at the man, the machine and the environment," Weiss told The Journal News of the second phase of the investigation, which includes a 72-hour look back before the crash. In the meantime, a preliminary report should become available in seven to 10 days.
As the NTSB continues its probe, local law enforcement have also left the scene off Cottage Avenue, which ran from Purchase Street to the SUNY Purchase campus, Harrison police said.
Rockefeller, who practiced as a family physician until 2000 and had worked on global health causes, was flying back home to Maine after visiting the family estatein Pocantico Hills. His father, David Rockefeller, served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan and celebrated his 99th birthday Thursday.
He took off for Portland from Runway 16 under foggy and rainy conditions at 8:06 a.m. and crashed about two minutes later southwest of the airport and northwest of SUNY Purchase, striking trees off Cottage Avenue and narrowly missing a house. There was no distress call or post-crash fire. He was the only person on board and no one else was injured.
On Friday, there was a quarter-mile visibility around the time of the crash, with a 200-foot cloud ceiling. The NTSB has requested radar data but the plane may have never made it to radar coverage level, Weiss said.
During the second phase of its investigation, the NTSB will collect aircraft and maintenance records, look at how often Rockefeller flew and how recently, examine medical records and test engine or aircraft components if necessary, Weiss said. That information will make up part of a factual report, taking up to a year to complete.
A probable cause report during the third and final phase of the investigation could be issued a month or six weeks later, the spokesman said.
Story, photo gallery and video: http://www.lohud.com
PURCHASE, N.Y. -- For the largely unscathed residents of 120 Cottage Ave. in Purchase, Friday's plane crash could have been much worse.
The entrance to Cottage Avenue remained closed on Saturday morning as the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration continue to investigate the deadly plane crash on Friday morning, June 13, that killed famed billionaire John D. Rockefeller's great-grandson, Dr. Richard Rockefeller.
The plane crashed into trees on the property, which is registered to Stratford Stables, narrowly missing an occupied home. According to the stable's website, it is the residence of Karen and Danny Lutz.
Phone calls made on Saturday to the number on the website went to voicemail.
South Horse Stables, run by Jorge "George" Ventricelli of Greenwich, Conn., shares the property with the Lutz's.
According to Ventricelli, the plane landed in a small garden behind the Lutz's property.
"Everybody is okay," Ventricelli said. "There's no structural damage. The plane crashed right behind the owners' house."
Ventricelli wasn't there at the time of the accident, and has not been able to return to the property since.
At the nearby Purchase Country Market, manager Nasreem Asif of Purchase said she wasn't in town at the time of the accident, but was upset by the news.
"It's a real tragedy," she said. "I'm very sad to hear about it."
As of Saturday, arrangements have not been made for Rockefeller's wake and funeral.
PURCHASE – It was supposed to be a happy trip.
Richard Rockefeller had flown his small plane from his home in Maine to Westchester on Thursday to have dinner with his father, David, who was celebrating his 99th birthday. The journey, just before Father's Day, turned tragic on Friday when the 65-year-old doctor and philanthropist took off from Westchester County Airport for the flight home. Less than 10 minutes later, he was killed when his plane crashed near the SUNY Purchase campus.
"It's a terrible tragedy," said family spokesman Fraser Seitel, who confirmed the death. "The family is in shock. Richard was a wonderful and cherished member of the family. He was an experienced pilot. He was a medical doctor, and it's horribly sad."
The Rockefeller estate, which includes Kykuit and David Rockefeller's Hudson Pines, is in Pocantico Hills and the family has long been one of the most prominent in Westchester.
Airport operations administrator Peter Scherrer said the plane, a Piper Meridian single-engine turboprop, took off from Runway 16 at the airport and went down at 8:08 a.m., narrowly missing a house and crashing into treetops off Cottage Avenue in Purchase. The weather was foggy and rainy. The flight had been expected to last an hour and 14 minutes.
Richard Rockefeller lived in Falmouth, Maine. According to FlightAware flight tracking service, the plane had left Portland International Jetport in Maine at 2:22 p.m. Thursday and landed at Westchester Airport at 3:41 p.m.
Richard Rockefeller practiced as a family physician in Falmouth until 2000 and had worked on global health causes. He served as president of the Health Commons Institute, a nonprofit organization, and chairman of the U.S. Advisory Board of Doctors Without Borders, according to the Rockefeller Brothers Trust Fund website. He was married and had two grown children.
Scherrer said Rockefeller, who was the only person on board, flew out of the airport regularly. There were no reports of any other injuries.
"If that engine quit and you're 1,000 feet in the air and you look out, you know what you're seeing? Nothing. You're seeing nothing but white," he said. The Mamaroneck resident mostly flies Cessna Skyhawks and owns an aviation marketing consulting business.
Scherrer, the operations administrator, said that judging from the wreckage, the plane appeared to have followed those procedures. He also said that there was no indication that Richard Rockefeller issued a "Mayday" or radioed that there was any kind of problem.
Harrison Police Chief Anthony Marraccini said debris from the plane was spread over several hundred feet and jet fuel was splattered over much of the crash site. He said Rockefeller's body was found about 10 feet from a large piece of wreckage that included the cockpit. The body was removed by the Westchester Medical Examiner's Office shortly before noon.
"It was lucky there was no fire," Marraccini said. "There are some very large pine trees that could have ignited very easily."
A Piper Meridian is about 30 feet long, about 11 feet high with a 43-foot wingspan and carries 170 gallons of fuel. They retail beginning about $2.2 million and seat six. The turboprop allows it to fly higher and faster than a piston-engine plane.
"It's not a cheap aircraft," Cipriano said. "It's for the one-percenter."
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are expected to head up the crash investigation.
The airport closed after the crash but flights resumed at 9:45 a.m., Scherrer said.
Comments on the death of Dr. Richard Rockefeller from philanthropic organizations he was involved in.
- "Richard gave so much of his life to support Doctors Without Borders," said Dr. Deane Marchbein, MD, president of Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontiers-USA. "He made so many vital contributions that have helped Doctors Without Borders provide independent medical humanitarian assistance to millions of patients in over 70 countries. The entire Doctors Without Borders family extends its profound condolences to Richard's family. We are devastated by his loss."
Rockefeller was instrumental in founding Doctors Without Borders in the United States and served the organization in a number of capacities since 1989.
- Tim Glidden, President of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, a conservation organiation, said the group was "deeply saddened by the news of Richard Rockefeller's passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.
"Richard's passion for the coast of Maine was a central part of his entire life," Glidden said. "He followed his mother's footsteps in making Maine Coast Heritage Trust a place to put that passion into action. We are eternally grateful for his many contributions to the land conservation movement in Maine and across the world."
Richard served on MCHT's board and council continuously from 1989 – 2014 and served as board chair from 2000 – 2006.
Story, photo gallery and videos: http://www.lohud.com
March 30, 2014: As trees in Conn. grow, Westchester runway trimmed
For pilots landing into a west wind at Westchester County Airport, the first 1,300 feet of the runway is already off-limits because of trees the airplanes must fly over in Connecticut.
But soon, the Federal Aviation Administration may force the airplanes to touch down a few hundred feet farther down the airstrip, even as the county is waiting for a report on how to get more use of the runway, the shorter of two the airport offers.
Vacationers flying on JetBlue, Delta or US Airways use the airport's main runway, not the shorter one, which is called 11/29. But their waits for flights could become longer if more small corporate jets and turbo-prop airplanes are forced to use 11/29, some warned.
"People aren't going to stop going there, they're just going to wait longer," said John Johnston, president of the Westchester Aviation Association.
The FAA first ordered the airport to move the landing line, called a displaced threshold, in 1988 because of the height of the maple and ash trees, the closest of which are several hundred feet from the end of the airstrip. Last year, the inspectors said the trees continued to grow, and the line might soon need to be pushed farther along, said airport general manager Peter Scherrer.
"The last time, they said that, hey, you're getting close; it's tight at the bottom," Scherrer said.
FAA officials told The Journal News only that they continue to monitor the situation.
But Scherrer said a change could come as soon as the next inspection, scheduled for this week, or it could happen in later years. Either way, any change would need to be a significant move, he said. The current threshold stops just before the intersection with the main runway, 16/34. Since markings can't be made in the intersection, the line on 11/29 would have to be moved 350 feet or more, Scherrer estimated.
This comes as the airport prepares to chop 300 feet off the other side of the runway next year to meet an FAA requirement for a safety zone.
"The runway will be so short, it will be only be able to be used by very few airplanes," said Bill Weaver, the head of Million Air, a private-jet service company at Westchester County Airport.
In November, 2011, the county hired McFarland Johnson of Binghamton for $350,000 to figure out what to do with it. That report is expected to be completed soon.
One idea, shifting the runway, would cost $40 million, money that would be difficult to find, said Patty Chemka, deputy commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Public Works and Transportation.
Installing landing guide lights called a precision approach path indicator system may help persuade inspectors to leave the runway as it is, but adding to pilots' abilities to approach on a steady path, especially at night when the trees are hard to see, Scherrer said.
"It would probably buy us some time," Scherrer said. "It's a short-term solution."
For now, the county is holding off on a $12 million project to give the runway its first repaving in 20 years.
Westchester's attempts to coax and even to force the landowners in Connecticut to remove or trim the trees failed years ago. The battle went all the way through the federal courts in the 1990s, and Westchester officials don't intend to try it again.
"We lost that battle at the Supreme Court," Chemka said. "We're not revisiting that now."
On a typical day, only about 5 percent of the airplanes landing and taking off at the airport use runway 11/29, Scherrer said. But it becomes more important when traffic is heavy and air traffic controllers want to alternate the landings and departures. Also, when a strong wind blows from the west or northwest, approaching runway 11/29 from the east allows small planes to land into the gusts rather than fighting a crosswind.
"That's the most important runway for landing when we have heavy winds from the west or northwest," Scherrer said.
While the airport has become popular with vacationers, such commercial flights made up less than 20 percent of the 151,000 landings and take-offs last year, Scherrer said. Corporate flights are the most common by far. It is also used by flight schools and private pilots, who appreciate having the second runway.
"You don't get stuck behind all the jets when you can use the shorter runway," said Dr. Jill Silverman of Yorktown, a psychologist and private pilot who flies single-engine Cessnas.
Taking away the alternate runway robs efficiency by halting operations if there's a problem on the one working airstrip and by mixing different types of airplanes that fly and land at different speeds.
"It's almost like going on the Taconic Parkway and someone's doing 40 miles and hour and someone else is doing 65 and someone else is doing 80," Scherrer said.
If the airport becomes less convenient to use, Johnston said, it would take away from one of the benefits that make Westchester attractive to corporations and other businesses such as flight schools.
"When the pain level gets to a certain point, they're going to say 'Thank you very much,' " Johnston said. "Aviation is a mobile product."
Source: http://www.lohud.com
Many small-plane crashes at Westchester County Airport (KHPN)
There have been many crashes and other incidents involving small aircraft either leaving or approaching Westchester County Airport over the years. They include:
November 2012: A pilot from Eastchester, N.Y., was injured when he crash-landed a small plane in a parking lot off of King Street just across the Greenwich border, less than a mile south of Westchester County Airport. The Journal News reports the single-engine Beechcraft might have clipped trees along the Reckson Executive Park.
June 2011: Four people were killed in a crash of a Cessna 210 Centurion in a wooded area near American Way North in Greenwich, about a mile north of the airport, minutes after taking off. The pilot radioed the airport shortly after takeoff and said he had to return. But the plane plummeted before reaching the runway and burst into flames.
September 2007: A small plane crashed during takeoff from Westchester County Airport, sliding off the runway and crashing into trees and a fence, injuring the pilot, who was treated for minor injuries at Westchester Medical Center.
April 2005: A flight instructor based at Westchester County Airport and his student died in a crash in a wooded area near the Kensico Reservoir, about a mile from the airport. An ensuing lawsuit claimed the instructor was giving a lesson in instrument-based flying under improper weather conditions and failed to heed low-altitude warnings from the control tower.
June 2001: A Florida pilot was killed in backcountry Greenwich when his Piper Saratoga crashed into fog-shrouded woods near a residence off Bedford Road and then exploded. Authorities believe the pilot became disoriented while attempting to land at Westchester County Airport, possibly due to loss of oxygen in cockpit.
December 1996: The pilot of a single-engine Cessna sustained minor injuries when his plane crash-landed on a residential street near Scalzi Park in Stamford after taking off from the airport.
September 1996: The pilot and a passenger escaped injury when a World War II-era biplane made an emergency landing at Greenwich Point beach after its engine failed following departure from the airport.
May 1996: Two men escaped injury when their single-engine Cessna 206 crashed into Rye Lake in New York during its approach to the airport.
September 1990: Five people received minor injuries when their twin-engine Turbo Commander crashed in Byram Lake in Armonk, N.Y., while approaching the airport.
June 1990: A man and his grandson were killed when their twin-engine Cessna crashed into Rye Lake in Harrison, N.Y., as they attempted to land at the airport.
November 1989: A single-engine Piper Cherokee crashed into an island in the Kensico Reservoir in New York while approaching Westchester County Airport in poor visibility, killing two people and injuring one.
December 1988: The pilot of a single-engine plane escaped injury in an emergency landing on the golf course at the Round Hill Club in Greenwich when he was unable to reach the airport.
December 1988: Three people were killed when their single-engine plane crashed in Harrison after taking off from the airport.
July 1988: Two Greenwich men were killed when their single-engine Piper Cherokee crashed in a wooded area of Mount Pleasant, N.Y., on its approach to the airport.
November 1987: A flight instructor and his student escaped injury when their single-engine Cessna Skyhawk made an emergency landing on the Innis Arden Golf Course in Old Greenwich five minutes after taking off from the airport.
April 1987: The pilot was killed when a twin-engine Beech Baron crashed into a Pleasantville, N.Y., house while attempting to land at Westchester County Airport.
January 1987: Two men escaped injury when their single-engine plane ran out of gas and they made an emergency landing on Interstate 684 in North Castle, N.Y.
November 1984: Two people were critically injured when their airplane crashed while making an emergency landing near the Sprain Brook Parkway in Greenburgh, N.Y.
December 1983: Two Eastchester, N.Y., residents were killed when their single-engine Cessna crashed in Greenwich while attempting to land at Westchester County Airport.
June 1983: Four people were killed when a single-engine plane crashed into a field in Ridgefield.
July 1982: Two men were injured when their single-engine plane crashed into Rye Lake in New York.
June 1982: Three men were killed when their plane plunged into Long Island Sound off Larchmont, N.Y.
March 1981: Two men survived when their single-engine plane lost power while approaching Westchester County Airport and crash-landed in a playing field at the State University of New York at Purchase.
February 1981: A Lockheed Jetstar owned by Texasgulf Inc. of Stamford crashed during an approach to the fog-shrouded airport, killing six of the firm's executives and two pilots. It was the worst aviation accident in Westchester history.
February 1981: A Harrison pilot escaped serious injury when he crash-landed his Piper Commanche in Rye Lake while attempting to land at Westchester County Airport in heavy fog.
September 1979: A single-engine Cessna plummeted into Mead's Point in Greenwich, killing the pilot and critically injuring a passenger.
September 1979: Six people escaped injury when their 12-passenger twin-engine plane, crippled by the loss of its right landing gear, crash-landed at Westchester County Airport.
September 1978: A small plane carrying three passengers who sustained minor injuries, crashed in North Castle, N.Y., while making a final landing approach to the Westchester County Airport.
December 1977: A United Airlines pilot died when his six-passenger plane went down on a front lawn in Greenwich shortly after takeoff from Westchester County Airport during a light snowstorm.
August 1977: Two Pennsylvania men were killed when their single-engine Piper Cherokee went down near the Merritt Parkway in Greenwich after taking off from the airport.
August 1976: The pilot of a two-passenger plane escaped serious injury when his aircraft crash-landed on a front lawn in New Castle, N.Y.
January 1976: One person was killed and three were injured when their single-engine Cessna crashed in North Castle, N.Y., while making its approach to Westchester County Airport.
November 1974: Three men and a woman died after their single-engine Cessna crashed in New Castle at night in fog.
October 1974: A pilot survived after he crashed just north of the Westchester County Airport while attempting an instrument landing.
Peter Scherrer doesn't treat his 9-to-5 job like a 9-to-5 job.
"I usually get into work at 6:30 or 7:30," says the 59-year-old airport operations administrator at Westchester County Airport. "It's a time when I can get paperwork done and answer emails before the day really starts."
The day never really ends at the airport, which sees 46 planes depart and 46 planes arrive each day. And Scherrer has a hand in pretty much every aspect of the operation.
"People run airports, and I'm fortunate to work with 1,300 good people at the airport who make me look good," he says. "I always tell people, 'Paperwork can get done later, even if I have to come in on the weekend to do it. People are what makes the airport run.' "
Scherrer is one of the busiest people at the county airport. He oversees everything from negotiating leases and contracts to safety and security, customer service, interacting with airlines and tenants, maintenance, construction, aircraft rescue and firefighting and emergency response.
The emergency response aspect of the job got a workout on on June 13, when Richard Rockefeller's single-engine Piper Meridian crashed shortly after takeoff from Westchester, costing the Maine doctor, a member of the Rockefeller dynasty, his life at 65. The plane came to rest not far from the airport, in a Purchase neighborhood. No one on the ground was injured.
Scherrer's responsibilities technically end at the perimeter of the 700-acre airport property, but he was called to the June 13 scene by the Harrison Police.
Related: Crashes and incidents at the Westchester County Airport
"Responders know their community and what to do and the more people who show up at the scene, they just get in the way," Scherrer says. "But if requested, we'll go to the site."
Scherrer ended up handling media requests and answering questions about the incident.
Airport teams don't need to be at the scene of a crash to be useful. The point person at an air crash can contact Scherrer's team to get answers to questions ranging from the kind of airplane to the type of fuel it was carrying.
Scherrer's team trains regularly to prepare for something they hope doesn't happen: a crash at the airport.
"We do a lot of meetings, once a month, which are important," he says. "We do training exercises with the local community. The most important thing about emergency response is that you can recognize someone's face and know what their job is, so there's instant interaction and you save a little time when you respond to an emergency. Everybody knows what they have to do because you have a relationship. That's always been most important to me, that you know everybody by their first name."
Scherrer tells his team that emergency responses demand precision.
"I say 'Your role sometimes is very short. Sometimes, it's very long. But know your role so you don't get beyond what you're supposed to do. Make sure you do that little role perfectly.'"
Sherrer, a Hawthorne native, knows his way around a cockpit. He was on the flight team at Western Michigan University, and went to the national competitions three straight years competing against top schools such as the Air Force Academy.
But he never wanted to fly for a living. He wanted the kind of job he has right now.
He and his wife, Debbie, live in Yorktown Heights and have six grown children, ages 26 to 36, and two grandchildren.
"A lot of people think it's a sleepy little airport, but we're a busy little airport, the second largest corporate airport in the country, probably the world," he says.
See a disaster drill
Watch the team at Westchester County Airport perform a disaster drill, with the help of dozens of volunteers playing injured passengers, at www.lohud.com.
Story, photo and video: http://www.lohud.com
May 20, 2014: Westchester airport repairs mean delays in bad weather
Travelers using Westchester County Airport could see a rash of delayed and canceled flights during bad weather for the next two months as equipment that sends pilots landing information is replaced.
That's the bad news. The good news is that a few months from now, the new, more precise equipment is expected to add reliability at the airport, letting pilots land safely in more adverse weather.
Since the Federal Aviation Administration began the work May 12, the airport's ability to handle traffic has been "minimized or nonexistent" during bad weather, like the rain and fog in the area last week, airport manager Peter Scherrer said.
"We took a lot of delays and canceled flights," Scherrer said. "It made it a little tough for the travelers and for the airlines, and for us."
Two antennas dating to the 1990s are being replaced on runway 16, the larger of the two runways and the approach used more by commercial flights in bad weather, Scherrer said. The FAA is handling — and paying for — the project to replace the localizer and glide scope antennas, which send airplanes their horizontal and vertical positions.
Things are expected to return to normal around July 23, with planes once more using the approach for the current instrument-landing limit at the airport: a half mile of visibility and cloud cover as low as 200 feet.
By November, after a test period, airplanes would be allowed to land with even less visibility and cloud cover as low as 100 feet.
The news that the antennas were down was jarring to Rye Brook resident Richard Hubert, who learned about the work from a Delta Air Lines crew when he was flying back from Atlanta in the rain.
"I was outraged," Hubert said. "That is something that you shouldn't find out about when you're sitting on an airplane."
While his flight landed, he was alarmed to learn that pilots would have to rely on visual flight rules.
"Those are what the barnstormers used in the 1930s," he said.
Scherrer said planes have no problem landing without the instrumentation in good weather.
Planes landing from the other direction on the airport's main runway would have no approach lights and therefore face more restrictive minimum criteria: A pilot needs three-quarters of a mile visibility and cloud cover no lower than 350 feet, Scherrer said.
The airport and FAA agreed recently to install the new antennas, which will help improve capacity at the airport, which saw 1.75 million passengers pass through its main terminal in 2012, he said.
"Hopefully it goes quickly," he said, "and hopefully we have good weather."
http://www.lohud.com/
Rest in peace, loving, gentle man.
ReplyDeleteOh, that the world had a million more like you.