Pilot Tim Cassell
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The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.
Additional Participating Entities:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Fresno, California
Hartzell Propeller Inc; Piqua, Ohio
Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
Docket And Docket Items - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms
Aviation Accident Data Summary - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
http://registry.faa.gov/N5948W
NTSB Identification: WPR14LA377
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, September 15, 2014 in Lone Pine, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 02/13/2017
Aircraft: PIPER PA 28, registration: N5948W
Injuries: 1 Serious.
NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The private pilot reported that, 2 hours into the personal cross-country flight, he observed a “flash of something” depart the front of the airplane and that the airplane instantly began violently shuddering and vibrating. The pilot immediately landed the airplane in a clearing, and he observed that almost half of one of the propeller blades was missing.
A postaccident examination of the propeller assembly revealed that the propeller blade was fractured about 24 inches from the blade butt. Examination of the fracture surface revealed characteristics of fatigue failure that originated in a stress raiser located about 1.25 inches from the leading edge on the lower blade surface. A witness mark, in the form of a distinct score line, was present, indicating that the blade experienced a strike, which created a flaw of critical size at the fatigue origin site that ultimately propagated to failure. The investigation could not determine whether an object struck the blade or the blade struck an object or when the strike occurred.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The fatigue failure of a propeller blade due to a propeller strike by/of an unidentified object at an unknown time.
On September 15, 2014, about 1230 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-28-150, N5948W, experienced severe vibrations and the pilot initiated a forced landing onto a meadow about 15 miles southwest of Lone Pine, California. The pilot was seriously injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight which departed from Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County, San Jose, California at 1040.
The pilot reported that two hours into the flight he observed a "flash of something" depart the front of the airplane; the airplane instantly began shuddering and vibrating violently. The pilot immediately reduced the throttle to idle and found a clear spot to land. With the engine at idle the pilot could see that about half of one of the propeller blades was missing. He also observed considerable movement of the front of the airplane. He descended the airplane rapidly to the clearing; as he approached the clearing, he observed large rocks that the airplane barely cleared. He held the nose of the airplane up as long as possible; the left landing gear touched the ground first and separated from the airplane followed by the right landing gear. As the nose wheel touched down it also collapsed and the airplane slid on its belly until it impacted a rock and came to a rest.
The propeller assembly was taken to Hartzell Propeller Inc for examination with a Hartzell Propeller representative. The examination revealed that both propeller blades appeared to be in a high pitch position. One of the two blades was intact and exhibited extensive spanwise scoring, along with chordwise/rotational scoring near the blade tip. The other blade was fractured about 24 inches from the blade butt. The propeller hub was disassembled and the blades were removed. The pitch change knob on the fractured blade was bent, and the pitch change knob on the intact blade was fractured.
The fracture surface of the fractured propeller blade was examined and it exhibited fatigue failure characteristics that originated in a stress raiser located about 1.25 inches from the leading edge on the lower blade surface. A witness mark, in the form of a distinct score line, was present at the fatigue origin site.
The airplane's most recent maintenance was an annual/100 hour inspection that occurred on August 21, 2014 at a tach time of 2,096 hours, and a propeller total time in service of 2,049 hours. During the inspection, the leading edges of the propeller blade were filed.
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, September 15, 2014 in Lone Pine, CA
Aircraft: PIPER PA 28, registration: N5948W
Injuries: 1 Serious.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On September 15, 2014, about 1115 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-28-150, N5948W, experienced severe vibrations and the pilot initiated a forced landing onto a meadow about 15 miles southwest of Lone Pine, California. The pilot was seriously injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and it is unknown if a flight plan was filed for the flight which departed from Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County, San Jose, California.
The pilot reported to first responders that while he was in cruise flight part of the propeller blade separated from the airplane. The airplane vibrated so violently that the only thing he could do was to land immediately.
The airplane has been recovered to a secure location for further examination. The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.
Docket And Docket Items - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms
Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
NTSB Identification: WPR14LA377
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, September 15, 2014 in Lone Pine, CA
Aircraft: PIPER PA 28, registration: N5948W
Injuries: 1 Serious.
NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On September 15, 2014, about 1230 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-28-150, N5948W, experienced severe vibrations and the pilot initiated a forced landing onto a meadow about 15 miles southwest of Lone Pine, California. The pilot was seriously injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight which departed from Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County, San Jose, California at 1040.
The pilot reported that two hours into the flight he observed a flash of something depart the front of the airplane; the airplane instantly began shuddering and vibrating violently. The pilot immediately reduced the throttle to idle and found a clear spot to land. With the engine at idle the pilot could see that about half of one of the propeller blades was missing. He also observed considerable movement of the front of the airplane. He descended the airplane rapidly to the clearing; as he approached the clearing, he observed large rocks that the airplane barely cleared. He held the nose of the airplane up as long as possible; the left landing gear touched the ground first and separated from the airplane followed by the right landing gear. As the nose wheel touched down it also collapsed and the airplane slid on its belly until it impacted a rock and came to a rest.
The propeller assembly was taken to Hartzell Propeller Inc for examination with a Hartzell Propeller representative. The examination revealed that both propeller blades appeared to be in a high pitch position. One of the two blades was intact and exhibited extensive spanwise scoring, along with chordwise/rotational scoring near the blade tip. The other blade was fractured about 24 inches from the blade butt. The propeller hub was disassembled and the blades were removed. The pitch change knob on the fractured blade was bent, and the pitch change knob on the intact blade was fractured.
The fracture surface of the fractured propeller blade was examined and it exhibited fatigue failure characteristics that originated in a stress raiser located about 1.25 inches from the leading edge on the lower blade surface. A witness mark, in the form of a distinct score line, was present at the fatigue origin site.
The airplane's most recent maintenance was an annual/100 hour inspection that occurred on August 21, 2014 at a tach time of 2,096 hours, and a propeller total time in service of 2,049 hours. During the inspection, the leading edges of the propeller blade were filed.
NTSB Identification: WPR14LA377
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, September 15, 2014 in Lone Pine, CA
Aircraft: PIPER PA 28, registration: N5948W
Injuries: 1 Serious.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On September 15, 2014, about 1115 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-28-150, N5948W, experienced severe vibrations and the pilot initiated a forced landing onto a meadow about 15 miles southwest of Lone Pine, California. The pilot was seriously injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and it is unknown if a flight plan was filed for the flight which departed from Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County, San Jose, California.
The pilot reported to first responders that while he was in cruise flight part of the propeller blade separated from the airplane. The airplane vibrated so violently that the only thing he could do was to land immediately.
The airplane has been recovered to a secure location for further examination.
A pilot who crash-landed his private plane in a remote canyon in Sequoia National Park was rescued a day later, the park service said Tuesday,
The 67-year-old pilot, who has not been named, suffered broken ribs and facial injuries, but they are not considered life-threatening.
A National Park Service helicopter lifted him out of the wilderness about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, more than 24 hours after the plane went down.
The drama began Monday when the pilot, flying by himself, departed Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose about 10:45 a.m., the Civil Air Patrol said.
For unknown reasons, the 1996 Piper PA28 Cherokee went down south of Mount Whitney.
The pilot managed to land the plane in a flat area of Forgotten Canyon, several miles west of the Pacific Crest Trail. The landing "tore up the landing gear and the wings were damaged," park ranger Jana McCabe said.
Authorities aren't releasing the pilot's name, but the tail number shows the airplane is registered to Timothy Cassell of Saratoga.
The single-engine plane is based at Reid-Hillview, a general aviation airport operated by Santa Clara County.
The pilot's wife reported that he had not arrived at his destination, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The FAA's preliminary information was that the plane was bound for Panamint Springs Resort airstrip in Death Valley.
The emergency locator transmitter activated and late Monday night the Civil Air Patrol launched a search plane from Camarillo. The search plane picked up a signal about 12:45 a.m. Tuesday before suspending the search due to darkness.
The search resumed about 7:15 a.m. and the Civil Air Patrol spotted the wreckage and the pilot about two hours later.
The park service dispatched a helicopter carrying a medic and two rangers who rescued the pilot about 1:30 p.m. and flew him to Ash Mountain park headquarter near Three Rivers.
He was transferred to a Life Flight helicopter that took him to a regional hospital, McCabe said.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.
After the investigation, the park service will take steps to remove the wrecked plane, McCabe said.
A plane that went missing Monday after departing from Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose was discovered by search crews Tuesday in Sequoia National Park, near Funston Lake.
The pilot, who was the only person on board, survived the crash and suffered non-life threatening injures.
Officials said the plane, a single-engine Piper PA-28, departed from San Jose at about 10:45 a.m. Monday and was headed to the airstrip at Panamint Springs Resort in Death Valley. The cause of the crash is unknown and is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Search crews began looking for the plane early Tuesday after the pilot's wife reported he had not arrived at his destination. National Park Service crews found the plane around 9:20 a.m., near where the last known Emergency Locator Transmitter signal had been heard, according to authorities.
- Source: http://www.nbcbayarea.com
Info from Sequoia & Kings National Park-
On Tuesday, September 16, Park Rangers from Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks participated in the successful rescue of a 67-year old man from San Jose whose plane crashed in a remote area of Sequoia National Park. The plane was reported missing when it failed to arrive as scheduled in Lone Pine, CA, on Monday afternoon.
The park was notified around 3 am on Tuesday morning that a transponder signal had been traced to the Forgotten Canyon area of Sequoia National Park. At approximately 9 am on Tuesday morning, the Civil Air Patrol spotted the wreckage near Funston Lake and made visual contact with the pilot. The park helicopter was used to insert a Parkmedic and investigators at the crash site. The patient was stabilized and transported to the Ash Mountain helibase where he was transferred to a waiting SkyLife air ambulance and flown to an area hospital.
The National Park Service is coordinating the investigation into the cause of the crash with the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration.
The California Office of Emergency Services and Tulare County also assisted with this search and rescue operation.
- Source: http://www.sierrawave.net
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