Sunday, November 16, 2014

Cessna Skyhawk 172K, N46707, Blue Dot Aviation, LLC: Accident occurred November 12, 2014 in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana

NTSB Identification: CEN15LA047 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, November 12, 2014 in Lake Pontchartrain, LA
Aircraft: CESSNA 172K, registration: N46707
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 may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On November 12, 2014, about 2020 central standard time (CST), a Cessna 172K airplane, N46707, was reported missing near Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana. The flight instructor and commercial pilot were both fatally injured. Damage to the airplane is unknown. The airplane was registered to Blue Dot Aviation and operated by a private individual as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight and an instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed. The local flight originated from the Lakefront Airport (KNEW), New Orleans, Louisiana, about 2015. An emergency locator beacon signal has not been reported.

According to preliminary information from the Federal Aviation Administration, about 2015 CST, the pilot was given clearance to depart KNEW. The pilot later radioed that he was airborne. A few minutes later, the pilot requested a return to the Lakefront Airport. There are no reports of a distress call.

At 1953, an automated weather reporting station located at KNEW reported a wind from 010 degrees at 18 knots, visibility 10 miles, an overcast sky at 1,000 feet, temperature 52° Fahrenheit (F), dew point 46° F, and a barometric pressure of 30.17 inches of mercury.

The deceased occupants were located in lake Pontchartrain on November 19. The search for the airplane is still ongoing at the writing of this report.


http://registry.faa.gov/N46707 

AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO THE LAKE AND IS SUBJECT OF AN ALERT NOTICE, THE 2 PERSONS ON BOARD ARE MISSING AND PRESUMED FATALLY INJURED, LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN, NEAR NEW ORLEANS, LA

Federal Aviation Administration Flight Standards District Office:  FAA Baton Rouge FSDO-03


Any witnesses should email witness@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov.


A second body was found in Lake Pontchartrain on Wednesday, a week after a small plane carrying two people crashed near the New Orleans lakefront, according to a report from our news partners at WVUE Fox 8. Jerry Sneed of the city's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness told the station that authorities are in the process of pulling the second body out of the water.

Earlier Wednesday, New Orleans police said the body of a male had been found in the lake near 5400 Lakeshore Drive. A spokesperson with the mayor's office confirmed to WVUE that the first body was related to last week's plane crash.

But Sneed said investigators were still trying to determine whether the bodies came from the crash. "I can't yet say for sure if the bodies are that of the missing flight instructor and student," WVUE reported.

Officials have been searching the lake since a single-engine plane disappeared Nov. 12 near Lakefront Airport. A flight instructor and student pilot were on board. Officials think they died in the crash.

- Source:   http://www.nola.com


WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana News, Weather, Sports
 

NEW ORLEANS, LA (WVUE) -   Search crews returned to Lake Pontchartrain Saturday looking for the plane that crashed Wednesday night and the two people aboard.

Since first learning about the crash, Tahseen Rab has spent every day at Lakefront Airport, waiting for word.

Speaking of his brother, Aftab, Tahseen says, “I hope he is still out there somewhere alive and I hope he makes it back.”

Aftab Rab was flying with his instructor, Burt Lattimore, Wednesday, when the plane, a Cessna 172, suddenly disappeared from radar.

“The most probable theory is that their carburetor got iced and they didn't realize...they lost the altitude very quick,” Rab said.

Several different agencies are assisting in the search effort. NOPD divers are working with divers from the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office and there are several private boating companies that are scouring the lake looking for any sign of the plane.

Search crews believe the aircraft went down about a mile from Lakefront Airport but rough conditions Thursday and Friday made the search very difficult. Although crews covered 15 square miles Saturday, bad weather Sunday and Monday is expected to halt the search once more until Tuesday at the earliest.

“I'm dreading the thought of that right now because I hope they can find something,” Rab said.

Tahseen Rab says his brother, who lived in Hammond with his wife and four kids, was taking lessons to become a certified flight instructor. He'd actually been flying for years in his native Pakistan. Lattimore was helping Rab earn his qualifications.

A friend of Lattimore, Addie Fanguy, says, “He is a very nice guy, very well liked around the airport, everyone who got to know Burt liked him as a person first.”

Tahseen Rab says Aftab often spoke highly of Lattimore, as the two had become close while flying. He's praying for both his family and Lattimore's, that they get some type of closure.

- Source:  http://www.wafb.com


 
Courtesy: Tahseen Rab

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