Port Clinton Deputy Mark Anderson places a wreath in memory of Port Clinton Sergeant Bob Rigoni, who died in the line of duty on Dec. 9, 1983, during the annual Ottawa County Peace Officers Memorial Day Ceremony.
PORT CLINTON – Dec. 9 is a day local law enforcement will never forget. On that date, 31 years ago, four men boarded a plane to assist a police chief (Nobert McKillips), who was suffering a heart attack at nearby Kellys Island. All four men died after crashing into Lake Erie.
Training officer Bob Rigoni led the team, consisting of medic Bruce Mettler, Duane Dress and Mike Sweeney on the tragic flight.
“On it’s 31st anniversary there’s only three of us left who served with Bob (Rigoni),” said Port Clinton police Chief Robert Hickman. “Bob was one of our original training officers. It is a day we try to memorialize every year. All of our officers are wearing the mourning bands.”
The mission was challenging to begin, noted Jeff Hickman, chief deputy of the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office.
“There was a call during second shift. Life Flight was flying but they couldn’t fly that night because of fog,” Hickman said. “An aircraft from Port Clinton was used.”
Hickman said the flight was supposed to be a quick stop after picking up the other passengers in Put-in-Bay.
“Valerie Mettler, Bruce’s wife, was on the radio during flight. After they took off, Bruce radioed back and said they had zero viability,” Hickman said. “The plane ride over to Kellys Island would have taken about 10 minutes.”
After more than 10 minutes past, Hickman said the island called Valerie to see where the plan was. At that time, the plane should already arrived.
“The airport was empty and (there was) a mass search of airports from Cleveland to Toledo,” explained Hickman. “The plane wasn’t found, they figured out what happened after that.”
Hickman said there was damage to the a wing of the plane. He said the best guess people had was Rigoni tried to fly lower to avoid clouds and struck the water with the wing. He said the passengers were able to eject from the plane, but they were heading into a freezing cold lake.
Since that day, all rescue crews sent to the island have either been by boat or Life Flight.
Each man on the plan died that cold winter night. Hickman said he was a member of the sheriff’s department at the time. He had worked with Mettler before coming to the sheriff’s office.
“The plane probably crashed into the lake. It was a number of days, divers located the aircraft and brought it up. The bodies were found at the lake bottom,” he said. “It’s been a lot of years. I miss him (Mettler), I think it’s important we don’t forget these things and I’m afraid that it is.”
Source: http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com
NTSB Identification: CHI84FA058
The docket is stored on NTSB microfiche number 23853.
Nonscheduled 14 CFR
Accident occurred Friday, December 09, 1983 in PUT-IN-BAY, OH
Aircraft: CESSNA 207, registration: N208JP
Injuries: 4 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 PLT & 3 PASSENGERS TOOK OFF AT NIGHT ON AN OVER WATER FLT TO AN ISLAND IN LAKE ERIE TO PROVIDE HELP TO A HEART PATIENT. NO FLT PLAN WAS FILED & NO RECORD OF A WX BRIEFING WAS FOUND. REPORTEDLY, AFTER TAKEOFF, THE ACFT DISAPPEARED IN A CLOUD OR HAZE. ALSO AFTER DEPARTING, SHERIFF'S PERSONNEL RECEIVED A RADIO CALL FROM THE ACFT STATING 'WE ARE IN IT.' ACCORDING TO LOCAL RESIDENTS, THERE WAS PATCHY FOG IN THE AREA. WHEN THE ACFT DID NOT ARRIVE AT ITS DESTINATION, A SEARCH WAS INITIATED. THE PLANE WAS FOUND IN LAKE ERIE ALONG THE EXPECTED ROUTE OF FLT. THE ACFT WAS INTACT, EXCEPT THE ENG WAS LOOSE FROM THE FIREWALL & THERE WAS MAJOR DAMAGE TO THE RIGHT, OUTER WING PANEL. NO PREIMPACT/MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION/FAILURE WAS FOUND. ABOUT 45 MI WEST AT TOLEDO, OH, THE 2150 WX IN PART WAS: 1500 FT OVERCAST, VISIBILITY VARIABLE 1 TO 2 MI WITH FOG, TEMP 32, DEW POINT 31, WIND FROM 330 DEG AT 4 KTS.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
PREFLIGHT PLANNING/PREPARATION..INADEQUATE..PILOT IN COMMAND
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
PROPER ALTITUDE..NOT MAINTAINED..PILOT IN COMMAND
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
CLEARANCE..MISJUDGED..PILOT IN COMMAND
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
VFR FLIGHT INTO IMC..CONTINUED..PILOT IN COMMAND
Contributing Factors
LIGHT CONDITION..DARK NIGHT
Contributing Factors
WEATHER CONDITION..FOG
Contributing Factors
SPATIAL DISORIENTATION..PILOT IN COMMAND
Contributing Factors
SELF-INDUCED PRESSURE..PILOT IN COMMAND
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