Sunday, September 20, 2015

Mooney M20M Bravo, N763RC: Accident occurred September 19, 2015 at Central Jersey Regional Airport (47N), Manville, New Jersey

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

FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Allentown FSDO-05


http://registry.faa.govN763RC  

NTSB Identification: GAA15CA277
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, September 19, 2015 in Manville, NJ
Probable Cause Approval Date: 01/15/2016
Aircraft: MOONEY M20M, registration: N763RC
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.

NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll with a variable wind from the right, about 80 knots, he felt the airplane pulling to the left. He stated that he applied right rudder, and turned the control wheel to the right, however the airplane exited the runway to the left. The pilot reported that after exiting the runway, onto the grass, he pulled the power back and applied the brakes as heavily as possible. During the runway excursion, the left wing impacted a steel fence post. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing.

The pilot reported that he was unsure if any mechanical malfunctions or anomalies existed that would have prevented normal flight operation. However the FAA confirmed that there were no anomalies.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll, which resulted in a runway excursion and collision with a fence.





HILLSBOROUGH --    The pilot and the passenger of a 1993 Mooney M20M were unhurt when the plane crashed at the west end of the Central Jersey Regional Airport on Saturday, according to township police. 

Ross Cole, 53, and Pamela Cole, 54, both of Chappaqua, New York, were out of the plane when the police arrived at 2:50 p.m. on the report of a crash. Ross Cole, the pilot, told police he was flying from New York to Pennsylvania when he stopped in Hillsborough to re-fuel.

After re-fueling, they began to take off in a westerly direction and, after gaining minimal altitude, the plane's left wing struck a chain link fence close to the runway, causing damage to the wing.

Police said the pilot conducted a controlled emergency landing, bringing the plane to a rest approximately 1,500 feet from the end of the runway.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.

http://www.mycentraljersey.com






SOMERSET — A pilot and his passenger escaped injury when their plane sustained damage to its left wing while taking off from Central Jersey Regional Airport in Hillsborough Township, police said Saturday.

At 2:50 p.m. on Saturday, Hillsborough police received a report of an airplane crash at the west end of the airport, police said. Authorities responded and discovered a 1993 Mooney M20M with minor damage to the left wing, police said.

Ross Cole, the pilot, and his passenger, Pamela Cole, were out of the plane and unharmed when authorities arrived, police said.

The pilot told authorities he was flying from New York to Pennsylvania and had stopped in Hillsborough to refuel, police said. After refueling, the plane began take off in a westerly direction and after gaining minimal altitude, the plane's left wing struck a chain link fence adjacent to the runway, causing damage to the wing, police said.

Despite the damage, the pilot said he was able to make a controlled emergency landing, bringing the plane to a stop approximately 1,500 feet from the end of the runway, police said.

The Hillsborough rescue squad, fire department and office of emergency management responded to the scene, police said. The National Transportation Safety Board is assisting with the investigation, police said.

Source:  http://www.nj.com





Architect Ross Adam Cole with his Mooney Turbo aircraft



New York’s real estate moguls are flying high — and not just because of the fast-moving market.

Once prohibitively expensive, private jets are now an increasingly popular option among real estate bigwigs, industry sources said, as a growing number of executives buy and rent their own planes.

Industry insiders said flying private is not only a crucial time-saver, but an invaluable way to bond with clients.

Brown Harris Stevens’ Hamptons broker Christopher Burnside, for example, has his pilot’s license and owns share in a small Cessna. He said he uses it for transportation, taking aerial shots of his listings, and entertaining clients.

“Some people play tennis, other people play golf. I fly,” he said. “If you take somebody up in your plane and you have that kind of relationship, they’re not going to go somewhere else and buy a house.”

Friendly skies

Private planes were once strictly the province of the very rich and famous. But the growing popularity of jet brokerage companies, which commission private jets for customers on an hourly basis, has made flying private accessible to more people.

That includes real estate professionals. In June, for example, developer Cape Advisors chartered a seaplane to fly journalists from Manhattan to the Hamptons for a tour of its Watchcase Factory condo development in Sag Harbor.

Richard Zaher, the founder of Virginia-based Paramount Business Jets, estimated that the number of real estate brokers, developers and owners using his company has risen 20 to 30 percent in the last year.

Of course, private jet travel doesn’t come cheap: it costs roughly $2,500 an hour to rent a six-passenger Learjet 35, or $4,200 an hour for a Gulfstream IV that comfortably seats 14.

Still, Zaher said, the numbers make sense: in some cases, flying groups of executives privately can actually be cheaper than buying commercial tickets for each of them.

Flying solo


Of course, some wealthy real estate magnates own or even fly their own plane. Boston Properties’ Mort Zuckerman reportedly owns a $60 million Gulfstream G550. Donald Trump’s jet of choice is his Boeing 757, which reportedly cost $100 million and fits 43 people. It’s said to have a private bedroom (with lots of closet space) for the Trump family.

For many of these moguls, private planes aren’t just an over-the-top luxury. While owning a jet is expensive — operating a plane costs hundreds of dollars an hour when the plane is in the air — flying enthusiasts say the increased mobility a plane provides is worth the cost.

Adam Ross Cole, founder of Manhattan-based BAM Architecture Studio, got his pilot’s license on his 16th birthday, months before he secured a driver’s license. But flying isn’t just a hobby — he said his firm’s four-seater Mooney plane allows him to visit project sites, and the firm’s North Carolina office, more frequently than he would if he were limited to driving or commercial flying.

“We have to go where the project sites are, and the project sites are all over the place,” the architect said. “Right now, we have work from Florida to Boston. To get there, I use my airplane.”

He also uses the plane to entertain clients. “I can take clients out to Martha’s Vineyard for an afternoon, instead of a restaurant in Midtown,” he said. “That helps keep the relationship fresh and fun.”

Cole added that the plane allows the firm to save money on hotel and other travel fees, something that helps justify the expense. Cole declined to say what he paid for his plane, but high-end Mooneys retail for $500,000 to $650,000, according to Plane & Pilot magazine.

Billionaire developer and entrepreneur Jeff Greene said traveling via his Cessna Caravan seaplane saves him valuable time.

Though Greene has homes in Palm Beach and the Hamptons, much of his business is in Manhattan, including two new condominium projects he’s developing, at 100 Vandam Street and 576 Broome Street.

Without a plane, Greene’s commute to Manhattan from his waterfront compound near Sag Harbor could take more than three hours. But by plane, the trip is just 35 minutes — the Cessna lands on the bay outside his home. In fact, Greene got the idea to buy the plane after seeing that musician Jimmy Buffett was landing his plane on the same bay.

High-end Caravan seaplanes typically cost more than $2 million, though Greene too declined to comment on how much he paid.

He employs two full-time pilots for the plane, and is working to get the necessary certification to rent it when he isn’t using it, which Greene said he hopes will turn a profit — or at least cut down on the overhead costs. For now, Greene said, he and his wife use it for roughly 40 to 50 hours a month for themselves and their friends.

“We have cell phone service for most of the time, too,” Greene said of traveling by plane. “It’s been a wonderful asset.”

Source:  http://therealdeal.com





Ross Adam Cole
~

It sounds like the beginning of a 12-step program. "At times, I've gone for a month or so without it, but that makes me frustrated," said A., the chair of an important practice group at a major law firm.

"I start to feel itchy if I can't do it. My wife says I need to get it out of my system," said P., a senior corporate fraud investigator.

"Most of us are just looking for an excuse to do it," said R., founding principal of an architecture firm.

But these men aren't wrestling with an inner demon— they just love to fly. In their own airplanes.

For a certain subset of executives, particularly detail-oriented, overachieving types, becoming a pilot was a childhood dream. But that youthful hankering turned into a full-blown obsession, and despite the exorbitant costs—a single-engine Cessna can cost several hundred thousand dollars, fuel can run up to $8 per gallon, and housing an aircraft at a local airport can cost upwards of $280 per month—many choose to fly their own planes, justifying the expense in myriad ways. Often, they fly for a good cause.

Ross Adam Cole, principal of SoHo-based BAM Architecture Studio, first got his Mooney Turbo aircraft for pure pleasure, but flying quickly became a business necessity. With job sites in Pennsylvania, a new office in North Carolina and potential clients anywhere in between, it just made sense to use it for corporate trips.

"It has allowed us to convince clients that we can effortlessly get to wherever these job sites are," said the 49-year-old architect, explaining that his business has grown 10% to 15% per year since 2003, even during the downturn. He attributes much of that success to the plane.

Though 80% of the flying he does is for business, there's always room for another flight—if it has a purpose. "Very few of us go up just to buzz around up there," he said. So he started volunteering, flying patients who can't afford it to distant hospitals for treatment.

There are a few organizations that help fill the void for pilots looking for more reasons to fly.

Angel Flight Northeast is a nonprofit network of more than 1,000 pilots that arranges such flights. Mr. Cole has flown around a half-dozen missions. His first Angel flight back in 2009 was bringing someone from Islip airport on Long Island to Buffalo for a bone-marrow transplant.

Volunteering is a common theme among pilots—a way to indulge their expensive hobby for a good cause.

Jim Cear, a senior portfolio manager at U.S. Trust Co., started flying with the Air National Guard in 1982, and when he finally left the Reserve in 1998, he was looking for other reasons to fly. He found Angel Flight Northeast through a flier posted on a board at his hometown airport.

He'll never forget his first Angel mission flight, back in 1997. It was to pick up a mother, father and toddler in Boston and bring them back home to Long Island. The toddler had been caught in a horrible house fire, and had to fly to Boston for reconstructive surgery as she grew.

"It's a special group of pilots," he said. "We try to make it a really great experience, and for a little while, you can see people get disconnected from the problems they're facing." He's been flying six to eight missions a year in his Beech-craft Bonanza, which he keeps at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach, L.I.

Now the chair of Angel Flight Northeast, the 60-year-old has seen the organization grow from about 30 missions in its first year to about 4,000 flights this year.

At any given time, the group has between 50 to 100 flights open for participating pilots to sign up for.

Peter Turecek, senior managing director of business intelligence and investigations at Kroll, has done a puppy rescue with Animal Rescue Flights, which swoops in to save animals from kill shelters and bring them to adoptive families.

The 43-year-old tries to fly every weekend, even if it's just for an hour. "My wife realizes that this is kind of like my yoga," he said.

Alan Sutin, chair of the global intellectual-property and technology practice at law firm Greenberg Traurig, does pro bono work for a different network that coordinates corporate jets for medical emergency flights when they are not in use. But when Mr. Sutin flies his own plane, a Cirrus SR22 that he keeps at Westchester County Airport, it's mostly for recreation and social trips.

He's certain the social flights help him win and retain clients. "There isn't anyone who doesn't enjoy it," he said. "I'll fly up to Block Island for breakfast and take a friend with me, and we'll be back by the afternoon. Ninety percent of my trips are timed around some meal."

Food is a common theme. "When I fly, it is always revolving around food," said Alberto Corvo, managing principal for financial services at eClerx Services. He also flies a Cirrus SR22, which he parks at Caldwell/Essex County Airport in New Jersey. "It's an excuse to go to Maine for a lobster," he said.

The $100 hamburger is a familiar joke among pilots: a $5 burger, after factoring in the price of fuel and other fees, ends up costing at least $100. In fact, there are websites dedicated to this thinly veiled excuse, like 100dollarhamburger.com and fly2lunch.com, that detail pilots' favorite airport lunch spots—and the coordinates needed to fly there.

To a man, they say the skills to be a good pilot—being organized, having situational awareness and being prepared for curveballs—all translate to their day jobs.

"It's the same sort of skill set," said Mr. Turecek. "When I uncover somebody who's stealing money from a corporate client, it's the same rush as making a good crosswind landing on a rainy night."

But underneath the justifications, it's really just about getting up in the air. "The fun is in the flying," said Mr. Corvo. "Going to a nice place is just the excuse."

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