Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Flying into the future: Bataan to fly from Valle to Chino, California for full restoration

Bataan awaits its flight to the Chino, California Planes of Fame Air Museum.



VALLE, Ariz. - History is not for everyone, but even for those not interested in dates, battles, migrations of entire civilizations and the rise and fall of empires, there's no denying the spine tingling shiver you get when a glint of polished steel and the roar from the engine of a vintage aircraft blows past you on its way down the runway.

Usually, the plane circles high overhead, hanging suspended for just a second, before disappearing into the horizon, leaving nothing but a jet stream and a few chills in its wake. 

Bataan is one such vintage plane and with the help of a dedicated collector and more than a handful of vintage aircraft enthusiast, the Lockheed C-121A Constellation, 48-613c/n 2605 will soon be seen soaring high on the horizon again. It has been over a decade since it was in the air. 

Earlier this year, Lewis Air Legends out of San Antonio, Texas, purchased Bataan from a Planes of Fame Air Museum and plans to fly the Constellation from the Valle Planes of Fame Museum to its parent company, Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, California. 

While there is plenty of work to be done once Bataan arrives in Chino, Lewis believes Bataan is worth every penny his company is spending to get the Constellation back in the air. 

Bataan holds a unique place in history. One of only two-post WWII era Constellations in the world still flying. The other one is currently in Europe. 

In a long list of historic aircraft that has barely escaped being turned into scrap metal, the Bataan has been saved again and again bouncing back and forth across the country.


The historical significance of the Bataan is undisputed. During its time many of its passengers were VIPs. Including U.S. presidents Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. Bataan also flew South Korean President Sygman Rhee and many other post WWII generals. In its time Bataan was top of the line in design and luxury. 

"It almost looked like a scaled down Air Force One," said Mark Magin, media director for Lewis Air Legends. "You have a large cabin in the back where maybe the crew or the press rode and then there was more personal cabin, a galley, a media area - as crude as it is now, it was state of the art back then." 

Another reason Bataan's history is so rich is the fact that it served as U.S. General Douglas MacArthur's personal transport plane during the early 1950s. 

MacArthur, the U.S. general responsible for the re-industrialization of Japan and later in Korea after World War II, also gave Bataan its name. 

"He named it Bataan after the notorious Bataan Death March," Magin said. "Those were some of the guys MacArthur had to leave behind when they evacuated the Philippines early in the war. He always said he would return for them and so it served most of that time (post WWII) as his personal transport."

Bataan flew MacArthur to Wake Island when he had his only meeting with President Harry Truman and flew him to Andrews Air Force Base on April 16, 1951, where MacArthur was relieved of his command 

After Bataan was no longer serving as MacArthur 's personal carrier, the plane continued to transport many prestigious passengers. 


"The aircraft has definitely seen some political and historical members," Magin said. 

Bataan flew a final mercy mission in the Philippines before being declared surplus in 1965. 

It was sent to the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center (MASDC)at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona where it remained in storage for a short time. 

In 1966, Goddard Space Flight Center selected Bataan to help with the Apollo Moon Program. 

By 1970 Bataan was no longer of use by the Apollo program and was up for sale. 

As a piece of history, the Philippine government wanted it but couldn't afford to have it flown to Manila, so Bataan was sent to the U.S. Army Aviation Museum in Fort Rucker, Alabama. 

For 22 years Bataan quietly rested in the museum before the threat of being turned into scrap metal spurred the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, California, to purchase the plane. 



It took nine months before Bataan was declared fit to be ferried to California. It made one pit stop in Dothan, Alabama, where it's NASA paint was stripped and the original colors once again showed forth. Bataan landed in Chino on Dec. 6, 1994. 

The following year the owners decided to transfer Bataan to Valle, Arizona, where the dry air would help prevent any further deterioration. For the last 10 years Bataan has been on display at the Planes of Fame museum in Valle. 

In March, Lewis Air Legends founder, Rod Lewis purchased Bataan and decided to restore it to its original splendor. 

"I thought the Connie (a reference to Constellations) needed to be rescued and put back in the air again to honor our veterans" Lewis said on his website. "There are lots of single and twin engine war birds out there, it's nice to see a few of these "Big Boys" flying. I thought it would be great to let people see and hear one of these behemoths of days gone by." 

For over eight months, a Planes of Fame restoration crew, contracted by Lewis Air Legends to help with the work, has meticulously examined Bataan to ensure its flight readiness. 

Lewis Air Legends plans to fly Bataan back to Chino, where it will undergo an extensive and full restoration over the next two to three years. 

The plan is to restore Bataan back to its 1950 splendor when it was serving as MacArthur's plane. 



A few challenges to restoring and flying vintage planes is finding parts for the plane, finding a crew who can fly a 1950s model, getting approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and having good flying conditions. 

While weather conditions have been less than favorable over the last few weeks in Valle, Magin said the crew is confident Bataan will fly again. 

Finding a full flight crew has been a challenge. 

"There's qualified pilots, those guys can fly that aircraft but there's not a flight crew " he said. "There are not a lot of flight engineers to fly that kind of aircraft." 

Once Bataan gets a full flight crew and approval from the FAA, it will make the flight to Chino. The plane is expected to take off from Valle and fly directly to California. In the unlikely case of difficulties along the way, an emergency landing can be made in Kingman, Arizona. 

"They're going to know (if anything is wrong) once they roll down that runway and take off," Magin said. "They'll know right away. If they get in the air and they all feel comfortable, they're going right to California with it."

To ensure they get to California safely, restoration crews have worked tirelessly to get Bataan into the best operating condition possible. 



"Basically we had to go through the whole airplane and that's a big airplane," Magin said. "Fortunately we have some good resources at the San Antonio facility and Planes of Fame has some good resources too. Where you can't find parts, you have to make them."

Once Bataan is successfully overhauled in Chino, Magin said Lewis would like to see it in air shows and enjoyed by the public. 

"Mr. Lewis would like to be able to fly it in air shows and have it on display in different places," he said. "He would like for people to be able to see it and appreciate it. It's a very important piece of military and aviation history." 

Story and photo gallery:   http://www.grandcanyonnews.com

Cessna 177 Cardinal, N29533: Accident occurred December 27, 2015 in Grass Valley, Nevada County, California

http://registry.faa.govN29533

FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Sacramento FSDO-25


NTSB Identification: GAA16CA091
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, December 27, 2015 in Grass Valley, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 03/14/2016
Aircraft: CESSNA 177, registration: N29533
Injuries: 3 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 he flew the airport traffic pattern to final approach. While on final approach, the pilot trimmed the airplane to a nose-high pitch attitude and his view of the runway was obscured. The pilot reported that he believed the airplane's airspeed dropped below the aerodynamic stall speed and the airplane yawed to the left. When the airplane touched down on the runway, the pilot reported that the airplane veered left, he applied full power in an attempt to abort the landing. The airplane continued to veer left, exited the left side of the runway and impacted terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, right horizontal stabilizer and right elevator.

The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's loss of directional control during the touchdown and the subsequent attempted aborted landing which resulted in a runway excursion and impact with terrain.

Lubbock Fire Department Uses Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Truck to Rescue Stuck Vehicles




The Lubbock Fire Department made lemonade out of lemons when it received approval to use a massive Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) truck to rescue fire apparatus and vehicles stuck due to this weekend’s snowstorm.

According to the Lubbock Fire Department, the ARFF truck normally must stay on Lubbock Airport property. However, due to the airport’s closure, the ARFF truck was released and put to good use: rescuing other fire department vehicles from the snow. Due to its build, engine power and tires, it can navigate the wintry mix of snow and ice covering Lubbock roadways.

ARFF trucks like the Oshkosh Striker are specially designed to allow firefighters to fight airport fires involving jet fuel.

According to Popular Science, ARFF trucks allow emergency responders to quickly get to the site of a fire and douse it with thousands of gallons of foam – a necessity to control blazes that may reach a heat up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit.

ARFF trucks are also present at the White House, U.S. Air Force bases and airports across the country.

Source:  http://kfyo.com

American Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-9-83(MD-83) , N569AA: Incident occurred December 29, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois

Date: 29-DEC-15
Time: 00:15:00Z
Regis#: N569AA
Aircraft Make: MCDONNELL DOUGLAS
Event Type: Incident
Damage: Unknown
Activity: Commercial
Flight Phase: MANEUVERING (MNV)
Aircraft Operator: AAL-American Airlines
Flight Number: AAL2335
FAA FSDO: FAA Chicago PART 121 OPS ONLY - FSDO-31
City: CHICAGO
State: Illinois

N569AA AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT AAL2335 MCDONNELL DOUGLAS MD80 AIRCRAFT WHILE PULLING INTO THE GATE, THE WING STRUCK A TRUCK, NO INJURIES, DAMAGE UNKNOWN, CHICAGO, IL

AMERICAN AIRLINES INC: http://registry.faa.gov/N569AA

UPS Adds a Day to Deliver on Time: Requirement made Monday its busiest day of Christmas week

United Parcel Service aircraft are loaded with packages at the UPS Worldport All Points International Hub in Louisville, Ky., December 3, 2015. 




The Wall Street Journal
By Laura Stevens
Updated Dec. 29, 2015 5:13 p.m. ET


To help make its holiday package deliveries run more smoothly this year, United Parcel Service Inc. changed the rules.

During Christmas week, UPS required an extra day for delivery on its two-day and three-day shipping options. So by Dec. 21, UPS said packages using three-day shipping would miss the holiday entirely, according to its holiday service schedule that was given to customers in October.

The move, which was put in place for the first time this year,​was intended to encourage retailers to send out more packages the weekend before Christmas to avoid swamping UPS’s network in the final days before the holiday. Advance planning helped move the carrier’s busiest delivery day to a day earlier on Dec. 21, instead of Dec. 22 of the holiday week, when it had forecast its drivers would deliver 36 million packages.

“That was a real key to our success the week of Christmas,” UPS Chief Executive David Abney said in an interview.

Delivery companies typically modify their rules over the holidays as they seek to manage the increased package flow from retailers who seek to capture sales from last-minute shoppers willing to pay for expedited delivery to get gifts by Christmas Eve.

UPS spokesman Steve Gaut said only a very small percentage of deliveries needed the extra day. “These extensions gave UPS additional flexibility to change shipping modes to deal with weather or other issues, without operating outside the contract,” Mr. Gaut said.​

Retail consultancy Kurt Salmon said retailers pushed their last-ship date one day later than last year, on average, to Dec. 21. Overall, though Kurt Salmon found improvements in on-time delivery this year to about 94% of packages compared with last year’s 87%.

UPS’s experience this year contrasts with rival FedEx Corp. which faced a flood of last-minute e-commerce orders and had to send out drivers on Christmas day after severe weather-related delays.

It also follows two years of holiday troubles at UPS, when the carrier struggled first with a last-minute surge of orders in 2013, and then overcompensated last year leaving the network underused and costing it an extra $200 million each year as it overran on spending. The company spent an extra $200 million each year as it overran budget.

This year, UPS tried to stay in closer contact with retailers than in years previous, sending some employees to be eyes on the ground, Mr. Abney said.

In addition, UPS declined some last-minute packages from retailers that were trying to shift volume away from other delivery companies because UPS knew the increase could cause delays. “You really don’t make anyone really happy if you take a lot of last-minute packages, and then you don’t get them delivered,” Mr. Abney said.On Christmas Eve, tracking software developer ShipMatrix Inc. showed FedEx had on-time deliveries of about 96%, compared with about 98% of deliveries at UPS, after a weather-related dip at both companies earlier in the week. On that day, those companies, along with the U.S. Postal Service, delivered an estimated 60 million packages, ShipMatrix said.

Ahead of the holidays, UPS forecast an increase of more than 10% to 630 million packages between Black Friday and New Year’s Eve. UPS declined to provide updated numbers. But early indications suggest that online sales grew substantially this year. According to data from MasterCard SpendingPulse, online sales grew 20% over the holidays, compared with an overall increase in retail spending of nearly 8%.

UPS had a rockier start to the holiday season, after online orders over Thanksgiving weekend and into Cyber Monday caused delays at locations in the Northeast, Texas and California. Following those hiccups, Mr. Abney said that UPS’s on-time rate stayed at between 97% and 98% through last week.

“We certainly had an increase in volume,” Mr. Abney said, noting that in three or four geographic areas “really got hit much harder than we thought.” The company sent reinforcements to those locations to solve the delays. 

Original article can be found here:  http://www.wsj.com

Beechcraft A36 Bonanza, N61SM, SMA Aero LLC: Incident occurred December 26, 2015 in Gary, Lake County, Indiana

Date: 26-DEC-15
Time: 19:35:00Z
Regis#: N61SM
Aircraft Make: BEECH
Aircraft Model: 36
Event Type: Incident
Highest Injury: None
Damage: Minor
Flight Phase: UNKNOWN (UNK)
FAA FSDO: FAA South Bend FSDO-17
City: GARY
State: Indiana

AIRCRAFT FORCE LANDED IN A FIELD, NEAR GARY, INDIANA

SMA AERO LLC: http://registry.faa.gov/N61SM

http://www.selectaviationservices.com

Cessna 172S Skyhawk, N914CP, Civil Air Patrol: Fatal accident occurred December 29, 2015 in Anchorage, Alaska

NTSB Identification: ANC16LA011
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, December 29, 2015 in Anchorage, AK
Probable Cause Approval Date: 06/29/2016
Aircraft: CESSNA 172, registration: N914CP
Injuries: 1 Fatal.

NTSB investigators may have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

Witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying in an easterly direction at a very low altitude before striking the northwest corner of an office building. The airplane's wreckage continued traveling east while descending into an adjacent office building and subsequently struck an electrical transformer. A postcrash fire consumed the airplane wreckage. The private pilot intentionally flew the airplane into the side of the building, and he was killed. The flight was not authorized and the event was an intentional act, so the Federal Bureau of Investigation assumed jurisdiction and control of the investigation.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's intentional flight into a building.


CIVIL AIR PATROL INC: http://registry.faa.gov/N914CP

NTSB Identification: ANC16LA011
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, December 29, 2015 in Anchorage, AK
Aircraft: CESSNA 172, registration: N914CP
Injuries: 1 Fatal.

NTSB investigators may have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On December 29, 2015, about 0618 Alaska standard time, a Cessna 172 airplane, N914CP, was destroyed after impacting the side of an office building in Anchorage, Alaska. The private pilot sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was registered to the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama, and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. Dark night, visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Merrill Field, Anchorage, about 0600.

Witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying in an easterly direction and very low over the city of Anchorage, just before striking the northwest corner of the office building. The airplane's right wing struck the building between the fourth and fifth floors, which severed the entire wing at the fuselage attachment points. The airplane's wreckage continued traveling east while descending into an adjacent office building. It subsequently struck an electrical transformer, and a postcrash fire incinerated the airplane wreckage. 

The FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute performed toxicology examinations for the pilot on February 9, 2016, which detected the presence of the drug Zolpidem in the liver and kidney. According to the US National Library of Medicine, Zolpidem is a prescription medication used to treat insomnia and belongs to a class of medications called sedative-hypnotics that work by slowing activity in the brain to allow sleep.

A postmortem examination conducted by the Alaska State Medical Examiner's Office on December 30, 2015, determined the cause of death to multiple blunt force injuries. 

The closest weather reporting facility is Merrill Field Airport, Anchorage, about 2 miles east of the accident site. At 0553, an aviation routine weather report (METAR) from the Merrill Field Airport was reporting in part: Wind from 170 degrees at 8 knots, gusting to 18 knots; sky condition few clouds at 7,000 feet; visibility 10 statute miles; temperature 48 degrees F, dew point 26 degrees F; altimeter 29.57 inHg.


According to CAP management personnel the flight had not been authorized. The Anchorage office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has assumed jurisdiction and control of the investigation.

NTSB Identification: ANC16LA011 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, December 29, 2015 in Anchorage, AK
Aircraft: CESSNA 172, registration: N914CP
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 may have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On December 29, 2015, about 0618 Alaska standard time, a Cessna 172 airplane, N914CP, was destroyed after impacting the side of an office building in Anchorage, Alaska. The private pilot sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was registered to the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama, and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. Dark night, visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska about 0600.

Witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying in an easterly direction and very low over the city of Anchorage, just before striking the northwest corner of the office building. The airplane's right wing struck the building between the fourth and fifth floors, which severed the entire wing at the fuselage attachment points. The airplane's wreckage continued traveling east while descending into an adjacent office building. It subsequently struck an electrical transformer, and a postcrash fire incinerated the airplane wreckage. 

The closest weather reporting facility is Merrill Field Airport, Anchorage, Alaska, about 2 miles east of the accident site. At 0553, an aviation routine weather report (METAR) from the Merrill Field Airport was reporting in part: Wind from 170 degrees at 8 knots, gusting to 18 knots; sky condition, few clouds at 7,000 feet; visibility, 10 statute miles; temperature 48 degrees F, dew point 26 degrees F; altimeter, 29.57 inHg.

According to CAP management personnel the flight had not been authorized. The Anchorage office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has assumed jurisdiction and control of the investigation.

Those who may have information that might be relevant to the National Transportation Safety Board investigation may contact them by email eyewitnessreport@ntsb.gov,  and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov

Hours before an Anchorage man was killed while piloting an unauthorized flight, police and medics responded to an emergency call at the pilot's home.

Doug Demarest, 42, died when a Civil Air Patrol plane that he did not have permission to fly struck downtown buildings early Tuesday morning. The FBI has joined the National Transportation Safety Board in investigating the crash.

Recordings of police dispatch traffic indicate a woman had called for an emergency response because her husband was incapacitated and not responding appropriately to questions.

The woman was concerned because her husband would not provide a direct answer as to whether he had attempted "11-28," authorities could be heard saying. 11-28 is a police code for suicide.

Police have declined to talk about the visit, other than saying a person was medically evaluated at the home.

Anchorage police spokeswoman Jennifer Castro would not say Thursday whether the people involved in the emergency call were the Demarests. She has confirmed that police and medics responded to a call from a home listed as theirs at 10:03 p.m. Monday. Police and medics stayed until 10:38 p.m.

“There was a patient who needed medical assistance,” Castro said.

Medics evaluated and cleared the patient, she said, with no one was transported to the hospital. The plane Demarest was piloting crashed less than eight hours later.

Story and photo gallery:  http://www.ktuu.com


Doug Demarest



ANCHORAGE -  The FBI is reviewing webcam photos in its investigation of Tuesday's Downtown Anchorage plane crash that killed pilot Doug Demarest and damaged the Brady and Carr-Gottstein buildings.

The series of images are from a webcam operated by borealisbroadband.net. The camera takes a photo every 60 seconds from atop the Denali Towers, looking northwest. Denali Towers is located a 2550 Denali St. between Northern Lights Boulevard and Fireweed Lane.

The footage is from Tuesday morning between roughly 6 a.m. and 6:18 a.m.

Horst Poepperl, the general manager of the webcam service, said the FBI called him on Thursday requesting the footage.

The National Transportation Safety Board declined to comment on the images.

In the video, a bright dot can be seen moving from right to left. Poepperl said it is some sort of aircraft that could going back and forth near downtown Anchorage.

Looking at the time stamp, between 06:16:07 and 06:17:07, Poepperl says you can see in the middle left of the picture the lights on some of the buildings appear to go out. He says this could be when the power went out on the block after the plane crashed.

The Alaska region chief for NTSB, which investigating along with the FBI, has said the impact was reported to 911 at 6:18 a.m.

Story and video:  http://www.ktuu.com







ANCHORAGE – Last Updated: Tues., Dec. 29 at 3:12 p.m.

The pilot who crashed a plane into two office buildings in downtown Anchorage Monday was not authorized to the fly the plane he was piloting, according to a press release from the Civil Air Patrol.

The pilot, identified in the release as 1st Lt. Doug Demarest, was killed when the CAP-owned Cessna 172S he was flying crashed just before 6:30 a.m. An official with CAP confirmed the plane’s tail number – N914CP — in an email Monday.

Demarest joined the Civil Air Patrol in 2010, the release states. The organization says it is “assisting local authorities and the National Transportation Safety Board with the investigation.”

Officials, speaking on background, confirmed the plane took off from Anchorage’s Merrill Field sometime Tuesday morning.

According to public record, Demarest was married to Katherine Demarest, a lawyer with Dorsey and Whitney, LLC. The law firm has an office inside the downtown Anchorage building hit by the plane Monday morning.

Demarest was part of the team of lawyers that recently worked alongside the Alaska Innocence Project and the Alaska Office of Public Advocacy to free the Fairbanks Four.

The “about” section of the website dougdemarest.com, which is still available here, says Doug Demarest was a “former National Park Service Ranger, Outward Bound instructor and NOLS instructor.”

The single-engine Cessna 172S clipped an office building at 1031 W. 4th Ave. before crashing into a building at 310 K St.

Flames caused by the crash damaged an electrical transformer in the area, knocking out power to about 600 customers, according to Municipal Light & Power.

Power has since been restored to almost all of the affected customers.

Update: Tues., Dec. 29 at 11:11 a.m.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has stepped in to assist local law enforcement with the investigation into Monday morning’s plane crash in downtown Anchorage.

Officials with the FBI said there is no reason to believe the crash was terrorist related.

Additionally, crews have reopened 4th Ave. to traffic, but 3rd Ave. remains closed between K St. and L St. as the investigation continues.

While officials continue to investigate the crash, one local pilot says he feels lucky a similar incident with his own plane ended differently.

Bruce Webb works in a building next to the crash site and has been a pilot for 40 years. He had to make an emergency landing in downtown Anchorage on Seventh Avenue in 2000.

“It was pretty unnerving.  It was 2:30 in the afternoon. School buses, kids, traffic. You look for the clearest spot and head toward that,” Webb recalled. “I walked away but the plane was totaled.”

Webb said it’s hard to look at the wreckage knowing the pilot wasn’t as fortunate as he was.

“It’s tough. Anchorage is the largest small aircraft airport in the world. There are a lot of us pilots out here. It’s tragic when one of us don’t walk away.”

The National Transportation Safety Board is at the scene. The start of the investigation was delayed until fire crews were able to put out the post-crash fire, but heavy winds in the area hindered progress.

The plane was part of the Civil Air Patrol (either a Cessna 172 or Cessna 182) and contained one person, the pilot, according to NTSB spokesman Clint Johnson.

“[Anchorage police] made contact with Civil Air Patrol management … there were no sanctioned flights for this time of the day at this point,” said Johnson. “What we’re trying to do is to put those parts of the pieces together to see how it happened or how the airplane ended up where it is.”

Johnson said it’s still unclear what caused the plane to crash.

“Usually you cross Anchorage above 500 feet,” Webb noted. “Looks like he was 150 feet, so that’s pretty low. I’m not sure why you’d be flying that low unless you absolutely have to.”

Both buildings hit are owned by Carrs-Gottstein Properties, says Mike Thomas, second floor manager of the Whale Building at Pacific Office Center.

“You could see the dumpster on fire behind the building and a pile of debris right next to it,” Thomas said of the crash aftermath. ”It was a little apocalyptic-looking, with the strobes going and the blackness.”

Noting the magnitude of the disaster, Thomas says, fortunately, “this occurred two hours previous, and not at 9 o’clock, say, when we would’ve had a gentleman in that office, people in the Brady Building, in adjacent offices.”


Story, video, comments and photos:   http://www.ktva.com











       

A small Civil Air Patrol plane crashed into two downtown Anchorage buildings early Tuesday morning, killing the pilot and sparking a fire.

The aircraft’s pilot and sole occupant, Doug Demarest, a first lieutenant with the CAP, was killed in the crash, according to officials from CAP and the FBI. The flight was not sanctioned by CAP, according to a spokesperson for the agency.

Staci Feger-Pellessier, a spokeswoman for the FBI, said that officials don’t believe the crash was an act of terrorism.

Demarest was married to Kate Demarest, an attorney for the Anchorage office of the national law firm Dorsey and Whitney. Her office was on the sixth floor of the Brady Building, the first downtown office building struck by the plane.

Kate Demarest recently played a role defending the Fairbanks Four, a case involving group of young men recently released from prison after being convicted of murder more than a decade ago.

"Based on the very limited facts we have, we believe it was a personal tragedy and a tragedy for this family," said Bryn Vaaler, chief marketing officer with Dorsey and Whitney’s office in Minneapolis. "She is a valued employee and is obviously involved in a personal tragedy, so that’s all I can tell you."

Employees at the Anchorage office were asked to stay home Tuesday, Vaaler said.

A woman who appeared to be Demarest based on her profile picture at the law firm's website answered the door at a home owned by the couple Tuesday afternoon. She appeared to be crying. The woman declined to identify herself or answer any questions.

A website maintained by Doug Demarest said he was a former National Park Service ranger and Outward Bound instructor as well as a photographer who enjoyed taking pictures of the outdoors and adventure enthusiasts. The website said he and Kate had a child.

The photo galleries and other details at www.dougdemarest.com have been taken down, but some material has been preserved by the Wayback Machine, which periodically archives Web pages.

National Transportation Safety Board Alaska Region Chief Clinton Johnson said the FBI was brought into the investigation because of unspecified evidence investigators uncovered. "Some evidence warrant(ed) us bringing them into the investigation," said Johnson, who declined to elaborate further.

The plane crashed at about 6:18 a.m. Tuesday, first hitting the Brady Building, an office building on West Fourth Avenue, about four stories from the ground, then crashing into the nearby Whale Building, where it ignited a fire.

Anchorage police spokeswoman Anita Shell said the plane was reported as fully engulfed in flames within minutes. 

Several blocks of downtown, including Third and Fourth avenues, from I Street to L Street, were blocked off for several hours as officials from multiple agencies sought first to extinguish the fire and then investigate the crash. 

Investigators from the NTSB were at the scene investigating early Tuesday, while staff from the State Medical Examiner Office were seen removing a body from the plane's wreckage. By 6:53 a.m., Anchorage Fire Department officials said the fire was extinguished and firefighters were working to control smoke in buildings.

The Brady Building, at 1031 W. Fourth Ave., is a 90,000-square-foot downtown office building. AFD Assistant Chief Alex Boyd said no one was inside the office area where the plane hit, with damage mostly to the exterior.

The building -- along with a second affected building, the Carr Gottstein or "Whale" Building, at 310 K St. -- houses offices of the state departments of Law and Corrections and the District Attorney's Office. Both offices were closed Tuesday morning, though the Brady Building was reopened around 1 p.m. The Carr Gottstein Building remained closed as the "situation continues to be assessed," the Department of Administration reported.

The plane first struck the Brady Building as it crashed, then hit the Carr Gottstein Building, according to accounts from officials and eyewitnesses. The latter building was scorched in the post-crash fire, with exposed insulation on the side of the building flapping in the wind Tuesday afternoon.

An inspection by fire officials determined the buildings weren't structurally damaged, Feger-Pellessier said. There were no injuries on the ground, according to Boyd.

The crash also caused power outages downtown.

Boyd said the airplane struck an electrical transformer on the outside of a building as it crashed, forcing authorities to shut down power to the area.

Power to roughly 600 downtown customers “was knocked out due to the fire from the plane crash,” Harris said, but power was restored to most downtown customers within half an hour. 

Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz arrived at the scene around 8:30 a.m after he heard about the crash. He said in a phone interview the fire was under control by the time he got there, and he was impressed by the response of the police and fire departments. 

“They had taken what could have been a potentially very dangerous situation, and managed it exceptionally well,” Berkowitz said.

Andy Dixon, a forecaster at the National Weather Service’s Anchorage office, said aviation weather reports from around Anchorage at 6 a.m. were similar.

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport was reporting scattered clouds at 7,000 feet and overcast clouds at 19,000 feet, with “nothing low-level.” Winds from the southeast were at 17 knots, with gusts to 25 knots.

Merrill Field, the airfield east of downtown Anchorage where the Civil Air Patrol’s Polaris Composite Squadron is based, reported few clouds at 7,000 feet and overcast clouds at 20,000 feet, with winds from the south at 8 knots gusting to 18 knots.

Dixon said both airport and Merrill Field observers reported 10 miles of visibility, with little change in any of the three facilities’ next weather reports an hour later at 7 a.m.

“It’s not appreciably different,” Dixon said. “It’s been pretty similar conditions across all of the three sites for most of the morning.”

The Civil Air Patrol is a federally chartered auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. Its volunteer members conduct search and rescue operations as well as disaster relief. 

In 2015, the Alaska patrol consisted of 573 senior members and 187 cadets, according to an fact sheet provided by CAP national public affairs Deputy Director Julie DeBardelaben in Alabama. Its fleet was comprised for 28 aircraft and three gliders. 

The Air Force credited the Alaska patrol for saving one life this year based on a mission, DeBardelaben said. She said the wing was also credited with finding 29 other people in search-and-rescue operations in the state.

Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman for the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said CAP regularly participates in emergency preparedness exercises organized by the state. He said the patrol helps with statewide rescues. 

At Merrill Field, maintenance crews conducting a routine morning check of hangars at the field between 6 and 7 a.m.found a hangar operated by the CAP’s Polaris Composite Squadron with its main door open, airport manager Paul Bowers said.

“There was no breach in the security fence and there were no signs of forced entry,” Bowers said.

The maintenance workers didn’t note whether any aircraft were missing, Bowers said, but simply secured the hangar before alerting the squadron’s head, Maj. Randy Smith.

“The door was left open and of course there’s a fairly substantial south wind, and the door was facing directly into it,” Bowers said, adding that seeing a hangar door left open at the field was uncommon. He likened it to leaving a garage door open at a home, noting that it exposes the contents to both theft and the elements.

“Hangar doors are generally not left open because they are generally not empty boxes,” Bowers said. “It’s unusual to have the hangar doors left open; it’s not illegal or immoral, but it’s not common.”

In a statement released by the Civil Air Patrol’s national headquarters in Alabama, the agency said that Demarest joined CAP in 2010, but that he “was not authorized to fly the aircraft.”

CAP became aware of the errant aircraft around 6:45 a.m. -- 20 minutes after the crash -- when the Rescue Coordination Center in Anchorage called to report that a beacon was going off on the aircraft, said the Civil Air Patrol's DeBardelaben.

NTSB Alaska Region Chief Clint Johnson says initial accounts suggest the plane approached Anchorage from over Cook Inlet before it crashed.

Eyewitnesses, meanwhile, described the plane as circling before the crash.

"I seen the plane coming in and it did a total complete turn and then boom," said Thomas Connell, who witnessed the crash.

"It flew over us twice and then crashed," Connell said. "It was just way low, and then it started sinking on in."

"I heard it circling and I knew it was having problems," said Mike Coumbe, who lives a few blocks away. "I heard the plane and tried to see the plane and I heard it hit -- it just stopped." 


Inside Snow City Cafe across the street, a group of about five employees was beginning work for the day when the plane crashed, according to Vince Maiorano, a cook at the downtown eatery.

"We heard a noise -- a loud 'whooshing' noise -- didn’t know what it was," Maiorano said.

As the employees stepped outside, the plane -- which had just hit the transformer, knocking out power to the cafe -- was just beginning to catch fire, said Maiorano, who captured video of the wreckage.


Source:  http://www.adn.com