Friday, March 18, 2016

Beech 58, N358CB, DESE, Enterprises LLC: Accident occurred March 18, 2016 at Huntsville International Airport (KHSV), Huntsville, Alabama

DESE ENTERPRISES LLC: http://registry.faa.gov/N358CB

FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Birmingham FSDO-09


NTSB Identification: GAA16CA161
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, March 18, 2016 in Huntsville, AL
Probable Cause Approval Date: 06/01/2016
Aircraft: BEECH 58, registration: N358CB
Injuries: 1 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.

According to the pilot, after completing the maintenance test flight, he established a normal approach to the runway. However, he reported that he did not extend the landing gear prior to touchdown and the airplane landed with the landing gear retracted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing, left aileron and the bottom of the fuselage. 

The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies with the airplane prior to or during the flight that would have prevented normal flight operation.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's failure to extend the landing gear prior to touchdown resulting in a landing with the landing gear retracted and consequent substantial damage.




HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT)- Emergency responders rushed to Huntsville International Airport Friday around 12:50 as the pilot of a private plane reported an issue with nose gear.

Thankfully, airport officials say the plane landed safely.

The airport’s East runway was closed as crews responded.

 Spokeswoman Jana Kuner said no flights were delayed because of this because there is another runway to use. 

There were a handful of flight delays on Friday afternoon but Kuner says they were not related to the emergency response.

Kuner said the pilot was able to exit the plane uninjured. 

There was no medical attention needed, and the heavy response of emergency crews is standard as a precaution.

Original article can be found here: http://whnt.com



HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) -  An incident at Huntsville International Airport is impacting air traffic.

There was an incident with the nose gear on a private plane.

The runway is now closed.

According to Huntsville International Airport, the pilot is fine and there are no issues to report at this time.

HMCAA Public Safety was able to manage the event with no outside assistance.

Outgoing flights are delayed.

Airport officials say that the delays are not a result of the accident, it is a coincidence. 

HEMSI was called out to the scene but the call was canceled. 

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






Beechcraft 1900D, AP-BII, Aircraft Sales & Services Limited: Incident occurred March 18, 2016 at Karachi-Jinnah International Airport (KHI/OPKC), Pakistan



KARACHI: Three people were injured after a private chartered plane, with 18 people on-board and three crew members, crash-landed at Jinnah International Airport on Friday.

The plane, which belongs to Aircraft Sales and Services, took-off at 8:24am and after attaining a height of 25 to 30 feet made a crash landing, said Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesperson Parvez George. 


The plane was chartered by Pakistan Petroleum Limited and was travelling to Sukkur, he informed. 


A rescue team immediately rushed to the scene where they took control of the situation, he added. 


In the aftermath of the crash, the runway was closed from 8:25am to 13:02pm, while aviation traffic continued to use the secondary runway of the airport. 


CAA director-general has ordered an inquiry into the incident, said the spokesperson. It is too early to determine the cause of the crash, he added.


Original article can be found here: http://tribune.com.pk




A charter plane carrying 18 passengers crash landed minutes after takeoff from Jinnah International Airport.

Authorities have confirmed that two people were injured due to crash-landing. The flight was on way to Balochistan’s Sui from Sindh metropolitan. Sources said that the aircraft encountered a technical fault.


Besides 18 passengers, the plane was carrying three crew members.


Jinnah International Airport’s runway was shut for all kinds of departures and arrivals until further instructions.


Pakistan International Airline is running in losses for the past many years. The government has decided to sell around 26 percent shares of the national airline.


The PIA employees did not take the decision well though the government had maintained that it is essential for the betterment of the institution.


In January, deficit of Pakistan International Airline was reported to be around Rs 19 billion despite 42 percent shrinkage owing to fall in prices of oil products in international market.


From January 2015 to September 2015, revenue of the national airline decreased by nine percent. The total revenue of PIA in the last nine months was Rs 69 billion.


Plunge in oil prices in the international market resulted in 42 percent decrease in PIA’s deficit. The airlines purchased fuel worth Rs 22 billion in the January-September 2015 period.


Last year in November, a pilot was charged with attempted murder and terrorism after Shaheen Airline’s aircraft crash landed at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport. The pilot was charged as he was found drunk.


Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had conducted medical examination of the crew members which revealed that the pilot was not intoxicated but fatigued as well.


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



KARACHI:  A charter plane with 18 people on board crash-landed at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport on Friday, Express News reported.

Two people were reportedly injured in the incident.

Reports suggested the plane had to make an emergency landing as soon as it took off.

Rescue teams and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) officials arrived at the scene and the runway was closed.

In November last year, a Lahore-bound Shaheen Air flight, carrying 121 passengers and crew members, made an ‘emergency landing’ at the Allama Iqbal International Airport.

It was initially reported that at least 10 passengers received ‘minor’ injuries when the plane landed due to a burst tyre; however, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) denied the claims, saying all passengers remained unhurt and that flight NL-142 landed at the airport and shortly afterwards went off the runway.

A medical report revealed the pilot was intoxicated and fatigued at the time of landing.

Original article can be found here:   http://tribune.com.pk

Flydubai Boeing 737-800, A6-FDN, Flight FZ-981: Fatal accident occurred March 19, 2016 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia

NTSB Identification: DCA16RA108 
Scheduled 14 CFR
Accident occurred Saturday, March 19, 2016 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia
Aircraft: BOEING 737, registration:
Injuries: 62 Fatal.

The foreign authority was the source of this information.

The Russian Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) has notified the NTSB of an accident involving a BOEING 737 that occurred on March 19, 2016. The NTSB has appointed a U.S. Accredited Representative to assist the MAK investigation under the provisions of ICAO Annex 13 as the State of Manufacturer and Design of the airplane.

All investigative information will be released by the MAK.


 
The Wall Street Journal 
By Nicolas Parasie and Robert Wall
Updated March 20, 2016 8:25 a.m. ET


DUBAI—Air-accident investigators have begun trying to extract information from the black boxes of the FlyDubai jetliner that crashed in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday, killing all 62 people aboard, according to officials involved in the probe.

Russian investigators said the black boxes were recovered but suffered damage in the crash of FlyDubai’s Flight 981, a Boeing Co. 737-800, during a repeated landing attempt at the city’s airport in windy conditions Saturday.

The Russian Interstate Aviation Committee, which is leading the probe, said it was working with specialists from the United Arab Emirates and France to extract the memory units that store the data that typically provides the strongest evidence of what occurred in a crash.

Representatives from the United Arab Emirates late Saturday arrived in Russia to assist in the probe.

The recorders are designed to withstand heavy damage and generally retain data even in extreme cases. Accident investigators typically can extract information from the black boxes even if they are damaged, a process that can take as little as a few days. A cursory review of the data often can also provide strong clues about what went wrong and help ascertain whether any technical malfunction came into play.

The cockpit voice recorder would provide clues about the decision-making process onboard. The flight-data recorder stores details of thousands of plane parameters such as pilot control inputs, which are used to reconstruct what happens and determine if there was any technical fault with the plane.

Even if investigators can quickly assess what likely happened, a detailed analysis of the data from the two storage devices can take weeks or months.

Flight 981 left Dubai at 10:20 p.m. local time Friday. The crew aborted a first landing attempt and circled for about two hours before crashing in a second attempt to land in Rostov at about 3:50 a.m. local time Saturday. The plane was carrying 55 passengers and seven crew members.

The pilot and copilot had several years of experience, having logged 5,900 and 5,700 flight hours, respectively.

Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, director general of the United Arab Emirates’ General Civil Aviation Authority, said, “The investigation may take time due to the amount of required information on the aircraft, crew, and the operator, Rostov airport, air-traffic control of Rostov airport, weather condition, and information obtained through interviews.”

Investigators also are poised to study conversations the crew might have had with air traffic control and the airline’s flight operations center during the two-hour period between the first landing attempt and the fatal second try. Investigators also may interview the crew of another plane that also attempted to land at Rostov and diverted to another airfield after several failed attempts.

FlyDubai Chief Executive Ghaith Al Ghaith on Sunday said the plane was carrying enough fuel to divert to another airfield. The Rostov airport was open and weather conditions were sufficient for flights to operate, he said, adding the pilot had previously flown to Rostov.
ENLARGE

The cause of the accident is unclear. Local authorities said bad weather conditions had forced the pilot to attempt a second landing. Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had opened a criminal probe and was considering “error by the plane’s crew, technical malfunction on board, bad weather conditions and other factors” among the possible reasons for the crash.

Accident investigators have pledged to issue a preliminary report within a month in adherence with rules set out by the International Civil Aviation Organization, the air-safety arm of the United Nations. That document often provides only limited information, though. A final report on the crash probe should come within a year of the accident.

The investigation is being supported by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, where the Boeing plane was built. The plane maker said it is providing technical support to the probe. French air-accident investigators also are involved because the 737 plane was powered by engines made by CFM International, a joint venture between France’s Safran SA and General Electric Co.

State-owned budget carrier FlyDubai will resume service to Rostov once the airport reopens, the airline’s CEO said.

The airline said bookings haven’t been affected. Airlines typically suffer a slump in demand in the immediate weeks after a crash, although bookings generally rebound.

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

MOSCOW — The Latest on the crash of the FlyDubai Boeing 737-800 in Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia (all times local):

8:45 p.m.

A long-time friend of the Cypriot pilot of the crashed FlyDubai jet says the 38-year-old aviator was going to quit the airline after recently accepting a job with Ryanair in Cyprus.

The friend told The Associated Press on Saturday that Aristos Socratous, whose wife will give birth to the couple's first child in a few weeks, wanted to raise his family in Cyprus despite a drop in his wages.

The friend, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he didn't want to be named discussing his friend's personal matters, said Socratous was an experienced pilot who had no complaints about FlyDubai and was happy about being promoted to full captain a year and a half ago.

Socratous had previously worked for Helios Airways, the Cypriot airline that shut down after a plane crash in 2005.

— Menelaos Hadjicostis in Brussels.

__

2:15 p.m.

Emirati authorities including the president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, have sent their condolences to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Emirati state news agency WAM reported.

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also serves as the Emirates' vice president and prime minister, expressed his regrets on his official Twitter feed in Arabic, English and Russian.

"I offer my condolences to the families of the passengers who lost their lives on board flight FZ981. This terrible tragedy grieves us all," Sheikh Mohammed wrote. "We mourn those lost, may their souls rest in peace. Our thoughts are with their loved ones at this time of sorrow and grief."

1:55 p.m.

FlyDubai Chief Executive Ghaith al-Ghaith says the crew included five men and two women. The pilots were from Cyprus and Spain, while the cabin crew included two Russians and citizens of Seychelles, Colombia and Kyrgyzstan.

The pilot and co-pilot had 5,965 and 5,769 hours of flying time respectively, making them "quite experienced," al-Ghaith said. They were not identified by name.

The plane itself was produced in 2011 and underwent a detailed maintenance inspection known as a C check in Jordan on January 21 of this year, the CEO said.

He said he is personally leading the airline's accident response. The carrier has deployed a team to the site of the crash, and Emirati civil aviation investigators are also on their way.

9:45 a.m.

The Dubai Media Office says those killed in the crash of the FlyDubai airliner in Russia include 44 Russians, eight Ukrainians, two Indians and one person from Uzbekistan.

The media office offered condolences on behalf of the entire United Arab Emirates for those who lost loved ones.

On Twitter, the office says the entire UAE, a federation of seven emirates, offered "its deepest condolences to the families of the victims & to the Russian government & people."

Seven crew members were also among those killed in the crash at Rostov-on-Don.

The Dubai Media Office works under Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also serves as the UAE's prime minister.

8:50 a.m.

FlyDubai is saying there are no survivors from its plane crash in Russia.

The budget carrier made the announcement in a statement released Saturday morning.

It said: "While we are still awaiting final confirmation, it is with great sadness that we report we believe there are no survivors."

It says of the 55 passengers on board, 33 were women, 18 men and four children. There were seven crew members at the time of the crash in Rostov-on-Don.

The airline's CEO Ghaith al-Ghaith said in a statement: "Our primary concern is for the families of the passengers and crew who were on board. Everyone at FlyDubai is in deep shock and our hearts go out to the families and friends of those involved."

8:20 a.m.

Boeing Co. has offered condolences for those who died aboard a FlyDubai Boeing 737-800 airliner in Russia.

The Chicago-based airline manufacturer issued the statement Saturday, hours after the crash in Rostov-on-Don killed all 55 passengers and six crew members.

FlyDubai's fleet is dominated by relatively young Boeing 737-800 aircraft, the same model as the one that crashed.

Boeing says it stands ready to provide technical assistance upon the request of government agencies conducting the investigation. It adds it won't be able to answer any questions regarding the flight "in accordance with the international protocol governing aviation accident investigations."

7:25 a.m.

FlyDubai, the budget carrier whose plane has crashed in Russia, is offering phone numbers for those affected by the disaster to call.

The Dubai-based airline says those worried about their loved ones could call + 44 203 4508 853 or +971 4 293 4100.

It earlier acknowledged its flight to Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia crashed early Saturday morning.

The carrier has offered no preliminary cause for the crash. Russian officials say all 55 passengers and six crew aboard were killed.

Winds were anywhere from 14 to 22 meters per second (30-50 miles per hour) at the time of the crash and that there was light rain.

7:20 a.m.

FlyDubai has acknowledged its flight to Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia has crashed with fatalities.

In a statement, the budget carrier says it regrets to confirm that flight FZ981 crashed on landing and that fatalities have been confirmed.

It adds: "We are doing all we can to gather information as quickly as possible. At this moment our thoughts and prayers are with our passengers and our crew who were on board the aircraft. We will do everything we can to help those who have been affected by this accident."

The carrier offered no preliminary cause for the crash. Russian officials say the plane had 55 passengers and six crewmembers and that there were no survivors.

Winds were anywhere from 14 to 22 meters per second (30-50 miles per hour) at the time of the crash and that there was light rain.

Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

7 a.m.

A flight-tracking service says a FlyDubai plane that crashed in Russia made one failed landing before the disaster.

Ian Petchenik, a spokesman for the website Flightradar24, told The Associated Press on Saturday that the Boeing 737-800 initially tried to land at Rostov on Don at 2231 GMT.

Petchenik says: "Based on our data, what it looks like is the aircraft made an initial landing attempt."

He said the plane then entered a holding pattern at 2327 GMT near the airport, then left the holding pattern to try and land again at 0028 GMT. The flight offered its last data at 0041 GMT and lost contact.

Russian officials say the plane had 55 passengers and six crewmembers. Winds were anywhere from 14 to 22 meters per second (30-50 miles per hour) at the time of the crash and that there was light rain.

Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

6:55 a.m.

Weather has been described as rough at the time a Boeing 737-800 with 61 passengers and crew crashed in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, killing all on board.

Rostov-on-Don was blanketed in rain showers and weather forecasters said winds there reached up to 50 kilometers (31 miles) per hour on Saturday morning.

FlightRadar24, a flight-tracking website, showed the FlyDubai flight made a series of loops near Rostov on Don while apparently waiting for permission to land.

6:40 a.m.

Russia's Emergencies Ministry official says all 55 passengers and six crew members aboard a Boeing 737-800 that crashed on landing at the airport in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don have been killed.

Igor Odev, the head of the ministry's southern regional operations, provided the figure at a televised briefing on Saturday morning.

The plane belonged to the budget carrier FlyDubai and was coming from Dubai when it crashed.

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



The Wall Street Journal
By LAURA MILLS and  JON OSTROWER
Updated March 19, 2016 11:43 a.m. ET


A FlyDubai airliner crashed in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don early Saturday, killing all 62 people aboard, according to the Russian Emergency Ministry.

The Boeing Co. 737-800 crashed during a repeated landing attempt at the city’s airport, according to the ministry.

The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately clear. Flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 said the plane had been climbing after a second landing attempt when it suddenly began to fall at rapid speed. Previously, local authorities had said that the plane’s wing had touched the runway upon a second landing attempt, causing it to break apart.

Closed-circuit television footage appeared to show an object hitting the ground at a fast speed, followed by an explosion.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had opened a criminal probe and was considering “error by the plane’s crew, technical malfunction on board, bad weather conditions and other factors” among the possible reasons for the crash. One of the plane’s flight recorders has been recovered from the scene, the committee said.

FlyDubai said flight FZ981 departed from Dubai International Airport at 10:20 p.m. local time Friday (2:20 p.m. ET) and was bound for Rostov-on-Don. The crash occurred at the destination about 3:50 a.m. local time Saturday, it added.

Of those on board, 55 were passengers and seven were crew members, the ministry said. The airline said the nationalities of the passengers included 44 Russians, eight Ukrainians, two Indians and one Uzbek.

According to FlightRadar, between the FlyDubai plane’s first and second landing attempts, another aircraft tried to land at the airport and diverted elsewhere.

FlyDubai said it was working with authorities to find out what caused the crash. “We do not know all of the details of the incident but we are working closely with all the authorities to establish precisely what happened,” Ghaith Al Ghaith, FlyDubai’s chief executive, said at a news conference in Dubai. A team is leaving for Russia soon to help with the investigations, he added.

Mr. Ghaith said the crew flying the plane was experienced. The pilot had logged around 5,900 flight hours in his career, with the copilot having flown 5,700 hours.

The plane, which was built in 2011, underwent regularly scheduled major maintenance in January.

Boeing said it would serve as a technical adviser to the Russian-led crash probe. The Chicago-based company said that under the direction of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board it was launching a team to aid the investigation.

FlyDubai was set up in 2008 by the government of Dubai, which also owns Emirates, the largest airline in the world by international traffic. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum heads both airlines.

The airline has sought to replicate the successful low-cost model pioneered by Southwest Airlines Co. Many of the carrier’s operational leaders are former U.S. airline executives.

Saturday’s crash is the worst in the airline’s short history and of its few notable safety incidents. In January 2015, one of its 737s came under fire during landing in Baghdad.

The fast-growing, low-cost carrier operates an all-Boeing 737-800 fleet and received its 50th aircraft in October, just over six years after the carrier took its first jet from the plane maker.

The last previous fatal accident involving a 737-800 occurred in 2010 when an Air India Express plane crashed on landing killing all 158 people onboard, according to the Aviation Safety Network, an accident tracking site affiliated with the not-for-profit Flight Safety Foundation. Investigators blamed pilot fatigue for the botched landing.

The event comes after the safest year in the history of commercial jet aviation world-wide. According to industry data, 2015 was the first year without a single passenger fatality as a result of a jetliner accident. Those numbers don’t include planes that are believed to have been brought down by a bomb or other intentional acts.

—Nicolas Parasie, Andy Pasztor and Robert Wall contributed to this article.

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


Russian officials spoke to a relative of a victim of the FlyDubai plane that crashed in Russia on Saturday.






Incident occurred March 17, 2016 at Beagle Sky Ranch Airport (OR96), Sams Valley, Jackson County, Oregon


SAMS VALLEY, Ore. -- A pilot is recovering today after his plane crashed in Sams Valley.

It happened Thursday night at Beagle Sky Ranch Airport. 

The plane is described as an ultralight aircraft, which includes a glider and a motor. 

Fire District 3 says that the pilot clipped a tree and then hit the runway hard. 

The pilot was taken by Mercy Flights to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injuries. 

Sam’s Valley, Ore. — A man is in the hospital after a crash at the Beagle airfield in Sam’s Valley.

A witness, who didn’t want to be identified, says the man was flying over the airfield when he clipped a tree that caused him to crash.

“I saw the plane clip the tree. He came down, end-oed. My friend and I both helped him get out from under the plane,” recalled the witness.

The man was taken to the hospital, according to the witness he had a broken femur. He did not have any passengers with him.

Original article can be found here: https://kobi5.com

Lufthansa Airbus A380-800, D-AIMJ, Flight LH-456: Incident occurred March 18, 2016 near Los Angeles International Airport (KLAX), California



The pilot of a commercial jetliner said his plane nearly collided with a drone while approaching Los Angeles International Airport on Friday afternoon, sparking a search by L.A. police and sheriff's officials for the owner of the unmanned aircraft.

The near-miss was reported before 2 p.m. about 14 miles east of the airport at an elevation of 5,000 feet and involved a Lufthansa Airbus A380, said Los Angeles police Lt. Robert Binder. The drone flew 200 feet over the aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and police helicopters were headed to the area to try and locate the drone pilot, Binder said, adding that it would be a long-shot search.

As drones have become more prevalent, so have their run-ins with aircraft. Over the last few years, drones have grounded firefighting aircraft in California by flying too close during firefighting missions and have smacked into buildings and taken down power lines.

In November, a Los Angeles man was forced to hand his drone over and promise not to fly one for another three years after interfering with a police search.

Pilots across the country are logging a fast-rising number of near-misses with drones, with 1 out of 5 of those risky incidents happening in California, according to an August 2015 article in the Los Angeles Times. Those conclusions come from an analysis of federal data released Thursday by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)

The data show nearly 200 reports of close encounters involving drones reported in California since April 2014 — the most of any state.

Currently, hobbyists flying drones have few federal legal restrictions, although they are warned not to fly within five miles of airports or above 400 feet. Drone operators can be fined if they endanger people or other aircraft, the FAA says.

Story and video: http://abc7.com


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

Beech 200, N307DM: Incident occurred March 17, 2016 in Kansas City, Missouri

Date: 17-MAR-16
Time: 21:46:00Z
Regis#: N307DM
Aircraft Make: BEECH
Aircraft Model: 200
Event Type: Incident
Highest Injury: None
Damage: Minor
Activity: Other
Flight Phase: EN ROUTE (ENR)
FAA FSDO: FAA Kansas City FSDO-63
City: KANSAS CITY
State: Missouri

AIRCRAFT WHILE INFLIGHT, WINDSHIELD SHATTERED, LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT, KANSAS CITY, MO

http://registry.faa.gov/N307DM

Cameron Balloons US N-105, N4501Y: Incident occurred March 17, 2016 Pagosa Springs, Archuleta County, Colorado

Date: 17-MAR-16
Time: 17:00:00Z
Regis#: N4501Y
Aircraft Make: CAMERON
Aircraft Model: N105
Event Type: Incident
Highest Injury: None
Damage: Unknown
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Denver FSDO-03
City: PAGOSA SPRINGS
State: Colorado

N4501Y HOT AIR BALLOON, ON LANDING STRUCK POWERLINES, PAGOSA SPRINGS, CO

http://registry.faa.gov/N4501Y

Mooney M20C Ranger, N9262M, Sabris Corp: Accident occurred March 18, 2016 near Colonel James Jabara Airport (KAAO), Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas

SABRIS CORP: http://registry.faa.gov/N9262M 

FAA Flight Standards District Office:  FAA Wichita FSDO-64

NTSB Identification: CEN16LA129
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, March 18, 2016 in Wichita, KS
Probable Cause Approval Date: 08/16/2016
Aircraft: MOONEY M20C, registration: N9262M
Injuries: 2 Minor.

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 he conducted a preflight inspection of the airplane and noted that both fuel tanks were full. The pilot then took off for the personal cross-country flight. During approach to landing at the destination airport, the pilot extended the downwind leg due to inbound instrument flight rules traffic. The engine then suddenly lost power, and the pilot conducted a forced landing.

An examination of the wreckage revealed no preimpact mechanical anomalies. The fuel tank selector was positioned to the left fuel tank, and the electric fuel pump was in the “off” position. No fuel was found in the left tank. There was no smell of fuel, no evidence of fuel spillage, and the fuel tank did not appear to have been breached. Some fuel, about 2 to 3 inches deep, was found in the right fuel tank. If the pilot had switched the fuel selector from the left to the right fuel tank and turned on the electric fuel pump, the engine would not have been starved of fuel.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

The total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation, which resulted from the pilot's improper fuel management.

On March 18, 2016, about 1525 central daylight time, a Mooney M20C, N9262M, lost engine power while on approach to the Col. James Jabara Airport (AAO), Wichita, Kansas, and subsequently collided with terrain. The pilot and his passenger received minor injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by the Sabris Corporation, Wichita, Kansas, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Dickson (M02), Tennessee, about 1130 was en route to AAO.

According to the pilot's statement, he had preflighted the airplane in M02 and noted that both fuel tanks were "filled to the rim." (According to the Mooney Aircraft Corporation, fuel capacity for the model M20C is 52 gallons, 26 gallons per wing tank). The flight to AAO was uneventful. Due to inbound IFR (instrument flight rules) traffic, the pilot extended the downwind leg for landing when the engine suddenly lost power. The pilot said he used the ALARMS (airspeed, landing site, air restart, radios, mayday, secure plane) checklist. The airplane was too far from the runway, so the pilot attempted to land on a golf course. He did not recall the forced landing and woke up in an ambulance en route to the hospital. 

A Federal Aviation Administration inspector who examined the airplane reported finding "no discernible quantity of fuel in the left tank." The fuel selector was positioned on the left fuel tank, and the electric fuel pump was in the off position. When the airplane was placed in a level position, the inspector was not able to sump fuel from the left fuel tank, even with the electric fuel pump running, or from the fuel selector valve sump. Some fuel was noted in the right fuel tank. The inspector was able to sump fuel from the right fuel tank. The fuel level was about 2 to 3 inches in depth. There was no evidence of fuel spillage, and the fuel tanks did not appear to have been breached. There were no fuel stains on the ground or the smell of fuel around the airplane. No other anomalies or mechanical failures were noted.

Airplane damage consisted of a buckled lower fuselage from the engine cowling aft to the rear bulkhead. The firewall was bent. The right wing leading edge bore crush damage, and the main landing gear was pushed up through the wing. The flap was also bent.


NTSB Identification: CEN16LA129
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, March 18, 2016 in Wichita, KS
Aircraft: MOONEY M20C, registration: N9262M
Injuries: 2 Minor.

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 March 18, 2016, about 1115 central daylight time, a Mooney M20C, N9262M, lost engine power while on approach to the Col. James Jabara Airport (AAO), Wichita, Kansas. The pilot and his passenger received minor injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by the Sabris Corporation, Wichita, Kansas, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Dickson (M02), Tennessee, about 1130 was destined for AAO.

The pilot said he was on an extended downwind leg for landing when the engine suddenly lost power. He did not recall the forced landing. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector who examined the airplane reported finding no fuel in the left fuel tank. The fuel selector was positioned on the left tank. Some fuel was noted in the right fuel tank. The auxiliary fuel pump switch was off. There was no evidence of fuel spillage on the ground.


Nicole Klusner and Christian Dell
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Christian Dell and Nicole Klusener.


WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) -- Christian Dell and Nicole Klusener say they're thankful to be alive as a pilot's greatest fear came to life.

The Andover teens crashed a private plane onto Tallgrass Country Club after the aircraft's engine gave out Friday afternoon.

"We were just coming back from a Spring break trip in Nashville," Dell said.

Dell and Klusener were getting close to their landing point at Jabara Airport when something went horribly wrong.

"We've got an engine failure," Dell called into the Wichita tower. "We're trying to make it to final."

The rental plane's engine gave out as the couple was making their decent.

"I was just like, looking at Christian hoping that he knew what to do and I was praying to God," Klusener said.

"At that point it's all kind of flashback to training," Dell said.

Dell says he flew the four-seat plane right over the top of some houses lining the 14th hole of the golf course; then they clipped a tree before crashing into the ground.

"We're being told this is a small private aircraft the landed on the golf course, there are several occupants, looks like they were getting out of the plane, but injured," a 911 dispatcher scratched over the radio.

Dell says if it hadn't been for a sand trap they would have landed fairly smoothly, but instead they crashed hard. Both smashed their heads against the dash leaving them concussed and the rest of the story very foggy.

"He got out and was walking around, had blood coming out of his eyes," Klusener said.

Now that both are out of the hospital and have had time to reflect, the couple realizes how close they came to losing it all while Dell did everything he could to prevent the emergency landing from harming others.

"It's fortunate that no one else got hurt," he said.

"He did his job and that's how we're alive right now," Klusener said.

Dell says his two years of flying experience helped him keep calm during a frightening ordeal. They are still waiting for the results of the ongoing FAA investigation as to what went wrong with the rental plane's engine. 

Story and video:  http://www.kake.com

Two high school seniors are recovering from various injuries after their rental plane experienced engine failure and crashed on the way home from a spring-break vacation.

Certified pilot Christian Dell, 17, and his girlfriend, Nicole Klusner, 18, had saved up their money to rent a small aircraft for a few days of fun in Nashville, Tennessee.

The nearly two-hour journey home was smooth sailing until the last leg of the flight. "It just started spluttering and it ultimately failed," Dell said.

Klusner said, "I didn't know what to do or what was going on. The first thing I thought about were my parents."

"I was just looking at him [Dell], trusting he knew what to do and praying to God that we were going to be OK," she added.

Indeed, Dell's emergency training kicked in as he missed homes and power lines, and dodged trees, eventually crash landing the plane on the 14th hole of a golf course.

Residents who saw the rough landing ran to the rescue, getting both teens out and off to the hospital where they were treated for concussions and head injuries.

Klusner praised her boyfriend for his skills: "He just did his job and that's how we're alive right now."

Wichita Police Department Lt. Paul Duff told reporters, "From what I was told, the pilot did an excellent job."

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating what went wrong.

Story and video:  http://abcnews.go.com


Two teens who crash landed at a Wichita golf course are out of the hospital.


The owner of the plane says the engine failed Friday afternoon, forcing the 17-year-old pilot to make an emergency landing at the Tallgrass Golf Course. 


Despite concussions, broken bones, and scrapes and bruises, both Andover High School seniors involved in the plane crash say  they're doing well. 


"As far as plane crashes go, how I'm feeling - it's pretty good. Thankful for that," said Christian Dell, the pilot of the plane. 


Christian was flying, and his girlfriend Nicole Klusener, 18, was passenger. 


The two teens saved up money to rent the Mooney M20C for a trip to Nashville over spring break.


They were almost home when something went wrong.


"The whole flight, it was pretty noisy. We had headphones on but it was still loud. And then it just went silent. Like the engine just stopped and we were just like, oh no," Nicole said. 

"So I decided we were going to make it to the runway. I turned back and there was just no way we were going to get there," Christian said. 

Christian had to think quickly.

We an engine failure, made an emergency landing, missed a house...  we almost hit the house, and we clipped the top of a tree I think, and we landed on the golf course there, Nicole Klusener said. 

"He opened the door and was pushing me out a little and we were just crawling around and we had no idea what kind of state we were in. And the ladies from some of the houses came up and told us their names and that we were going to be okay," she said. 

The owner of the plane says the way Christian responded is likely what saved their lives.

"In talking to the pilot and looking at the airplane, you can see that the pilot did everything right," said David Dewhirst, president of Sabris Corporation and owner of the plane.  "The praise should go to the pilot for the manner to which he handled this emergency," he said. 

"It was pretty much just all training. I don't really remember much from the approach. It all just kicked in," Christian said. 

Both Christian and Nicole say they feel lucky. 

"There's definitely that, 'it's never going to happen to me.' But it did. We're just glad nobody else got hurt and we were fortunate enough to walk away," Christian said. 

"That could've happened 5,000 feet in the air, and we would've had no chance probably. But it happened when we were getting ready to land on the runway. So we were already getting lower to the ground and slowing down. God was watching over us for sure," Nicole said. 

The FAA and NTSB are still investigating what caused the plane's engine to fail.  

The owner of the plane is still working with insurance companies to figure out the best way to remove the plane from Tallgrass Country Club.

Story and video:  http://www.kwch.com



WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) — Two teens were hurt when a small plane crashed onto golf course in northeast Wichita.

The crash was reported just before 3:30 p.m. Friday at the Tallgrass golf course northwest of 21st and Webb Road. Wichita police said the single-engine Mooney M20C had engine trouble on the way back from Nashville, Tennessee. The engine reportedly stalled, requiring an emergency landing.

"I saw through the window a really low plane, and I thought it was going to hit the neighbors' roofs," Nikki Womack said. "So I immediately ran to the back of the house, and I saw it just nosedive into the middle of the golf course."

Police said the two teens, ages 17 and 18, suffered minor injuries. Their injuries were originally thought to be more serious.

The FAA aircraft registry reports the plane is owned by Sabris Corp., a Wichita-based firm that offers flight training and a variety of other aviation services, according to the Wichita Business Journal.

The two teens were renting the plane. Sabris said the pilot has a lot of experience and went through some training with them.

"I was told the pilot did an excellent job at what he did," said Wichita Police Lt. Paul Duff. "We did check the area and no homes have been hit."

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




WICHITA, Kan. -

UPDATE (5:30): Police said in a briefing it is too early to tell if there was damage to the golf course.

Police say the FAA is on scene conducting an investigation.

Police say the two teens in the plane are doing all right. We're told their conditions have been downgraded from earlier in the day, when the injuries were said to be critical.

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UPDATE (4:30): An 18-year-old female and 17-year-old male are hospitalized after a plane crash at Tallgrass Country Club.  The 18-year-old has potentially critical injuries.  The 17-year-old went to the hospital with potentially serious injuries.

Crews were called to the scene in the 2400 block of N. Green Leaf at around 3:25 pm Friday.

We expect emergency officials to give a press conference with details about what happened.

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Sedgwick County dispatch says two people suffered injuries in the emergency landing.

Dispatch says one person suffered serious injuries while the other suffered critical. Both are going to Wesley Medical Center for treatment.

Dispatch says the plane landed in the backyard of a home near the golf course.

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Emergency crews are en route to Tallgrass Country Club, where there is a report of a plane crash.

The country club is located at 2400 N. Tallgrass St. in Wichita.

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



WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita firefighters are responding to the scene of a small-plane emergency landing on the Tallgrass Golf Course near the 2400 block of E. Greenleaf Court.

Officials report that the plane, a Mooney M20C, landed on its belly and no leaks were found by hazmat teams. 

Two people were reportedly being treated for minor injuries, though officials now say one may have more serious injuries.

Molly Brewer (@MollyBrewerKSN) is on the scene and reports that police have the neighborhood blocked to all traffic, including residents. 

Original article can be found here: http://ksn.com