Sunday, July 16, 2017

Loss of Control in Flight: North American P-51D Mustang, N251PW; fatal accident occurred July 16, 2017 in Cummings, Atchison County, Kansas

Initial Impact Point in Trees 

Debris Field 

Debris Field 

Debris Field 

Main Wreckage

 Engine 


Propeller Assembly 

Fragmented Instrument Panel

 Fragmented Instrumentation


 Fragmented Instruments 

The National Transportation Safety Board traveled to the scene of this accident. 

Additional Participating Entities:

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Wichita, Kansas
Warbird Heritage Foundation; Waukegan, Illinois
Tab-Air Maintenance & Restoration; East Troy, Wisconsin 

Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms 

http://registry.faa.gov/N251PW


Location: Cummings, KS
Accident Number: CEN17FA270
Date & Time: 07/16/2017, 1018 CDT
Registration: N251PW
Aircraft: NORTH AMERICAN/AERO CLASSICS P 51
Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
Defining Event: Loss of control in flight
Injuries: 2 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal

Analysis 

The pilot and the pilot-certificated passenger departed on a local flight, and the airplane was seen performing aerobatics before the accident. A witness then saw the airplane fly low over the ground, pitch up at a steep angle, turn, descend, and impact the ground in a near vertical attitude. Ground scars and damage to the airplane were consistent with the airplane impacting trees with the right wing, and then the ground in a nose-low, wings-level attitude with a pitch in excess of 60° nose down. According to radar data, the airplane lost about 1,000 ft in altitude during the final 5 seconds of the flight; the rate of descent was about 12,000 ft per minute. The location of the accident was within 250 ft of the last known radar target.

The airplane wreckage was severely fragmented and all damage to the airframe, engine, propeller, and flight controls was consistent with a high-speed impact. Examination of the airframe, engine, and related systems revealed no evidence of any anomalies that would have precluded normal operations.

After performing in an air show the day before the accident, the pilot had agreed to take the pilot-certificated passenger for a ride in the airplane before he departed the area. The airplane was equipped with dual flight controls and it could not be determined who was manipulating the flight controls just before or at the time of the accident.

The pilot's autopsy revealed evidence of previous damage to his heart tissue, and this placed him at risk of a sudden cardiac event such as a heart attack or dysrhythmia. Such an event would likely cause acute symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, or loss of consciousness, and sudden impairment or incapacitation could result. However, although such an event might explain the loss of control, it does not explain why the plane was flying at a low altitude. Because of the unknown flight circumstances just before the loss of control, it could not be determined whether the pilot's heart disease contributed to the accident.

Although toxicology test results for both occupants identified ethanol in some tissues, the levels varied widely and were negative on two tests for the pilot-certificated passenger. As a result, it is most likely that the identified ethanol was from sources other than ingestions.

Probable Cause and Findings

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The loss of airplane control while maneuvering at low altitude for reasons that could not be determined.

Findings

Personnel issues
Aircraft control - Other/unknown (Cause)

Not determined
Not determined - Unknown/Not determined (Cause)

Factual Information

History of Flight

Maneuvering
Loss of control in flight (Defining event)

Uncontrolled descent
Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)

On July 16, 2017, about 1018 central daylight time, a North American Aero Classics P-51-D airplane, N251PW, was destroyed when it impacted trees and the ground 2.5 miles northeast of Cummings, Kansas. The airline transport pilot and the commercial pilot-certificated passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was owned by Mustang Historic Military Aircraft, LLC., and it was operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight plan had been filed for the flight. The local personal flight departed Amelia Earhart Airport (K59), Atchison, Kansas, about 1005.

According to several witnesses located between K59 and the accident site, the airplane performed aerobatics in the area south of the airport. A witness located several hundred feet from the accident location observed the airplane fly over nearby power lines between 25 ft and 30 ft above the ground. The airplane then pitched up to climb in a near vertical attitude, the nose of the airplane turned to the left, the airplane turned left and then pitched down in a nose-low attitude. The airplane descended towards the ground and just before impact the tail of the airplane came up. The airplane impacted the ground in a near vertical attitude. When the witness heard the airplane flying overhead, he initially thought it was the pilot-certificated passenger flying an agricultural airplane, as she routinely flew over that area in the same manner during agricultural operations.

Radar data, provided by the FAA in National Track Analysis Program (NTAP) format, identified and depicted the accident flight from shortly after departure at 1009:41 until the time of the accident. The airplane initially climbed to 2,000 ft mean sea level (msl); the altitude varied between 2,100 ft and 4,400 ft msl. During the last 30 seconds of the flight, the altitude was about 2,500 ft at 1018:04, increased to 2,700 ft at 1018:08, decreased to 2,500 ft at 1018:22, and continued to decrease to 1,600 ft at 1018:27. The last radar target was located 250 ft to the northeast of the initial impact point.

Pilot Information

Certificate: Airline Transport; Flight Instructor; Commercial; Flight Engineer
Age: 64, Male
Airplane Rating(s): Multi-engine Land; Single-engine Land
Seat Occupied: Front
Other Aircraft Rating(s): Glider
Restraint Used: Unknown
Instrument Rating(s): Airplane
Second Pilot Present: Yes
Instructor Rating(s): Airplane Multi-engine; Airplane Single-engine; Glider; Instrument Airplane
Toxicology Performed: Yes
Medical Certification: Class 2 With Waivers/Limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: 05/22/2017
Occupational Pilot: Yes
Last Flight Review or Equivalent: 03/18/2016
Flight Time: (Estimated) 10879 hours (Total, all aircraft), 4000 hours (Total, this make and model)

Pilot-Rated Passenger Information

Certificate: Commercial
Age: 34, Female
Airplane Rating(s): Multi-engine Land; Single-engine Land
Seat Occupied: Rear
Other Aircraft Rating(s): None
Restraint Used: Unknown
Instrument Rating(s): Airplane
Second Pilot Present: Yes
Instructor Rating(s): None
Toxicology Performed: Yes
Medical Certification: Class 2 With Waivers/Limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: 12/09/2016
Occupational Pilot: Yes
Last Flight Review or Equivalent:
Flight Time: (Estimated) 2000 hours (Total, all aircraft), 0 hours (Total, this make and model)

Pilot

The pilot's most recent second-class airman medical certificate contained the limitations "Holder shall possess glasses for near/intermediate vision. Not valid for any class after 05/31/2018."

The pilot held a FAA Statement of Aerobatic Competency for four different warbird airplanes including the P-51. His altitude level was "Level 1: Unrestricted" and he held endorsements for solo and formation aerobatics. His endorsement expired in October 2019. According to the pilot's family, he had been flying the make and model of the accident airplane for over 20 years.

Pilot-Certificated Passenger

The pilot-certificated passenger's most recent second-class airman medical certificate contained the limitations "must wear corrective lenses." On the application for this certificate, she estimated her total flight time as 2,000 hours; of which 600 hours had been logged in the past 6 months.

The pilot-certificated passenger was the airport manager at K59 and was employed by McElwain Aerial Spraying as an agriculture pilot. She did not have any flight time or experience in the accident airplane make and model.

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: NORTH AMERICAN/AERO CLASSICS
Registration: N251PW
Model/Series: P 51 D
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Year of Manufacture:
Amateur Built: No
Airworthiness Certificate: Limited
Serial Number: 44-72086
Landing Gear Type: Tailwheel
Seats: 2
Date/Type of Last Inspection: 04/01/2017, Annual
Certified Max Gross Wt.: 11610 lbs
Time Since Last Inspection:
Engines: 1 Reciprocating
Airframe Total Time:  1108.6 Hours as of last inspection
Engine Manufacturer: Rolls-Royce
ELT: C91  installed, not activated
Engine Model/Series: V-1650-7
Registered Owner:  MUSTANG HISTORIC MILITARY AIRCRAFT LLC
Rated Power: 1590 hp
Operator: Warbird Heritage Foundation
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None

The North American P-51-D Mustang is a low-wing, single seat, single engine, propeller driven airplane originally designed and built as a long-range fighter for the military and used during World War II and the Korean War. The accident airplane, Serial Number (S/N) 44-72086, was delivered to the Army Air Forces on January 20, 1945. The airplane was acquired by the current owner in 1996 and restored to an airworthy condition in 2011. The airplane was painted in the markings of Capt. Herbert G. Kolb's "Baby Duck" from the U.S. Army 8th Air Force, 353rd Fighter Group, 350th Fighter Squadron.

The airplane was modified by the addition of a second seat aft of the standard single pilot seat. According to the airplane maintenance records, the aft seat was equipped with a second set of flight controls that were installed in 1968. The controls consisted of a control stick, rudder pedals without brake inputs, throttle lever, and a limited set of flight instruments. There were no trim controls, landing gear controls, or radios in the aft compartment.

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: KSTJ, 826 ft msl
Distance from Accident Site: 25 Nautical Miles
Observation Time: 1053 CDT
Direction from Accident Site: 25°
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Visibility:  10 Miles
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility (RVR):
Wind Speed/Gusts: 4 knots /
Turbulence Type Forecast/Actual: None / None
Wind Direction: 230°
Turbulence Severity Forecast/Actual: N/A / N/A
Altimeter Setting: 30.06 inches Hg
Temperature/Dew Point: 29°C / 24°C
Precipitation and Obscuration: No Obscuration; No Precipitation
Departure Point: Atchison, KS (K59)
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Destination: Atchison, KS (K59)
Type of Clearance: None
Departure Time: 1005 CDT
Type of Airspace: Class E

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
Passenger Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 2 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude: 39.482222, -95.204444 

The accident site was located in rolling terrain at an elevation of 1,050 ft msl and the airplane impacted the ground on a magnetic heading of 259°.

Several branches were separated from a tree and the angle of damage through the tree was estimated at 60°. A long and narrow ground scar, oriented perpendicular to the debris path, was located just forward of the tree and contained the pitot tube from the wing. A large crater contained bent and torn metal, the engine, gearbox, and propeller assembly. The empennage and fragmented pieces of the fuselage were located 25 ft northwest of the propeller assembly. Fragmented pieces of both wings, the rudder, elevator, and the fuselage were scattered in the debris field that extended over 450 ft from the initial impact point.

The cockpit instruments had separated from their cockpit locations and did not convey reliable readings. All the major portions of the airplane were accounted for on scene. 

Medical And Pathological Information

Pilot

The Forensic Medical Morgue of Kansas City, Kansas, performed the autopsy on the pilot on July 17, 2017, as authorized by the Atchison County Coroner's office. The autopsy concluded that the cause of death was "blunt traumatic injuries sustained in a plane crash" and the report listed the specific injuries. The autopsy was limited by the severity of trauma but revealed coronary artery disease described as "mild" and focal hypertrophic cardiac myocytes and a focal healed endomyocardial scar by microscopy. The pilot had longstanding diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol, which were controlled with medications. He had reported these conditions and their treatment to the FAA.

The FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, performed toxicological tests on specimens that were collected during the pilot's autopsy. Tests of the tissue revealed 54 mg/dL ethanol in the liver, 10 mg/dL ethanol in muscle, atorvastatin in the lung and liver, and losartan in the liver. Putrefaction was present in the samples. Atorvastatin and losartan do not cause impairment or incapacitation. When ethanol is ingested, it is quickly distributed throughout the body's tissues and fluids fairly uniformly. Ethanol may also be produced in the body after death by microbial activity.

Pilot-Certificated Passenger

The Forensic Medical Morgue of Kansas City, Kansas, performed the autopsy on the pilot-certificated passenger on July 17, 2017, as authorized by the Atchison County Coroner's office. The autopsy concluded that the cause of death was "blunt traumatic injuries sustained in a plane crash" and the report listed the specific injuries. No significant natural disease was identified.

The FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, performed toxicological tests on specimens that were collected during the pilot-certificated passenger's autopsy. Results were negative for carbon monoxide and tested drugs. Tests of the blood revealed 36 mg/dL ethanol. Putrefaction was present in the samples. 

Tests And Research

The wreckage of the airplane was recovered to a secured facility for further examination.

The forward and aft flight control components were reconstructed to ascertain continuity. The controls were deformed, fractured, and separated in numerous places, and all fractures had a dull, grainy appearance consistent with overstress separation. The empennage wreckage consisted of the left and right horizontal stabilizers, elevator, vertical stabilizer, and aft fuselage. There was significant impact damage and deformation.

The propeller separated from the engine at the reduction gear box and one propeller blade fractured at the hub flange. All four propeller blades exhibited leading edge damage and chordwise scratching on the camber sides. The blower assembly separated from the aft end of the engine. The first stage impeller blades in the blower were all bent clockwise, opposite the direction of rotation.

For a detailed description of the wreckage examination see the Airworthiness Group Chairman's factual report available in the public docket for this accident.

Additional Information

The accident airplane was owned by Historic Military Aircraft, LLC, and was operated by the Warbird Heritage Foundation. The pilot was hired through Dacy Airshows to perform in an airshow; part of the Amelia Earhart Festival which took place the day before the accident.


The pilot-certificated passenger approached the pilot on the evening before the accident and queried about a flight in the airplane. It was agreed that they would fly together before he departed the next day. One witness stated that he was not aware of any agreement for the pilot-certificated passenger to manipulate the flight controls. The pilot-certificated passenger was seated in the back seat and had access to the flight controls; however, investigators were not able to determine who was manipulating the flight controls just before or at the time of the accident.

NTSB Identification: CEN17FA270
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, July 16, 2017 in Cummings, KS
Aircraft: NORTH AMERICAN/AERO CLASSICS P 51, registration: N251PW
Injuries: 2 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On July 16, 2017, about 1020 central daylight time, a North American Aero Classics P-51 D airplane, N251PW, was destroyed when it impacted trees and terrain 2.5 miles northeast of Cummings, Kansas. The airline transport pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight plan had been filed for the flight. The local flight departed the Amelia Earhart Airport (K59), Atchison, Kansas, about 1005.

According to several witnesses located between K59 and the accident site, the airplane was observed performing aerobatics at a high altitude. A witness, located further to the south of K59, and several hundred feet from the accident location, observed the airplane fly over nearby power lines between 25 ft and 30 ft above the ground. The airplane pitched up to climb in a near vertical attitude and then the nose turned to the left and the airplane turned and pitched down in a nose low attitude. The airplane descended towards terrain and just prior to impacting the ground the tail of the airplane came up. 

The airplane impacted the ground just short of a grove of trees. A large crater marked the initial ground impact point and contained bent and torn metal, the engine, transmission, and propeller assembly. The empennage and fragmented pieces of the fuselage were located 25 feet northwest of the propeller assembly. Fragmented pieces of both wings, the rudder, and the fuselage were scattered in the debris field that extended over 400 feet from the initial impact point. 

The closest official weather observation station was located 25 miles northeast of the accident site near St. Joseph, Missouri. The weather observation taken at 1053 recorded the wind at 230° at 4 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, sky condition clear of clouds, temperature 29° Celsius (C), dewpoint temperature 24° C, and an altimeter setting of 30.06 inches of Mercury.


Bethany Root


Vlado Lenoch



Vlado Lenoch, 64, of Burr Ridge passed away suddenly on July 16, 2017. Vlado is survived by his beloved wife Mary (Antonelli), devoted father of Michael, Jessica and Samantha, loving son of the late Stanley and Zdenka, dear brother of the late Josef (Julie) and devoted son-in-law of Fred and Marge. A graduate of Purdue University and MIT in aeronautical engineering, Vlado enjoyed aviation careers at Boeing, Frontier and Midway Airlines, and was co-owner of The William Tell Holiday Inn LaGrange/Countryside. He most recently flew a corporate Citation Jet for a private company in Illinois. Vlado was a legend in the airshow industry who was always willing to mentor and help veteran and future aviators. Visitation Sunday, July 23rd from 3-8pm at Adolf Funeral Home - 7000 S. Madison St. Willowbrook, IL. Family and friends will meet on Monday, July 24th, for Mass 11:15 am at St. John of the Cross Catholic Church 5005 S. Wolf Rd; Western Springs. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to EAA Warbirds of America in Memory of Vlado Lenoch, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086 (www.warbirds-eaa.org). Service information: www.adolfservices.com 




ATCHISON, Kansas (Formerly Warren, Ohio) – Bethany Lynn Root, 34, of Atchison, Kansas passed away in a plane crash on Sunday, July 16, 2017.

Bethany was born April 8, 1983 in Warren.

A graduate of Maplewood High School and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, she was a brilliant student and actively involved in student organizations and athletics.

After an entrepreneurial run at a custom motorcycle shop in Indianapolis and teaching special education at an inner city charter school, Bethany discovered her passion for aviation with friends in St. Joseph, Missouri and trained to become one of a small handful of female agricultural pilots (crop dusters) in the country eventually holding an interest in McElwain Ag Sprayers of Wathena, Kansas. Last year, Bethany became manager of the Amelia Earhart Airport in Atchison, Kansas, where she dreamed to restore vitality in not only the airport but also given honor to its namesake through air shows, fly-ins and special events. There were no places Bethany enjoyed being more than in the skies and around friends at airport hangars. She hoped to inspire and empower future generations of girls and women to become aviators by serving as a role model, mentor and educator to let nothing stand in their way of taking flight.

An inspiration to all she met, Bethany will be remembered for her beautiful smile, free spirit, infectious energy and belief that the sky was truly the limit.

Surviving are her mother, Sallie of Indianapolis; two brothers, Grayson of Cortland and Jameson of Indianapolis; sister-in-law, Jenn; nephew, Easton; aunts and uncles, Diane Emery of Cortland and Linda and Gary Fincham of Warren.

She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Charles and Margaret Fulks of Warren.

Calling hours will be from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m., Friday, July 21, 2017, at Staton-Borowski Funeral Home.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, July 22 at the funeral home.

Bethany will be laid to rest at Pineview Memorial Park in Warren, Ohio.

Her family is seeking to honor her legacy and passion for flying by developing the Bethany Root Memorial Fund to support education, training and initiatives for girls and women interested in aviation. Contributions may be made at RootFund.org.

http://wkbn.com



Funeral services have been set for the Burr Ridge pilot who died in a plane crash in Kansas Sunday.

Visitation for Vlado Lenoch will be from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday at Adolf Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 7000 S. Madison St., Willowbrook.

At 11:15 a.m., Monday, family and friends will meet at St. John of the Cross Catholic Church, at 5005 S. Wolf Road, in Western Springs for a memorial Mass. The services will conclude at the church.

Lenoch, who was 64, and his wife, Mary, have three grown children.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the plane crash that occurred about 10:15 a.m. July 16, about 5 miles south of the Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport in Atchison, killing both Lenoch and his 34-year-old passenger, Bethany Root, the airport manager.

Lenoch was flying a World War II military fighter plane that he had flown the day before in an air show at the airport, Atchison County Sheriff officials said.

The Rev. Robert Geaschel, senior pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Burr Ridge, remembers Lenoch as "a very giving and caring man, with a great attitude about everything. You never saw him without a smile."

Geaschel said Lenoch's son Michael attended pre-school at Trinity Lutheran School and the Geaschels lived near the Lenoch family.

Records show Vlado Lenoch graduated from Lyons Township High School in 1971.

He and Josef Lenoch were the managers of Lenoch Properties I, which owns the Holiday Inn Chicago Southwest, at 6201 Joliet Road in Countryside.

http://www.chicagotribune.com





As federal investigators probe for a cause of Sunday's deadly plane crash, members of the Atchison community paused to remember the victims.

Vlado Lenoch, identified as the pilot, and passenger Bethany Root died after a vintage World War II plane crashed into a field in Atchison County, Kansas.

Root, 34, was an Atchison resident who crop dusted for a local company and was general manager of Amelia Earhart Airport. In a previous News-Press article, Root said, "I love flying more than anything else in the world. It’s my passion and it’s one of the things I live to do every day."

A local restaurant owner said Root, who took up flying in her 30s, always appeared to have a smile on her face.

"Bethany had a big vision," said a coworker of Root. "She was certainly not afraid to tackle any project or anything.

Forensic mappers were on the scene of the crash to help with the investigation. Agencies involved in the probe include the Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, Kansas Highway Patrol and Atchison County Sheriff's Department.

The plane crashed onto private property near U.S. Highway 59. The property owner saw the crash happen right outside of his home and immediately called 911.

The pilot has been identified as Lenoch, 64, who is from Buff Ridge, Illinois. The plane is a P-51 Mustang, named the "Baby-Duck," that flew along the Missouri River in an air show Saturday evening at the Amelia Earhart Festival.

Atchison County Sheriff Jack Laurie said witnesses described seeing the plane doing stunt-like maneuvers before the crash.

The Kansas Highway Patrol said there is no known cause at this time.

NTSB Senior Air Safety Investigator Jennifer Rodi said investigators will document the wreckage, which is spread out over a half mile. NTSB is in the process of conducting what is called an "on scene field investigation." They are looking for any indications as to what may have happened.

The documentation should take two days and the wreckage will be recovered by the end of the day July 18.

There is no evidence of fire, but the NTSB said it is still too early to tell. 

A preliminary report from the NTSB will be available within the next five work days on www.NTSB.gov. This will provide an overview of information that was establish during the first few days of the investigation. 

The investigation will continue but it can take 10 months to a year, according to Rodi.

"It's routine in any fatal accident to do autopsy and toxicology," she said. "Both of those reports and procedures take several months for the final reports to come back to us." 


http://www.newspressnow.com





Vlado Lenoch was about to take his vintage showplane home to Illinois, giving one last private show with Atchison’s airport manager Bethany Root aboard when the plane went down Sunday morning without radioing any warning of trouble.

Root was riding along as Lenoch recreated some of the stunt flying he had performed in the same P-51d Mustang the evening before in front of crowds at the annual Amelia Earhart Festival.

“All we know is that they were out to do some tricks before he was preparing to head home,” Atchison County Sheriff Jack Laurie said. “We don’t know of any communications … no indications of any problems.”

The plane crashed about 10:30 a.m. Sunday morning, less than 10 miles from Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport, in a field just northeast of Cummings. Lenoch, 64, from the Chicago suburb of Burr Ridge, and Root, 34, of Atchison, died.

Investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration were on site Monday, continuing an investigation headed by the National Transportation Safety Board that will prepare a preliminary report likely within a couple of weeks, but then take as much as a year or more to produce a final report.

One witness who saw the crash told investigators that the plane was flying just above the level of power lines, traveling from northwest to southeast. The last action the plane took was to pitch upward and then roll to the left before it crashed, said Peter Knudson, a spokesman with the NTSB.

But the investigators don’t know if the plane was under the pilot’s control at that point or if there were problems with the aircraft, he said.

Investigations focus on three areas, he said: the experience and fitness of the pilot, the maintenance and functioning of the plane and environmental conditions.

The weather was clear. Lenoch was flying a vintage craft for Chicago’s Dave Dacy Airshows. And he was a highly credentialed pilot who had been flying since he was 17.

The crowd that saw what would be Lenoch’s last performance Saturday evening raved about it on social media posts, and then expressed shock with the news of the crash the next day.

They had listened to Lenoch’s friendly voice crackling over the public address system as he narrated his stunts into a microphone in the plane.

“It was a neat interaction with the crowd,” said Ken Phelps, of Gardner, Kan., who videoed the performance. “It was a neat old airplane.”

His and the crowd’s favorite part, shouted in cheers, came as Lenoch took his plane on a low pass, roaring seemingly almost eye-level past the crowd.

Less than 24 hours later, Phelps said, he heard of a crash on the news and saw the accounts that Lenoch had crashed in the same plane.

Root had gone with him. She had become a vigorous fan and promoter of the Amelia Earhart Festival airshow in the three years she had spent in Atchison since coming from Indianapolis in pursuit of a flying career with McElwain Sprayers agricultural service airplane company in Wathena, Kan.

She’d been a pilot for about three years and friends on her Facebook page remembered her “passion being a pilot and love of flying.”

“Blue skies, tailwinds and peace,” one of her friends wrote.

Root, who has been managing the Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport for the past year with McElwain, shared in the thrill of classic and dynamic performance planes, said festival coordinator Jacque Pregont.

“Everyone’s still in shock,” she said. “We’re still trying to deal with what happened.”

http://www.kansascity.com






ATCHISON, Kansas — Bethany Root, a 2001 Maplewood High School graduate who was an aerial application pilot, was killed Sunday morning in a plane crash about 60 miles northwest of Kansas City in Atchison County, Kansas.

The Kansas City Star reports the crash of the P-51 Mustang, which was a World War II-era plane, killed Root, who was a passenger, and longtime pilot Vlado Lenoch, 64, of Burr Ridge, Ill.

Reports indicate the plane crashed around 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

Lt. Bryce Whelply of the Kansas Highway Patrol says the cause of the crash wasn’t immediately clear. Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration were expected to arrive on the scene this morning.

Root was general manager of the Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport in Atchison where the Amelia Earhart Festival was held Saturday. The plane crashed about nine miles away from the airport in a field about 2 1/2 miles northeast of Cummings, Kansas.

The single propeller of the plane and wreckage of the crash were strewn across a small hill, reports state.

Root also worked as a crop duster, only one of three women in the trade in the United States.

In a recent interview with the Tribune Chronicle, Root said she followed a love of flying to the St. Joseph, Mo., area three years ago and worked for the airport’s management company. She had been a special education teacher in inner city charter schools in Indianapolis and ran a custom motorcycle shop in Indianapolis until she took an opportunity to learn to fly and work with the McElwain crop dusters in Kansas and Missouri.

Root held an interest in McElwain Ag Sprayers, a third-generation agricultural business flying out of Wathena, Kansas, in the northeastern corner of the state and across the Missouri River from St. Joseph. It was her fourth year buzzing pastures, fields and crops with seeds, fertilizers, insecticides and fungicides.

She recently added the job of fixed-based operator of the Amelia Earhart Airport just outside of Atchison, Kansas, a river town of 11,000 people.

Root kept herself busy in her Maplewood High School days with everything from student body president to running on cross country and track teams, to taking the stage in the drama club.

She had told the Tribune Chronicle: “I’m very fortunate to have gone to Maplewood High School. The educational opportunities that they provide there and the teachers they had helped prepare me for what I’m doing now and I can’t say thank you enough to all of them. It really was a good school.”

Lenoch had performed in the festival the day before in his vintage aircraft.

The annual festival, held in Atchison, celebrates the famed pilot Earhart, who was born in Atchison, and is the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Earhart and her plane disappeared July 2, 1937, over the central Pacific Ocean during an attempt to fly around the globe. 

http://www.tribtoday.com




Two people died when a North American P-51D Mustang crashed in Atchison County Sunday, one day after the Amelia Earhart Festival ended.

Longtime pilot Vlado Lenoch, 64, of Burr Ridge, Ill., and his passenger, Bethany Root, 34, manager of the Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport in Atchison, died at the scene, officials said.

The crash happened around 10:30 a.m. about 2 1/2 miles northeast of Cummings, Kan., less than nine miles from the airport in Atchison.

The cause of the crash is unknown, said Lt. Bryce Whelpley of the Kansas High Patrol.

Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration were on their way to the scene Sunday afternoon, Whelpley said.

The FAA will investigate the crash, an agency spokesman said, and the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation.

Lenoch had performed in the festival the day before in his vintage aircraft.

The annual festival, held in Atchison, celebrates the famed aviator Amelia Earhart.

Lenoch performed for Dave Darcy Airshows based in Chicago. He was was married and had three children, according to his profile on the Air Force Heritage Flight Foundation website.

He learned to fly at 17 at Chicago’s Midway Airport and earned engineering degrees from Purdue and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He held multiple authorizations for various aircraft, had logged over 9,000 hours of flight time and built his own aircraft — a Pitts S-IT – the bio said.

Root, according to a 2014 profile in the St. Joseph News-Press, followed a love of flying to the St. Joseph area three years ago at the age of 31. She worked for the airport’s management company, McElwain Sprayers of Wathena, Kan.

She had been a special education teacher and ran a custom motorcycle shop in Indianapolis until she took an opportunity to learn to fly and work with the McElwain crop dusters in Kansas and Missouri, the feature said.

“She was extremely passionate about flying,” Jacque Pregont, who coordinated the Amelia Earhart Festival, said Sunday. And the festival was “excited to have (Lenoch) at the airshow.”

“It’s a horrible, horrible loss,” Pregont said.

http://www.kansascity.com





Two people were killed Sunday in when a small airplane crashed in Atchison County, Kansas.

Authorities identified the victims as 64-year-old Vlado Lenoch, of Burr Ridge, Illinois, and 34-year-old Bethany Root, of Atchison.

The cause of the crash, near Cummings, Kansas, is currently unknown. Lenoch and Root left the Amelia Earhart Airport in Atchison at around 10 a.m Sunday.

Atchison County Sheriff Jack Lauri said witnesses described seeing the plane doing stunt-like maneuvers before the crash.

Lenoch is listed as one of the two aerobatic pilots at Saturday night's air show at the Amelia Earhart Festival. The plane involved in the crash, a 1944 P-51D Mustang, is believed to be the same plane flown for last night's show over the river, according to Laurie.

The FAA is currently en route to the crash site to conduct an investigation.

No residents in the area of the crash were injured, Laurie said.

Earlier, authorities loaded the bodies of the victims in the coroner's vehicle. Laurie said they would be transferred to the Wyandotte County morgue to be examined.

Authorities from several state and local departments responded at 10:19 a.m. Sunday, when the call about a possible crash came over the radio.

At the wreckage site, parts of a wing, a landing wheel and glass were visible from the debris.

http://www.newspressnow.com








· Atchison County Sheriff's Office · 

At 10:18 AM the Atchison County Sheriff's Office was notified of a plane crash that occurred near 234th and Ness road in Atchison County. Sheriff's Deputies, KHP, and EMS & Rescue responded to the scene. 

The pilot and passenger were killed in the crash. The pilot was identified as 64 year old Vlado Lenoch of Buff Ridge, Illinois. The passenger was identified as Bethany Root, 34 of Atchison, Kansas.

The plane that crashed was a North American P-51D Mustang that flew along the Missouri River in the air show at the Amelia Earhart Festival last evening named the "Baby-Duck"

There is not a known cause to the crash at this time. The plane left the Amelia Earhart Airport in Atchison around 10:00 AM this morning and believed to have crashed shortly after. No residents in the area were injured .

The Federal Aviation Administration is in route to the crash site to conduct an investigation. KHP will be at the scene to answer any questions further until 4:30 PM.

12 comments:

  1. Sad, from the looks of the debris and energy of the crash, I would say performing maneuvers too close to the ground and he ran out of altitude.

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  2. ^ I agree with your sentiments.

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  3. "No one has accused Vlado of not flying low enough."

    http://www.warbirdsandairshows.com/Airshows%202013/Waukegan%202013.htm

    Perhaps a pattern?

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  4. The Prop blades are not bent which means the engine was not turning at impact.
    If the engine was running the prop blades would corkscrew into the ground and the engine and prop would be in a hole.
    That leads to an assessment of some kind of failure of the engine.
    The rest is up to the professionals.

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  5. Correct you are. There is no cordwise twisting or scoring on the prop blades. That could only mean one thing.

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  6. http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article161810593.html
    One witness who saw the crash told investigators that the plane was flying just above the level of power lines, traveling from northwest to southeast. The last action the plane took was to pitch upward and then roll to the left before it crashed, said Peter Knudson, a spokesman with the NTSB.

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  7. Blades are bent forward slightly, indicating engine was turning and producing likely full power at impact.

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  8. Blades are bent forward, indicating under power when it hit ground. Nose gear case broken off behind prop, also indicates under power. If not under power the case rarely is under tension of any kind.

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  9. The field elevation at Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport (K59) is 1073 feet.
    The field elevation at Lewis University Airport (KLOT), Romeoville, IL is 679 feet. I chose this airport only because Mr. Lenoch based his previous Mustang (Moonbean McSwine) there. The elevation at any other local Illinois airport would be close to this figure.
    Is it possible that ‘Baby Duck’s’ altimeter was still set for the Illinois airport? This could result in pilot error when entering a loop. With insufficient altitude to pull out, the pilot would experience an unrecoverable stall situation (with power). This could explain the nose down attitude.

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  10. Really terrible loss of two great pilots. Just too much risk flying fast, low, and doing tricks. One little thing and you get the final reality check.

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  11. Reading the report it seems the NTSB suspects she in control of it at the time of the crash they can't prove it. Possible she was in control wasn't used to how easy stall the P-51 not know it there is no stall warning very little buffeting with a stall speed is 100 mph. Also his heart wasn't good he might have lost conciseness after pulling high G forces. She would not know that being tandem seating he pulled up but never recovered allowed it to stall.

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  12. Dear Kell490,
    There "seem" to be several inaccuracies in your comment.
    The NTSB report does NOT "suspects she in control of it at the time of the crash" as you state. In fact, twice, the report says that it could not be determine which pilot was in command.
    "The airplane was equipped with dual flight controls and it could not be determined who was manipulating the flight controls just before or at the time of the accident."
    "The pilot-certificated passenger was seated in the back seat and had access to the flight controls; however, investigators were not able to determine who was manipulating the flight controls just before or at the time of the accident."
    Continuing with your comments, "a stall speed is 100 mph", there is no such thing as a single stall speed in any aircraft, including the P-51.
    Finally, your comment "his heart wasn't good". Vlado Lenoch passed his Class 2 FAA medical exam fewer than two months before the accident. There is a cardiovascular section on this exam and having a heart that "wasn't good" would be a disqualifying condition.




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