Aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances.
https://registry.faa.gov/N256TA
Time: 01:36:00Z
Regis#: N256TA
Aircraft Make: BEECH
Aircraft Model: 65
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: FATAL
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: SKYDIVING
Flight Phase: TAKEOFF (TOF)
Operation: 91
City: MOKULEIA
State: HAWAII
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.
Jermoe Renck was the French pilot of the skydiving plane that crashed on June 21st. His brother Quentin said Jerome was a corporate businessman who left his job to pursue his dream of being a pilot.
James Lisenbee
Fallon, Nevada
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are in town investigating the incident, which they called the deadliest civilian aircraft accident in the U.S. since a 2011 Reno Air Show crash that killed the pilot and 10 spectators. NTSB investigators said the plane apparently flipped and burned shortly after takeoff.
The names released today are:
>> Joshua Drablos, 27, U.S. military member stationed in Hawaii, Virginia resident
>> Nikolas Glebov, 28, St. Paul, Minnesota
>> Daniel Herndon, 35, Hawaii resident
>> Michael Martin, 32, Hawaiiresident
>> Jordan Tehero, 23, Hawaii resident
>> Ashley Weikel, 26, Colorado Springs, Colorado
>> Bryan Weikel, 27, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Medical Examiner Dr. Christopher Happy and his staff plan to release the identities of the four remaining victims once they have been confirmed. There were 10 men and one woman among the victims.
Friends and family members earlier confirmed to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that Larry Lemaster and Casey Williamson, who along with Martin appeared to be employed by Oahu Parachute Center, were among the victims.
Bryan and Ashley Weikel
A Colorado Springs couple who were celebrating their first anniversary on Oahu were among the 11 killed in the crash, according to a Colorado newspaper.
The Colorado Springs Gazette reported today that it was the first skydiving adventure for Bryan and Ashley Weikel.
The newspaper reported that family members had not been officially notified as of this Monday morning but concluded that the couple was among the victims based on social media posts from Ashley Weikel, who had posted pictures of them boarding the skydiving plane on Friday.
A makeshift memorial at Dillingham Airfield continues to grow today as mourners place flowers near the crash site where 11 people aboard a twin-engine plane were killed after the aircraft plummeted to the ground.
Investigators of the National Transportation Safety Board are the site continuing to examine the wreckage on the second day of their investigation.
The NTSB team will also look into aircraft maintenance records, runway and weather conditions as well as the pilot’s logbook and training records.
The 11 people on board were on a plane operated by Oahu Parachute Center. Company representatives could not be reached for comment this morning.
The Beechcraft King Air 65-A90 crashed at the fence line shortly after takeoff Friday night. Investigators said the aircraft apparently flipped and burned shortly after takeoff.
Dillingham Airfield remains closed today because of the investigation.
U.S. NAVY
Lt. Joshua Drablos
Lt. Joshua Drablos
The Navy identified a 27-year-old sailor as one of 11 people killed in Friday’s crash of an Oahu Parachute Center Beechcraft King Air at Dillingham Airfield in Mokuleia.
Lt. Joshua Drablos was confirmed aboard the aircraft by the National Transportation Safety Board and confirmed dead by a local medical examiner, the Navy said today in a news release. Drablos was assigned to U.S. Fleet Cyber Command.
The Maryland man had been with the Kunia Cyber Mission Force since late 2018, except for a few months as a student at the Naval War College.
Drablos, who attended the Naval Academy, was on the Navy men’s track and field team as a pole vaulter.
As a Jefferson Forest High School student, Drablos won the state title in pole vault in 2010, the year he graduated.
He was a track and field team captain and was president of the Teenage Republicans Club.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends, and shipmates of Lt. Joshua Drablos during this extremely difficult and painful time,” said the commander of U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. 10th Fleet, Vice Adm. Timothy “T.J.” White.
“Joshua was an invaluable member of the Fleet Cyber team, and we are deeply saddened by the loss of this humble warrior,” White said.
Jordan Tehero
A budding videographer who fell in love with skydiving was one of the 11 victims of Friday’s airplane crash in Mokuleia.
Jordan Tehero, 23, took up skydiving a few years ago as a distraction from the breakup of a relationship, his father, Garret, told The Associated Press. Then his son “went and fell in love” with the sport, he said.
The plane was carrying skydivers from the Oahu Parachute Co..
The Beechcraft twin-engine airplane that can seat 13 took off from the runway at Dillingham Airfield, banked and then inverted in the air and crashed near the airport’s perimeter fence Friday evening, the National Transportation Safety Board member Jennifer Homendy said. There were no survivors.
Garret Tehero lives on Kauai, where his son also lived.
Tehero said he spoke with his son the morning of the crash. The two had flown to Honolulu together, the father for business and Jordan for skydiving. Jordan also worked as a security guard, and his employer wanted him to do some work in Honolulu on Sunday as well, so he decided to stay while his father went back to Kauai.
He said Jordan became interested in skydiving after he and a girlfriend broke up a few years ago.
“Sometimes people find a passion when they go through something, you know, that makes you want to take the mind off,” the father said. “He went and fell in love with it.”
Jordan’s parents both expressed worries over his new hobby.
“Because of our fear, we wanted him to stop,” the father said. “But he didn’t have the fear that we had, so he just continued.”
Any fears he may have had were taken care of with prayer. “He always told me, ‘Dad, I pray before every flight, before every jump I pray,’ ” the father said.
Original article ➤ https://www.staradvertiser.com
Family members say Ashley and Bryan Weikel had dated since they were teens and married last year. The trip to Hawaii was a surprise from Bryan to celebrate their first anniversary.The family of Bryan and Ashley Weikel tell 11 News the couple was in Hawaii to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. Their next big adventure as a married couple was to skydive for the first time.
Their plane went down just minutes after takeoff Friday night.
"I saw it hit. I was right there, man. I was right there. I heard the boom," Oahu Parachute Center employee Carlos Zepata told CBS News.
Zepata drove the customers to the flight and is one of the last people to speak with the victims before the crash. He told CBS he saw a huge fireball after the plane went down.
Another witness told reporters he saw the plane get 75-100 feet off the ground, then nosedive and flip belly forward twice before plummeting to the ground nose-first.
"The fire department got the call about 6:30 this evening and we responded, 14 fire trucks, got there really quickly," Honolulu Fire Chief Manuel Neves told sister station Hawaii News Now (HNN).
The wreck was engulfed in flames when firefighters reached the scene. As the plane crashed within the confines of the airfield, crews were able to reach it quickly, Neves said. No one was left alive.
The fire chief confirmed several relatives were at the airfield to watch the skydivers and likely saw the plane go down.
"There was some family members that were left behind ... [the victims] left the family members behind and took off, so there were some survivors who did not go on the plane."
Jennifer Homendy of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) called the crash the nation's deadliest involving a civil aircraft in nearly a decade.
"On behalf of the NTSB, I’d like to extend our deepest sympathies to those who lost loved ones in this terrible tragedy. Our hearts go out to each and every one of you,” she said.
Among the factors that could have contributed to the crash, the NTSB is looking at whether the plane was overweight. It was reportedly near capacity when it went down; the plane is outfitted to carry 13 people and had 11 on board. Weights and balance checks need to be conducted before each flight.
Relatives of the Weikels told 11 News the young couple moved to Colorado Springs shortly before their wedding last year. Bryan Weikel, 27, had surprised Ashley Weikel, 26, with the trip.
Kenneth Reed was waiting to hear from his brother how skydiving went. When hours passed with no text or phone call, a bad feeling crept over him. His worst fears were confirmed when he started googling skydiving in Hawaii.
"The first thing that popped up was the headline that a plane had crashed. I just knew right then."
Besides the Weikels, police say one other woman and eight men were on board. None have been formally identified, but friends and family have begun speaking out.
Among the victims identified by loved ones is 29-year-old Casey Williamson, who once lived in Vail.
Original article ➤ https://www.kktv.com
Larry Lemaster was identified by friends as one of the victims on board.
DILLINGHAM AIRFIELD, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - The victims killed in Friday’s skydiving plane crash at Dillingham Airfield include a couple from Colorado, a 28-year-old Oregon man, and several experienced skydiving instructors.
Near the crash site Saturday, mourners added flower and lei to a growing memorial for the dead.
Eleven people were on board the sunset skydiving tour, which crashed shortly after takeoff and burst into flames. The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office hasn’t released the names of those killed, but family and friends have begun to identify the victims.
Hawaii News Now has confirmed that three of the 11 were visitors — the Colorado couple and Oregon man.
Six of the victims, meanwhile, worked for Oahu Parachute Center.
Instructor Larry Lemaster was one of them.
An expert skydiver, he was once part of Team Fastrax, a group that does parachute performances on the mainland.
Team members posted on Facebook that Lemaster was a kind man who always had a smile.
In a statement, Team Fastrax said it was devastated by the loss:
“Larry was a professional skydiver and performed at the highest level in our sport. He was a charitable man that put the needs of others before his own. Larry served our nation with honor in the United States Army and donated his time to share the great aspects for our sport by taking our combat injured warriors skydiving. Larry never met a stranger and made the lives of everyone he met better. The world lost a teacher of how to live life properly and we will miss him.”
Also on the flight was instructor Casey Williamson. Friends said he lived every day with a smile.
Another victim was also identified as Mike Martin, who friends say was a jump and kite surfing instructor.
Two others on board were residents — one from Kauai, the other from Ewa Beach.
Original article ➤ https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com
This June 2019 photo provided by Natacha Mendenhall shows Casey Williamson, left, and his mother Carla Ajaga in Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas. Mendenhall said her cousin Williamson, who worked at Oahu Parachute Center, was on board the skydiving plane that killed multiple people when it crashed Friday evening, June 21, 2019. She said her family has not been officially notified of his death. But they provided Honolulu police with Williamson's name and date of birth, and the police confirmed he was on the flight, she said. The 29-year-old Yukon, Oklahoma, native started skydiving about two-and-a-half years ago. Williamson was his mother's only child, Mendenhall said.
Professional parachute demonstrator Larry Lemaster, an Army veteran with more than 3,000 jumps, died doing what he loved, his wife, Anna Elkins, wrote on Facebook Saturday.
Lemaster was among eleven people killed Friday when authorities said a small plane crashed during a skydiving excursion in Hawaii and erupted into flames. The Hawaii Department of Transportation on Saturday updated the number of fatalities.
"I don't have an explanation for the utter tragedy that has happened," Elkins wrote.
"But Larry Lemaster would never want one person to waste a single minute of their life mourning his. He was doing what he loved. We spoke about this on many occasions."
The Beechcraft A90 King Air crashed during taking off Friday evening at Dillingham Airfield on Oahu's North Shore, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The names of the passengers have not been formally released by authorities.
Elkins said her "heart also goes out to" the Oahu Parachute Center and the loved ones of friends who perished in the crash.
"Today is the worst day of my life. My son has lost his father... He wants you to celebrate his life and your own. Love who you love with great intensity. Do what makes you happy. Be the person you want to be because obviously tomorrow is not guaranteed," she wrote.
John Hart, a founding member of the Ohio-based parachute demonstration firm Team Fastrax, said Lemaster volunteered time taking wounded combat veterans skydiving.
"There really wasn't anybody like him," Hart told CNN Saturday. "He just saw the good in everyone... I've never met a person like him, and I probably never will."
He said he spoke with Elkins and she was on her way to Hawaii. Lemaster, whose last performed with Team Fastrax in the fall, loved sharing the sport as a tandem instructor, Hart said.
The cause of the wreck wasn't immediately known. The plane was carrying passengers who intended to skydive, and it crashed around 6:30 p.m. at a fence away from the runway, Honolulu Fire Department Chief Manuel P. Neves told reporters Friday night.
The plane was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, Neves said.
Some family members of those aboard were at the airfield when the plane went down, Neves said.
"I am closely following the tragic developments out of Dillingham Airfield this evening," Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell tweeted. "At this time our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the victims."
The National Transportation Safety Board was sending a team to Hawaii on Saturday morning to investigate the crash.
The airfield, roughly a 35-mile drive northwest of Honolulu, is a general aviation airport operated by the state Department of Transportation under a 25-year lease from the US Army, Hawaii's government website says.
The state leases 272 acres of the 650-acre Dillingham Military Reservation and operates the single 5,000-foot runway primarily for commercial glider and skydiving operations.
Original article can be found here ➤ https://www.kitv.com
Honolulu Fire Department Chief Manuel Neves said that when crews arrived the plane was engulfed in flames and wreckage was lying at the airfield’s fence line away from the runway.
Fourteen fire trucks and other HFD units with 39 personnel were dispatched to Dillingham at 6:24 p.m. The fire was brought under control 20 minutes later, fire Capt. Kevin Mokulehua said.
Neves said the names of the passengers are known but were not being immediately released. Some surviving family members were at the airfield tower, he said.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation, which operates the airfield under a lease from the U.S. Army, was the first to verify the nine fatalities via social media.
“With extreme sadness HDOT reports there were 9 souls on board the King Air twin-engine plane that went down near Dillingham Airfield with no apparent survivors,” officials said in a tweet.
DOT spokesman Tim Sakahara later confirmed that the plane was a Beechcraft 65 King Air that crashed on the airfield property soon after takeoff.
He said preliminary reports indicated that six on board were employees of Oahu Parachute Center, and the three others were customers of the company.
Sakahara said after 10 p.m. that the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board would be investigating and the airfield was closed until further notice.
Honolulu Emergency Services Department officials said they received a call at 6:26 p.m. and that EMS personnel “assisted with the death pronouncements of nine people” involved in the crash. They did not immediately release the gender or ages of the victims.
Christopher Richardson, 50, a skydiver with nearly 2,000 jumps under his belt, said he learned of the crash when someone called him asking if he was OK. The Aiea resident and skydiving coach said he immediately drove to the scene.
He said he thinks he knows at least five of the skydivers and the pilot, but was unable to confirm that.
“I’m just raw,” Richardson said of his emotions, knowing that at least some of the dead were his friends.
Richardson, an electrician, said it was likely the plane was full of fuel and crashed as it was about to go on a sunset skydive, which is common. The crash left the bodies “horribly burned and unrecognizable.”
From viewing the scene through the chain-link fence, he speculated that the crash occurred midfield and the plane was heading northeast.
He said the aircraft’s owner, Oahu Parachute Center, is one of three skydiving companies based at Dillingham Airfield.
On its website, Oahu Parachute Center described its King Air 90 aircraft as the fastest skydiving plane in Hawaii. The website says safety is the company’s top priority.
The fire department’s Air 1 helicopter conducted an aerial search of the site, looking for debris or any survivors.
Neves said the debris field was relatively small — about 50 feet by 50 feet.
He said investigators were still gathering information about the details of the flight.
The National Weather Service reported showers and light and variable winds in the vicinity of Dillingham Airfield.
Honolulu police received the initial report at about 6:20 p.m.
Police closed Farrington Highway in both directions fronting the airfield for hours, backing up traffic, before authorities started to contraflow the traffic.
Harold Ross, 34, was on his way to pick up his niece from nearby Camp Erdman, when the accident occurred.
He said he was one of the first motorists to be stopped when they closed off the road to traffic and noticed the smoke.
“Sad nine people died,” he said.
He said the numerous school buses were taking 160 students to Camp Erdman.
The buses were among scores of vehicles stopped along the highway Friday night. People were parked along the roadside.
Story and video ➤ https://www.staradvertiser.com
The Beechcraft A90 King Air operated by the Oahu Parachute Center ― crashed about 6:30 p.m. at the Dillingham Airfield. Of the nine killed, three were customers and six were employees.
State Transportation Department officials said the FAA and NTSB will be investigating the crash.
“We are mourning this terrible tragedy," DOT Director Jade Butay told reporters Friday night.
"During this difficult time, we want to express our deepest condolences and sympathies to the families of the flight crew and passengers.”
When firefighters arrived at the airfield, they found the wreckage of the craft fully engulfed in flames. Photos from the area showed smoke from the fire could be seen from miles away.
“We saw big smoke. We saw big fire, firemen trying to put it out. Crazy,” said witness Justin Kepa.
About an hour after the crash, a somber Fire Chief Manuel Neves told reporters: “Right now, the initial report is that there were nine souls on board. There are no survivors."
He said that family members of those on board the aircraft were on the ground when the crash happened and may have seen the plane go down.
“It is very difficult. In my 40 years as a firefighter here in Hawaii, this is the most tragic aircraft incident we’ve had," Neves said.
“We had some helicopters with the military, but this is a civilian plane with that many people on board.”
Hawaii News Now spoke to a skydiver who’s been a volunteer instructor, and who raced to the scene after hearing about the crash. He said the skydiving community is in mourning.
On board the craft, he said, were three students, five skydivers and the pilot.
On Twitter on Friday night, Mayor Kirk Caldwell said he was following developments on the crash. “At this time, our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the victims,” he wrote.
Eyewitness describes seeing the wreckage of a deadly plane crash on the North Shore of Oahu
All nine on the aircraft were pronounced dead at the scene, Honolulu Emergency Services Department spokeswoman Shayne Enright said.
Neves said firefighters worked Friday night to secure the debris field ― a relatively small area that covered about 50 feet by 50 feet. The crash was near the airfield’s fence line.
The Dillingham Airfield will be closed indefinitely in the wake of the crash, the state said. Farrington Highway in the area has since reopened after being blocked off for several hours.
The crash is one of the deadliest for a civilian airplane in Hawaii’s modern history.
Eleven were killed in December 1981 when the twin-engine Beechcraft they were in crashed into Pearl Harbor. The group of skydivers was planning to parachute into Aloha Stadium.
In 1992, nine people were killed when a tour aircraft that took off from Hilo Airport slammed into mountainous terrain at Haleakala, according to NTSB records.
And eight people were killed in 1987 when a Molokai-bound air taxi crashed into the water.
More recently, five people were killed in 2016 when a Cessna 182H crashed at Port Allen Airport on Kauai. The NTSB concluded that engine power loss contributed to the crash.
That same year, two military helicopters crashed off Haleiwa. Twelve Marines died in the crash.
Story and video ➤ https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com
Additional Participating Entities:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Oakland, California
Textron Aviation; Wichita, Kansas
Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms
Aviation Accident Data Summary - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
http://registry.faa.gov/N256TA
Location: Byron, CA
Accident Number: WPR16LA150
Date & Time: 07/23/2016, 1900 PDT
Registration: N256TA
Aircraft: BEECH 65 A90
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Aircraft structural failure
Injuries: 15 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Skydiving
Analysis
The commercial pilot reported that, while setting up for a skydiving jump run, the airspeed was a little slow, and the airplane abruptly stalled, rolled left, and began rotating downward. A jumper, seated in the copilot's seat, stated that the pilot did not retard the throttles during the recovery attempt and that the airplane's airspeed increased rapidly. The jumper also reported that he heard a "loud bang" during the recovery sequence. The pilot briefly recovered the airplane to a wings-level attitude, but it then subsequently stalled and entered another spin. During the second spin event, all the jumpers successfully egressed. After about nine rotations, the pilot recovered the airplane to a wings- and pitch-level attitude, and shortly thereafter, it broke off to the left and stalled and rotated downward again. The pilot recovered the airplane again and flew back to the airport because the airplane was handling abnormally, and he landed it without further incident.
After landing, a witness noted that the airplane's right horizontal stabilizer and elevator were missing; they were subsequently recovered in a field a few miles south of the airport. Magnified optical examination revealed that all the fracture surfaces on the right horizontal stabilizer, elevator, and attachment bracket were consistent with overstress separations, which was likely the source of the loud bang heard by the jumper during the recovery sequence. No indications of fatigue or corrosion were observed. Therefore, it is likely that the right horizontal stabilizer and the attached elevator were overstressed during the airplane's left spin recovery, which led to their in-flight separation. Due to the dynamics during a spin recovery, only the right horizontal stabilizer experienced g forces and air flow beyond its limit.
The Airplane Flight Manual contained a spin recovery procedure, which stated to "immediately move the control column full forward, apply full rudder opposite to the direction of the spin, and reduce power on both engines to idle. These three actions should be done as near simultaneously as possible." It is likely that the pilot's failure to follow these procedures led to the airplane's airspeed rapidly increasing and caused increased air flow, which required additional g forces to recover.
Postaccident, the airplane's weight and balance were calculated for the accident flight, and the center of gravity (CG) was determined to be about 6 to 7 units aft of the limit. An aft CG results in the airplane being in a less stable flight condition, which decreases the ability of the airplane to right itself after maneuvering and likely contributed to the pilot's inability to maintain level flight.
Probable Cause and Findings
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent spin. Also causal to the accident was the pilot's failure to follow prescribed spin recovery procedures, which resulted in increased airspeed and airflow and the subsequent overstress separation of the right horizontal stabilizer. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's inadequate preflight weight and balance calculations, which resulted in the center of gravity being aft of the limit.
Findings
Aircraft
Airspeed - Not attained/maintained (Cause)
Angle of attack - Capability exceeded (Cause)
CG/weight distribution - Capability exceeded (Factor)
Personnel issues
Aircraft control - Pilot (Cause)
Use of equip/system - Pilot (Cause)
Incorrect action performance - Pilot (Cause)
Use of checklist - Pilot (Cause)
Weight/balance calculations - Pilot (Factor)
Factual Information
On July 23, 2016, about 1900 Pacific daylight time, a Beech 65-A90, N256TA, sustained substantial damage following a loss of control while climbing out near the Byron Airport (C83) Byron, California. The commercial pilot and the 14 passengers were not injured. The airplane was registered to N80896 LLC, and operated by Bay Area Skydiving under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the skydiving flight. The local flight departed C83 about 1851.
According to the pilot, as the airplane neared the planned jump area and altitude, about 12,500 ft, mean sea level, he initiated a left turn to line up for the drop zone. He stated the airplane's airspeed was a little slow and then "suddenly the airplane abruptly stalled, rolled off to the left, and began rotating nose-down." He stated that the airplane "did a couple of downward barrel rolls." One of the jumpers, seated in the co-pilots seat, heard a "loud bang" during the recovery sequence and stated that "the pilot did not retard the throttles during the recovery, causing the airplane to develop too much speed." The jumper further stated that during the recovery he felt the g-force on his stomach. The pilot said that he temporarily recovered the airplane to a wings level attitude for a few seconds and observed that the airplane was about 90° off the planned heading, and slow in airspeed.
Subsequently, the pilot stated there was a "shock" to the controls and "simultaneous the airplane suddenly broke hard to the left," stalled a second time, and began to rotate downward. The pilot told the sky-divers to jump out of the airplane. The parachutists complied, and all of them successfully exited the airplane during this second spin event. The pilot then initiated the spin recovery procedures to no apparent effect through about 9 rotations, and stated that the roll rate was a lot more rapid than the first spin event. He then pulled both propeller controls levers to the feather position and was able to get out the spin. He recovered the airplane to a wings and pitch level attitude, but shortly thereafter, the airplane "broke left" and stalled for a third time. The pilot recovered the airplane again by lowering the pitch attitude and increasing the airspeed.
The pilot turned back towards the airport and since the airplane was handling abnormally, he adjusted the elevator trim to its full nose up position to help him maintain straight and level flight. He stated that the full nose up trim setting was used on the approach. In addition, the pilot flew the approach 15 knots faster than required, in order to compensate for the control issue of a marked decrease in elevator performance.
The pilot described the landing as being nose low relative to a normal landing. After landing at C83, a witness observed that the airplane's right horizontal stabilizer, with the attached elevator, was missing. The separated airplane parts were subsequently located in a field a few miles south of the airport.
The pilot reported that there were no abnormalities with the airplane on the previous flights that day, or during his pre-flight inspection for the accident flight. He stated that the weather was clear and that there was a light chop. Further, he reported no engine issues during the flight.
Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the wing's top and bottom skins were unremarkable. The engine mounts, and the left horizontal stabilizer attachment points were examined for overstress, but none was observed. No signs of flutter were observed on the left horizontal stabilizer.
The right horizontal stabilizer, with the elevator attached, that had separated from the airplane, was examined. The right elevator and elevator trim tab remained attached to their respective attachment points. Fractures were observed on the main and trailing edge horizontal spars on the right horizontal stabilizer. There was some wrinkling on the skin surface. The attachment bracket that connected the right horizontal stabilizer to the airplane, and to the other horizontal stabilizer, exhibited fracture surfaces on the right side where the right horizontal stabilizer attached.
Portions of the right horizontal stabilizer, elevator, and the attachment bracket were sent to the National Transportation Safety Board Materials Laboratory for further examination. Magnified optical examination of the fractures surfaces revealed features consistent with overstress separations. No indication of fatigue or corrosion was observed. Deformation and fracture patterns in the right horizontal stabilizer spars were indicative of the stabilizer tip bending up and the lower spar also had upward tearing of the webs.
The airplane's flight manual spin recovery states: "immediately move the control column full forward, apply full rudder opposite to the direction of the spin, and reduce power on both engines to idle. These three actions should be done as near simultaneously as possible, then continue to hold this control position until rotation stops and then neutralize all controls and execute a smooth pullout. Ailerons should be neutral during recovery."
The airplane's weight and balance was calculated for the accident flight. The center of gravity (CG) was estimated to be about 6-7 units aft of the limit. Due the center of gravity (cg) being aft of the limit, the maximum allowable gross weight was unable to be determined at the time of the accident. According to the FAA Pilot Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge states, "as the CG moves aft, a less stable condition occurs, which decreases the ability of the aircraft to right itself after maneuvering or turbulence."
Pilot Information
Certificate: Commercial
Age: 60, Male
Airplane Rating(s): Multi-engine Land; Single-engine Land
Seat Occupied: Left
Other Aircraft Rating(s): None
Restraint Used: Lap Only
Instrument Rating(s): Airplane
Second Pilot Present: No
Instructor Rating(s): None
Toxicology Performed: No
Medical Certification: Class 1 Without Waivers/Limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: 12/04/2014
Occupational Pilot:
Last Flight Review or Equivalent: 03/16/2016
Flight Time: (Estimated) 1860 hours (Total, all aircraft), 20.5 hours (Total, this make and model), 1706.2 hours (Pilot In Command, all aircraft), 284.3 hours (Last 90 days, all aircraft), 9.1 hours (Last 24 hours, all aircraft)
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Manufacturer: BEECH
Registration: N256TA
Model/Series: 65 A90 UNDESIGNATED
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Year of Manufacture: 1967
Amateur Built: No
Airworthiness Certificate: Normal
Serial Number: LJ-256
Landing Gear Type: Retractable - Tricycle
Seats: 15
Date/Type of Last Inspection: 12/05/2015, Continuous Airworthiness
Certified Max Gross Wt.: 9650 lbs
Time Since Last Inspection:
Engines: 2 Turbo Prop
Airframe Total Time: 14543.9 Hours as of last inspection
Engine Manufacturer: Pratt and Whitney
ELT: C126 installed, not activated
Engine Model/Series: PT6A-20
Registered Owner: N80896 LLC
Rated Power: 550 hp
Operator: On file
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: LVK, 399 ft msl
Observation Time: 1853 PDT
Distance from Accident Site: 12 Nautical Miles
Direction from Accident Site: 229°
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Temperature/Dew Point: 32°C / 7°C
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility: 10 Miles
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 12 knots, 280°
Visibility (RVR):
Altimeter Setting: 29.82 inches Hg
Visibility (RVV):
Precipitation and Obscuration: No Obscuration; No Precipitation
Departure Point: Byron, CA (C83)
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Destination: Byron, CA (C83)
Type of Clearance: None
Departure Time: 1851 PDT
Type of Airspace:
Airport Information
Airport: BYRON (C83)
Runway Surface Type: N/A
Airport Elevation: 78 ft
Runway Surface Condition: Dry
Runway Used: N/A
IFR Approach: None
Runway Length/Width:
VFR Approach/Landing: Full Stop
Wreckage and Impact Information
Crew Injuries: 1 None
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 14 None
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 15 None
Latitude, Longitude: 37.828333, -121.625833 (est)
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Sacramento, California
December 18, 2016: Aircraft departed on a skydiving flight and declared an emergency due to an engine out. Aircraft landed in a field.
N80896 LLC
http://registry.faa.gov/N8751Z
Date: 18-DEC-16
Time: 21:22:00Z
Regis#: N8751Z
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: 206
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: NONE
Activity: COMMERCIAL
Flight Phase: UNKNOWN (UNK)
Operation: 91
City: LINCOLN
State: CALIFORNIA
NTSB Identification: WPR16LA150
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, July 23, 2016 in Byron, CA
Aircraft: BEECH 65 A90, registration: N256TA
Injuries: 15 Uninjured.
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 July 23, 2016, about 1900 Pacific daylight time, a Beech 65- A90, N256TA, sustained substantial damage following a reported loss of control while climbing out near the Byron Airport (C83) Byron, California. The airplane was registered to N80896 LLC, and operated by Bay Area Skydiving under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The commercial pilot and the 14 passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the skydiving flight. The local flight departed C83 at about 1845.
According to the pilot, as the airplane neared the planned jump area and altitude between 10,000 to 11,000 feet, mean sea level (msl) the airplane stalled and began to rotate nose-down. He recovered the airplane and the sky divers successfully jumped out. Subsequent to the jumper's departure, he noticed that the airplane handled abnormally. During the landing sequence back at C83, a witness observed that the airplane's right stabilizer and elevator were missing. The separated airplane parts were located in a field about 1 mile south of the airport.
The pilot reported no abnormalities during preflight and during the previous flights that day in the airplane. He stated that the weather was clear and that there was light chop.
The airplane was recovered to a secure location for further examination.
The dust masks I bet have Vicks vapor rub in them to allow one to tolerate the overpowering stench of burnt flesh. I learned that trick when I was in med school and would work with the cadavers in the morgue.
ReplyDelete