Thief River Falls has enjoyed commercial air service since the early 1950s, and many airlines have come and gone over the years. All fell victim to the harsh economics of the airline business.
Now, a small, federally subsidized airline called Boutique Air, which began service last year, offers 18 round-trip flights every week to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
"It's been excellent," declared Thief River Falls Mayor Brian Holmer last week. "Our airport has really turned around."
But another economic headwind is threatening air service at regional airports throughout the state and across the country — a national shortage of airline pilots.
Some 14,200 pilots are expected to retire from the four biggest U.S. airlines by 2022, and fewer young pilots are entering the profession to fill the void, according the Regional Air Service Alliance (RASA).
With too few pilots to fly the aircraft, and with airlines curtailing use of planes with 50 seats or fewer that typically serve smaller markets, the future of regional air service appears challenged.
Only nine airports in Minnesota offer airline service, but even that capacity means "the community can access the world," said Cassandra Isackson, director of aeronautics at the Minnesota Department of Transportation. "It's also a way for the world to access that community."
While some communities like Thief River Falls are thriving due to niche services like Boutique Air, which flies eight-seat Swiss-made Pilatus PC-12 aircraft, other areas struggle to attract and retain airline service.
"If a community or a region doesn't have air service, it's not considered for economic development, a plant relocation or even a plant location," said William Swelbar, RASA's executive director and a research engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The stakes are high: The U.S. airline industry drives $1.6 trillion in economic activity annually, about 5 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Brian Ryks, executive director/CEO of the Metropolitan Airports Commission, says big hubs like MSP benefit from thriving smaller airports because outstate passengers can connect to domestic and international flights. Almost 72,000 airplane seats a week feed into MSP nonstop from small communities, making the airport eighth in the nation by this measure.
Ryks, who ran both the Duluth and St. Cloud airports earlier in his career, is familiar with the challenges facing smaller communities.
"I would lose a lot of sleep just trying to retain air service we had, and expanding it takes a tremendous amount of effort," he said. "When you have air service, you try to encourage people to use it, because if they don't, you lose it."
Shortage or not?
Richard Anderson, retired chief executive of Delta Air Lines, said in a February speech at the Economic Club of Minnesota that airlines are facing an "acute pilot shortage. There's a big demographic hole in our pilot base."
After the Sept. 11 terror attacks, airline service was cut back and the Great Recession also hampered pilot recruitment.
"The pilot shortage severely affects smaller regional airlines, where many pilots begin their careers and [where] you're paid less than the majors," said Kent Lovelace, a professor and director of aviation industry relations in the University of North Dakota.
Until 2014, annual pay for new first officers was about $25,000 at regional airlines, but Lovelace said compensation at the regionals has improved in recent years to around $60,000 a year with bonuses. "It's too early to tell whether that will generate more interest" in the profession, he said.
The average cost for a student's flight training at UND, a nationally known aviation program, is about $64,000 (not including room and board and tuition), which results in serious student loan debt for budding pilots.
For millennials considering aviation as a career, quality-of-life issues resonate, too. Airline pilots live out of a suitcase at work and often have erratic schedules.
Joe Hedrick, manager of the Thief River Falls airport, says he gave up studies to become an airline pilot. "I learned about the starting salary, and having to sleep in dingy hotel rooms and crash pads. None of that seemed attractive to me."
Structural changes
But Anderson says the real reason regional airports don't succeed is because of simple economics.
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the union representing pilots, says business decisions by the airlines affect service at regional airports — not a shortage of pilots. "We don't see a correlation between the two," said Capt. Paul Ryder, ALPA resource coordinator.
Ryder said regional airlines that offer competitive pay and benefits, work-life balance and "career progression" are hiring pilots. "The pilots are out there," he said.
Others claim that regulations are choking the pilot pipeline — a charge the pilots' union rejects.
Beginning in August 2013, the FAA required airline pilots (with some exceptions) to have a minimum of 1,500 flight hours in the cockpit before being hired as a first officer — up from 250 hours. The change followed the 2009 crash of a Colgan Air regional jet near Buffalo, N.Y., that killed 50 people.
The new regulations had "the effect of constricting and elongating the supply 'pipeline' of much-needed airline pilots," according to Flightpath Economics, a Colorado consulting firm.
At the time, Great Lakes Airlines served Thief River Falls, but it "lost a lot of pilots, and became very unreliable for us," Hedrick said, noting the airline stopped flying there for eight months in 2014. That year, just 734 passengers flew to and from the airport; nearly 10 times that many did so last year. (Figures from 2016 include service provided by both Boutique Air and Great Lakes.)
Last week, Digi-Key Electronics, which now employs about 3,200 people in Thief River Falls, announced that it was considering a $200 million expansion there that would create 1,000 jobs. "Having air service here makes it easier for their vendors, suppliers and employees," Hedrick said.
Thief River Falls, Bemidji, Brainerd, Chisholm/Hibbing and International Falls are eligible for subsidies under the U.S. Department of Transportation's Essential Air Service program, which was enacted following deregulation of the airline industry in 1978 to preserve service to smaller communities.
But there's talk that the Trump administration will eliminate most federal airport subsidies, including the Essential Air Service program.
The fate of the program is "political fodder," Swelbar said. "Everyone knows you're just one tweet away from a change. I'm hearing mixed messages from Washington about the program going forward."
Original article can be found here: http://www.startribune.com
The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.
Additional Participating Entities:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Des Moines, Iowa
Rolls-Royce; Indianapolis, Indiana
Fly Hangar 13, LLC; Mico, Texas
Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
Docket And Docket Items - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms
Fly Hangar 13, LLC: http://registry.faa.gov/N5743W
NTSB Identification: CEN15LA370
14 CFR Part 137: Agricultural
Accident occurred Tuesday, August 18, 2015 in Cresco, IA
Aircraft: BELL 206B, registration: N5743W
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
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 following is an INTERIM FACTUAL SUMMARY of this accident investigation. A final report that includes all pertinent facts, conditions, and circumstances of the accident will be issued upon completion, along with the Safety Board's analysis and probable cause of the accident.
On August 18, 2015, about 1330 central daylight time, a Bell 206B helicopter, N5743W, impacted terrain during an autorotation following a loss of engine power while maneuvering near Cresco, Iowa. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured. The helicopter sustained substantial damage. The helicopter was registered to and operated by Fly Hangar 13, LLC, Mico, Texas, as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight. Visual meteorological conditions were reported by the pilot at the accident site about the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The local flight originated from an off airport location about 1320.
According to the pilot, he departed with 30 gallons of fuel and about 90 gallons of chemical to spray a soybean field near Cresco. About 5 minutes into the application and 3 to 5 feet above the soybeans, the pilot heard a loud screech for about 2 seconds and pulled up to gain altitude. The pilot then heard the low rotor RPM horn and noticed the main rotor RPM at 85 percent. The pilot initiated an autorotation to a waterway between two cornfields. Upon touchdown on the uneven terrain, the main rotor blades contacted and severed the tailboom, and the helicopter came to rest upright. The pilot shutdown and exited the helicopter. The helicopter was recovered from the accident site for further examination.
The helicopter was equipped with a Rolls-Royce M250-C20J turbo-shaft engine, which features a 6 stage axial and 1 stage centrifugal compressor section that directs the diffused air via an external 180 degree compressor discharge tube system to the combustor. The hot gases from the combustor are then directed against a two-stage gas producer turbine and subsequently a two-stage power turbine before being exhausted. The RR M250-C20J produces 420 shaft horsepower.
The engine serial number (S/N) was CAE-832989, and the engine logbook revealed that the turbine assembly (S/N CAT-36021) was overhauled on February 6, 2013, at a time since new (TSN) of 10,745 hours, and cycles since new (CSN) of 11,210 cycles. At the time of the overhaul, new post-Service Bulletin (SB) Commercial Engine Bulletin (CEB) 1365 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th stage turbine wheels were installed. According to the operator, at the time of the accident, the engine had 11,797 hours TSN, and 1,052 hours since major overhaul. The helicopter was maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's inspection program. The most recent 100-hour inspection was completed on August 12, 2015, at a total airframe time of 12,008 hours.
On August 26, 2015, the helicopter and engine were examined at the operator's facility under the supervision of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors. Examination of the engine revealed the exhaust collector support was fractured 360 degrees forward of the turbine mating flange. The turbine section shifted about 2 inches. It appeared that the 3rd stage turbine wheel was missing about 4 to 5 blades. The engine was removed, crated, and shipped to Rolls-Royce for further examination. No preimpact mechanical anomalies were noted with the airframe.
On October 5, 2015, at the facilities of Rolls-Royce Corporation, Indianapolis, Indiana, the engine was examined and disassembled under the supervision of the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge. Disassembly of the engine revealed the 3rd stage turbine wheel (part number 23065818) was missing five airfoils (blades), several other airfoils were damaged, and portions of the shroud were also liberated.
Rolls-Royce Corporation Materials Laboratory completed an examination of the 3rd stage turbine wheel. The findings from the 3rd stage wheel were the following:
"Five airfoils on the third stage turbine wheel cracked in fatigue, initiating from the trailing edge root area and progressing forward until final fracture occurred in overload. All five cracks initiated and progressed in high cycle fatigue. Two additional cracks were found in the trailing edge side of the wheel rim, consistent with thermal fatigue cracking."
In addition to the 3rd stage wheel, several other components were examined due to their damage noted during the disassembly. See Rolls-Royce Metallurgical Investigation Report found in the NTSB accident docket for this investigation.
In April 1999 (revised in April 2010), Rolls-Royce issued Commercial Engine Bulletin (CEB) 1365. The 'enhanced' power turbine section was developed by Rolls-Royce as a product improvement, designed to increase both power and fuel efficiency. SB CEB-1365 hardware was a major re-design of the 3rd and 4th stage turbine assembly, with the main differences between the pre- and post-SB CEB-1365 being different airfoil size, shape, tilt, lean, flow, and quantity of airfoils per stage for both turbine nozzles and wheels.
The enhanced power turbine design was released for new production engines built after August 1999. It was then released as a customer option to field engines via Rolls-Royce SB CEB-1365 in November 1999. The modification applied to all M250- C20 series engines, with the exception of turbo-prop variants, and was to be complied with as a customer option. Release of enhanced power turbine to 250–B17F/2 turbo-prop variants occurred in August 2008, while release of all other turbo-prop applications was November 2009. The previous "non-enhanced" power turbine part numbers were discontinued from production in August 2009, and discontinued from Service/Spares orders in March 2013. Thus, the SB CEB-1365 enhanced power turbine is the only current production and service released hardware.
On March 9, 2015, the FAA issued airworthiness directive (AD) 2015-02-22, which was prompted by investigations that revealed that not all 3rd stage and 4th stage turbine wheel blade failures were identified by the one-time inspections required by AD 2012-14-06, dated July 10, 2012. AD 2015-02-22 superseded AD 2012-14-06. The FAA mandated a repetitive visual inspection and fluorescent penetrant inspection (FPI) on post-SB CEB-1365 3rd and 4th stage turbine wheels for cracks in the trailing edges of the turbine blades, and triggered by hours since last inspection (HSLI).
The AD compliance stated:
(1) Within 1,750 HSLI, remove the affected turbine wheels and perform a visual inspection and an FPI on the removed turbine wheels for cracks at the trailing edge of the turbine blades near the fillet at the rim.
(2) Any time the power turbine is disassembled, perform a visual inspection and an FPI on the affected turbine wheels for cracks at the trailing edge of the turbine blades, near the fillet at the rim.
(3) Thereafter, re-inspect every 1,750 HSLI.
(4) Do not return to service any turbine wheels that have cracks detected.
At the time of this interim report, Rolls-Royce is completing an evidence based root cause analysis (EbRCA) of the 3rd stage wheel. The details of the EbRCA will be available in the final NTSB factual report.
The National Transportation Safety Board traveled to the scene of this accident.
Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office: Fresno, California
Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
Location: Oakdale, CA
Accident Number: WPR17FA077
Date & Time: 03/11/2017, 1030 PST
Registration: N2621T
Aircraft: CHALLENGER II
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Loss of control on ground
Injuries: 1 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal
On March 11, 2017, about 1030, Pacific standard time, a Challenger II light-sport airplane, N2621T, landed on the runway safety area (RSA) near the approach end of runway 10 and subsequently impacted a vehicle at the Oakdale Municipal Airport (O27), Oakdale, California. The commercial pilot was fatally injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed near the airport and no flight plan was filed for the local flight.
According to the airport caretaker, the pilot left his hangar door open, departed from runway 10 and entered the left traffic pattern. He stated that he heard the airplane on the downwind leg and that he did not see the airplane on the final approach or landing but heard an explosion. He subsequently responded to the accident site where a postimpact fire had ensued. A second witness, who was outside her house when she heard the airplane overhead, stated that she is often outside and hears airplanes pass over her house, which is below the downwind leg of the traffic pattern. She said that the accident airplane sounded different, which was what brought it to her attention. She did not witness the accident sequence. A third witness, who was at his residence, where he lived for over 50 years, stated that he heard an airplane performing several takeoffs and landings. During the last landing, he heard the airplane's wheels contact the ground, the engine advanced to full power, and then an explosion. Subsequently, he saw fire at the accident site, about 800 ft south of his location. He said that the engine sounded normal during the flight.
Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane touched down left of the approach end of the runway in the runway safety area (RSA), and left 200-ft-long tire tracks in the dirt and gravel. The tracks veered left toward the visual approach slope indicator, where the left turn increased. The tracks continued toward the taxiway into a grassy area in front of the pilot's hangar. The two tracks, the right larger than the left, continued 20 ft into low vegetation and then another 30 ft and ended near the pilot's truck. The airplane came to rest along the truck's left side. The airplane and truck sustained impact and fire damage. See figure 1 for an aerial view of the accident site.
Figure 1. Aerial View of the Accident Site
Pilot Information
Certificate: Flight Instructor; Commercial
Age: 78, Male
Airplane Rating(s): Single-engine Land
Seat Occupied: Front
Other Aircraft Rating(s): None
Restraint Used: Unknown
Instrument Rating(s): None
Second Pilot Present: No
Instructor Rating(s): Airplane Single-engine
Toxicology Performed: Yes
Medical Certification: Class 3 With Waivers/Limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: 07/01/2013
Occupational Pilot: No
Last Flight Review or Equivalent: 04/27/2012
Flight Time: (Estimated) 1977 hours (Total, all aircraft), 6 hours (Total, this make and model)
The 78-year-old pilot held a commercial pilot and flight instructor certificates, with airplane single-engine land airplane ratings. His most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) second-class airman medical certificate was issued on June 29, 2013, with the limitation that he must wear corrective lenses. Although his medical certificate was expired, it was not required when flying the accident airplane. The pilot reported on the medical certificate application that he had accumulated 1,800 hours of flight time, 8 hours of which were in the last 6 months.
The pilot's last logbook entry, on November 30, 2016 showed that he had accumulated 1,977.2 total hours of flight time. The pilot had his check-out flight in the accident airplane on September 28, 2016, and had three more flights in the accident airplane the following November, which totaled 6 hours.
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Make: CHALLENGER
Registration: N2621T
Model/Series: II
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Year of Manufacture: 1999
Amateur Built: Yes
Airworthiness Certificate:
Serial Number: CH2-0199-CW-1838
Landing Gear Type: Tricycle
Seats: 2
Date/Type of Last Inspection: Unknown
Certified Max Gross Wt.:
Time Since Last Inspection:
Engines: 1 Reciprocating
Airframe Total Time:
Engine Manufacturer: ROTAX
ELT:
Engine Model/Series: 503 DCDI
Registered Owner: Darwin Leon Shaeffer
Rated Power: 50 hp
Operator: On file
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
The two-seat, high-wing, tricycle-gear airplane, serial number CH2-0199-CW-1838 was manufactured in 1999. It was powered by a 50-horsepower Rotax 582 Model 99 engine. The airplane was also equipped with a three-bladed fixed-pitch propeller.
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: KMOD, 73 ft msl
Distance from Accident Site: 11 Nautical Miles
Observation Time: 1753 UTC
Direction from Accident Site: 221°
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Visibility: 3 Miles
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility (RVR):
Wind Speed/Gusts: 4 knots /
Turbulence Type Forecast/Actual: / None
Wind Direction: 90°
Turbulence Severity Forecast/Actual: /
Altimeter Setting: 30.16 inches Hg
Temperature/Dew Point: 17°C / 14°C
Precipitation and Obscuration: Moderate - Haze; No Obscuration; No Precipitation
Departure Point: Oakdale, CA (O27)
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Destination: Oakdale, CA (O27)
Type of Clearance: None
Departure Time: 1020 PST
Type of Airspace:
At 0953, Modesto Municipal Airport, Modesto, California, located 11 miles southwest of the accident site, reported wind 90° at 4 knots, visibility hazy, clear sky, temperature 17°C, dew point 14°C, and an altimeter setting 30.16 inches of mercury.
Airport Information
Airport: OAKDALE (O27)
Runway Surface Type: Asphalt
Airport Elevation: 236 ft
Runway Surface Condition: Dry
Runway Used: 10
IFR Approach: None
Runway Length/Width: 3013 ft / 75 ft
VFR Approach/Landing: Traffic Pattern
O27 was located at an elevation of 236 ft mean sea level. It was equipped with a single paved runway, designated 10/28, which was 3,013 by 75 ft. The runway and taxiway was surrounded by a grass covered RSA. The left traffic pattern was recommended for runway 10. O27 was not equipped with an air traffic control tower.
Wreckage and Impact Information
Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Fire: On-Ground
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: On-Ground
Total Injuries: 1 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude: 37.758056, -120.803333
The examination of the wreckage revealed that the wings and cabin area were substantially damaged by postimpact fire. The left wing had separated from the airplane and was mostly consumed by post-impact fire; only the inboard trailing edge structural tubing and inboard section of the flaperon remained. The right wing remained attached to the airplane and exhibited thermal damage.
The empennage remained intact, and flight control continuity was established through an elevator control tube and rudder control cables that were separated near the cabin area.
The fuel tank had separated and was found near the main wreckage partially consumed by fire. The engine was found loose from its mount near the pilot seat and exhibited excessive thermal damage to the cylinder head and attached accessories. The propeller drive belt exhibited thermal damage, and belt remnants remained on both drive gears. Two propeller blades were found about a hundred ft from the main wreckage and propeller strike damage was found near the engine mount. The engine and its components revealed no mechanical anomalies.
Seat belt hardware was found, and the buckles were found unfastened.
Medical And Pathological Information
The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office, Modesto, California, conducted an autopsy on the pilot. The pilot's cause of death was reported as "flash-fire burn with acute soot and smoke inhalation."
The FAA's Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, performed toxicology on specimens from the pilot. The tests were negative for carbon monoxide, cyanide and volatiles. The testing detected 13.6 ug/ml of acetaminophen (also known as Tylenol) in urine, which is a nonimpairing pain reliever.
NTSB Identification: WPR17FA077
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, March 11, 2017 in Oakdale, CA
Aircraft: SELTZER WILLIAM I CHALLENGER II CWS, registration: UNREG
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators 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 March 11, 2017, about 1030 Pacific standard time, an unregistered experimental amateur-built Challenger II airplane, collided with a parked vehicle during landing at the Oakdale Municipal Airport (O27), Oakdale, California. The Commercial certificated pilot, sole occupant, was fatally injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal local flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed.
The airport caretaker reported that the airplane departed from runway 10 and entered the left traffic pattern. He heard the airplane on downwind and stated that he didn't see the airplane on the final approach or landing, but heard an explosion, and responded to the accident site.
Initial examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane landed in the runway safety area (RSA) leaving tire tracks about 200 feet in length in the dirt and gravel. The tracks veered left towards the visual approach slope indicator (VASI), continued over the taxiway and terminated where the airplane impacted a truck that was parked adjacent to a hangar. A postcrash fire insured.
The airplane was recovered to a secured facility for further examination.
D. Leon Shaeffer
February 1939 ~ March 2017
Leon Shaeffer passed away on March 11, 2017 in a tragic aircraft accident in Oakdale, California. He was an avid pilot and died doing what he loved. Both his parents preceded him in death and he is survived by his wife, Danna Shaeffer, his brother, Dennis Shaeffer, his children, Deb Flewelling and husband Keith, Brian Nelson, Rob Shaeffer and wife Dawn, Bev Liddle and husband Doug, Carol Planchon and husband Andre, Susie Stanfield and husband Mike. He is also survived by 25 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren with, several more on the way. He was devoted to his wife and family and believed in creating fun memories to last a lifetime. He would make you laugh, make you think, and in his quiet, gentle way, he made you know you were loved.
Leon lived his entire life in California and more than 60 years in the Modesto area. He was a floor covering contractor by trade and spent much of his time managing rental properties. Second only to his love for his family, he loved to fly. He was an experienced and recognized pilot for over 50 years and spent many of his younger years as a flight instructor. In 2013, he received a prestigious FAA award for his involvement in setting pilot certification standards and was recognized for meeting or exceeding the high educational licensing and medical standards established by the FAA. He was the current Vice President for the Experimental Aircraft Association, Chapter 90 of Oakdale, CA. He also volunteered with the Stanislaus County Library Adult Literacy Program since 2013 and was always encouraging his students to not give up on their education. He never hesitated to share a kind word or lend a helping hand and was always busy taking care of someone or something. He was soft spoken but had much to say and shared his love of conversation with many.
He was a kind, gentle and thoughtful man and dearly loved by his family and friends. We know he is now with his Lord and will be missed.
Services will be held at Lakewood Funeral Home – Riverside Chapel, 900 Santa Fe, Hughson, CA on Saturday, March 25th at 3:30pm with a reception following at 5:30pm at The Double Tree Inn – Sonoma Room, 1150 9th Street, Modesto, CA. Free parking at the 9th Street Garage provides a walking bridge to the hotel.
Charitable donations can be made to the Leon Shaeffer Memorial Fund to support early education to introduce children to the joy of flying – Bank of the West, 134 Maag Avenue, Oakdale, CA 95361. Flowers are also welcome.
In April 2011, Leon Shaeffer gives flight instructions to passengers Apryl Neal and her children, Chandler and Autumn, prior to taking off at the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 90’s annual Young Eagles Flight Rally at the Oakdale Airport.
Even as he made a career focused on the ground, as a floor-coverings installer, her father’s eyes were on the sky, Deb Flewelling said.
“I know he was in aviation more than 50 years,” she said of Leon Shaeffer, 78, the Modesto pilot killed Saturday morning at the Oakdale Airport in a fiery plane crash after a hard landing. “He loved being in the air. ... There was a freedom he found there.”
He was flying a single-engine Challenger II CWS that he’d purchased in December, Flewelling said. “He owned several planes during his adult life,” she said. “He had a longtime dream to fly the Challenger and came to the point where he realized it was now or never.”
Shaeffer lived in Modesto more than 60 years, had well more than 10,000 flight hours and used to be a flight instructor at the Modesto Airport, Flewelling said.
He was a top-notch pilot who loved introducing youth to aviation, said friend and fellow Experimental Aircraft Association member Kevin Benziger. “He was well into the high hundreds in the number of children he flew through our Young Eagles program,” Oakdale resident Benziger said.
Shaeffer never before had any incidents, Benziger said. “This is a shock to us,” he said of the reaction as fellow members of EEA Chapter 90 in Oakdale learned of his death. “I know it was a pretty devastating day for me Saturday.”
Witnesses told authorities they saw the Challenger heading east toward the airport shortly before 10:30 a.m. Saturday. They said it may have had engine trouble before it landed.
One witness said he saw the plane coming in slow before it landed near the runway’s edge. He said the plane bounced a few times, but then the pilot appeared to regain control. Then the witness heard the plane crash into a pickup parked near a hangar. The truck later was determined also to be Shaeffer’s.
A National Transportation Safety Board spokesman said Monday afternoon that determining cause of the crash could take 12 to 18 months but a preliminary report could be on the NTSB site by next week.
A March 2016 fact sheet by the Federal Aviation Administration said amateur-built and other experimental aircraft accounted for about 5 percent of total general aviation fleet hours over the previous five years but were involved in over 25 percent of fatal general aviation accidents.
“With the help of outreach, updated safety materials developed by the FAA and GAJSC industry participants, and new policies, this segment of the GA industry is showing improvement,” the FAA sheet said. “Loss of control remains the leading cause of fatal accidents involving amateur-built aircraft.”
There are a lot of reasons pilots fly kit-built aircraft, Benziger said. For one, “when you fly a certified aircraft, you cannot do anything to that aircraft. The FAA will not allow to you to alter it or even do maintenance – you have to be a certified technician to work on a certified plane.”
But with an experimental, or kit-built, or amateur-built – they all mean the same, he said – the pilot can make modifications. It’s that love of building, of working with your hands and creating something, that attracts a lot of people to kit-built aircraft, Benziger said.
“My father loved to fly and I don’t think it really mattered to him what he was flying,” Flewelling said, “but he always did have a fascination with experimental planes.”
Benziger said he doesn’t care for the term “experimental” because it sounds as though pilots are throwing together some pieces of wood, covering them with fabric and trying to get them into the air.
“You have to know what you’re doing,” he said. “With kit planes, you follow instructions and you get an FAA inspection along the way to ensure it’s being done correctly.”
And aircraft kits are exhaustively engineered, Benziger said, because no kit company wants to be accused of doing anything wrong.
Another lure of kit-built aircraft is cost, he said. “A lot of times with some of these experimental craft, is you were to buy a similar certified one, it would be 20 times the cost.”
Shaeffer is survived by his wife of 43 years, Danna, six children, 25 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren, Flewelling said.
Read more here: http://www.modbee.com
A man was killed Saturday when the plane he was in collided with a pickup near a hangar following a reported “hard” landing at Oakdale Airport.
At about 10:30 a.m., witnesses said they saw the plane traveling east toward the airport.
Battalion Chief Eric DeHart of the Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District said the plane is a Challenger II CWS, which he described as an “experimental plane.” He said it had been flying in the area for about 30 minutes before landing.
It was a single-engine plane, according to a news release from the Oakdale Police Department. Witnesses told police there may have been engine trouble prior to landing. The victim’s name is being withheld until officials can notify his family.
Johnny Freitas, a contractor working on a house on nearby Wren Road, said he saw the plane coming in slowly before making a landing he described as “a little hard.” He has been working to get his helicopter pilot’s license and had been watching planes come in and out while doing concrete work at the home over the past week.
“I noticed something odd about that plane … he was coming in slow,” Freitas said. “He landed very close to the edge of the runway when he came in, bounced a few times and then it looked like he had control, so I went back to work. Then I heard a bang, and that’s when we saw some smoke and jumped in the pickup and got over as fast as we could to try to help in any way we could, but it was too late.”
Freitas and another contractor, Cameron Abicht, drove up a dirt road to the airport and hopped a chain-link fence.
“Once we rounded the corner and got on the taxiway, that is when we felt the heat,” Abicht said. The plane and pickup were on fire. “Obviously you have two fuel tanks; stuff was popping and flying up in the air, there were flames everywhere.”
They saw the man moving and tried to get to him but the fire was too intense. A man who’d been working on his plane in the neighboring hangar used a fire extinguisher to no avail.
Firefighters with the Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District arrived quickly on scene and kept the flames from extending into the nearby hangar.
As Freitas and Abicht waited to talk to authorities, they thought mostly about the man’s family and reflected on how his day started “enjoying the fruits of his labor” on a beautiful, sunny Saturday.
“It was something I could have gone without seeing,” Abicht said. “It was very, very sad, very surreal. I just feel bad for his family. That is the hardest part.”
Source: http://www.modbee.com
STANISLAUS COUNTY ( CBS13) — Authorities are investing a fatal crash at the Oakdale Airport in Stanislaus County.
The pilot was trying to land his plane Saturday morning when he crashed, causing the plane to go up in flames. He did not survive.
The coroner has not released the man’a identity. The only description given was he was an experienced pilot who has been using this airport for years.
”Witnesses indicated to police there may have been engine trouble prior to landing,” said Janeen Yates with the Oakdale Police Department.
Upon landing, the Quad City Challenger II CWS crashed into a pickup truck and busted into flames near a hangar on the north end of a runway.
When police arrived, the plane and the truck were engulfed in flames.
“You can see the rubber tires’ traction curve towards his truck, which was parked in front of his hangar,” said Don Gutridge, the caretaker at the Oakdale airport.
Witnesses told police it appeared that the plane’s engine may have malfunctioned and that the pilot was struggling.
“Witnesses heard the engine sputtering,” said Gutridge. “There were parts that were found around, but nothing on the runway. So it seemed like something was wrong mechanically.”
Following their initial investigation, Oakdale police still don’t know if the pilot made contact with the air traffic control.
“That’s unknown. I don’t know if there was any type of correspondence between the pilot and the air traffic controller,” said Yates.
An Investigator with the NTSB came up from Phoenix. He will return Sunday morning with a team from the FAA. They will now take the lead into investigating the cause of the fatal crash.
Story and video: http://sacramento.cbslocal.com
National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration will be conducting the investigation into the cause of a single-engine aircraft crash that claimed the life of the pilot on Saturday morning, March 11.
Oakdale Police received multiple 911 calls regarding an aircraft that had crashed and was on fire at the Oakdale Airport.
Oakdale Police along with Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, Stanislaus Consolidated Fire and Oak Valley Ambulance responded and arrived on scene at approximately 10:30 a.m. and discovered a small single-engine aircraft was fully engulfed in flames along with the pickup that it had collided with.
The plane crash occurred in front of the western-most hangar on the north side of the runway.
Witnesses indicated to police there may have been engine troubles prior to the crash.
The pilot was pronounced dead at the scene.
The pilot’s identification is pending notification to the immediate family.
The body was released to the Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office.
Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
The National Transportation Safety Board traveled to the scene of this accident
Additional Participating Entities
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Greensboro, North Carolina
Lycoming; Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Cessna/Textron Aviation; Wichita, Kansas
Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
Docket And Docket Items - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms
http://registry.faa.gov/N52445
NTSB Identification: ERA15FA351
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, September 11, 2015 in Riegelwood, NC
Probable Cause Approval Date: 03/23/2017
Aircraft: CESSNA 172, registration: N52445
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
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.
A witness reported observing the noncertificated pilot depart from a private airstrip. When the pilot did not arrive at his destination as expected, a search and rescue effort was initiated. Subsequently, the wreckage was found 3 miles from the departure airport on a northeast heading, consistent with the flight route toward the intended destination. The wreckage and wreckage path exhibited evidence of a high-speed, low-angle, left-wing-low impact. Day visual meteorological conditions were reported near the accident site around the time of the accident.
The pilot was not certificated. Further, his flight experience could not be determined because the most recent records found indicating his flight time were 36 years old. Although the airplane’s maintenance records indicated that a recent annual inspection had not been conducted, examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preexisting mechanical deficiencies that would have precluded normal operation.
The pilot’s autopsy findings included significant cardiomegaly; progressive but not occlusive coronary atherosclerosis in identified grafted vessels; and extensive, concentric myocardial scarring. Additionally, the presence of some hyperemia in the posterior medial left ventricle suggested the possibility of ongoing ischemia at the time of the accident, but the microscopic evaluation only identified scarring from more remote cardiac events. Although it is possible that the pilot experienced a cardiac event in flight, because the autopsy did not show evidence of a recent event, the investigation could not determine whether the pilot became impaired or incapacitated by his cardiac disease during the flight. The lack of radar data and witness information and lack of information about the pilot’s flight experience precluded a determination of what caused the accident.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The noncertificated pilot’s failure to maintain adequate clearance from terrain for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.
Gene Alcon Pierce
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On September 11, 2015, about 1510 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172P, N52445, collided with terrain near Riegelwood, North Carolina. The non-certificated pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was privately owned and operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions existed along the route of flight around the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed from a private grass airstrip in Bolton, North Carolina, at 1500 with a destination of Henderson Field Airport (ACZ), Wallace, North Carolina.
According to the owner of the departure airstrip, a mechanic/pilot and the accident pilot arrived from ACZ to pick up his airplane for repairs. After they landed, he recalled that his mechanic exited the accident airplane from the right seat. The mechanic/pilot then entered his airplane and prepared it for departure. The owner of the private airstrip then watched as the mechanic/pilot departed in his airplane first, followed by the accident airplane. He also noted that the accident airplane sounded "fine" as it departed, and noted that after takeoff it turned to the left and did not follow his airplane.
About 45 minutes later, after the mechanic/pilot landed at ACZ, he called the private airstrip owner and asked if the accident pilot had departed. The airstrip owner said that he departed "right after you." The owner of the airstrip went on to say that the mechanic/pilot told him he was "going back up" in an attempt to find his friend. An hour had passed and the mechanic/pilot called the airstrip owner to see if the accident airplane had returned, as he had been unable to locate him. The airstrip owner told him that the airplane had not returned.
The mechanic/pilot contacted the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) and reported the missing airplane. According to AFRCC, an active emergency locator transmitter signal was received at 1815. A search ensued and the wreckage was found in a field about three nautical miles northeast of the departure airstrip at 0030 the following day.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
The pilot, age 76, did not hold a pilot certificate. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the pilot had first applied for a medical certificate in 1973. At that time, he reported 3 hours of flight experience. On his next and last application, dated 01/18/1979, he reported 6,800 total hours of flight experience. He reported no medical conditions and no medications to the FAA. In 1979, he received a second-class medical certificate with a requirement to have available glasses for near vision. That certificate expired for all classes in 1981. No flight records or flight logbooks were located for the pilot after the expiration of his last medical certificate.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The four-seat, high-wing, fixed landing gear airplane, was manufactured in 1981. It was powered by a Lycoming O-320-D2J engine and equipped with a McCauley model DES1C160 fixed-pitch propeller. Review of maintenance logbook records showed an annual inspection was completed on March 26, 2008, at a recorded tachometer reading of 5,005 hours, airframe total time of 10,527 hours, and engine time since major overhaul of 1,407 hours. The tachometer time observed at the accident site was 5,031.98.
According to FAA records, the airplane was issued a "Special Flight Permit" for maintenance due to the airplane not having a current annual inspection. The ferry permit was issued on December 5, 2012. A review of a maintenance invoice revealed that the airplane was flown from Wilmington International Airport Wilmington, North Carolina, (ILM) to ACZ in April 2015.
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
The recorded weather at ILM, located 20 nautical miles from the accident site, at 1453, included winds from 100 degrees at 10 knots; 10 statute miles visibility, few clouds at 6,000 feet, and 8,000 feet scattered. A temperature of 28 degrees Celsius (C), dew point temperature 22 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 29.82 inches of mercury.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
Wreckage debris and broken tree limbs were scattered for about 600 feet along an approximate 150-degree magnetic heading, emanating from a cluster of scraped and broken trees. A separated section of the outboard left wing and an outboard section of the left aileron were along the beginning of the debris path. A ground scar about 30 feet-long and 4 feet-wide was observed on the ground, about 50 feet southeast of the initial cluster of broken trees. The fuselage and empennage were located about 550 feet southeast of the ground scar.
Examination of the left wing revealed it remained attached to the main wing spar. Approximately 5 feet of the outboard wing was fragmented, and the remainder of the wing was buckled forward. The flap was in the up positon and the inboard section of the aileron remained attached to the wing. The aileron control cable was traced from the aileron to the cockpit controls, and continuity was confirmed. The fuel tank was breached and the fuel cap was locked and secure.
Examination of the right wing revealed that it remained attached to the main wing spar. The entire span of the wing was buckled. The flap was in the up position and aileron remained attached to the wing. The aileron control cable was traced from the aileron to the cockpit controls and continuity was confirmed. The fuel tank was breached and the fuel cap was secure.
The empennage was attached to the fuselage with the vertical stabilizer attached. The rudder was attached to the vertical stabilizer at all attach points, and the rudder control cables were attached to the rudder horn. Rudder control continuity was established from the rudder to the cockpit. The horizontal stabilizer structure and elevators were still attached to the empennage. Elevator control continuity was confirmed from the control surface to the cockpit. The elevator trim tab was observed in the 5-degree nose up position.
The fuselage came to rest flat on the belly of the airplane. The cabin, cabin roof, and cabin floor showed crush damage, and the cabin door was separated. The instrument panel was crushed with most instruments and avionics separated from their mounts. The control yoke and rudder pedals were crushed within the cockpit. The engine power controls were damaged and the positions could not be determined. The engine start and magneto switch was found separated with the key absent and the orientation of the switch in the "both" position. The attitude indicator and the directional gyro were found crushed and separated. The readings were unreliable.
The engine was separated from the firewall with sections of the engine mount bent and attached. The propeller, oil filter, exhaust muffler and portions of the intake and exhaust tubing were separated from the engine. The engine was partially disassembled to facilitate the examination. The engine crankshaft was rotated using a tool inserted in the vacuum pump drive pad, and continuity of the crankshaft to the rear gears and to the valve train was confirmed.
Compression and suction were observed on all four cylinders. Oil was observed in the engine. The oil cooler and associated hoses were impact-damaged. Both magnetos were impact-damaged and remained attached to the engine. The left magneto case was fractured and could not be operated. The right magneto was rotated by hand and produced spark from all four electrode towers. The carburetor was impact-damaged and partially separated from the engine. The float bowl was separated and empty. The brass floats were crushed, and the carburetor fuel inlet screen was not located.
The propeller was separated from the crankshaft and one blade was bent aft about 5 degrees, exhibited blade twisting, and leading edge abrasions on the span of the blade. The other blade was curved forward about 5 degrees at about 2/3 span, and exhibited leading edge abrasions.
MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Raleigh, North Carolina, performed an autopsy on the pilot. The cause of death was recorded as multiple blunt force trauma. The autopsy was limited by the degree of damage to the body, but evidence of previous 3-vessel coronary artery bypass grafting, ongoing coronary artery disease, and extensive scarring in a very enlarged heart were identified.
The FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute performed forensic toxicology testing on specimens from the pilot, with negative results for carbon monoxide, drugs, and alcohol.
NTSB Identification: ERA15FA351
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, September 11, 2015 in Riegelwood, NC
Aircraft: CESSNA 172P, registration: N52445
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators 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 September 11, 2015, about 1510 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172P, N52445, collided with terrain shortly near Riegelwood, North Carolina. The non-certificated pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to a private individual and operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions existed along the route of flight around the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed a private grass airstrip in Bolton, North Carolina, at 1500 with a destination of Henderson Field Airport (ACZ), Wallace, North Carolina.
According to the owner of the departure airstrip, his mechanic/pilot and the accident pilot arrived from ACZ to pick up his airplane for repairs. After they landed, he recalled that his mechanic exited the accident airplane from the right seat. The mechanic/pilot then entered his airplane and prepared it for departure. The owner of the private airstrip then watched as the mechanic/pilot departed in his airplane first, followed by the accident airplane. He also noted that the accident airplane sounded "fine" as it departed, and noted that after takeoff it turned to the left and did not follow his airplane.
About 45 minutes later, after the mechanic/pilot landed at ACZ, he called the private airstrip owner and asked if the accident pilot had departed. The airstrip owner said that he departed "right after you." The owner of the airstrip went on to say that the mechanic/pilot told him he was "going back up" in an attempt to find his friend. An hour had passed and the mechanic/pilot called the airstrip owner to see if the accident airplane had returned, as he had been unable to locate it. The airstrip owner told him that the airplane had not returned.
The mechanic/pilot contacted the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) and reported the missing airplane. According to AFRCC, an active emergency locator transmitter signal was received at 1815. A search ensued and the wreckage was found in a field about 3 nautical miles northeast of the private departure airstrip at 0030.
Examination of the wreckage revealed that it was scattered over an area about 200 yards in length, on an approximate 150-degree magnetic heading. The initial impact point was identified as a cluster of scraped and broken trees. A separated section of the outboard left wing and a section of the left aileron were along the beginning of the debris path. A ground scar about 30 feet long and 4 feet wide was observed on the ground about 50 feet southeast of the initial impact point. The fuselage and empennage were located about 550 feet southeast of the ground scar along the debris path. The engine was broken away from the firewall and located along the debris path. The propeller was broken off of the crankshaft flange and also located along the debris path.
