JEFFERSON CITY • Gov. Eric Greitens’ administration is taking a page from his counterparts in Illinois when it comes to the state’s fleet of aircraft.
Just as former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, and current Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, moved to jettison state-owned airplanes in the Land of Lincoln, Greitens is planning on selling one of the state's two passenger planes used by his predecessor, Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.
Word of the grounding and potential sale of the state’s 1999 Beechcraft King Air C90 is contained in the latest budget proposal being mulled in the Missouri House of Representatives.
In the Department of Public Safety spending proposal, it calls for a $37,000 reduction in aircraft maintenance costs due to the sale of the twin-engine, six-passenger plane.
Rep. Kathie Conway, R-St. Charles, said the agency’s new director, Col. Sandy Karsten, gave the green light for the budget maneuver soon after she was sworn in earlier this month.
“She said we really did not have the need for the plane,” Conway told the Post-Dispatch Friday.
The decision comes after Greitens, a Republican who took office on Jan. 9, has said he is not planning to use the state plane.
That practice is a switch from the Nixon era, when the chief executive was routinely rapped by Republican lawmakers for his regular use of a taxpayer-funded state airplane to traverse the state.
However, now Democrats are complaining about Greitens use of private airplanes because the governor is not disclosing who is financing his flights.
In early March, the Post-Dispatch reported that the private plane that ferried Greitens from Jefferson City to Springfield to Las Vegas and to Washington, D.C. was owned by a company that operates newspapers and television stations from Missouri to California.
The governor’s office and top officials with the St. Joseph-based News-Press & Gazette Co. said the plane was leased by a third party because the company was not using it at the time.
Although taxpayers are not being billed for Greitens’ air travel, aides have not disclosed who is paying for the trips.
In Illinois, Quinn first announced the sale of nine of the state’s airplanes in 2014. Rauner inherited four unsold planes and one helicopter when he took over in 2015.
In the end, Illinois received $2.5 million for the aircraft and the reduction of an estimated $1 million in inspections and maintenance costs.
It was unclear Friday how Missouri might go about selling the airplane and how much it might bring into state coffers. When Illinois sold its 2000 King Air in 2015, the selling price was $1.7 million.
Conway said the remaining planes in Missouri’s fleet are not being eyed for grounding. The Department of Public Safety aircraft fleet consists of four helicopters, eight single-engine Cessnas and the King Airs.
Original article can be found here: http://www.stltoday.com
Friday, March 17, 2017
Piper PA-28-180, N4722L, N4722L: Incident occurred January 16, 2017 in Camarillo, Ventura County, California
http://registry.faa.gov/N4722L
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Van Nuys WP-01
Aircraft went off the runway after landing resulting in nose gear damage.
Date: 16-MAR-17
Time: 18:22:00Z
Regis#: N4722L
Aircraft Make: PIPER
Aircraft Model: PA-28-180
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: MINOR
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: CAMARILLO
State: CALIFORNIA
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Van Nuys WP-01
Aircraft went off the runway after landing resulting in nose gear damage.
Date: 16-MAR-17
Time: 18:22:00Z
Regis#: N4722L
Aircraft Make: PIPER
Aircraft Model: PA-28-180
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: MINOR
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: CAMARILLO
State: CALIFORNIA
Piper PA-34-200, Golden Eagle Enterprises Inc, N4574T: Incident occurred March 16, 2017 at Madera Municipal Airport (KMAE), California
Golden Eagle Enterprises Inc dba: http://registry.faa.gov/N4574T
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Fresno WP-17
Aircraft nose gear collapse on landing
Date: 16-MAR-17
Time: 00:00:00Z
Regis#: N4574T
Aircraft Make: PIPER
Aircraft Model: 34
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: UNKNOWN
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: MADERA
State: CALIFORNIA
MADERA, Calif. - A plane drifted off the runway in Madera on Wednesday after a report that it was going down, the Madera Police Department said.
The plane landed at Madera Municipal Airport, police said. The plane initially made a safe landing on the runway, but then the front landing gear appeared to have possibly malfunctioned causing the plane to drift off the runway.
The plane was piloted by an instructor and a student pilot.
No one was hurt during the crash.
Source: http://www.yourcentralvalley.com
Aircraft nose gear collapsed after landing.
Date: 16-MAR-17
Time: 00:00:00Z
Regis#: N4574T
Aircraft Make: PIPER
Aircraft Model: PA-34-200
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: MINOR
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: MADERA
State: CALIFORNIA
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Fresno WP-17
Aircraft nose gear collapse on landing
Date: 16-MAR-17
Time: 00:00:00Z
Regis#: N4574T
Aircraft Make: PIPER
Aircraft Model: 34
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: UNKNOWN
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: MADERA
State: CALIFORNIA
MADERA, Calif. - A plane drifted off the runway in Madera on Wednesday after a report that it was going down, the Madera Police Department said.
The plane landed at Madera Municipal Airport, police said. The plane initially made a safe landing on the runway, but then the front landing gear appeared to have possibly malfunctioned causing the plane to drift off the runway.
The plane was piloted by an instructor and a student pilot.
No one was hurt during the crash.
Source: http://www.yourcentralvalley.com
Aircraft nose gear collapsed after landing.
Date: 16-MAR-17
Time: 00:00:00Z
Regis#: N4574T
Aircraft Make: PIPER
Aircraft Model: PA-34-200
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: MINOR
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: MADERA
State: CALIFORNIA
Rans S-10 Sakota, N198PH: Incident occurred March 16, 2017 in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida
http://registry.faa.gov/N198PH
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; South Florida SO-19
Aircraft veered off the runway after catching a gust of wind.
Date: 16-MAR-17
Time: 21:36:00Z
Regis#: N198PH
Aircraft Make: EXPERIMENTAL RANS
Aircraft Model: S10 SAKOTA
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: MINOR
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: WEST PALM BEACH
State: FLORIDA
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; South Florida SO-19
Aircraft veered off the runway after catching a gust of wind.
Date: 16-MAR-17
Time: 21:36:00Z
Regis#: N198PH
Aircraft Make: EXPERIMENTAL RANS
Aircraft Model: S10 SAKOTA
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: MINOR
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: WEST PALM BEACH
State: FLORIDA
Cessna 172P, Civil Air Patrol Inc., N239TX: Accident occurred March 16, 2017 in Ontario, Canada
Civil Air Patrol Inc: http://registry.faa.gov/N239TX
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Eastern Michigan GL-23
Aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances.
Date: 16-MAR-17
Time: 05:49:00Z
Regis#: N239TX
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: 172
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: UNKNOWN
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: SUBSTANTIAL
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: UNKNOWN (UNK)
Operation: 91
City: MANITOUWADGE
State: ONTARIO CANADA
Country: CANADA
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Eastern Michigan GL-23
Aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances.
Date: 16-MAR-17
Time: 05:49:00Z
Regis#: N239TX
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: 172
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: UNKNOWN
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: SUBSTANTIAL
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: UNKNOWN (UNK)
Operation: 91
City: MANITOUWADGE
State: ONTARIO CANADA
Country: CANADA
Cessna 152, C-FGOI and Cessna 152, C-GPNP: Fatal accident occurred March 17, 2017 near Saint-Hubert Airport, Quebec, Canada
NTSB Identification: CEN17WA137A
Accident occurred Friday, March 17, 2017 in St-Bruno, Quebec, Canada
Aircraft: CESSNA 152, registration:
Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Serious.
NTSB Identification: CEN17WA137B
Accident occurred Friday, March 17, 2017 in St-Bruno, Quebec, Canada
Aircraft: CESSNA 152, registration:
Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Serious.
The foreign authority was the source of this information.
On March 17, 2017, at 1638 coordinated universal time, a Cessna 152, C-FGOI, and a Cessna 152, C-GPNP, impacted a building following a mid-air collision near St-Bruno, Quebec, Canada. Both aircraft were destroyed. The pilot of C-FGOI received fatal injuries, and the pilot of C-GPNP received serious injuries. Both aircraft were owned and operated by Cargair Ltee as training flights. C-FGOI departed eastbound from Montreal/St-Hubert (CYHU), Quebec, Canada and C-GPNP was returning westbound to CYHU at the time of the accident.
The accident investigation is under the jurisdiction and control of the Canadian Transportation Safety Board. This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information released by or obtained from the Canadian government.
Further information pertaining to this accident may be obtained from:
Transportation Safety Board of Canada
200 Promenade du Portage,
Place du Centre, 4th Floor
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 1K8
A student pilot at Cargair Aviation who had not reported his or her location forced air traffic controllers at Trudeau airport to abort the descent of a Porter Airlines flight last year, Transport Canada records show.
The incident is one of several communication problems involving Cargair flights recorded over the past year in Transport Canada’s Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS), which tracks incidents that could affect aviation safety.
Two men studying at Cargair to be pilots for Chinese airlines crashed their Cessna planes in mid-air over St-Bruno March 17. One pilot died. Seconds before the crash, one of the pilots did not respond to four attempts to contact him by an air traffic controller at St-Hubert Airport.
Before the March 17 crash, the most serious reported incident involving Cargair over the past year appears to have been one that occurred on July 5, 2016.
A Cargair Cessna aircraft “flew over Laval at 2,000 feet without contacting Dorval tower or the Montreal terminal about its departure from St-Hubert Airport,” the CADORS report said. “No radio contact.”
Air traffic controllers told the pilot of a Porter Airlines de Havilland turbo-prop aircraft to abort its descent into Trudeau airport in Dorval. The Porter flight was told to keep its altitude at 3,000 feet “to maintain distance from the other aircraft,” the report said.
In an update posted two months later, a civil aviation safety inspector reported that after the incident “there was a meeting between the instructor and the student. All the flight phases were reviewed to ensure that the student understood the nature of the events that had occurred.”
On Monday, Cargair said no one was available to comment. But in an emailed statement, the company told the Montreal Gazette the Trudeau airport episode was an isolated incident.
“In the very rare cases where something like this happens, we get the details quickly and once the pilot lands, we meet them to go over every phase of the flight to make sure the pilot knows his position at all times.”
Edward McKeogh, a pilot who is president of Canadian Aviation Safety Consultants, said student pilots should avoid the Dorval area “like the plague.”
A pilot would only end up close to a major airport without alerting the tower “if they’re not well instructed, or they’re not thinking well, or if they’re not looking,” McKeogh said.
“On a clear day, you can see Dorval from St-Hubert, and there’s no reason to miss all those runways and hangars. You just steer clear of anything like that.”
Aircraft landing at and taking off from Trudeau “take up a lot of vertical space,” McKeogh said. On take-off, for example, “they’ll whip right up through 1,000 and 2,000 feet very, very quickly as they’re on their way to 40,000.”
Cargair, which describes itself as Canada’s largest private pilot school, instructs about 150 pilots every year for airlines in China, where training facilities can’t keep up with demand. The company owns 60 planes used for training.
The CADORS database indicates that on at least 14 occasions over the past year, Cargair pilots reported radio failures during flights.
Fourteen communication errors involving Cargair were also cited in the CADORS system. For example, in May 2016, a Cargair Cessna “took off without authorization when the tower had only asked it to line up.”
In its statement, Cargair said because it is based at the busy St-Hubert airport, incidents involving its planes are more likely to end up in the CADORS system than those involving planes owned by companies at private airports or in areas without air-traffic control towers.
The company said its planes are flown about 25,000 hours per year.
Cargair’s operations manager has previously said the company didn’t think mechanical problems, the weather or language barriers were factors.
The nationality of the pilots involved in the Cargair incidents is not indicated in CADORS.
Cargair says Chinese student pilots must be proficient in English to attend the school. They are taught in English and communicate with air-traffic control towers in English, the company says.
An aviation school that teaches Chinese students in Northern Ontario recently told a local newspaper that “the students arrive with a basic English level and we teach them aviation English.”
The preliminary incident report about the March 17 crash notes that one of the students was supposed to stay at 1,500 feet, while the other was instructed to increase his altitude to 1,100 feet. It’s unclear which pilot did not follow directions.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating the St-Bruno crash. A spokesperson said it’s unclear how long the investigation will take.
Source: http://montrealgazette.com
Cargair, the school that was training two pilots who crashed mid-air over a South Shore mall Friday, does not think mechanical problems, the weather or language barriers were factors in the accident.
The students — both from China — were studying to be airline pilots. One of them died, the other was seriously injured. There were no passengers on the planes, both of which had taken off from the nearby St-Hubert Airport.
One of the planes ended up in Promenades St-Bruno’s parking lot, the other on the mall’s roof.
“The cause is not obvious,” Daniel Adams, operations manager and director of flight safety at Cargair, said in an interview. He said it’s the first such incident in the company’s history.
On Friday, “there was no reason to think something like this could happen. The conditions were perfect. It was a storm of good weather: there was no wind, it was magnificent, the visibility was excellent. So what happened?”
Adams, who has spoken with investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, said the cause “doesn’t seem to be a mechanical problem. Zero risk doesn’t exist but we do everything we can every day to attenuate that risk.”
He said both pilots spoke English well and the control tower was communicating with them in English.
A recording of the communication between the air-traffic control tower and one of the planes indicates that seconds before the collision, one of the pilots did not respond to four attempts to contact him about his altitude.
The planes crashed after one of the pilots inexplicably changed altitude, said Adams, who has been a pilot for 20 years.
Friday was a sunny day but Adams said he does not think the sun played a role in the collision.
“When you’re at the same altitude, yes the sun can be a factor but if a pilot is descending or ascending and not following instructions from the tower, then it’s not a question of the weather but of the piloting.”
The 21-year-old man piloting the plane that landed in the parking lot died, while the other pilot, a 23-year-old man, was seriously injured. Doctors do not fear for his life. Their identities have not been made public.
The man who died had a student-pilot permit and had 40 hours of flight time after seven months at the Cargair pilot academy, Adams said.
The injured man had a private-pilot license and had 140 hours of flight time after a year at Cargair.
Before they took off, the pilots’ instructors would have checked whether conditions and the pilots’ planned routes, Adams said.
They were both flying Cessna 152 aircraft, which are “the most used planes for pilot training,” he added. “They are very forgiving, very reliable and relatively simple to maintain.”
Mid-air collisions rare, but some have occurred in Canada
Cargair, which describes itself as Canada’s largest private pilot school, instructs about 150 pilots every year for airlines in China, where training facilities can’t keep up with demand, Adams said.
The flight training, which Cargair has been providing to Chinese students for more than a decade, takes about 15 months, with pilots graduating with a commercial license that requires a minimum of 200 hours of flight time.
Chinese students are taught in English.
“It’s clear that language comprehension was not an issue here, both students spoke English and met the language requirements for the training,” said Adams, who heard part of the recording of the communication between the tower and the pilots.
Investigators are to meet with the surviving pilot as well as the pilots’ instructors. They will also review the tower-pilot communication, as well as radar data showing the planes’ flight paths.
Cargair, which also has facilities in Mirabel, Trois-Rivières and Saguenay, trains about 250 pilots a year. The company, founded in 1961, has 130 employees and owns 60 planes used for training.
Promenades St-Bruno, which closed after the accident occurred early on Friday afternoon, said it will reopen on Sunday morning.
Original article can be found here: http://montrealgazette.com
Controller tried to contact pilot four times
Seconds before the fatal collision between two small aircraft above the Montreal suburb of St-Bruno, the air-traffic controller at the St-Hubert Airport tried to contact one of the pilots four times.
The pilot did not respond.
In a recording of the air-traffic controller’s communication with aircraft in the area, the controller is heard addressing the aircraft registered GPNP four times, twice asking the pilot to maintain an altitude of 1,600 feet as he approached the runway.
The controller contacted the pilot to tell him another aircraft, registered FGOI, was taking off a mile ahead.
FGOI crashed into the parking lot of the Promenades St-Bruno shopping mall and its 21-year-old pilot was killed. GPNP fell onto the roof of the mall, where a thick layer of snow lessened the impact. The 23-year-old pilot suffered serious injuries.
Story and video: http://montrealgazette.com
One pilot is dead and another critically injured after two small planes collided in the air near Promenades St-Bruno shopping mall south of Montreal just before 1 p.m. Friday, police and witnesses said.
Two other people who saw the crash unfold were being treated for nervous shock, Longueuil police told reporters at the scene. Just after 5 p.m., police added that they didn’t fear for the life of the injured pilot.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada announced it was deploying a team of investigators to the site. The TSB said in a statement that both planes were Cessna 152 aircraft operated by Cargair Ltd., a pilot-training academy in nearby St-Hubert.
One plane crashed onto the roof of the shopping mall, its fuel leaking into the snow on top of the building. The other plane slammed into the parking lot, splintering into pieces that one witness said looked like broken Lego blocks.
Antonio Chirita, who works at a Videotron store in the mall, said he heard a loud bang, smelled what he thought was kerosene and heard people screaming. He raced outside to discover the plane strewn across the parking lot, its fuel also leaking.
“Somebody was going around the plane, and trying to see what was happening, and there was another guy from a store who came out, and told him to go away because there was kerosene on the floor,” Chirita said. “It’s highly flammable. … But I think they realized the people in the plane were in pieces. “
“I know the pilot in front of the store was dead,” he added. “The plane was totally in pieces. It was like a Lego toy.”
Longueuil police clarified that each aircraft had only one individual on board, the pilot. Police did not release their identities, but said that the pilots were male, aged 21 and 23. The older pilot was in the hospital.
Speaking to reporters in Montreal, Premier Philippe Couillard expressed sympathy for the victims of the crash and those who were inside the shopping mall at the time.
“Our thoughts, above all else, are with the families of the victims and the injured,” he said, adding it’s too early to speculate on the cause of the accident.
“We don’t want to go too far (into this) too rapidly. There will be an investigation by the Transportation Safety Board. It could be pilot errors. It could be anything. We live in a large metropolitan zone, and there will always be a certain amount of aerial traffic, especially with small planes. We have to know that.
“The investigation will look into what happened and why, but today we have to think of the victims and the injured and the people who were in the Promenades St-Bruno. I understand that the people (inside) were very worried but they were far from the accident, which was a good thing.”
Cpt. Nancy Colagiacomo, of Longueuil police, echoed Couillard’s remarks about drawing conclusions prematurely.
“Right now we’re exploring all possible hypotheses,” she said. “We’re looking into every possible scenario.”
Firefighters succeeded in quickly plugging the leak of the plane in the parking lot. The roof of the shopping mall did not sustain structural damage.
A TVA helicopter captured images of the crumpled Cessna on the roof, showing that its fuselage had smashed on a rooftop natural-gas pipe. But the pipe was undamaged, a fire department official said.
The shopping centre was evacuated and a security perimeter was set up. St-Bruno is about 25 kilometres south of Montreal.
A woman who was shopping at the mall was visibly shaken as she recalled witnessing the crash.
“I saw it and I never want to see anything like that again,” the woman told the Montreal Gazette after being interviewed by investigators. “The plane spiralled down and into the parking lot. It was horrible. I can’t stop thinking about it.”
The woman declined to give her name, saying she was too overcome with emotion.
Nheil Martinez, who works inside the mall, was outside smoking a cigarette when he glimpsed the shadow of a plane and heard its motor.
“I heard the motor so low to the ground and then a loud boom,” he said.
“Then we saw pieces of plane fall out of the sky everywhere.”
Martinez then ran to the plane and saw a man inside, whose body was crushed.
Jonathan Vanasse was eating in a restaurant in the mall next to the crash site. He said he and several others scrambled outside and saw the plane wreckage and leaking fuel.
“There was just shredded metal,” he said, referring to what was left of the aircraft.
Cargair announced in a news release Friday evening that it was working with authorities and offered its sympathies to the families of the pilots.
“We are concentrating our efforts to support our employees and students who are part of the Cargair family,” the company said, adding it wouldn’t be issuing any further comment.
Cargair was founded in 1961. The company’s website says it operates two flight training schools in Mascouche and St-Hubert with a “large fleet of Cessna and Piper aircraft.”
Story and video: http://montrealgazette.com
One person has died and three are injured after two small planes collided in the air near Promenades St-Bruno south of Montreal just before 1 p.m. Friday.
The numbers were confirmed by Premier Philippe Couillard and Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux as they attended an event in Montreal.
The identity of the victim and the conditions of the injured were not clear.
Earlier, Longueuil police said each plane only had a pilot on board and that both were injured.
One of the planes crashed on the roof of the Promenades Saint-Bruno, while the other slammed into the parking lot.
A security perimeter was set up near the shopping centre in Saint-Bruno, about 25 kilometres from Montreal.
Witnesses at the scene described hearing a loud bang.
Nheil Martinez, who works inside the mall, was outside smoking a cigarette when he saw the shadow of a plane and heard its motor.
“I heard the motor so low to the ground and then a loud boom,” he said.
“Then we saw pieces of plane fall out of the sky everywhere.”
Martinez said he ran to the plane and saw a man inside, whose body was crushed.
Jonathan Vanasse was eating inside a mall restaurant next to the crash site.
He said he and several others ran outside and saw the plane, which he said was leaking fuel.
“There was just shredded metal,” he said, referring to what was left of the aircraft.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada announced it was deploying a team of investigators to the site.
The TSB said in a statement both planes were Cessna 152 aircraft operated by Cargair.
Cargair is a pilot-training academy based in nearby Longueuil.
The company did not want to comment when reached by The Canadian Press.
Speaking to reporters in Montreal, Premier Philippe Couillard expressed sympathy for the victims of the crash and those who were inside the shopping mall at the time.
“Our thoughts, above all else, are with the families of the victims and the injured,” he said, adding it’s too early to speculate on the cause of the accident.
“We don’t want to go too far (into this) too rapidly. There will be an investigation by the Transportation Safety Board. It could be pilot errors. It could be anything. We live in a large metropolitan zone, and there will always be a certain amount of aerial traffic, especially with small planes. We have to know that. The investigation will look into what happened and why, but today we have to think of the victims and the injured and the people who were in the Promenades St-Bruno. I understand that the people (inside) were very worried but they were far from the accident, which was a good thing.”
Source: http://montrealgazette.com
Accident occurred Friday, March 17, 2017 in St-Bruno, Quebec, Canada
Aircraft: CESSNA 152, registration:
Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Serious.
NTSB Identification: CEN17WA137B
Accident occurred Friday, March 17, 2017 in St-Bruno, Quebec, Canada
Aircraft: CESSNA 152, registration:
Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Serious.
The foreign authority was the source of this information.
On March 17, 2017, at 1638 coordinated universal time, a Cessna 152, C-FGOI, and a Cessna 152, C-GPNP, impacted a building following a mid-air collision near St-Bruno, Quebec, Canada. Both aircraft were destroyed. The pilot of C-FGOI received fatal injuries, and the pilot of C-GPNP received serious injuries. Both aircraft were owned and operated by Cargair Ltee as training flights. C-FGOI departed eastbound from Montreal/St-Hubert (CYHU), Quebec, Canada and C-GPNP was returning westbound to CYHU at the time of the accident.
The accident investigation is under the jurisdiction and control of the Canadian Transportation Safety Board. This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information released by or obtained from the Canadian government.
Further information pertaining to this accident may be obtained from:
Transportation Safety Board of Canada
200 Promenade du Portage,
Place du Centre, 4th Floor
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 1K8
Transportation Safety Board of Canada investigator Isabelle Langevin examines a plane that landed on the roof of Promenades St-Bruno after colliding with another plane on March 17, 2017.
A student pilot at Cargair Aviation who had not reported his or her location forced air traffic controllers at Trudeau airport to abort the descent of a Porter Airlines flight last year, Transport Canada records show.
The incident is one of several communication problems involving Cargair flights recorded over the past year in Transport Canada’s Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS), which tracks incidents that could affect aviation safety.
Two men studying at Cargair to be pilots for Chinese airlines crashed their Cessna planes in mid-air over St-Bruno March 17. One pilot died. Seconds before the crash, one of the pilots did not respond to four attempts to contact him by an air traffic controller at St-Hubert Airport.
Before the March 17 crash, the most serious reported incident involving Cargair over the past year appears to have been one that occurred on July 5, 2016.
A Cargair Cessna aircraft “flew over Laval at 2,000 feet without contacting Dorval tower or the Montreal terminal about its departure from St-Hubert Airport,” the CADORS report said. “No radio contact.”
Air traffic controllers told the pilot of a Porter Airlines de Havilland turbo-prop aircraft to abort its descent into Trudeau airport in Dorval. The Porter flight was told to keep its altitude at 3,000 feet “to maintain distance from the other aircraft,” the report said.
In an update posted two months later, a civil aviation safety inspector reported that after the incident “there was a meeting between the instructor and the student. All the flight phases were reviewed to ensure that the student understood the nature of the events that had occurred.”
On Monday, Cargair said no one was available to comment. But in an emailed statement, the company told the Montreal Gazette the Trudeau airport episode was an isolated incident.
“In the very rare cases where something like this happens, we get the details quickly and once the pilot lands, we meet them to go over every phase of the flight to make sure the pilot knows his position at all times.”
Edward McKeogh, a pilot who is president of Canadian Aviation Safety Consultants, said student pilots should avoid the Dorval area “like the plague.”
A pilot would only end up close to a major airport without alerting the tower “if they’re not well instructed, or they’re not thinking well, or if they’re not looking,” McKeogh said.
“On a clear day, you can see Dorval from St-Hubert, and there’s no reason to miss all those runways and hangars. You just steer clear of anything like that.”
Aircraft landing at and taking off from Trudeau “take up a lot of vertical space,” McKeogh said. On take-off, for example, “they’ll whip right up through 1,000 and 2,000 feet very, very quickly as they’re on their way to 40,000.”
Cargair, which describes itself as Canada’s largest private pilot school, instructs about 150 pilots every year for airlines in China, where training facilities can’t keep up with demand. The company owns 60 planes used for training.
The CADORS database indicates that on at least 14 occasions over the past year, Cargair pilots reported radio failures during flights.
Fourteen communication errors involving Cargair were also cited in the CADORS system. For example, in May 2016, a Cargair Cessna “took off without authorization when the tower had only asked it to line up.”
In its statement, Cargair said because it is based at the busy St-Hubert airport, incidents involving its planes are more likely to end up in the CADORS system than those involving planes owned by companies at private airports or in areas without air-traffic control towers.
The company said its planes are flown about 25,000 hours per year.
Cargair’s operations manager has previously said the company didn’t think mechanical problems, the weather or language barriers were factors.
The nationality of the pilots involved in the Cargair incidents is not indicated in CADORS.
Cargair says Chinese student pilots must be proficient in English to attend the school. They are taught in English and communicate with air-traffic control towers in English, the company says.
An aviation school that teaches Chinese students in Northern Ontario recently told a local newspaper that “the students arrive with a basic English level and we teach them aviation English.”
The preliminary incident report about the March 17 crash notes that one of the students was supposed to stay at 1,500 feet, while the other was instructed to increase his altitude to 1,100 feet. It’s unclear which pilot did not follow directions.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating the St-Bruno crash. A spokesperson said it’s unclear how long the investigation will take.
Source: http://montrealgazette.com
Cargair, the school that was training two pilots who crashed mid-air over a South Shore mall Friday, does not think mechanical problems, the weather or language barriers were factors in the accident.
The students — both from China — were studying to be airline pilots. One of them died, the other was seriously injured. There were no passengers on the planes, both of which had taken off from the nearby St-Hubert Airport.
One of the planes ended up in Promenades St-Bruno’s parking lot, the other on the mall’s roof.
“The cause is not obvious,” Daniel Adams, operations manager and director of flight safety at Cargair, said in an interview. He said it’s the first such incident in the company’s history.
On Friday, “there was no reason to think something like this could happen. The conditions were perfect. It was a storm of good weather: there was no wind, it was magnificent, the visibility was excellent. So what happened?”
Adams, who has spoken with investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, said the cause “doesn’t seem to be a mechanical problem. Zero risk doesn’t exist but we do everything we can every day to attenuate that risk.”
He said both pilots spoke English well and the control tower was communicating with them in English.
A recording of the communication between the air-traffic control tower and one of the planes indicates that seconds before the collision, one of the pilots did not respond to four attempts to contact him about his altitude.
The planes crashed after one of the pilots inexplicably changed altitude, said Adams, who has been a pilot for 20 years.
Friday was a sunny day but Adams said he does not think the sun played a role in the collision.
“When you’re at the same altitude, yes the sun can be a factor but if a pilot is descending or ascending and not following instructions from the tower, then it’s not a question of the weather but of the piloting.”
The 21-year-old man piloting the plane that landed in the parking lot died, while the other pilot, a 23-year-old man, was seriously injured. Doctors do not fear for his life. Their identities have not been made public.
The man who died had a student-pilot permit and had 40 hours of flight time after seven months at the Cargair pilot academy, Adams said.
The injured man had a private-pilot license and had 140 hours of flight time after a year at Cargair.
Before they took off, the pilots’ instructors would have checked whether conditions and the pilots’ planned routes, Adams said.
They were both flying Cessna 152 aircraft, which are “the most used planes for pilot training,” he added. “They are very forgiving, very reliable and relatively simple to maintain.”
Mid-air collisions rare, but some have occurred in Canada
Cargair, which describes itself as Canada’s largest private pilot school, instructs about 150 pilots every year for airlines in China, where training facilities can’t keep up with demand, Adams said.
The flight training, which Cargair has been providing to Chinese students for more than a decade, takes about 15 months, with pilots graduating with a commercial license that requires a minimum of 200 hours of flight time.
Chinese students are taught in English.
“It’s clear that language comprehension was not an issue here, both students spoke English and met the language requirements for the training,” said Adams, who heard part of the recording of the communication between the tower and the pilots.
Investigators are to meet with the surviving pilot as well as the pilots’ instructors. They will also review the tower-pilot communication, as well as radar data showing the planes’ flight paths.
Cargair, which also has facilities in Mirabel, Trois-Rivières and Saguenay, trains about 250 pilots a year. The company, founded in 1961, has 130 employees and owns 60 planes used for training.
Promenades St-Bruno, which closed after the accident occurred early on Friday afternoon, said it will reopen on Sunday morning.
Original article can be found here: http://montrealgazette.com
Controller tried to contact pilot four times
Seconds before the fatal collision between two small aircraft above the Montreal suburb of St-Bruno, the air-traffic controller at the St-Hubert Airport tried to contact one of the pilots four times.
The pilot did not respond.
In a recording of the air-traffic controller’s communication with aircraft in the area, the controller is heard addressing the aircraft registered GPNP four times, twice asking the pilot to maintain an altitude of 1,600 feet as he approached the runway.
The controller contacted the pilot to tell him another aircraft, registered FGOI, was taking off a mile ahead.
FGOI crashed into the parking lot of the Promenades St-Bruno shopping mall and its 21-year-old pilot was killed. GPNP fell onto the roof of the mall, where a thick layer of snow lessened the impact. The 23-year-old pilot suffered serious injuries.
Story and video: http://montrealgazette.com
One pilot is dead and another critically injured after two small planes collided in the air near Promenades St-Bruno shopping mall south of Montreal just before 1 p.m. Friday, police and witnesses said.
Two other people who saw the crash unfold were being treated for nervous shock, Longueuil police told reporters at the scene. Just after 5 p.m., police added that they didn’t fear for the life of the injured pilot.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada announced it was deploying a team of investigators to the site. The TSB said in a statement that both planes were Cessna 152 aircraft operated by Cargair Ltd., a pilot-training academy in nearby St-Hubert.
One plane crashed onto the roof of the shopping mall, its fuel leaking into the snow on top of the building. The other plane slammed into the parking lot, splintering into pieces that one witness said looked like broken Lego blocks.
Antonio Chirita, who works at a Videotron store in the mall, said he heard a loud bang, smelled what he thought was kerosene and heard people screaming. He raced outside to discover the plane strewn across the parking lot, its fuel also leaking.
“Somebody was going around the plane, and trying to see what was happening, and there was another guy from a store who came out, and told him to go away because there was kerosene on the floor,” Chirita said. “It’s highly flammable. … But I think they realized the people in the plane were in pieces. “
“I know the pilot in front of the store was dead,” he added. “The plane was totally in pieces. It was like a Lego toy.”
Longueuil police clarified that each aircraft had only one individual on board, the pilot. Police did not release their identities, but said that the pilots were male, aged 21 and 23. The older pilot was in the hospital.
Speaking to reporters in Montreal, Premier Philippe Couillard expressed sympathy for the victims of the crash and those who were inside the shopping mall at the time.
“Our thoughts, above all else, are with the families of the victims and the injured,” he said, adding it’s too early to speculate on the cause of the accident.
“We don’t want to go too far (into this) too rapidly. There will be an investigation by the Transportation Safety Board. It could be pilot errors. It could be anything. We live in a large metropolitan zone, and there will always be a certain amount of aerial traffic, especially with small planes. We have to know that.
“The investigation will look into what happened and why, but today we have to think of the victims and the injured and the people who were in the Promenades St-Bruno. I understand that the people (inside) were very worried but they were far from the accident, which was a good thing.”
Cpt. Nancy Colagiacomo, of Longueuil police, echoed Couillard’s remarks about drawing conclusions prematurely.
“Right now we’re exploring all possible hypotheses,” she said. “We’re looking into every possible scenario.”
Firefighters succeeded in quickly plugging the leak of the plane in the parking lot. The roof of the shopping mall did not sustain structural damage.
A TVA helicopter captured images of the crumpled Cessna on the roof, showing that its fuselage had smashed on a rooftop natural-gas pipe. But the pipe was undamaged, a fire department official said.
The shopping centre was evacuated and a security perimeter was set up. St-Bruno is about 25 kilometres south of Montreal.
A woman who was shopping at the mall was visibly shaken as she recalled witnessing the crash.
“I saw it and I never want to see anything like that again,” the woman told the Montreal Gazette after being interviewed by investigators. “The plane spiralled down and into the parking lot. It was horrible. I can’t stop thinking about it.”
The woman declined to give her name, saying she was too overcome with emotion.
Nheil Martinez, who works inside the mall, was outside smoking a cigarette when he glimpsed the shadow of a plane and heard its motor.
“I heard the motor so low to the ground and then a loud boom,” he said.
“Then we saw pieces of plane fall out of the sky everywhere.”
Martinez then ran to the plane and saw a man inside, whose body was crushed.
Jonathan Vanasse was eating in a restaurant in the mall next to the crash site. He said he and several others scrambled outside and saw the plane wreckage and leaking fuel.
“There was just shredded metal,” he said, referring to what was left of the aircraft.
Cargair announced in a news release Friday evening that it was working with authorities and offered its sympathies to the families of the pilots.
“We are concentrating our efforts to support our employees and students who are part of the Cargair family,” the company said, adding it wouldn’t be issuing any further comment.
Cargair was founded in 1961. The company’s website says it operates two flight training schools in Mascouche and St-Hubert with a “large fleet of Cessna and Piper aircraft.”
Story and video: http://montrealgazette.com
One person has died and three are injured after two small planes collided in the air near Promenades St-Bruno south of Montreal just before 1 p.m. Friday.
The numbers were confirmed by Premier Philippe Couillard and Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux as they attended an event in Montreal.
The identity of the victim and the conditions of the injured were not clear.
Earlier, Longueuil police said each plane only had a pilot on board and that both were injured.
One of the planes crashed on the roof of the Promenades Saint-Bruno, while the other slammed into the parking lot.
A security perimeter was set up near the shopping centre in Saint-Bruno, about 25 kilometres from Montreal.
Witnesses at the scene described hearing a loud bang.
Nheil Martinez, who works inside the mall, was outside smoking a cigarette when he saw the shadow of a plane and heard its motor.
“I heard the motor so low to the ground and then a loud boom,” he said.
“Then we saw pieces of plane fall out of the sky everywhere.”
Martinez said he ran to the plane and saw a man inside, whose body was crushed.
Jonathan Vanasse was eating inside a mall restaurant next to the crash site.
He said he and several others ran outside and saw the plane, which he said was leaking fuel.
“There was just shredded metal,” he said, referring to what was left of the aircraft.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada announced it was deploying a team of investigators to the site.
The TSB said in a statement both planes were Cessna 152 aircraft operated by Cargair.
Cargair is a pilot-training academy based in nearby Longueuil.
The company did not want to comment when reached by The Canadian Press.
Speaking to reporters in Montreal, Premier Philippe Couillard expressed sympathy for the victims of the crash and those who were inside the shopping mall at the time.
“Our thoughts, above all else, are with the families of the victims and the injured,” he said, adding it’s too early to speculate on the cause of the accident.
“We don’t want to go too far (into this) too rapidly. There will be an investigation by the Transportation Safety Board. It could be pilot errors. It could be anything. We live in a large metropolitan zone, and there will always be a certain amount of aerial traffic, especially with small planes. We have to know that. The investigation will look into what happened and why, but today we have to think of the victims and the injured and the people who were in the Promenades St-Bruno. I understand that the people (inside) were very worried but they were far from the accident, which was a good thing.”
Source: http://montrealgazette.com
Cessna 210B Centurion, registered to Groves Vig & Vig LLP and operated by the pilot, N9581X: Fatal accident occurred March 16, 2017 near Vig Limousin Airport (1SD4), Faith, Meade County, South Dakota
Barry Wayne Vig
January 23, 1950 - March 16, 2017
The National Transportation Safety Board traveled to the scene of this accident.
Additional Participating Entities:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Rapid City, South Dakota
Textron Aviation; Wichita, Kansas
Continental Motors; Mobile, Alabama
Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms
Location: Opal, SD
Accident Number: CEN17FA132
Date & Time: 03/16/2017, 1640 MDT
Registration: N9581X
Aircraft: CESSNA 210B
Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
Defining Event: Loss of control in flight
Injuries: 1 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal
On March 16, 2017, about 1640 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 210B airplane, N9581X, impacted terrain near Vig Limousin Ranch Airstrip (1SD4), Opal, South Dakota. The commercial pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to Groves Vig & Vig LLP and was being operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal cross-country flight. The airplane departed from Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP), Rapid City, South Dakota, at 1606, and the destination was Faith Municipal Airport (D07), Faith, South Dakota.
The purpose of the flight was to return the airplane to D07, where it was normally stored, following its annual inspection at RAP. The route of flight from D07 to RAP passed near 1SD4, which was adjacent to the pilot's ranch home. The wreckage was located about 275 yards from the departure end of runway 31 at 1SD4. No witnesses to the accident were identified.
Pilot Information
Certificate: Commercial
Age: 67, Male
Airplane Rating(s): 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: Yes
Medical Certification: Class 2 With Waivers/Limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: 05/20/2015
Occupational Pilot: No
Last Flight Review or Equivalent:
Flight Time: 3950 hours (Total, all aircraft), 1350 hours (Total, this make and model)
The pilot, age 67, held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane ratings. On May 20, 2015, the pilot was issued a second-class medical certificate with a limitation to wear corrective lenses. At the time of the medical examination, the pilot reported having 3,300 hours of total flight experience of which 25 hours were in the last 6 months. The pilot reported no recent health care visits, no significant medical conditions, and no medication use, and the physical examination did not identify any significant medical issues.
On an insurance application dated November 1, 2016, the pilot report having 3,950 hours of total flight experience of which 1,350 hours were in the accident airplane make and model. Pilot logbooks were not available for review during the investigation.
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Registration: N9581X
Model/Series: 210B
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Year of Manufacture: 1961
Amateur Built: No
Airworthiness Certificate: Normal
Serial Number: 21057881
Landing Gear Type: Tricycle
Seats: 4
Date/Type of Last Inspection: 03/01/2017, Annual
Certified Max Gross Wt.: 2998 lbs
Time Since Last Inspection: 1 Hours
Engines: 1 Reciprocating
Airframe Total Time: 5002 Hours as of last inspection
Engine Manufacturer: CONT MOTOR
ELT: Installed, activated, did not aid in locating accident
Engine Model/Series: I0-470 SERIES
Registered Owner: On file
Rated Power: 260 hp
Operator: On file
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
The airplane was equipped with a Continental IO-470S engine, serial number 102046-1-5, and a 2-blade, constant-speed McCauley propeller. The last annual inspection was completed on March 1, 2017, at 5,002 total airframe hours and 932 hours since the last engine overhaul.
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: KRAP, 3168 ft msl
Distance from Accident Site: 57 Nautical Miles
Observation Time: 1652 MDT
Direction from Accident Site: 209°
Lowest Cloud Condition:
Visibility: 10 Miles
Lowest Ceiling: Broken / 11000 ft agl
Visibility (RVR):
Wind Speed/Gusts: 32 knots / 39 knots
Turbulence Type Forecast/Actual: /
Wind Direction: 330°
Turbulence Severity Forecast/Actual: /
Altimeter Setting: 29.82 inches Hg
Temperature/Dew Point: 18°C / 2°C
Precipitation and Obscuration: No Obscuration; No Precipitation
Departure Point: RAPID CITY, SD (RAP)
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Destination: Faith, SD (D07)
Type of Clearance: None
Departure Time: 1630 MDT
Type of Airspace: Class G
An automated weather observing system (AWOS) was located at D07, about 19 miles northeast of the accident location. At 1656, D07 reported the following conditions: wind 360° at 16 knots, temperature 16°C, dew point 7°C, and altimeter setting of 29.79 inches of mercury. At 1756, D07 reported wind 350° at 4 knots, temperature 12°C, dew point 7°C, and altimeter setting of 29.83 inches of mercury.
At 1649, a weather station located at Ellsworth Air Force Base, Rapid City, South Dakota, about 53 miles southwest of the accident location, reported the following conditions: wind 320° at 34 knots with gusts to 40 knots, visibility 10 statute miles or greater, light drizzle, ceiling broken at 11,000 ft above ground level (agl), temperature 18°C, dew point 2°C, and altimeter setting of 29.82 inches of mercury.
At 1700, high-resolution rapid refresh model soundings for the accident location indicated that the wind near the surface was from the northwest at 14 knots. Modeling identified the potential for moderate low-level wind shear (LLWS) and moderate clear air turbulence within about 100 ft of the surface and the potential for light LLWS between about 100 ft agl and about 500 ft agl.
A review of weather radar imagery revealed very light reflectivity targets moving through the accident area. There were no publicly disseminated pilot reports from South Dakota within an hour of the accident time.
Airport Information
Airport: Vig Limousin (1SD4)
Runway Surface Type: Grass/turf
Airport Elevation: 2558 ft
Runway Surface Condition:
Runway Used: 31
IFR Approach: None
Runway Length/Width: 2200 ft / 50 ft
VFR Approach/Landing: Unknown
1SD4, located 4 miles south of Opal, is a private, nontowered airport. The airport is at an elevation of 2,558 ft mean sea level and has a 2,200-ft-long by 50-ft-wide turf runway designated as runway 13/31. The airport is surrounded by open grasslands and fields with rolling hills.
Wreckage and Impact Information
Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
Passenger Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude: 44.874167, -102.416667 (est)
The accident site was in a ranching area with rolling hills. The initial impact point was about 275 yards beyond the departure end of runway 31 and slightly right of the extended runway centerline. The debris path was about 175 ft long on a heading of 020°. The initial impact point included ground scars consistent with the right-wing tip and propeller, and there was no evidence that the airplane struck obstacles before ground impact.
The airplane came to rest upright with both wings separated from the fuselage. Both wing fuel tanks were compromised and empty. The landing gear and flaps were found in the up positions.
Flight control continuity was established from the rudder, elevator, and elevator trim tab to the forward floor assembly. Aileron continuity was established with left and right aileron cables separated in tensile overload.
The propeller came to rest between the initial impact point and the airframe wreckage. Both propeller blades exhibited scoring and leading-edge damage. One blade had a 90° rearward twisting bend starting about 18 inches outboard of the blade shank. The second blade had a slight forward twisting bend starting about 20 inches outboard of the blade shank.
The engine was rotated manually, and normal mechanical continuity was confirmed with compression obtained on all six cylinders. The cylinder combustion chambers were examined with a lighted borescope with no anomalies noted. The spark plug electrodes exhibited normal signatures.
The mixture and throttle arms were secured to their respective shafts, and the throttle plate was in the fully closed position. The fuel inlet screen was uncontaminated, and fuel discharged from the metering unit when fuel hoses were removed. The fuel injectors were uncontaminated, and the fuel manifold was intact with a small amount of fuel present.
The exhaust system was impact damaged with both mufflers separated. Both flame cones were intact and in place, and both exhaust collectors remained attached to their respective cylinder exhaust ports. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Medical And Pathological Information
The Clinical Laboratory of the Black Hills, Rapid City, South Dakota, performed an autopsy on the pilot, and the documented cause of death was blunt trauma injuries. The right coronary artery showed up to 80% narrowing, and the left anterior descending and left circumflex coronary arteries each showed 40% to 50% narrowing. The heart muscle had a 2 x 1 x 1 centimeter area of fibrosis of the posterior left ventricle that was "grossly compatible with a remote myocardial infarct." Microscopic examination of the heart muscle confirmed fibrosis. The heart muscle changes were consistent with an old ischemic event causing muscle damage; however, no acute changes were identified.
The FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, performed toxicology testing. No ethanol, carbon monoxide, or tested-for-drugs were identified.
NTSB Identification: CEN17FA132
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, March 16, 2017 in Opal, SD
Aircraft: CESSNA 210B, registration: N9581X
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 16, 2017, about 1640 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 210B airplane, N9581X, impacted terrain near Vig Limousin Ranch Airstrip (1SD4), Opal, South Dakota. The pilot was fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to and operated by Groves Vig & Vig LLP under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which departed from Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP), Rapid City, South Dakota without a flight plan at 1606.
Following an annual inspection of the airplane, the pilot was returning to Faith Municipal Airport (D07), Faith, South Dakota, where the airplane was normally stored. En route to D07, the pilot flew to 1SD4, which was adjacent to his ranch home. The airplane subsequently impacted a hill 275 yards from the departure end of Runway 31 at 1SD4 and came to rest 175 feet beyond the initial impact crater. No witnesses observed the accident.
Barry Wayne Vig, 67, was born in Rapid City on January 23, 1950, the oldest of eight children, to A.Wayne and Carole (Weiss) Vig. Home was on the ranch 30 miles southwest of Faith near Opal. Barry attended grade school at the Lemmon Butte School and the Opal School. He graduated from Newell High School in 1968. He then attended South Dakota State University and graduated with a degree in Animal Science in 1973. He also worked at the sale barn in Brookings while in college.
Barry completed the ROTC program at SDSU and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1973. He attended Summer Camp at Ft. Lewis, WA, in the summer of 1972 and Officer Basic Training at Ft. Benning, GA, in the fall of 1973. He spent eight years in the Army Reserve and was discharged as a First Lieutenant in 1981.
Barry married Cheryl Hight from Murdo in 1973. They were blessed with four children: Georgia, Justin, Marti Jo, and Ryan. The kids all played a very important part in the family ranch operation by helping with the work.
Barry and Cheryl came home to the ranch in 1973. In 1975, they moved to Murdo and worked for Cheryl’s parents for a year. They came home to the ranch again for a time, then in 1981, they moved to the Bob Talley place. In 1986, they moved back to the ranch. It was always very special to Barry that he was home again where he grew up and that part of his ranch was once owned by his Grandpa Weiss and the other part, by his Great Uncle Jim Vig.
The Vigs introduced Limousin genetics into their cattle herd in 1970 and have been raising registered Limousin and commercial cattle ever since. Barry always enjoyed those long-time relationships that he and his parents had with other Limousin breeders from across the state. Barry went to an A-I school in the late 60’s, and for many years, helped his parents with their A-I program, using what he learned and always learning more. For quite a few years, Barry played a major part in putting on his family’s annual bull sales and, then later, their private treaty sales. And for a long time, he preg tested all his own cows, plus some for the neighbors also. His desire was to improve his own cattle herd and help his kids get started in ranching. Barry always felt blessed that he was able to work with his sons on the ranch and would be very happy to see them as they carry on. Barry truly enjoyed ranching and raising good cattle.
Barry has always had a special interest in water and has always done a lot of work to improve the water system on whatever piece of ground he owned. He also enjoyed talking to his neighbors and learning more about how they did water systems on their ranches. Barry always said that one of the best sights ever was a tank full of water out in the middle of the prairie.
Barry did not buy a class ring, but put that money towards flying lessons instead. He learned to fly while in college and has always had a plane around to check cattle, both at home and in pastures away from home. He always appreciated being able to just walk out of the house, get in his plane, and look around a little bit. Through the years, Barry has flown cowboys to rodeos, has done some mercy flights, has flown the family to many family events, school events, and livestock events, and has flown to Bible Camp many times. And he loved flying to visit his kids back when they were living in Tennessee, Arkansas, Utah, and Iowa. He’s said many times, “I never fly for pleasure, but it’s always a pleasure to fly.”
In the last few years, Barry was seldom seen without his loyal cowdog, “Hoots,” by his side, whether on a 4-wheeler, in the pickup, tractor, or airplane, or working cattle. He really liked watching her work. Barry took her to Bible Camp, which the kids at camp absolutely loved. She was also a favorite greeter of the After-School Bible Hour kids on Wednesdays, which Barry was a big part of.
Barry’s spiritual life was the most important thing of all to him. He was baptized into Christ in 1973 and had devoted his life to living for Jesus. He always got up early in the morning and studied his Bible, taught Bible classes for many years, preached a few sermons, and spent many hours talking “Bible” with his Christian brothers, which he loved to do. He even hosted some early-morning Bible studies out in his hangar for a time. Barry was an active member of the Church of Christ and has served as an elder for his church family for over 20 years. He would want to be known not as a “Christian rancher" but rather as a “ranching Christian.”
Barry always said, “We’re just passing through.” Barry died in an airplane accident on his ranch on Thursday, March 16, 2017, doing what he loved to do, with his cowdog right beside him.
Preceding Barry in death are his parents, Wayne in 2002, and Carole in 1980; sisters, Susan Vig in 1968, Lorie Parker in 1995, and Mona Reichert in 2015.
Survivors include his wife, Cheryl of Opal; children, Georgia and her husband, Steve Dale, of Rapid City, Justin and his wife, Mellissa, of Opal, Marti Jo and her husband, Bucky Derflinger of Opal, and Ryan of Opal; grandchildren, Joe Dale, Jeremy Dale, Jami Derflinger, Blake Vig, and Skylar Vig; brothers, Marty Vig of Opal, Andrew (Jacquee) Vig of Rapid City, and Morris Vig of Rapid City; sister, Lisa Loveridge of Box Elder; brother-in-law, Dan (Vanessa) Hight of White River; along with many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Memorials have been established to the Dakota Christian Bible Camp and the Opal Fire Department.
Funeral services will be held Monday, March 27, 2017, at 1:30 p.m. at the Faith Community Center. Burial will follow at the Opal Cemetery.
OPAL | A Meade County man died in a plane crash near his home early Friday morning.
Officials confirmed Friday afternoon that the victim was Barry Vig, a 67-year-old Opal man. Friends said the man, a longtime pilot, ranched about 14 miles east of Opal and had a landing strip at the ranch.
"They expected him home at a certain time and he wasn't," said Kay Ingalls of Opal. "I got a call about 2 a.m. from the prayer chain asking for prayers."
A release from the Meade County Sheriff's Office said Vig was piloting the airplane and was the only person on board. The plane crashed on Vig's property, according to the release.
Lt. Col Bruce Kipp, director of public affairs for the South Dakota Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, confirmed that the CAP had been called out to search for the plane.
Opal is an unincorporated community in Meade County, about 96 miles northeast of Rapid City. Kipp said the plane was en route from Rapid City to Faith, about 30 miles east of Opal, when the crash happened. The landscape around Opal includes large swathes of rolling grass and farm land dotted with small ranches.
Source: http://rapidcityjournal.com
OPAL | A Meade County man died in a plane crash near his home early Friday morning.
Officials are not releasing the name of the individual, but friends said the man, a longtime pilot, ranched about 14 miles east of Opal and had a landing strip at the ranch.
"They expected him home at a certain time and he wasn't," said Kay Ingalls of Opal. "I got a call about 2 a.m. from the prayer chain asking for prayers."
Lt. Col Bruce Kipp, director of public affairs for the South Dakota Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, confirmed that the CAP had been called out to search for the plane.
Kipp said the plane was en route from Rapid City to Faith when the crash happened.
"We picked up the beacon and spotted the wreckage near Opal," he said. "We guided the Meade County Sheriff's deputies ground team to the site where they recovered the body of the pilot."
Source: http://rapidcityjournal.com
OPAL, SD (KOTA) Around 5:30 p.m. Thursday a Cessna 210 crashed south east of Opal, South Dakota, in Meade County.
There was only one person on-board at the time of the crash, who did not survive.
According to the Civil Air Patrol the plane was flying from Rapid City to Faith when it went missing. Around 3 a.m. Friday the plane was discovered.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.
Story and video: http://www.kotatv.com
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