Additional Participating Entities:
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Textron Aviation; Wichita, Kansas
Continental Motors; Mobile, Alabama
Aviation Accident Preliminary Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
https://registry.faa.gov/N10789
Location: Pacoima, CA
Accident Number: WPR18FA249
Date & Time: 09/03/2018, 1710 PDT
Registration: N10789
Aircraft: Cessna 150L
Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Serious
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Instructional
On September 3, 2018, about 1710 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 150L airplane, N10789, impacted terrain shortly after take off from the Whiteman Airport (WHP), Los Angeles, California. The certified flight instructor was fatally injured, and the passenger was seriously injured; the airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to N10789 LLC and was operated by Rotor F/X as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 local instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed.
Witnesses reported that they observed the airplane climbing very slowly with the engine making a popping noise. The airplane appeared to "stop" before it made a sharp descending left turn. The airplane spun once before it impacted the roof of a building followed by the pavement below.
The airplane has been recovered to a secure location for further examination.
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Make: Cessna
Registration: N10789
Model/Series: 150L
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: No
Operator: Rotor F/X
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: VNY, 802 ft msl
Observation Time: 1651 PDT
Distance from Accident Site: 6 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 28°C / 17°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 9 knots / 16 knots, 140°
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility: 10 Miles
Altimeter Setting: 29.81 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Departure Point: Los Angeles, CA (WHP)
Destination: Los Angeles, CA (WHP)
Wreckage and Impact Information
Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 1 Serious
Aircraft Fire: On-Ground
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Serious
Latitude, Longitude: 34.257222, -118.408889 (est)
Those who may have information that might be relevant to the National Transportation Safety Board investigation may contact them by email eyewitnessreport@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov.
The pilot was killed and his passenger, a boy, was critically hurt when a small plane crashed in Pacoima Monday on take-off from Whiteman Airport.
The plane came down just east of the main runway, and inside an adjacent facility of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Personnel ran to the scene, extinguishing the fire that erupted, and pulling the two inside from the wreckage, according to fire officials.
Moments after rising up from the runway, the Cessna 150, a two-seater, experienced an unknown problem that was reported to the tower over the radio. On its descent, the plane clipped a building, and flipped onto its back, according to Amy Bastman of the Los Angeles City Fire Department.
Both victims were transported to trauma centers. The pilot did not survive. Late Tuesday, the coroner's office was attempting to notify next of kin of the pilot, and was withholding the name of the man in his sixties.
There was no further update on the condition of the 12-year-old victim, Bastman said.
No one on the ground was hurt.
The crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration and Whiteman Airport. Tuesday investigators could be seen examining the wreckage.
Witnesses reported hearing no engine sound as the aircraft plummeted to the ground.
The county facility is not a fire station per se, but a storage area and home of such special operations as Urban Search and Rescue and Heavy Equipment, which runs the bulldozers used to create breaks, fight wildfires, and respond to flood and debris flow emergencies.
The Heavy Equipment team on duty Monday evening was enjoying a Labor Day dinner with family members when the aircraft came down. They were outside, and some were startled to see the plane suddenly start to descend.
"It seemed like it had climbed, stalled, and then it veered to the left, and then did a corkscrew spin down into the top of the roof of our weightroom, and then proceeded to land upside down on the concrete, said Mike Roldan, a civilian transportation driver for county fire.
He and other members of the heavy equipment team grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran the some 150 yards to where the wreckage came down, and caught fire. The extingisher was enough to put it out.
Both occupants were pinned inside the wreckage, and the safety harnesses would not unbuckle. Roldan used a pocketknife to cut the seatbelt so the boy could be freed. Others, including Justin Hall, extricated the boy from the crushed cabin.
"We let him know the ambulance was on the way, and tried to keep him calm, let him know he was going to be ok," said Hall, a senior fire supression aide.
"Very emotional," said Don DaMann, a senior heavy equipment operator. "The guys that were here acted as quickly and professionally as they did. And I really think that's what helped save that boy."
Story and video ➤ https://www.nbclosangeles.com
A man died and a boy was injured after a single-engine plane crashed at Whiteman Airport in Pacoima on Monday afternoon, officials said.
The crash happened about 5:09 p.m. at the facility located at 12653 Osborne St., according to an alert from the Los Angeles Fire Department.
As the Cessna 150L was taking off from the airport, it experienced an unknown problem, and an emergency was declared over the radio, Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said. The aircraft then struck a building and landed upside down, the statement read.
Firefighters were able to extricate both victims who were on board. They were later identified by officials as a 12-year-old boy and a 60-year-old man.
Previously, the Fire Department identified the younger victim as being 13 years old. That may have been the case because a bulldozer crew said he was apparently celebrating his birthday on Monday.
The boy's father, who purchased the flying lesson as a birthday gift for his son, was at the airport and witnessed the crash, according to the crew.
The man—a flight instructor—suffered cardiac arrest and was given CPR before he and the boy were taken to nearby trauma centers, officials said.
The man was in grave condition but later died, a Fire Department spokesperson said. The juvenile was last listed in critical condition, according to the alert.
The Cessna crashed about a half-mile from the departure end of the runway, said Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
A small fire erupted following the crash, Scott said. The airport houses L.A. County Fire Department equipment and personnel, who also witnessed the crash and were able to quickly extinguish the flames in the engine compartment and render aid, he added.
As soon as the plane took off, it appeared to have some sort of mechanical problem, the fire captain stated. Personnel from the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the incident, Gregor said.
The plane was registered in Sheridan, Wyoming, according to FAA records. However, KTLA's Tim Lynn confirmed that the aircraft was based at Whiteman Airport.
Story and video ➤ https://ktla.com
The accident docket on this one is very telling. From the analysis of the onboard gopro video, after the engine died due to fuel exhaustion:
ReplyDeleteThe aircraft continued in approximately a +15 to +20 degree left bank. The pitch attitude was still nose high, at least +10 degrees (read from the artificial horizon). Airspeed began showing a decreasing trend from around 60 mph until under 40 mph during the portion of the left turn in which the aircraft was in controlled flight. As the accident aircraft continued in the left bank, the turn and slip showed the ball was almost full deflection right (skid condition). The instructor pilot’s control input showed a roll right command throughout the left bank. The position of the control yoke became more aft as the accident aircraft continued through the left bank. The airspeed indicator showed a decreasing airspeed trend.
Throughout the left bank, the engine RPM gauge read no less than 2000 RPM.
The engine RPM gauge appeared steady and did not fluctuate. The airspeed
indicator continued to show a decreasing airspeed trend.
Around 10:23, the accident aircraft departed controlled flight and rapidly entered a spin to the left. The position of the yoke just after spin entry was full aft (nose up) and nearly full right (right roll command). The airspeed indicator showed less than 40 mph. The turn slip indicator showed the ball full right (skid condition), the altimeter read about 1050 MSL (50 feet AGL), the airspeed read slightly less than 40 mph. The engine RPM gauge read about 2100 RPM. Just prior to spin entry the artificial horizon showed the aircraft was in approximately a 15 to 20 degree left bank and a +10 degree nose up pitch.
Within the next second, the aircraft became nose down and almost vertical to the ground. The instructor pilot lessened the amount of right roll input, however, the yoke was still slightly right (right roll command). The aircraft continued into a left spin, the ground began filling the windscreen. The instructor pilot was leaning hard right and aft as the ground rushed in the windscreen. The yoke was aft (pitch up command).
By 10:25, the accident aircraft had completed about ½ turn of a left spin. The instructor pilot had neutralized the right roll command, but pitch command still appeared aft (nose up). The roof of a one-story hangar structure was visible and filled most of the windscreen. It was not possible to determine because of the camera’s field of view if any rudder inputs were being made by the instructor pilot.
The aircraft had completed about 270 degrees of a full turn of the left spin when impact occurred around 10:27. The nose of the accident aircraft struck the ground immediately adjacent to the hangar structure. The aircraft’s pitch at impact was vertical (nose down). The position of the yoke in the final moment was aft (pitch up command) and slightly left (left roll command). The airspeed indicator read approximately 40 mph. The camera broke off of its mount and the recording ended at 10:28.
So basically, the CFI put the plane into a skidding shallow turn, holding right aileron, left rudder, and started pulling full back as airspeed decreased in the turn, essentially the perfect recipe for a spin. And then once it did spin left, he kept right aileron and back elevator (guaranteeing the spin continued) until it hit the ground. Very sad and preventable loss of life here.