Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Sacramento, California
Aviation Accident Preliminary Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
https://registry.faa.gov/N24YD
Location: Sacramento, CA
Accident Number: WPR19LA054
Date & Time: 01/02/2019, 1130 PST
Registration: N24YD
Aircraft: Progressive Aerodyne SEAREY
Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Minor
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal
On January 2, 2019, about 1130 Pacific standard time, an experimental Searey amphibian airplane, N24YD, nosed down and partially submerged during landing on the American River near Sacramento, California. The private pilot received minor injuries and the passenger succumbed from injuries 14 days after the accident. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provision of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from the Napa County Airport (APC), Napa, California, about 1050 and was destined for the Sacramento area.
The pilot reported that after departure another airplane distracted his attention and he forgot to retract the landing gear. It was not until the airplane was just about to touch down on the river, that he realized that the landing gear was still extended. When the airplane touched down, it immediately nosed down and partially submerged.
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Make: Progressive Aerodyne
Registration: N24YD
Model/Series: SEAREY No Series
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: Yes
Operator: On file
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: SMF
Observation Time: 1153 PST
Distance from Accident Site:
Temperature/Dew Point: 8°C / 3°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 3 knots / , 180°
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility: 10 Miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.27 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Departure Point: Napa, CA (APC)
Destination: Sacramento, CA
Wreckage and Impact Information
Crew Injuries: 1 Minor
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Minor
Latitude, Longitude: 38.600833, -121.503333 (est)
Candace Marshall
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Candace Marshall, the woman who was a passenger in a seaplane that crashed into the American River on January 2nd, has died.
Marshall was flying in a Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey with pilot Keith Hezmalhalch when the plane crash-landed into the American River, leaving Marshall submerged in the river for an unknown amount of time.
Hezmalhalch managed to pull himself out of the plane with an abrasion on his head but walked away from the incident okay. He said in an interview with CBS13 after the crash that he thinks his plane crashed because its wheels were down for the planned water landing.
“Looked like one of my best water landings ever,” Hezmalhalch said. “Such a beautiful day, and then suddenly it wasn’t.”
Hezmalhalch fears the wheels were down because of his own pilot error.
“I feel a sense of failure, a sense of guilt, over not being the kind of pilot that we all are supposed to be,” Hezmalhalch said.
After finally making it above water, he dove down again and again to free his passenger, Marshall, who was now unconscious and still strapped in her seat.
“I can tell you, it looks just like it does in the movies,” Hezmalhalch said. “It was bad.”
Finally freeing her on his fourth dive, he performed CPR until first-responders arrived.
According to a Facebook page detailing Marshall’s medical journey in the hospital, she passed away two weeks after the crash on January 17th.
Original article can be found here ➤ https://sacramento.cbslocal.com
Marshall was flying in a Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey with pilot Keith Hezmalhalch when the plane crash-landed into the American River, leaving Marshall submerged in the river for an unknown amount of time.
Hezmalhalch managed to pull himself out of the plane with an abrasion on his head but walked away from the incident okay. He said in an interview with CBS13 after the crash that he thinks his plane crashed because its wheels were down for the planned water landing.
“Looked like one of my best water landings ever,” Hezmalhalch said. “Such a beautiful day, and then suddenly it wasn’t.”
Hezmalhalch fears the wheels were down because of his own pilot error.
“I feel a sense of failure, a sense of guilt, over not being the kind of pilot that we all are supposed to be,” Hezmalhalch said.
After finally making it above water, he dove down again and again to free his passenger, Marshall, who was now unconscious and still strapped in her seat.
“I can tell you, it looks just like it does in the movies,” Hezmalhalch said. “It was bad.”
Finally freeing her on his fourth dive, he performed CPR until first-responders arrived.
According to a Facebook page detailing Marshall’s medical journey in the hospital, she passed away two weeks after the crash on January 17th.
Keith Hezmalhalch
SACRAMENTO -- The pilot of the seaplane that crashed into the American River on Wednesday says he still beats himself up over his error in not checking to see if his landing gear was up before an attempted water landing.
Keith Hezmalhalch, a onetime Sacramento resident, flew out of Napa for what was to be a short boating trip up the river, but the plane hit hard.
His passenger, longtime friend Candy Huffman is still in critical condition at the UC Davis Medical Center and remains unconscious.
Hezmalhalch dove into the shallow water four times before he could release Huffman from her seatbelt. He performed CPR until rescuers arrived.
Hezmalhalch credited homeless people on the river for calling 9-1-1 almost immediately after the crash and for getting emergency responders to the scene quickly.
It was a traumatic experience for him because he feels he's responsible for placing his friend's life in danger.
"She's not out of the woods, so any prayers anybody can bring are so need...that's all that matters to me," said Hezmalhalch.
Huffman's family has set up a GoFundMe account to help with expenses.
Original article can be found here ➤ https://fox40.com
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The pilot of the Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey plane who crash-landed into the American River Wednesday is speaking out about the moment of impact and the struggle to escape the submerged plane alive.
Pilot Keith Hezmalhalch still has a bloody forehead from the crash.
“It’s an abrasion from where my head… and my hat was still on… was forced into the windscreen on the airplane,” Hezmalhalch said.
Hezmalhalch says he is okay.
“Physically, I am fine,” Hezmalhalch said.
Hezmalhalch believes his seaplane crashed because its wheels were down for the planned water landing.
“Looked like one of my best water landings ever,” Hezmalhalch said. “Such a beautiful day, and then suddenly it wasn’t.”
Hezmalhalch fears the wheels were down because of his own pilot error.
“I feel a sense of failure, a sense of guilt, over not being the kind of pilot that we all are supposed to be,” Hezmalhalch said.
Hezmalhalch recounted the terrifying first moments under water. His self-inflated life vest, intended to save him, had instead trapped him and pushed him into the back of the plane, a dark cargo area.
“I was frantic to try and figure out what was going on because I was very aware that I was holding my breath and the air was 5 or 6 feet above me,” Hezmalhalch said.
After finally making it above water, he dove down again and again to free his passenger, who was now unconscious and still strapped in her seat.
“I can tell you, it looks just like it does in the movies,” Hezmalhalch said. “It was bad.”
Finally freeing her on his fourth dive, he performed CPR until first-responders arrived. She is still in critical condition.
A crash landing, and a harrowing underwater escape. Now this pilot, with his love for flying, is focused on his passenger making a complete recovery.
“It all seemed so simple until it didn’t go that way at all,” Hezmalhalch said.
Hezmalhalch credits the homeless camped along the American River who watched his plane go down for calling 9-1-1. He says if first-responders had not arrived so quickly, his passenger may not have initially survived.
New details emerged Thursday about the plane crash on the American River near Discovery Park, amid an investigation complicated by the federal government shutdown.
The crash was a failed water landing in a Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey, Sacramento County authorities said.
Sacramento County Deputy Director of Parks Liz Bellas said Thursday that according to a direct pilot statement, one of the wheels of the plane failed to retract upon landing.
“So when the wheels hit the water, it caused the plane to tumble,” Bellas said.
The crash injured the plane’s two occupants, the male pilot and a woman. Both were transported to UC Davis Medical Center, and the man suffered non-serious injuries while the woman was listed in critical condition Wednesday. Sacramento Fire Department spokesman Capt. Keith Wade said no update on the woman’s status was available Thursday morning.
Sacramento County’s Regional Parks Department was charged with the early investigation and evidence-gathering phases after the plane crashed, even though that stretch of the American River falls under state jurisdiction.
As Bellas explained, response to a major incident like a plane crash into the river would typically be handled by the Coast Guard. But the ongoing federal government shutdown means that both the Coast Guard and the investigating National Transportation Safety Board are unavailable.
“We do not frequently have plane crashes into the river, so it is outside of the norm most definitely,” Bellas said. “We wanted to make sure that we did our best to document the incident so we could forward the information to what would typically be a responding agency.”
Bellas said authorities believe the man piloting the plane was its registered owner.
Federal Aviation Administration registry information available online shows the Progressive Aerodyne Inc SeaRey, with a certificate issued in April 2015 to Keith Hezmalhalch. According to public Facebook posts by Hezmalhalch, the Sacramento-born man has worked in aerial photography and for a local TV news station.
According to a 2017 Facebook post, Hezmalhalch nicknamed his SeaRey “’lil stinker.” It is emblazoned with insignias of the U.S. Air Service, the post-World War I-era precursor to the Air Force that operated from 1918 to 1926. The SeaRey, though, was manufactured in 2007, and is classified as an “experimental” craft.
The plane crashed into the water less than a half-mile from the Interstate 5 crossing and nearby Jibboom Street Bridge.
Dozens of personnel, including park rangers, firefighters, Drowning Accident Rescue Team (DART), county Office of Emergency Services and private contractors, worked for about three hours Wednesday afternoon to drain the amphibious plane of most of its oil and tow it to shore.
Visible amounts of oil spilled into the river, but Wade said it was contained and cleaned up by hazardous materials teams.
Fire crews were tasked with mitigating the incident and the danger it presents, but getting the plane out of the water is not technically their responsibility, Wade explained.
Once the plane was towed closer to shore, private salvage workers using a winch in a Ford F-350 truck hauled the from the sand to a boat launch under the Jibboom Street Bridge, with some help from emergency personnel.
“Once the hazmat was dealt with, removal of the plane doesn’t really fall under the purview of the Fire Department,” Wade said. “We just assisted to be a good custodian to the community.”
The NTSB says on its website it is still accepting submitted accident reports, but it does not specify when they would be received. NTSB’s day-to-day operations and information notices are limited due to the government shutdown. Investigations can take anywhere from six weeks to more than two years to complete depending on complexity, according to the website.
Wade said the Fire Department has sent its incident reported to the NTSB and the FAA.
Bellas said except for the immediate area during the recovery of the aircraft, no part of the river or Discovery Park was closed by the incident.
Bellas encouraged anyone who may have witnessed the crash to call the parks’ department’s main line at 916-875-6961 and to ask to speak with Sgt. Nelson.
Original article can be found here ➤ https://www.sacbee.com
Prepare for a healthy lawsuit from the family sir. Smh.
ReplyDelete