Saturday, April 20, 2019

Van's RV-8A, N791PF: Fatal accident occurred April 18, 2019 near Brookings Airport (KBOK), Curry County, Oregon

The National Transportation Safety Board traveled to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Hillsboro, Oregon

Aviation Accident Preliminary Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

https://registry.faa.gov/N791PF

Location: Brookings, OR
Accident Number: WPR19FA116
Date & Time: 04/18/2019, 1615 PDT
Registration: N791PF
Aircraft: Vans RV8
Injuries: 2 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal 

On April 18, 2019, about 1615 Pacific daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built Vans Aircraft RV8A, N791PF, was substantially damaged following an inflight loss of control and subsequent impact with terrain about one-half nautical miles (nm) northwest of Brookings Airport (BOK), Brookings, Oregon. The commercial pilot and his sole passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provision of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight that originated at Grants Pass Airport, Grants Pass, Oregon. The time of departure has not been determined at this time.

A witness who was driving down the west side of the field at BOK and parallel to runway 30/12, reported that he watched the airplane make a touch-and-go landing, which was not unusually hard or out of control; the sound of the engine was normal and smooth. The airplane then passed about 300 [to his left] before going out of site. At that time, he did not recall the N number, but was informed later that it was N791PF.

A second witness, who was positioned in a lumber yard about 1 nm northwest of BOK, reported that he observed the airplane inflight about 500 to 800 ft above the ground and heading north. He then observed the airplane make a turn back to the south, maintaining the same altitude, but could not remember which way it turned. Shortly thereafter, the airplane reversed course again to the north, which was then followed by the airplane rolling over on its right side, from which the airplane's belly/undercarriage was visible to the witness. At that point the airplane nosed over and descended straight down before going out of sight in a bush and tree-covered ravine.

An onsite examination the following morning by a Federal Aviation Administration aviation safety inspector, revealed that the airplane had impacted terrain in a "near vertical attitude", and came to rest in the ravine in an upright and nose-down attitude. There was no postcrash fire. The airplane will be recovered to a secured location for further examination.

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: Vans
Registration: N791PF
Model/Series: RV8 A
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: Yes
Operator: Penticoff James F
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None 

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: BOK, 462 ft msl
Observation Time: 1556 PDT
Distance from Accident Site: 1 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 19°C / 12°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 7 knots / , 150°
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility:  10 Miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.09 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Departure Point: Bandon, OR (S05)
Destination: Brookings, OR (BOK)

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 2 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude: 42.083889, -124.301667


BROOKINGS, Oregon (KIEM) – We have new information on the fatal plane crash in Southern Oregon that killed two Del Norte County residents. The Curry County Sheriff’s Office has released the names of the victims as the investigation continues into the cause of the crash.

Last Thursday afternoon, Cape Ferrelo Fire Chief Aaron Johnson and his crew got the call of a small plane crash north of the Brookings airport.

“When that happens, adrenaline immediately kicks in, then followed by worry and stress. Your emotions begin the second you get your page,” said Cape Ferrelo Fire Chief Aaron Johnson.

When Johnson was responding to the plane crash, he didn’t know what to expect.

“We go out looking. That’s the initial stages, you start looking first. And then once upon location, we found the plane. We worked our way down through the brush to it, and begin doing what we do best,” said Johnson.

The two men in the Vans RV8 plane that crashed are identified as 71-year-old James Penticoff of Crescent City and 62-year-old Charles Kresa of Smith River. 

With the help of two helicopters from Cal-Ore, it took 30 minutes to find the crash site. That’s where Johnson found the plane and the two victims.

“It was a plane crash. I’m not going to get into any detail on that. It was a plane crash, so you can imagine it was a mess,” said Johnson.

The crash site is on private property, so our cameras were not allowed past this gate. When Johnson responded to the call, he told us a victim’s cell phone was ringing. That was an emotional ride for him.

“I mean you go from adrenaline, down to complete exhaustion. And then you have to rebuild and recoup yourself mentally and physically. So your mind is melted, your body’s melted, and then you have to go forward and keep going, another day,” said Johnson.

Monday afternoon, a helicopter lifted the plane out of the area where it crashed. The small aircraft was loaded on a trailer and taken to be examined by the NTSB.

The NTSB and FAA have been on site since Friday investigating the incident. According to the NTSB, it could take nine months to a year to find the cause of the crash.

Original article can be found here ➤ https://kiem-tv.com




The two men killed in a plane crash April 18 about a mile from the Brookings airport have been identified as pilot 71-year-old James Penticoff of Crescent City and 62-year-old Charles Kresa of Smith River.

Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTBS) and Federal Aviation Administration arrived Saturday to investigate the wreckage in a ravine off Henderson Road.

On Monday, Croman Aircraft of Medford arrived with a helicopter to lift the wreckage from the area. The cause of the crash is unknown and will likely take about nine months to a year to determine, NTSB senior crash investigator Tom Little said.

The incident occurred at about 4:15 p.m. last Thursday when the sheriff’s office received a call from the Brookings Police Department, which had received a few phone calls about a possible airplane crash.

A resident on La Moss Road reported hearing a boom and others reportedly saw a plane in the are behaving abnormally.

The Van's RV-8A based out of Grants Pass,is believed to have nosedived into a gully northeast of Brookings. It is not yet known at what altitude it was flying.

“The airplane was sitting upright, nose down and flopped back on its tail on a 20- to 30-degree incline,” Little said Monday. “The airplane was basically intact.”

The removal crew were hoping to take the plane in one piece, then trailer it to Dallas, Oregon, where the investigation will begin, Little said.

“They’ll lay it out, go through the engine and the airframe and look at everything,” he said. “We’ll see if we can find any silver bullet, any smoking gun, anything like that.”

The impact, which likely killed both men instantly, did not start a fire, which may or may not lead investigators to conclude the craft had run out of fuel.

Crews on the ground, including those from fire, law enforcement and search and rescue, combed the forest service and private roads in the area Thursday until one of the two helicopters in the air spotted the wreckage.

Both Penticoff, the owner of the plane, and Kresa were found deceased and carried from the area, Sheriff John Ward reported.

Original article can be found here ➤ https://www.triplicate.com



CURRY COUNTY, Oregon — Two people died in a plane crash on Thursday, April 18th, near the Brookings Airport and Henderson Road. The plane involved was a Vans RV8, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

On Monday, the Curry County Sheriff John Ward released the identities of the two men involved in the crash. They are James Penticoff, 71, of Crescent City, California and Charles Kresa, 62, of Smith River, California. Penticoff has been identified as the pilot of the plane, and Kresa as his passenger.

Earlier today, a helicopter was used to lift the wreckage of the plane out of the area where it had crashed. The Vans RV8 plane was loaded onto a trailer, and according to the Curry County Sheriff's Office, will be taken and examined by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The cause of the crash is still unknown, according to the NTSB. It may take anywhere from nine months to a year to determine the cause.

The NTSB and FAA are still in charge of the investigation.

Original article can be found here ➤ https://kpic.com




CURRY COUNTY, Oregon — Two people died in a plane crash on Thursday, April 18, near the Brookings Airport and Henderson Road. The plane involved was a Vans RV8, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

On Monday, Curry County Sheriff John Ward released the identities of the two men involved in the crash. They are James Penticoff, 71, of Crescent City, California, and Charles Kresa, 62, of Smith River, California. Penticoff has been identified as the pilot of the plane, and Kresa as his passenger.

Early Monday, a helicopter was used to lift the wreckage of the plane out of the area where it had crashed. The Van's RV8 plane was loaded onto a trailer, and according to the Curry County Sheriff's Office, will be taken and examined by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The cause of the crash is still unknown, according to the NTSB. It may take anywhere from nine months to a year to determine the cause.

The NTSB and FAA are still in charge of the investigation.

Original article can be found here ➤ https://krcrtv.com

1 comment:

  1. I am based at the Grants Pass Airport (3S8) and recently flew twice to the South, Van Nays and Compton California.
    Knowing that FUEL management is extremely important especially for those long cross country flights, it came to my attention that I was shortchanged twice by the fuel pump while gassing up in Grants Pass to a full capacity.
    Based on history more than one airplane that got gas at the same pump have emergency landings because they run out of gas. One of them, a student endorsed to fly SOLO on his Cessna 150, he landed on a field close to the airport.
    The other one was lucky that his airplane run out of gas while flying the pattern along with another pilot/instructor and managed the emergency by landing on the runway, however, losing control by the engine being out and damaged the right wing tip of the Experimental Kit Fox.
    Most recently however, on April 18, 2019, as listed above, another airplane that took off from Grants Pass to Bandon (S05) and then to Brookings (BOK) and perhaps back to Grants Pass along with a friend on the Experimental RV8, unfortunate crash landed killing my friend and his passenger.
    Although there is no record that he top-off his tanks that particular day (Thursday, April 18, 2019) in Grants Pass nor at Bandon, it appears that he may considered that previously he put so many gallons when in actuality got charged for gallons, but SHORT gallons instead.
    Upon my return from my last two cross country flights to California I started to check gallons dispensed versus dollars and, it did not equate at all.
    So I got myself a FUEL FLOW that reads up-to THREE decimals of a gallon and purchased in different days gas on a 1 gallon and 2 gallons containers and, by no surprise most of the readings are under a gallon.
    Here are a few readings from those gallon being the majority under gallon: 0.865; 0.927; 0.736; 1.105; 0.832; 1.038; 0.824; 1.092; 0.798; 0.942, 0.893; 0.815; 1.043; 0.901; 1.006; and a few more. I should note that I have considered weather as a factor, however, it is too much shortage.
    As a result I am putting those numbers in a report advising the Airport Manager to look into that dangerous issue suggesting to get himself a few 1/2/3/5 gallon containers and to try, of course the receipt will be showing gallons and charge for those listed gallons, however, that don't mean that you got the amount of fuel listed on the face of the receipt(s).
    Therefore on the Brookings accident the pilot may end up gassing up in Grants Pass, NOT THAT DAY according with records, but days before his FATAL crash thinking that he previously gas up so many gallons listed on his receipt when in actuality he took off under the impression that he got enough gas for his round trip flights.
    For my own safety I am now extremely careful gassing up at that pump although I keep a tight accountability of fuel management that I cross referenced with a Digital Fuel Flow as well as with the Fuel Gages and more so, by checking the true gallons onboard with a stick probe designed for the equipped factory Patrol Tanks on the Cessna 152 that holds 39 gallons versus 26 for a typical Cessna 149/150/152.

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