Saturday, June 08, 2019

Beech 35 Bonanza, N602BH: Accident occurred June 08, 2019 near Rogue Valley International - Medford Airport (KMFR), Jackson County, Oregon

Matthew Thompson and Zachary Moore were both arrested June 8th on marijuana-related charges.


The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel 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/N602BH

Location: Medford, OR
Accident Number: WPR19TA162
Date & Time: 06/08/2019, 1400 PDT
Registration: N602BH
Aircraft: Beech 35
Injuries: 2 Minor
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal 

On June 8, 2019, about 1400 Pacific daylight time, a Beech 35 airplane, N602BH, struck a tree during an emergency landing at the Rogue Valley International Airport (MFR), Medford, Oregon. The private pilot and his passenger received minor injuries. The airplane received substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The airplane was pending registration and operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions were reported about the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from MFR about 1330 and was destined for Boise, Idaho.

According to the passenger, after departing MFR the pilot began having engine trouble and decided to return to MFR. During the return portion of the flight, the pilot had to hand pump the auxiliary (wobble) fuel pump to keep the engine running. The airplane descended onto a street in a residential neighborhood about 1 mile from runway 32, striking a tree, then came to rest upright against the tree. The airplane was recovered to a secure location for further examination.

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: Beech
Registration: N602BH
Model/Series: 35 Undesignated
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: No
Operator: On file
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site:
Condition of Light:
Observation Facility, Elevation: KMFR, 1329 ft msl
Observation Time:
Distance from Accident Site: 2 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point:
Lowest Cloud Condition:
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction:
Lowest Ceiling:
Visibility:
Altimeter Setting:
Type of Flight Plan Filed:
Departure Point:
Destination:

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Minor
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 1 Minor
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 2 Minor
Latitude, Longitude: 42.351667, -122.860556 (est)



Two weeks after a small plane crashed on the front lawn of a Medford home, details about who owned the aircraft are still unclear.

Mathew William Thompson, 38, and Zachary Wayne Moore, 34, both of Boise, Idaho, were arrested by the Illegal Marijuana Enforcement Team after the June 8 crash in the 2300 block of Whittle Avenue. The men face charges of unlawful import/export of marijuana extract, unlawful delivery of marijuana extract, unlawful possession of marijuana extract, unlawful possession of a controlled substance and recklessly endangering another person.

Details of the arrest have been sealed in Jackson County Circuit Court records, and the National Transportation Safety Board has yet to release a preliminary report about the crash.

NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said Thursday that a preliminary report “is expected shortly,” but he did not provide a time frame.

In the year leading up to the crash, at least three parties tried to claim ownership of the 1947 Beechcraft 35 Bonanza — with none insuring it.

Lamon Loucks of Marsing, Idaho, was the last individual to hold the plane’s disputed title, but he first learned his plane was involved in the Medford crash when a reporter from KBOI-TV in Boise connected the plane’s lapsed registration to Loucks’ address.

“I thought it was parked at the Caldwell airport,” Loucks told the station in a June 10 phone interview in which he denied any liability or knowledge that the plane was being used. A call to Caldwell police was not returned.

Loucks’ lawyer, David Leroy, told KBOI-TV last week that his client reported the plane stolen June 11.

The disputed liability was a point of frustration for homeowner Michael Gibson, who voiced his frustration to a videographer the day after the crash.

“I have to have insurance on my car or I’m in trouble with police, but you can fly an aircraft from the airport with no insurance,” Gibson said June 9. “How is that even possible?”

In a June 13 report from KTVL in Medford, FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the FAA requires air carriers to maintain “economic authority” — issued through the U.S. Department of Transportation and usually demonstrated with proof of insurance.

“But for a private individual, we don’t have a regulation that requires insurance,” Kenitzer told the news station.

The pilot in the crash, Thompson, knew the plane’s owner.

Loucks told TV reporters in Boise he’d agreed with Thompson on a price of $20,000 for the plane, and a $10,000 down payment had been paid.

“I was waiting for the last half of the payment. I think it’s crazy, absolutely crazy,” Loucks said.

“He was recently visited by the Department of Homeland Security to get his version of what was going on with this particular plane,” Leroy said of Loucks. “Those agents assured him that he was not a suspect. They ... had been following the movements of this plane for the last several weeks.”

Leroy said the plane is “of uncertain title” — and was twice used as loan collateral before it made it into his client’s hands.

The Beechcraft was one of two aircraft that previous owner Nathan Ward Pyles used as collateral on an $80,000 loan to Pyles’ now-bankrupt building business, Shiloh Management Services of Boise. Records show that Leroy also represents Pyles in a since-dismissed criminal case surrounding the Shiloh’s bankruptcy.

“I had a client who took title to the plane when the prior owner of the plane defaulted on a loan that my client had made to the original owner,” Leroy said of Pyles. “However, that original owner got tied up in a bankruptcy proceeding, so instead of my client getting clear title, the trustee of the bankruptcy proceeding made a claim against the aircraft as well.”

Leroy also represents Pyles in a still-pending lawsuit filed by the Securities Bureau of the Idaho Attorney General’s Office Department of Finance in Ada County, Idaho, according to Idaho court records. According to an article in the Idaho Statesman, state authorities alleged that Pyles through his business, Shiloh, engaged in a Ponzi scheme that used money from new investors to pay old investors, along with engaging in “affinity fraud.”

“Pyles lulled some of his investors into a false sense of security by holding himself out as a religious man,” according to a court document filed Oct. 25.

According to documents filed last year in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Idaho, a lawyer representing Shiloh bankruptcy trustee Noah Hillen sought to seize the 1947 Beechcraft from Loucks and Thompson by citing the plane’s improper registration. The complaint filed April 19, 2018, also mentions a 1964 Cessna 210 Centurion Loucks seized as collateral after Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings began.

“As titled vessels, any security interest in the Beechcraft or Cessna must be registered with the Federal Aviation Administration,” Hillen’s complaint says, adding that “Loucks never registered his security interest in the Beechcraft or Cessna.”

The Beechcraft’s FAA registration showed that registration had expired May 4.

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




MARSING, Idaho (CBS 2) — We've uncovered new information about a weekend plane crash in Medford, Oregon that's resulted in a federal drug smuggling investigation.

The owner of the plane is a Marsing realtor who says he had no idea where his plane was...until we told him.

Video from our sister station in Medford showed the plane's tail number.

We checked with the FAA registry which took us to a Marsing address and then we found the apparent owner was away from our area in Nevada where he too saw the video on TV. (We were given his cell phone number by a family member).

Lamon Loucks says he wasn't sure where his plane was until we told him about the crash and that authorities now believe it was being used in a marijuana trafficking operation.

The single engine 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza crashed into a tree in Medford Oregon Saturday.

Nobody on the ground was hurt and the planes' two occupants had only minor injuries.

"And I thought that looks a lot like my airplane but never thought about it," said Loucks. "I figured my plane was parked in Caldwell, I figured it can't be crashed out somewhere else. Then when I got your message that was the first I heard about it."

The plane's two occupants Zachary Moore and Matthew Thompson, both of Boise, now face felony charges of exporting marijuana and marijuana possession.

And now Loucks knows his airplane isn't in Caldwell anymore where it was last recorded as being tied down on March 29th of this year.

Loucks says he came into ownership of the plane through a foreclosure deal and that Thompson had given him $10,000 as a down payment on the $20,000 total price.

Did he know the plane was being used in some apparent smuggling deal? "Absolutely not," Loucks said. "I thought it was parked at the Caldwell Airport. I was waiting for the last half of the payment. I think it's crazy, absolutely crazy."

Medford police say a federal drug investigation is ongoing.

Story and video ➤ https://idahonews.com

MEDFORD, Ore. — Right after the Beech 35 Bonanza crashed into a Medford neighborhood Saturday area residents rushed to the aid of the two people on-board.

One resident told News 10 on the scene they saw bags of marijuana in the plane. Authorities quickly brought out a drug K-9 and his handler following the crash Saturday to search the wreckage. It would not be until Sunday, June 9, that Medford Police would announce drug trafficking charges against the pilot, Mathew Thompson, and passenger, Zachary Moore.

News 10 has learned the federal investigation may have started before the crash.

Allen Kenitzer, from the Federal Aviation Administration Office of Communication, tells News 10 the pilot failed to file a flight plan in that doomed flight.

"No flight plan was filed, " Kenitzer said.

And it may not have been the first time.

David Leroy, an attorney representing the plane's owner, Lamon Loucks, said flying without a flight plan tipped off agents from the Department of Homeland Security, who then started tracking their movements for weeks.

"(Mr. Loucks) was recently visited by agents of the Department of Homeland Security to get his version of what was going on to this particular plane. Those agents assured him that he was not a suspect. They knew, and in fact, had been following the movements of this plane for the last several weeks," Leroy said.

News 10 reached out to Homeland Security for comment but have not heard back.

On Monday Moore and Thompson will face a preliminary hearing where the probable cause for their arrest will be examined in court.

Leroy contends his client is the victim in this case who's aircraft was supposed to be tied down at the airport in Caldwell, Idaho.

"My client is utterly not involved," Leroy said.

Leroy said Loucks filed a police report earlier this week to report the plane stolen.

"It may have been flying drugs into Oregon, picking up cash, picking up marijuana to fly them to some other point," said Leroy. "But as far as I am able to learn, as far as my client knows, there was no flight plan filed for this flight either flying into Oregon or going out of Oregon. That's why the Department of Homeland Security was tracking this aircraft."

Leroy said the plane wasn't insured. According to the FAA, the registration had expired May 4.

"If this plane was stolen or not authorized to be flown it's not necessarily foreseeable by an owner of an aircraft that it might crash at the hands of someone else. The individuals flying the plane would probably be those persons most liable for damages caused by a crash," Leroy said.

Federal drug charges could be pending against the two Idaho residents. Oregon's neighbors to the east, Idaho, outlaws both recreational and, medicinal marijuana.

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



BOISE, Idaho — The owner of the small plane that crashed in a Medford neighborhood over the weekend, is now reporting it stolen.

Idaho resident Lamon Loucks's attorney David Leroy said he filed the police report in Caldwell, Idaho where he saw it tied down at the airport.

The Beech 35 Bonanza with tail number N602BH crashed into a sidewalk outside a house in the 3200 block of Whittle Avenue in Medford June 8.

Leroy, of Leroy Law Office in Boise said the ownership of the plane is in doubt.

"The aircraft that crash in Oregon is of uncertain title, at this time, although it appears my client, who is un-involved in this circumstance, and did not know that the plane was removed from Caldwell airport, may be the title owner still," Leroy said.

Leroy's client took the title to the plane when the prior owner of the plane defaulted on a loan that he made to the original owner.

"That original owner got tied up in a bankruptcy proceeding, so instead of my client getting clear title, the trustee in the bankruptcy made a claim against the aircraft as well," Leroy said.

Leroy said Loucks didn't know of the alleged illegal activity.

Zachary Wayne Moore, 34, and Mathew William Thompson, 38, face charges of unlawful import/export of marijuana extract, unlawful delivery of marijuana extract, unlawful possession of marijuana extract, unlawful possession of a controlled substance and recklessly endangering another person.

"My client is utterly not involved," Leroy said.

Michael Gibson who's full size van was damaged in the crash said Loucks should have had insurance on his plane to cover the damage.

"I have to have insurance on my car or I'm in trouble with police but you can fly an aircraft from the airport with no insurance." Gibson told Rosebud Media Sunday. "How is that even possible?"

Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said the FAA requires air carriers to maintain “economic authority” that is issued by the department of transportation and is usually demonstrated by them having adequate insurance for the operation.

"But, for a private individual (non-commercial) we don’t have a regulation that requires insurance," Kenitzer said.

Leroy confirmed the aircraft had no insurance and he believes the owner of the plane didn't need it.

"There was no insurance on this aircraft," Leroy said. "If this plane was stolen or unauthorized to be flown it's not necessarily foreseeable by an owner of an aircraft that it might crash at the hands of someone else. The individuals flying the plane would probably be those persons most liable for damages caused by a crash."

Leroy puts the liability on the operators of the plane, who are facing a slew of charges already in a Jackson County Courtroom and possible federal charges if they come down for taking marijuana across state lines.

Both Thompson and Moore have pleaded not guilty, have public defenders assigned to their case, and face a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 17

Story and video ➤ https://ktvl.com



Two Boise, Idaho, men arrested on felony marijuana traffic charges after their single-engine plane crashed on a Medford street Saturday afternoon pleaded not guilty Monday afternoon in Jackson County Circuit Court.

Zachary Wayne Moore, 34, and Mathew William Thompson, 38, are lodged in Jackson County Jail on $50,000 bail.

Both men face charges of unlawful import/export of marijuana extract, unlawful delivery of marijuana extract, unlawful possession of marijuana extract, unlawful possession of a controlled substance and recklessly endangering another person.

“I don’t understand the reckless endangering,” Moore told Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Benjamin Bloom.

Moore said that when he was released from hospital he was told he needed to see a specialist.

“All my teeth have been knocked out,” he said. “I’m in a lot of pain.”

Moore said he has only received aspirin or Tylenol in jail.

Bloom said the men face a five-year prison sentence and a maximum $125,000 fine for the import/export of marijuana charge.

The plane carrying Thompson and Moore crashed into a tree in the 2300 block of Whittle Avenue in east Medford at 1:56 p.m. Saturday, according to Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon and Federal Aviation Administration records.

An initial release from Medford police Saturday said that the plane encountered mechanical issues shortly after leaving the Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport.

The crash prompted road closures through the afternoon and evening.

Thompson and Moore were taken to a local hospital for minor injuries prior to their arrest.

Thompson, for his video court appearance, was wearing a head and wrist bandage.

He asked Bloom, “Is there any way I can leave and come back for a court date?” Thompson said he had family matters that required his attention.

Bloom denied the request, noting that bail was set at $50,000.

At first Thompson appeared confused about the charges and how he should plea.

Amy Young with the Southern Oregon Public Defenders in Medford recommended he get an attorney.

“Your charges are pretty serious,” she said.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled for June 17.

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





The pilot and passenger of a private airplane that crashed in a Medford neighborhood Saturday afternoon are in jail facing marijuana trafficking charges, Medford police confirmed Sunday evening.

Zachary Wayne Moore, 34, and Matthew William Thompson, 38, are lodged in the Jackson County Jail on felony charges of importing or exporting marijuana items and unlawful marijuana possession; Moore is also charged with possession of a schedule I substance.

Moore was lodged in the jail on $35,000 bail. Thompson’s bail is set at $15,000.

Sgt. Steve Furst with MPD said that Thompson was piloting the plane, a 1947 Beech 35 aircraft with an expired registration.

He said criminal and federal drug investigation is ongoing and he could not comment on whether additional charges would be added.

Thompson and Moore, both residents of Boise, Idaho, crashed into a tree in the 2300 block of Whittle Ave. in east Medford at 1:56 p.m. Saturday, according to Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon and Federal Aviation Administration records.

An initial release from Medford police Saturday said that the plane encountered mechanical issues shortly after leaving the Rogue Valley International Airport in Medford.

The crash prompted road closures through the afternoon and evening.

Thompson and Moore were taken to a local hospital for minor injuries prior to their arrest, Furst said.

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




MEDFORD, Oregon – A small plane crashed into a Medford neighborhood Saturday afternoon much to the surprise of residents who were enjoying a previously quiet weekend.


The plane went down along Whittle Avenue and Grandview Avenue, just south of the Rogue Valley airport, striking several trees and sliding along several neighbors front yards before coming to a stop. No neighbors were hurt.


Witnesses described the scene as hectic and chaotic as two men, considered to be in their thirties, exited the plane.


“This is like the first thing that’s ever happened and after this, you’re kind of like, ‘OK you never know right?'” said Melissa Oar, a resident who lives right around the corner from where the accident occurred.


Oar was one of the first on scene and says she is trained in First Aid and CPR and went to see if she could help. When she arrived, she said the two men were already out of the plane but had what seemed to be some serious injuries.


“The one gentleman had, I think, lost some of his front teeth. So we put pressure, my husband Michael put pressure on his mouth,” she said. “I had him do that. The other gentleman had an injury to his ear and he had a laceration to his arm.”


Oar says they continued to help the two men until paramedics arrived. They were then transported to the hospital where police say they are doing well.


Jim Porter, whose house the plane stopped in front of, says he was lucky enough that his wife had just moved the car and he had just stepped into his garage.


“I had walked maybe a foot into the garage and I heard Crash! Boom! Bang!” he said. “I said what the heck was that and I turnaround and an airplane fell in my front yard.”


Porter says the two men were pretty shaken up by the incident but remained coherent throughout the time till ambulances came. Porter and Oar both said the pilot claimed the plane lost the fuel pump which led to the crash.


Police and aviation officials are still investigating.


“All we have is just very little information that was given to us and I believe that’s what the dispatch said is something to do with the fuel pump,” said Cpl. Ericka Doran, Medford Police Department. “We still don’t know if that’s the case or not.”


Much of this incident is still under investigation. Witnesses claimed there was marijuana on the plane but no one made allegations that the pilots were under the influence. Police could neither confirm or deny that at this time.


Still, residents living near the airport say this doesn’t happen often.


“I’ve lived here since ’74 and we’ve had two crashes,” said Porter. “One down the street and one in my front yard.”


Police say Whittle Avenue will be moved to one lane until the plane can be cleared. NTSB and FAA officials will be coming to inspect the plane soon to identify the cause of the crash. No word yet on when those results may be release.


Story and video ➤ https://kobi5.com





The pilot and passenger of a private airplane with expired registration survived a crash in a northeast Medford neighborhood.

At 1:56 p.m. Saturday, a 1947 Beech 35 aircraft collided with a tree in the 2300 block of Whittle Ave., according to Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon and Federal Aviation Administration records, prompting road closures through the afternoon and evening.

Crews from Medford Fire-Rescue, Medford police, Mercy Flights and Jackson County Airport Authority descended to the neighborhood within minutes, according to Medford police Cpl. Ericka Doran and multiple eyewitnesses at the scene throughout the afternoon.

According to Doran, the aircraft wreckage is expected to remain in the home’s driveway until authorities with the NTSB, FAA and possibly other federal agents can arrive on scene to investigate and collect the downed plane; however, local police and first responders said at least one lane of travel was cleared on Whittle Avenue as of Saturday evening.

The plane’s FAA registration shows its last registration out of Marsing, Idaho, expired May 4 of this year, and no name aside from “registration pending.” The pilot and passenger’s names have not yet been released.

Witness Mikyle Carr said that he and his stepfather heard the plane’s engine sputter, saying he “knew it didn’t sound right,” then heard the crash.

He said he saw the pilot and passenger get out of the plane “pretty busted up.” Despite the wreckage leaking fuel, the two returned to grab items from the plane including a phone and a bag.

Carr said it’s the first time he’s ever seen an aircraft fall from the sky.

"When we got out, I honestly was surprised I saw someone come out alive," Carr said. "I’m blown away that it didn’t blow up."

A K-9 unit was spotted at the scene, but it’s unclear what role it had in the investigation, if any. Doran declined to comment on the sighting beyond saying that the case is under investigation.

Melissa Oar, Carr’s mother who lives nearby, said she has first aid and CPR training because she works for an assisted living facility, and was among the first good Samaritans to help the pilot and passenger.

"I never thought it’d be a plane crash around the corner that I’d help somebody," Oar said.

The pilot was conscious and walking around, but suffered lacerations to parts of his arm and ear and lost some teeth, according to Oar. Authorities have not released an official cause of the crash, but the pilot told Oar the plane’s fuel pump had gone out.

"When it went to come down, he was trying to aim for the trees because he did not want to hit houses," Oar said.

Next-door neighbor Jim Porter said he’d just moved his truck out of his driveway in order to make room for someone to pick up his old hot tub when he heard the crash. His wife had just left to take her grandson to the store.

"I had walked maybe a foot into the garage and I heard ‘Crash! Boom! Bang!’" Porter said. "I said, ‘What the heck is that?’"

“I turn around and an airplane fell in our front yard.”

Porter said the crash is a first since he’s lived at the home since 1974, although he remembers at least one other plane crash down the street in the early 1980s.

Witness Daniel Gutfeld lives about 100 feet from the crash near the corner of Whittle and Alcan Drive. He said he was working on his computer and saw something impact the treeline.

“At first I thought it was just a car towing a plane, which I thought was weird,” Gutfeld said.

Gutfeld helped to gather rags because the plane was leaking fuel. He said one of the plane’s occupants appeared concussed and bleeding, and heard him say, “I gotta get to the hospital now.”

The ambulance arrived “within five minutes” of the crash, according to Gutfeld, Carr and Oar. They walked to the ambulance on their own power.

Gutfeld commended the pilot for mitigating harm to anyone.

“He missed houses, he missed people, they’re alive, he did a great job bringing that sucker down,” Gutfeld said.

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



MEDFORD, Oregon — Two people were taken to the hospital after a small plane crashed in a neighborhood south of Medford Airport.

"I heard crash.. boom.. bang and I thought, 'what the heck is that? and I turned around and an airplane fell in my front yard," Medford resident Jim Porter said.

The plane crashed on the sidewalk right out front of his home just before 2:00 pm Saturday in the 2300 block of Whittle Ave.

Witnesses tell News 10 that the plane appeared to be coming in for a landing when it clipped a tree, hit two parked cars coming to rest in front of a second tree. It lost a wing and stopped on the front sidewalk of a home.

Robert Austin who lives nearby saw the plane come out of the sky.

“I heard it sputter and it was really low, came at angle. I feel like he didn’t have enough height. He came down hard and at a steep angle, plane leaning to left," Austin said.

The plane clipped a tree and two cars, and two people walked out of the plane with injures to their head and arms.

Melissa Oar, who lives nearby, said she has CPR and first aid training and wanted to help.

“The pilot had an ear and arm injury," Oar said. “He told me the fuel pump went out and he was aiming for the trees so he would not hit the houses.”

Medford police Corporal Erika Doran said investigators are looking into the the report and consider the crash under investigation.

“The other man came out and had a facial injury and my husband and I helped him pack the wound,” Oar said.

Doran said Mercy Flight transported the two injured occupants of the plane.

As rescuers worked the scene other planes landed along the same flight path over-head. It was a reality check for Oar.

“We always think about it when we see them flying over. I can read the side of the planes when they go over your house,” Oar said.

Police said no one on the ground was hurt in the incident.

Doran said the wreckage will remain where it lays on the suburban sidewalk until officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board arrive to investigate.

Porter said its the second small plane crash on Whittle since he's lived in the airport neighborhood since 1974. 

Story and video ➤ https://ktvl.com

25 comments:

  1. K-9 Unit = Marijuana * Cannabis

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  2. The plane's N Number is not registered or assigned in the FAA database. It was cancelled/not assigned. Yes, previous was in Idaho. Someone flying the plane when not supposed to?

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  3. One more classic Bonanza destroyed. Thankfully no deaths or life long injuries.
    I’ve owned three Bonanzas, A35 .. G35 .. V35. All excellent airplanes, only issue with all three were engine out glide characteristics. They don’t give you much in the way of glide, as compared to high wing Cessnas. The older 185HP and 225HP models were also underpowered, especially at high density altitude airports.
    No registration in the database may be problematic, especially for insurance coverage.

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  4. Divine Intervention for sure. 25 years ago I remember asking my flight instructor what the glide ratio was on the V35 engine out. His response was "drop a brick, that's where you're going in". I gathered it must not be very good.

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  5. Glide ratio is no different than similar small aircraft...around 10.5:1...with gear up, flaps up, cowl flaps closed, prop coarse pitch and pitch for a best glide speed of 105 knots.

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  6. ^^^^. Agree

    If you are not configured as described above OR get a little slow, a high sink rate will develop.

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  7. The pilot and passenger of a private airplane that crashed in a Medford neighborhood Saturday afternoon are in jail facing marijuana trafficking charges, Medford police confirmed Sunday evening.

    Zachary Wayne Moore, 34, and Matthew William Thompson, 38, are lodged in the Jackson County Jail on felony charges of importing or exporting marijuana items and unlawful marijuana possession; Moore is also charged with possession of a schedule I substance.

    https://mailtribune.com/news/crime-courts-emergencies/plane-crash-occupants-arrested

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  8. These two have a great story to tell the others in jail.

    "Well. Me and him were in the airplane with this giant load of weed. Then the engine conked. Down we came. Landed in a tree."

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  9. A lot of Bonanza's on this site seem to suffer catastrophic engine failure compared to Lycoming powered aircraft. I wonder why?

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  10. Thompson shows he at least has a pilot's license dated 12-7-12. He can kiss it goodbye once the FAA gets done with him. What a waste of a nice looking classic Bonanza. Lock these two up and ban them from aircraft for life.

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  11. Must not have done there fuel calculations with weight and balance CG for the weed my guess it was pilot error, maybe they can study in prison.

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  12. Each should get an extra 5 years for destroying a vintage Bonanza.

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  13. Idiots destroy a beautiful legacy aircraft.

    Probably neglected and zero maintenance.

    Sad day for aviation.

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  14. OTOH, looks like salvage will have a couple of still decent ruddervators for sale soon.

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  15. There couldn't have been a substantial amount of marijuana on the plane, otherwise the news story would have been talking pounds of pot. I also suspect that it either wasn't that much, or that these two are incompetent businessmen for not being able to maintain a current registration, and thereby not attract undesired attention. Save an airplane, legalize pot!

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  16. "Save an airplane, legalize pot!"

    Common sense tells us anything in excess can be unhealthy, or even dangerous. It seems some of those who are using, may be using too much. They should examine the impacts on day-to-day living with marijuana. The person is lost in their own tangled thoughts and unable to fully participate in life's other enjoyments or necessities, such as going to work or raising a family. It presents more problems not only for those who abuse cannabis but for society in general.

    As a side note, I am a member of the billionaires' club, I rest comfortably knowing that the unemployed marijuana masses are too stoned to care about me and my money, they are content watching cartoons and playing video games all day.

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  17. Birds land in trees. Maybe he saw what to looked to be a bonanza nest.

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  18. As predictable, after a crash with illegal merchandise on board the ownership, registration, insurance coverage and custodianship of an old bird becomes blurred real fast once lawyered up.

    "It ain't my dope and it ain't my plane".

    Well just who the hell had the keys?

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  19. I had no idea what the sumbitch was doin with my plane

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  20. Per FAR the owner/operator is responsible. Conveniently the owner now says the plane was "stolen" of course and per his legal advice most likely.

    It won't change the fact he is responsible for the airworthiness and all inspections for a plane that ended up in the air then on the ground, and with an unlawful cargo.

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  21. Since when has it become a law to fly a plane without a flight plan? If that's what triggered homeland security then I'm in trouble too. I only file when IFR. Not VFR unless I'm on a cross country.

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  22. I know, right? I've been a private pilot for almost 4 years and have never filed a flight plan except for the one time my instructor filed an IFR flight plan during my instrument training. Sounds like someone tipped them off to watch out for that plane and its activities.

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