Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Quicksilver MX II Sprint: Accident occurred September 21, 2020 in Marengo, Crawford County, Indiana

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.

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Louisville, Kentucky

Location: Marengo, IN
Accident Number: CEN20LA407
Date & Time: September 21, 2020, 14:30 Local
Registration: n/a
Aircraft: Quicksilver MX II Sprint
Injuries: 1 Serious
Flight Conducted Under:

On September 21, 2020, about 1430 central daylight time, an unregistered experimental Quicksilver airplane was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at a private grass strip. The pilot sustained minor injuries. The flight was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

A pilot rated witness stated that on the previous flight the pilot reported engine issues and was unable to achieve more than idle power. He landed the airplane without incident and suggested that the engine issues might have been to due carburetor ice or it was “loaded up” when he decreased the throttle to land. On the accident flight, the pilot planned to fly to his home grass strip about 10 miles away. The pilot added fuel to the airplane for a total of 4 to 5 gallons available. The pilot told the witness that he would depart, then remain above the strip until he confirmed that the engine was operating normally. After takeoff, the pilot flew the airplane above the strip and in the immediate area for a few minutes. After circling at 200 ft above ground level (agl), the airplane returned toward the runway and appeared to setup for landing. The engine did not sputter or hesitate, but it was not running at a high rpm. The witness thought the pilot had decreased the throttle for landing. He stated that the airplane descended too low and headed toward a set of trees adjacent to the strip. The left wing impacted a tree, the airplane rotated to the left, then impacted the ground in a nose low attitude. The engine stopped abruptly upon ground impact.

The pilot reported that he had departed from the grass strip and climbed to 500 to 600 ft agl. When the throttle would not advance, he turned back for an emergency landing on the runway that he had used before. During the landing he got disoriented and clipped a tree. 

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: Quicksilver 
Registration: n/a
Model/Series: MX II Sprint 
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: Yes
Operator: 
Operating Certificate(s) Held:None
Operator Designator Code:

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: 
Condition of Light:
Observation Facility, Elevation: 
Observation Time: 18:35 Local
Distance from Accident Site: 
Temperature/Dew Point: 23°C /8°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: / ,
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility: 10 miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.35 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed:
Departure Point: Marengo, IN
Destination: Marengo, IN (pvt)

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Serious
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Serious 
Latitude, Longitude: 38.289983,-86.353252 (est)

Lake LA-4-200 Buccaneer, N5023L: Accident occurred December 15, 2020 in Orlando, Florida

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.  

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entity: 
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Orlando, Florida

Island Hoppers Seaplanes 2 LLC


Location: Orlando, FL 
Accident Number: ERA21LA078
Date & Time: December 15, 2020, 21:45 UTC 
Registration: N5023L
Aircraft: Lake LA-4-200 
Injuries: 1 Minor
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: Lake 
Registration: N5023L
Model/Series: LA-4-200 Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: No
Operator: 
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Operator Designator Code:

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: 
Condition of Light:
Observation Facility, Elevation:
Observation Time:
Distance from Accident Site:
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: N/A 
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: 
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Minor 
Latitude, Longitude: 28.528496,-81.481477 (est)



ORLANDO, Florida - A man was taken to the hospital, Tuesday, after a plane crash.

The incident happened near the Lake Hiawassee seaplane base. Neighbors caught the crash on video.

The pilot was able to get out of the plane shortly after the crash, according to neighbors. Then a neighbor said he jumped on his paddleboard and paddled out to the pilot, who then held on to the paddleboard as he was towed to shore.

Orange County Fire Rescue officials said the pilot was the only person on board. They said he was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.




ORANGE COUNTY, Florida – A pilot was able to escape from a plane that went down in a body of water in Orange County, according to fire rescue crews. 

Orange County Fire Rescue officials said the plane went down Tuesday afternoon into Lake Hiawassee at 1147 Edgewood Ranch Road.

According to a tweet from fire rescue crews, the pilot made it to shore safely and was the only occupant of the aircraft. Rescue crews said the pilot will be taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

Crews are now working to remove the plane from the water, according to the tweet.

Officials have not said what may have caused the plane to go down in the first place.




The pilot of a small plane that crashed into Lake Hiawassee Tuesday afternoon was rescued from the wreckage with minor injuries, according to Orange County Fire Rescue.

OCFR received reports of the crash on the 1100 block of Edgewood Ranch Road near Lake Hiawassee around 4:15 p.m., agency spokeswoman Ashley Gipson said.

According to a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration, the Lake LA-4 Buccaneer made a hard landing on Lake Hiawassee before flipping over and becoming submerged in the lake.

Responders said the plane’s sole occupant, its pilot, made it onto the lake’s shore safely. The pilot is being taken to a local hospital for treatment.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is working with the FAA to retrieve the fully submerged plane from the lake, Gipson said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. An NTSB spokesperson did not immediately provide additional information on the crash Tuesday afternoon.

Helicopter taxi service Blade to go public in merger with blank-check company


Blade — the Uber-like, short-distance aviation company known for its helicopter flights to the Hamptons — is set to go public by merging with a blank-check company.

The deal values Blade at $825 million, and is being backed by a slew of media big shots, including IAC chairman Barry Diller, movie and music mogul David Geffen, iHeartMedia boss Bob Pittman and Discovery chief executive David Zaslav, according to an SEC filing on Tuesday.

Rob Wiesenthal, a former Warner Music and Sony executive who founded Blade in 2014, said the initial public offering will allow his company to expand new urban air mobility routes and infrastructure, as well as accelerate its the transition from the use of conventional aircraft to electric vertical take-off and landing, or VTOL technology.

In layman’s terms, Blade is angling to develop electric helicopter technology, which, like electric cars, Chief Executive Wiesenthal says is the future of the industry.

“Ground mobility has been rapidly transformed by software and battery technology, as evidenced by the rapid adoption of electric vehicles,” Wiesenthal said. “The next battle is in the air.”

To go public, Blade will merge into a subsidiary of Experience Investment Corp., which is an affiliate of KSL Capital Partners, a buyout firm that also owns the airport services company Ross Aviation. The latter will partner with Blade on some routes, providing maintenance, and eventually electric charging stations.

The IPO gives Blade the muscle to get in the electric game via $400 million in gross proceeds, which is comprised of Experience Investment’s cash held in a trust and an upsized $125 million fully committed common stock private investment in public equity at $10 a share. This includes investments the aforementioned media moguls, as well as affiliates of Hedosophia, HG Vora Capital Management and KSL Capital Partners.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2021, and will see the combined company trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “BLDE.”

Known to mainly to Manhattanites as a way to quickly get to the Hamptons or Nantucket, Blade also is looking to expand into new routes, including the Northeast Corridor and West Coast of the US and internationally in Asia.

Wiesenthal will lead the combined company as CEO, and sit on the board, along with other notable media types like Discovery’s Zaslav, Kenneth Lerer, managing partner of Lerer Hippeau and co-founder of Huffington Post; and Susan Lyne, the former president of Disney’s ABC Entertainment Group, who is now the co-founder and general partner of BBG Ventures.

The filing said that Experience Investment, which holds about $225 million cash in trust, will combine with Blade at an estimated $825 million pro forma equity value. Blade’s equity holders are expected to hold 43.2 percent of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of the combined company when the deal closes.

Jijo George: Fatal accident occurred December 13, 2020 at Chicago O'Hare International Airport (KORD)

Jijo George
Fund raiser for Jijo George’s family 

 


Jijo George emigrated from India 17 years ago and worked hard to make things better for his family.

He earned an associates degree in mechanical engineering and landed a job as a mechanic at Envoy Air at O’Hare International Airport about two years ago, his family said.

What’s more, he and his wife had a 2-year-old child and were expecting another within the next month, his cousin Blesson George said.

“It took him 17 years to get where he is now — by working hard — and then suddenly it’s all gone,” Blesson George said.

Jijo George, 35, died Sunday after being crushed by an “aircraft drivable pushback apparatus” at hangar 764, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Chicago police said they were called about 2 p.m. and found him unresponsive under the vehicle. George died less than two hours later at Resurrection Medical Center. An autopsy ruled his death an accident.

Jijo George was the main provider for his Des Plaines household, which also included his parents and brother’s family.

“He was taking care of everyone,” Blesson George said. “They lost the person who had been taking care of them. They’re all crying. ... Life was about to get better for him, and that’s when this happened to him.”

Jijo George’s family was given few details about his death from Envoy Air, Blesson George said.

“That’s the hardest part,” Blesson George. “The only thing we heard from them is that he got in an accident.”

After pressing the company, the company told them he was crushed by a piece of equipment he was working on.

“Envoy, they never let us know anything,” Blesson George said. “We were in the dark for hours after this tragedy. We tried to reach these people for 24 hours, and no one picked up the phone. Finally, they flew eight or nine people to investigate this matter. The company isn’t ready to tell us what really happened.”

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Envoy Air said George was fatally injured at its ground equipment shop.

“We are providing support to the family and our employees to help them through this loss,” the spokeswoman, Minnette VĂ©lez-Conty, said.

“Currently, the situation is under investigation by our safety organization. We reiterate our commitment to safety and security as we conscientiously maintain policies, processes and systems to achieve the highest levels of safety in the workplace,” she said.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also investigating the death, and has up to six months to issue workplace safety citations, according to a U.S. Department of Labor spokesperson.

George’s family is from Kerala, a small state in south India, according to Nisha Eric, an organizer in Chicago’s Indian community.

As word of his death spread in their community, Eric said she felt compelled to help raise funds for the family.

“It’s a tragedy,” Eric said. “Even if you don’t know people like him, it’s important for us to extend a helping hand to his family.”

Aircraft Designs Super Stallion, N622DE: Incidents occurred June 20, 2022 and December 15, 2020

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; North Texas

June 20, 2022:  Aircraft lost power and crashed into a field causing damage to main landing gear. 


Date: 20-JUN-22
Time: 10:30:00Z
Regis#: N622DE
Aircraft Make: WHITE
Aircraft Model: SUPER STALLION
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: EN ROUTE (ENR)
Operation: 91
City: VENUS
State: TEXAS

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; North Texas

December 15, 2020:  Aircraft departed, experienced rough running engine and returned landing short of the runway and gear collapsed at Fort Worth Meacham International Airport (KFTW), Texas. 


Date: 15-DEC-20
Time: 00:38:00Z
Regis#: N622DE
Aircraft Make: AIRCRAFT DESIGNS
Aircraft Model: SUPER STALLION
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: MINOR
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: TAKEOFF (TOF)
Operation: 91
City: FORT WORTH
State: TEXAS

Cessna T210K Turbo Centurion, N9432M: Incident occurred December 14, 2020 at Porter County Regional Airport (KVPZ), Valparaiso, Indiana

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Greater Chicago

Aircraft landed gear up. 

Round Table Aviation LLC


Date: 14-DEC-20
Time: 21:20:00Z
Regis#: N9432M
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: 210
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: INSTRUCTION
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: VALPARAISO
State: INDIANA