Monday, August 30, 2021

Cessna TU206F Turbo Stationair II, N922MA: Fatal accident occurred August 28, 2021 in Bernard, Idaho

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 traveled to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entities:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Boise, Idaho
Textron Aviation; Wichita, Kansas
McCall Aviation; McCall, Idaho

McCall Aviation
Teton Leasing LLC


Location: Bernard, ID 
Accident Number: WPR21FA330
Date & Time: August 28, 2021, 13:18 Local
Registration: N922MA
Aircraft: Cessna TU206F 
Injuries: 2 Fatal, 1 Serious
Flight Conducted Under: Part 135: Air taxi & commuter - Non-scheduled - Sightseeing

On August 28, 2021, about 1318 mountain daylight time, a Cessna TU206F, N922MA, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Bernhard, Idaho. Both passengers were fatally injured, and the pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 nonscheduled charter flight.

According to the operator, the scenic flight was scheduled on the morning of the accident flight to fly over Soldier Bar Airport, a strip within the Frank Church Wilderness operated by the United States Forest Service.

According to preliminary flight track data obtained from a commercially available third-party source, the airplane departed runway 16 from McCall Municipal Airport, Idaho about 1230, and began a climbing left turn to the northeast. The airplane turned north briefly and then turned east as it continued to climb, about 8.5 nm from the departure airport. Its highest altitude, 8,700 ft mean sea level (msl), was reached about 13.5 nm from McCall and then the airplane began a steady descent. The airplane’s final radar target was recorded at 1244 about 22 nm east of McCall and 33 nm west of the accident site at an approximate altitude of 8,400 ft msl. The operator used a GPS tracking system known as Automated Flight Following (AFF) to automatically track the location and velocity of its airplanes. According to the operator, the last AFF target was captured about 5 minutes before the accident, about 3.6 nm east of the accident site at an altitude of 6,404 ft msl.

A signal from the airplane’s 406 MHz emergency locator transmitter was received by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at 1318, and a search was initiated. The wreckage was discovered by an aircrew about 1646 the same day.

The airplane was located on the east side of a mountain in the Payette National Forest at an elevation of about 8,370 ft msl, about 1,000 ft below the mountain’s peak, and about 50 miles northeast of its intended destination. The point of initial impact was marked by an approximately 60-foot-tall tree that was severed at the top, located 120 ft from the main wreckage. A 50-ft-wide debris path oriented on a northwestern heading was identified by several broken trees between the point of initial impact and the main wreckage. The broken trees were severed in descending order with the tallest trees near the point of initial impact on the left side of the debris path and the shorter trees on the right side of the debris path. A portion of the right wing was located in the debris path a few feet from the main wreckage, which comprised the rest of the airplane. The airplane was oriented on an eastern heading. All four corners of the airplane were accounted for at the accident site.




Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: Cessna 
Registration: N922MA
Model/Series: TU206F
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built:
Operator:
Operating Certificate(s) Held: On-demand air taxi (135)
Operator Designator Code: M2LA

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: VMC 
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: KSMN,4044 ft msl
Observation Time: 12:56 Local
Distance from Accident Site: 42 Nautical Miles 
Temperature/Dew Point: 19°C /3°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear 
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: / ,
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility: 10 miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.18 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed: Company VFR
Departure Point: McCall, ID (MYL) 
Destination: Bernard, ID

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Serious
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 2 Fatal 
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: 
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 2 Fatal, 1 Serious
Latitude, Longitude: 45.009338,-114.87202 

Those who may have information that might be relevant to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation may contact them by email witness@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov. You can also call the NTSB Response Operations Center at 844-373-9922 or 202-314-6290.

James “Jim” Atkins


MCCALL, Idaho – James “Jim” Atkins, 56, of McCall, Idaho, died Aug. 28, 2021, in a charter plane crash in Idaho, doing what he loved most, enjoying the outdoors with friends. He was born June 16, 1965, in Lewiston, Maine to Sarah (Remillard) Jordan and Robert Atkins. A man with the quickest wit and strongest opinions, you never wondered where you stood with Jim. He was passionate about his family and friends, dropping everything to travel across the country when he felt he could help. A former U.S. Marine, Master Maine Guide, white water rafting guide, and fisherman extraordinaire, being outdoors and sharing what he loved was where he was happiest. From snowmobile racing in Labrador to recent adventures in Borneo, he traveled the world.

Jim was lucky enough to find great love twice in his life. He was predeceased by his adored wife, Winona (Landry) Atkins, in 2009. He was blessed to meet Dana through their close friends, Scott MacRae and Lisa Triplett, creating a bond that brought him so much joy. Jim is survived by his wife, Dana (Haldeman) Atkins, of McCall, Idaho, his beloved stepson, Timothy Pinette, of Florida, his mother, Sarah, and stepfather, Larry Jordan, of Turner, Maine. Jim leaves two sisters and their partners, Catherine Gregoire and James Paterson, and Julie Atkins and Douglas Dion, nephew Zakary Muzyka and his wife, Julia, niece and godchild, Sara Carder, niece, Kristy-Mae, and nephew, Brent Lacombe. He leaves his McCall family of mother-in-law, Sharon DeGarimore, sisters-in law, Debbie Roberts (John), Diana DeGarmore, Kristen DeGarimore, and brother-in-law, Robert DeGarimore; niece and nephews, Dylan DeGarimore, Hunter Roberts, Stephanie Roberts, and grand-nephews, Russell and Thomas Roberts.

Jim leaves so many close friends across the country, including lifelong friends, David and Colleen Verreault and Steve Albert. Jim was predeceased by his faithful dog and loving companion, Rose, in 2007.

At Jim’s request, there will be no public memorial. He will be interred at St. Peter’s Cemetery in Lewiston. A small graveside service of family and friends will be held at 11 a.m., on Sept. 11. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to an organization supporting access to the outdoors, such as Trout Unlimited atwww.tu.orgor Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing at http://www.projecthealingwaters.networkforgood.com



VALLEY COUNTY, IDAHO, Idaho — Two people were killed and one was seriously injured when a small plane crashed in the central Idaho wilderness on Saturday afternoon.

Eric Weiss, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, told KTVB the Cessna TU206 departed from the McCall airport at 12:30 p.m. with three people onboard. It crashed near Mormon Mountain in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, which is at an elevation of more than 9,500 feet.

The pilot was the only person to survive the crash. He was flown to a hospital in Boise. 

According to the Federal Aviation Administration incident notification filed on Monday, Aug. 30, the plane was on a sightseeing flight with McCall Aviation. The plane suffered substantial damage in the crash.

Weiss says investigators were out at the crash site again on Tuesday working to gather more details from the wreckage. He said the plane crashed in mountainous terrain and they hope to remove the debris and bring it to a more secure location to finish their investigation.

He expects a preliminary report about the crash to be released in two weeks. A full report could take 12-24 months.

Valley County Coroner Scott Carver says the victims' remains were recovered from the wreckage Saturday evening. He identified the crash victims as Donald Scott Mac Rae, 62, of Las Vegas, Nevada, and James Robert Atkins, 56, of McCall, Idaho.  Their cause of death is pending an autopsy.


Two people were killed and another was seriously injured during a plane crash Saturday afternoon in a remote area of Valley County.

According to a Federal Aviation Administration incident notification filed Monday, a Cessna TU206 aircraft crashed. Two passengers were killed and the pilot was injured.

The airplane took off from a McCall airport around 12:30 p.m. with three people onboard, according to Eric Weiss, a spokesperson with the National Transportation Safety Board.

Weiss told the Idaho Statesman that the plane crashed near Mormon Mountain, which is located to the west of the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness.

The crash took place Saturday afternoon when the Cessna hit “mountain terrain,” Weiss said.

Valley County Sheriff’s Lt. Kevin Copperi said the pilot was flown via LifeFlight helicopter to a Boise hospital for treatment. Weiss said the pilot was seriously injured in the crash.

Though the FAA incident notification sheds little detail on the crash, it shows that investigators found the aircraft and noted the damage to the airplane was “substantial,” and that the aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances.

The FAA incident notification lists the aircraft’s operator as McCall Aviation, a charter airplane company based in the town. On its website, McCall Aviation says it offers scenic flights of areas such as the Sawtooth Range, Hells Canyon Wilderness and the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness.

The website also includes a brief, looping video of one of their airplanes: a Cessna aircraft with the same N-number as the aircraft listed in the incident notification. When reached by phone Tuesday, a McCall Aviation representative referred all questions about the crash to the NTSB.

Weiss said the crash investigation continued through the weekend and into Tuesday, as NTSB investigators were still at the scene as recently as Tuesday. The names of the deceased have not been released to the public.

9 comments:

  1. Same plane crashed on 22 Aug 2013 at Boise Air Terminal/Gowen Field (BOI), Boise, Idaho. NLG failure. Maybe is wasn't fixed properly or it failed again?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wouldn't think so. A NLG failure maybe would not have caused a fatality, especially if they were going slow on touchdown. This aircraft has hundreds of hours on it since 2013. I'm willing to bet maybe engine failure.

      Delete
  2. You know this wasn't a landing accident don't you? It was an enroute accident.
    The nose gear had nothing to do with this accident. Please don't comment unless you know the facts.

    FAA ASIAS report:
    https://www.asias.faa.gov/apex/f?p=100:96:24584155616465::::P96_ENTRY_DATE,P96_FATAL_FLG:30-AUG-21,YES

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please don't comment unless you know the facts? Really!? Good lord, some people just love telling others what or what not to do.

      Delete
    2. I'm not telling you what to do. Comment as much as you want. But, have your facts correct when you do.

      Delete
    3. Yeah, they should just read the article. Clearly they didn't read it.

      Delete
  3. I think your assumption it was an enroute accident is from your miss-reading the text. Sure, it could have been enroute but it does not say that specifically and it seems this company fly to remote airstrips all over ID.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is NOT an assumption. YOU NEED TO READ THE REPORT CORRECTLY! Did you Read what it says toward the bottom? It "SPECIFICALLY" SAYS "Flight phase...En Route"...

      Activity: SIGHT SEEING
      Flight Phase: EN ROUTE (ENR)
      Operation: 135
      Aircraft Operator: MCCALL AVIATION
      Flight Number:
      FAA FSDO: BOISE FSDO
      Entry Date: 30-AUG-21

      https://www.asias.faa.gov/apex/f?p=100:96:24584155616465::::P96_ENTRY_DATE,P96_FATAL_FLG:30-AUG-21,YES

      Delete
  4. The area of the accident brings to mind experiences I had while flying the company Lear 36A in 1985. We often crossed these mountain ranges ( Mormon Mountain area ) enroute to Boise from Northern Montana. Even at our flight levels, the turbulence was substantial. I could only imagine what it would be like down low skirting the ranges. Mountain waves can be an invisible killer. Not to imply this was related to this incident.
    Deepest respect for the pilot and sincere condolences to those affected by this tragedy.

    ReplyDelete