RALEIGH, North Carolina — The families of five passengers killed in a 2022 plane crash off the North Carolina coast have settled wrongful death lawsuits against the companies that owned the plane and employed the pilot and the pilot’s estate for $15 million, family representatives announced Friday.
All eight people aboard the Pilatus PC-12/47E died when it descended into the Atlantic Ocean off the Outer Banks. Four teenagers and two adults on the plane were returning from a hunting trip. The two others were the pilot and his adult son, who was a student pilot, the suit said.
Attorneys for the families filed dismissals in Carteret County on Thursday, reflecting that the companies that employed the pilot and owned the plane have paid $15 million, according to a news release.
The settling defendants are EDP Management Group and Green Assets, both of Wilmington, and the Estate of Ernest “Teen” Durwood Rawls, the pilot. The settlement was reached on behalf of the families of deceased passengers Noah Lee Styron, 16; Michael Daily Shepherd, 15; Jacob Nolan Taylor, 17; Jonathan Kole McInnis, 16; and Stephanie Fulcher, 42, the mother of McInnis. The four teenagers on board were all students at East Carteret High School.
Hunter Parks, 45, one of those killed in the crash, was the founder and chairman of Green Assets, according to the company’s website. His family is not involved in the suits.
“The families filed these lawsuits to get answers and hold accountable the companies and individuals whose negligence led to this tragedy,” Andrew C. Robb, a Kansas City-based aviation attorney who represented the families, said in a statement. “The families are grateful that this phase of their lawsuits has come to a close, and they will now continue the difficult process of trying to re-build their lives.”
There was no immediate response to Associated Press emails seeking comment from attorneys representing EDP Management Group and Green Assets. The settlement does not affect claims against Dillon’s Aviation of Greenville, which had performed maintenance on the plane, Robb said by telephone.
The plane took off February 13 in the early afternoon from Hyde County Airport, which is on the mainland near the Pamlico Sound. The plane’s destination was southwest across the sound to Beaufort, which is along the southern edge of the Outer Banks in Carteret County.
The suit filed in May alleged Rawls failed to maintain control over the plane and improperly flew into weather conditions with limited visibility that required the use of instrumentation. The suit also asserted that Rawls failed to maintain adequate communication with air traffic control and failed to avoid restricted military airspace, “leading to an erratic and irregular flight path.”
The suit alleged Rawls improperly relied on a co-pilot with “inadequate training and experience” to fly around the restricted airspace and in those weather conditions. Rawls’ son, Jeffrey Rawls, reportedly had 20 hours of flight experience, the suit stated. The suit also claimed Rawls failed to conduct a proper weight and balance evaluation before taking off.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary accident report that the pilot had made no distress calls and no declarations of an emergency. The airplane had reached 4,700 feet (1,430 meters) and was climbing quickly, the NTSB’s report stated. There was no response to calls from an air traffic controller, and radar contact was lost.
A final report from the NTSB has not been issued.
Case No. 22-CVS-446
Defendant Dillon’s Aviation is vicariously liable, by operation of law, for Mr. Rawls’ act or omissions in the following respects:
a. Mr. Rawls failed to fly the subject aircraft safely;
b. Mr. Rawls failed to maintain control over the subject aircraft;
c. Mr. Rawls improperly flew into IFR conditions;
d. Mr. Rawls failed to properly avoid restricted airspace, leading to an erratic and irregular flight path;
e. Mr. Rawls improperly relied on a co-pilot with inadequate training and experience to fly around the restrict airspace, and to fly in the weather conditions that were present on the day of the subject flight;
f. Mr. Rawls’ training of Jeffery Worthington Rawls during the subject flight diverted Mr. Rawls’s attention from flying the aircraft safely;
g. Mr. Rawls failed to maintain adequate communication with air traffic control;
h. Mr. Rawls failed to conduct a proper weight and balance evaluation prior to take off;
i. Mr. Rawls’ negligent piloting led to his subsequent spatial disorientation; and
j. Mr. Rawls failed to properly and safely operate the aircraft, resulting in a crash.
The families of four people — including three teens — who died in a February plane crash off the North Carolina coast are suing the companies that owned the plane and employed the pilot, who also died. The suit claims the pilot failed to properly fly the single-engine plane in weather conditions with limited visibility, making the firms liable.
All eight people aboard the Pilatus PC-12/47 died when it descended into the Atlantic Ocean off the Outer Banks. Four teenagers and two adults on the plane were returning from a hunting trip. The two others were the pilot and his adult son, who was a student pilot, the suit said.
The wrongful death suit was filed Tuesday in Carteret County against EDP Management Group LLC and Green Assets, both of Wilmington, and Dillon’s Aviation of Greenville.
The plane took off February 13 in the early afternoon from Hyde County Airport, which is on the mainland near the Pamlico Sound. The plane's destination was southwest across the sound to Beaufort, which is along the southern edge of the Outer Banks in Carteret County.
The suit alleges that pilot Ernest "Teen" Rawls failed to maintain control over the plane and improperly flew into weather conditions with limited visibility that required the use of instrumentation.
The suit also asserts that Rawls failed to maintain adequate communication with air traffic control and failed to avoid restricted military airspace, “leading to an erratic and irregular flight path.”
The suit alleges that Rawls improperly relied on a co-pilot with “inadequate training and experience” to fly around the restricted airspace and in those weather conditions. Rawls’ son, Jeffrey Rawls, reportedly, had 20 hours of flight experience, the suit stated.
The suit also claims that Rawls failed to conduct a proper weight and balance evaluation before taking off.
A person who answered the phone at a number for Green Assets said the company was declining comment. The website for Green Assets listed Hunter Parks, one of the people who died in the crash, as its founder and chairman. His family is not among those who sued.
Email and phone messages seeking comment from Dillon’s Aviation and EDP Management Group were not immediately returned.
In late February, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary accident report that the pilot had made no distress calls and no declarations of an emergency.
The airplane had reached 4,700 feet (1,430 meters) and was climbing quickly, the NTSB's report stated. There was no response to calls from an air traffic controller, and radar contact was lost.
A final report from the NTSB has not been issued.
Andrew Robb, a Kansas City-based aviation attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the four families, said by phone that the plane's lack of distress calls and climbing altitude were hallmarks of a pilot becoming spatially disoriented.
“If there was a problem with the mechanics or the electronics or something on that airplane that caused this 3,000-foot ascent, you would think that the pilot would have made some kind of communication,” Robb said.
The lawsuit was filed by the families of passengers Noah Styron, 15; Michael Shepherd, 15; Jacob Taylor, 16; and Stephanie Fulcher, 42.
Others who were onboard included Parks, 45, and Jonathan Kole McInnis, 15.
Rawls and his son lived in Greenville, authorities said in February. Fulcher, Parks and the four teens lived in Carteret County. The mostly rural county is home to older fishing villages as well as touristy areas that include Emerald Isle and Cape Lookout National Seashore.
The four teenagers went to East Carteret High School, which has about 600 students.
Charlie Snow, a close friend of the pilot, told The Associated Press in February that Rawls had previously flown for Snow’s company, Outer Banks Airlines, and was highly trained and extremely capable.
“If anybody could get out of something, if it was possible to get out of it, he could have done it,” Snow said.
Ernest (Teen) Durwood Rawls & Jeffrey Worthington Rawls
Together, Ernest Durwood (Teen) Rawls and his son, Jeffrey Worthington Rawls left our world for a better place, to be with God. Teen & Jeffrey passed away on February 13, 2022 in an airplane accident off the coast of North Carolina.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, March 19th at 11:00 AM at Reimage Church in Greenville, NC. Prior to the celebration, a visitation will take place at the church, beginning at 10:00 AM.
Teen was born in Greenville, NC on August 6, 1954. He was preceded in death by his parents, Jesse Wilmer Rawls and Pauline Worthington Rawls of Greenville, NC. He is survived by his wife, Karen Murray Rawls of Greenville, NC; daughter, Brittany Rawls Jones; son-in-law, Robert Blake Jones; granddaughter, Charlie Kay Frances Jones of Raleigh, NC; brother, Jeffrey Dwight Rawls; sister-in-law, Molly Grogan Rawls of Winston Salem, NC; and sister, Linda Rawls Leach of Kansas City, MO. He was greatly loved and respected by family and friends. His unwavering faith in God left a huge imprint on our hearts.
Jeffrey Worthington Rawls was born in Greenville, NC on July 6, 1993. He is survived by his mother, Karen Murray Rawls of Greenville; sister, Brittany Rawls Jones; brother-in-law, Robert Blake Jones; and niece, Charlie Kay Frances Jones of Raleigh, NC. Jeffrey was a much beloved son, brother and friend. A graduate of NC State University, he enjoyed, among many activities with his father; baseball, music and flying airplanes.
Teen and Jeffrey shared the love of God and a devotion to serving others. Most of all they shared a unique sense of humor, an infectious laugh and the endless desire to spread joy among us all.
In lieu of gifts and flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Reimage Church on their website, Reimage.ccbchurch.com, towards the Teen and Jeffrey Rawls Fund. All gifts will be used to sponsor causes they believed in and were near and dear to their hearts.
Arrangements by Wilkerson Funeral Home & Crematory.
Ernest Durwood Rawls
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The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.
Additional Participating Entities:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Greensboro, North Carolina
While Kole thrived in the great outdoors, he was also well versed in historical events concerning World War II. He was an expert on all types of tanks, planes, and weapons, and he loved antique rifles and pistols. He put this expertise to work as a self-proclaimed expert gamer often competing with other gamers from around the world, all hours of the night. His electronics fascination was not limited to video games. At such a young age, Kole was quite the expert at playing the stock market as well. When he did come up for air, he and his dad loved cooking steaks and twice baked potatoes, a recipe he was proud to share from his FOODS I course at East Carteret High School.
Jake’s ambition and hard-working nature were evident to everyone who met him. No dream was ever too big for him to tackle. When he wasn’t Facetiming his best friends or exercising for soccer, Jake could be found working on his strategy for becoming a world-famous Youtuber, planning his dual animation studio and light-bulb company “Jake Industries,” or figuring out just how he could get his hands on a catamaran to sail to Florida. Jake’s happy place was the outdoors, no matter the time of year. In the summer, he loved basking in the sun, whether he be at the beach, by the pool, or mowing lawns with his aunt Bean. In the fall, he could be found in a deer blind, out in the woods with friends, or on Boy Scout camping trips with his dad.
https://www.mundenfuneralhome.netHartzell Propellers; Piqua, Ohio
Transportation Safety Board of Canada; Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
Pratt & Whitney Canada; Saint-Hubert, Quebec, Canada
Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board; Payerne, Switzerland
Pilatus Aircraft Ltd; Stans, Switzerland
Location: Beaufort, North Carolina
Accident Number: ERA22LA120
Date and Time: February 13, 2022, 14:02 Local
Registration: N79NX
Aircraft: PILATUS AIRCRAFT LTD PC-12/47E
Injuries: 8 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal
On February 13, 2022, about 1402 eastern standard time, a Pilatus PC-12, N79NX, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Beaufort, North Carolina. The commercial pilot, student pilot, and 6 passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The airplane departed Pitt-Greenville Airport (PGV), Greenville, North Carolina, about 1235, and landed at Hyde County Airport (7W6), Engelhard, North Carolina, at 1255. Then, the airplane departed runway 29 from 7W6, about 1335.
After departure, the pilot contacted air traffic control, reported they were going to level off at 3,500 ft mean sea level (msl), and requested visual flight rules (VFR) flight following as well as an instrument flight rules (IFR) clearance into Michael J. Smith Field Airport (MRH), Beaufort, North Carolina. At 1338, the controller advised the pilot that nearby restricted airspace was active, and the pilot confirmed that they would remain clear of the airspace and fly to the east. At 1341, the controller called the pilot and indicated that they were about to enter the restricted airspace. After multiple calls with no response from the pilot, the controller instructed the military aircraft in the restricted airspace to remain above 4,000 ft msl. At 1349, the pilot called the controller and requested the RNAV approach to runway 26 but was denied the request because of the active restricted airspace. Furthermore, the controller queried the pilot as to why he did not respond to the earlier radio calls, and the pilot responded that he “was trying to get out” and was unable to receive the radio transmissions. The controller offered an approach to runway 8 or runway 3, and the pilot chose runway 8.
At 1352, the controller reported that the restricted airspace was not active anymore and asked if the pilot wanted the RNAV approach to runway 26 instead. The pilot responded that he would appreciate that, and the controller cleared the pilot direct to CIGOR, the initial approach fix for the RNAV 26 approach. At 1355, the controller called the airplane and asked to verify if they were direct to CIGOR because the airplane was still on a southwesterly heading. The pilot responded “roger” and the controller said the airplane could proceed direct to CIGOR, to cross the waypoint at or above 1,900 ft msl and was cleared for the runway 26 RNAV approach. The pilot read back the instructions correctly and then at 1358, the controller contacted the airplane and issued a heading to CIGOR, but then indicated the airplane was “correcting now.” At 1358:46, the controller called the pilot and issued the local altimeter setting because the airplane was at 1,700 ft msl and was supposed to maintain 1,900 ft msl. The pilot read back the altimeter setting correctly, and that was the last transmission from the airplane.
At 1401, the controller called the airplane and asked what altitude it was at because the airplane was at 4,700 ft msl and climbing quickly. There was no response. Radar contact was lost with the airplane at 1402 and an ALNOT was issued at 1429. Throughout the communication with air traffic control, there were no distress calls or a declaration of emergency from the airplane.
The airplane impacted the Atlantic Ocean and was located by the US Coast Guard 3 miles offshore in about 60 ft of water. Dive crews recovered an ELT and a Light Data Recorder (LDR). The LDR was sent to the NTSB Recorders Laboratory for data download.
According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airman records, the pilot seated in the left seat held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane multiengine land, airplane single-engine land, and instrument airplane. In addition, he held a ground instructor certificate and held a mechanic certificate for airframe and powerplant. His most recent second-class medical certificate was issued June 28, 2021. At that time, he reported 3,000 hours of flight experience.
According to FAA airman records, the passenger seated in the right seat held a student pilot certificate. His most recent third-class medical certificate was issued on July 6, 2021, and at that time he reported 20 hours of flight experience.
An examination of the wreckage is pending recovery.
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Make: PILATUS AIRCRAFT LTD
Registration: N79NX
Model/Series: PC-12/47E
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built:
Operator:
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Operator Designator Code:
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site: IMC
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: MRH,8 ft msl
Observation Time: 13:58 Local
Distance from Accident Site: 19 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 7°C /6°C
Lowest Cloud Condition:
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 13 knots / 18 knots, 20°
Lowest Ceiling: Overcast / 900 ft AGL
Visibility: 10 miles
Altimeter Setting: 29.93 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Departure Point: Engelhard, NC (7W6)
Destination: Beaufort, NC (MRH)
Wreckage and Impact Information
Crew Injuries: 2 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
Passenger Injuries: 6 Fatal
Aircraft Fire: Unknown
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: Unknown
Total Injuries: 8 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude: 34.81355,-76.2871
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.
Ernest "Teen" Durwood Rawls
~
Jonathan "Kole" McInnis
May 1, 2006 ~ February 13, 2022 (age 15)
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One boy's short journey home from what most would call the hunting trip of a lifetime was one of many for Kole. Sadly, this ended in a horrific tragedy and an enormous loss that has rocked our State and the Down East community to the core. Although we are heartbroken beyond measure, this journey was only one of many of an incredible multitude of journeys that Kole took in his short life. It is these that will have a lasting effect on us as we move forward.
Jonathan “Kole” McInnis, 15, of Sea Level, passed away tragically alongside seven others including his mother, her long-time boyfriend, three of Kole’s lifelong friends and Kole’s favorite pilot “Mr. Teen” and son who were returning from a prosperous youth and veteran duck hunting weekend on February 13, 2022.
Kole was the most beautiful tow-head baby boy born, yes with a headful of cotton-white hair, on May 1, 2006, at Carteret General Hospital, to Jon Kyley McInnis and Stephanie Ann Fulcher. Kole was a sophomore at East Carteret High School and was a member of the Future Farmers of America (FFA). He was a member of Atlantic Missionary Baptist Church. After Kole placed his faith in Christ, he was baptized by his grandfather, Rev. Terry D. McInnis on February 2, 2020, at Woodville Baptist Church.
At the early age of 3 ½, Kole quickly learned his way around the controls in the cab of his father’s CAT-excavator loading dump trucks with dirt and debris from around their Sea Level property. Into his teens, Kole’s work ethic was further exhibited on many job sites with his father’s Carteret county-based tree service. Many of said trees made their way to his grandaddy’s workshop where alongside his daddy, at the sawmill, they began crafting 12’ pilings for their future home site in Beaufort to be constructed in 2022.
Work and no play was not Kole’s motto. Kole’s travels took him on a near worldwide tour with once in a lifetime experiences including extreme firearm training in Las Vegas, The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, competing in his first mud run and mining for gold in Alaska, manatees in Florida, swimming with dolphins in the Andros, Bahamas and most recently researching his heritage while visiting Scotland, Ireland, and France.
Alongside his mother, Stephanie and her boyfriend, Hunter Parks, Kole took his seat every duck season in a “tricked out” duck blind at Lake Mattamuskeet waiting for the perfect flock so that he could do as told and “shoot ‘em in the face”. During deer season, he was often found cruising around the farm at Green Hill in Hyde County in the well-known mini truck. His summers were salty and spent fishing the Newport River, on the Core Banks of NC and exploring the ICW out of Boca Raton, FL.
While Kole thrived in the great outdoors, he was also well versed in historical events concerning World War II. He was an expert on all types of tanks, planes, and weapons, and he loved antique rifles and pistols. He put this expertise to work as a self-proclaimed expert gamer often competing with other gamers from around the world, all hours of the night. His electronics fascination was not limited to video games. At such a young age, Kole was quite the expert at playing the stock market as well. When he did come up for air, he and his dad loved cooking steaks and twice baked potatoes, a recipe he was proud to share from his FOODS I course at East Carteret High School.
Although the aforementioned life experiences may not sound like it, Kole was a minimalist. Unlike many teens, he was not impressed with name brand clothing, shoes, or accessories. In fact, he wasn’t impressed with shoes at all. He was, however, impressed by his friends and his family. Kole loved big. He had a soft spot for the underdog. He was funny, appreciative, and kind. Our lives will never be the same here on earth without him, but rest assured he is having the time of his life with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Until we meet again Kole…
Kole was preceded in death by his beloved cousin, Sarah James Fulcher.
He is survived by his father, Jon Kyley McInnis of Newport; paternal grandparents, Rev. Terry and Ronda McInnis of Newport; maternal grandparents, Harry Michael and Ann Fulcher of Atlantic; aunts and uncles, Buddy and Angie Goodwin of Cedar Island, Brian and Candy Moore of Newport, James and Brooke Fulcher of Beaufort; cousins, Riley Goodwin, Bodie Goodwin, Hunter Moore, Emma Grace Moore, Sawyer Fulcher, Sullivan Fulcher, Samuel Fulcher, Sailor Fulcher; and his beloved pets, Bullet the fierce feline, Jax his 150 lb. German Shepard, and his lap dogs, Christmas and Tubby.
A Celebration of Life Service for both Kole and Stephanie will be held at 2 p.m., Sunday, March 13th, at the Fulcher Home at 772 Seashore Dr., Atlantic, North Carolina 28511. The family will receive friends following the service. A private interment will take place at Over the Brook Cemetery in Atlantic at a later date. For those unable to attend, the service can be viewed through their obituary pages on Munden Funeral Home’s website. The service will remain on the website for 90 days.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Kole to the Carteret County School Foundation, C/O “Down East Boys Scholarship”, 107 Safrit Dr. Beaufort, North Carolina 28516.
Family and friends are welcome to submit online condolences at www.mundenfuneralhome.net
Arrangements by Munden Funeral Home & Crematory in Morehead City, North Carolina.
Jacob "Jake" Nolan Taylor
December 21, 2005 ~ February 13, 2022 (age 16)
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Nothing could have ever prepared us for the tragedy that ensued on Sunday, February 13, 2022, a day that will forever be remembered as a devastating loss for the entire Down East community. Today and forever more we will mourn the loss of Jacob “Jake” Nolan Taylor, who unexpectedly lost his life alongside seven others who were returning from a youth and veteran duck hunting weekend. Jake spent his final days surrounded by his dearest lifelong friends, doing exactly what he loved.
Jake was born at Carteret General Hospital on December 21, 2005, to Billy Taylor and Andrea Guthrie. He was Life Scout of Boy Scout Troop 252 of Davis. Jake was a sophomore at East Carteret High School where he was a member of the soccer team and the FFA. He attended Atlantic Missionary Baptist Church and was baptized by Pastor Adam Self in 2020.
Jake was a young man with innumerable talents and endless ideas, whose soul was bursting with creativity from the moment he could talk. Jake had a passion and talent for just about every artistic medium you could think of. Whether he was inventing new comic book characters, making stop-motion animations, writing award-winning poetry, or learning to play the banjo, you could always trust that he would discover a new way to impress you. Jake was the king of competition and never shied away from a challenge. You could always find him playing cards with his Gammy and Pa, dominating at corn hole, or beating everyone in a board game he created.
Anyone who was lucky enough to meet Jake will tell you how struck they were by his unadulterated kindness. A million words could be written to describe just how genuine Jake was, but they could never come close to capturing how truly pure his heart was. Whether you met him for five minutes or knew him for fifteen years, he was sure to touch your life in a profound way. Jake was never afraid to tell you how much he loved you and would never let you forget how effortlessly funny he was.
He is survived by his mother and step-father, Andrea Guthrie and Gene Guthrie of Atlantic, as well as his father and step-mother, Billy Taylor and Judy Willis of Atlantic; his sisters, Avery Taylor and fiancé Zane Weekman of Buies Creek, Robin Malcolm and Samantha Salter of Moncks Corner; his brothers, Dustin Taylor and wife Suzanne of Greenville, Bailey Willis of the home; maternal grandparents, Lennie and Andy Saunders of Atlantic; paternal grandmother, Susan Salter of Atlantic; aunts, Jennifer “Bean” Stinnett and husband Richie, and Jamie Taylor; and cousins, Jordan Stinnett, Shannon Baker, Gregory Taylor and wife Morgan.
Jake was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Everette Salter.
Our family would like to express our sincere gratitude for the outpouring of love, support, and sympathy from the community as we navigate this extremely difficult time.
Jake’s funeral service will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 5, 2022, at Atlantic Missionary Baptist Church, officiated by Pastor Adam Self, Pastor Nelson Koonce, and Mrs. Roxie Gardner. The family will receive friends after the service. The service will be live streamed at Atlantic Elementary School Auditorium and will also be available on Jake's obituary page on Munden Funeral Home’s website.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jake's memory to Friends of Scouting, P.O. Box 822, Williston, NC 28589 or the Atlantic Missionary Baptist Church, P.O Box 194, Atlantic, North Carolina 28511.
Family and friends are welcome to submit online condolences at www.mundenfuneralhome.net
Arrangements by Munden Funeral Home & Crematory in Morehead City, North Carolina.
Michael Daily Shepherd
August 10, 2006 ~ February 13, 2022 (age 15)
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Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of Michael “Daily” Shepherd. Sunday, February 13, 2022, is the day we were impacted with the tragic and unexpected loss for the Down East Community. Daily, along with seven others, including three lifelong friends, Noah Styron, Jake Taylor, and Kole McInnis, lost their lives as they returned from an amazing youth and veteran duck hunting weekend.
A celebration of Daily’s life will be held at 3 p.m., Saturday, February 26, 2022, at Atlantic Missionary Baptist Church, officiated by Rev. Nelson Koonce. The family will receive friends from 1:30 p.m. until 3 p.m. prior to the service. The service will be live streamed at Atlantic Elementary School Auditorium and will also be available on Daily’s obituary page on Munden Funeral Home’s website. In honor of Daily, the family invites you to wear camo to show your support and love.
Michael, or Daily, as he was known to all, was born on August 10, 2006, in Morehead City, North Carolina to Mark Shepherd and Taryn Willis Shepherd. Daily was 15 years old and was a sophomore at East Carteret High School.
Daily loved being outdoors and would take every opportunity to be on the water fishing or out hunting. Riding four wheelers was always a fun time which he enjoyed with his friends. As like most teenagers, Daily could often be found hanging out with his friends. Daily had an incredible creative ability that he applied to making boats and to his artistry work. His talent was acknowledged with numerous 1st place awards for the Core Sound Decoy Festival Poster Contest for the Down East Schools.
Always wearing a smile, Daily brightened the room with his presence. He loved his family and friends who will forever cherish his memory.
He is survived by his mother, Taryn Willis Shepherd of Atlantic; father, Mark Shepherd of Sea Level; maternal grandfather, Michael Willis of Atlantic; paternal grandfather, Keith Mason of Sea Level; paternal great grandmother, Clara Mason of Stacy; maternal aunt, Patience Willis of Atlantic; maternal special aunt, Mary Ann Nichols of Beaufort; paternal aunt, Tammy Guthrie of Sea Level; paternal great aunt, Mary Sue Hancock and husband Woody of Sea Level; maternal uncle, Chris Goodwin of Cedar Island; paternal uncle, Buddy Guthrie and wife Susie of Williston; maternal cousin, Jackson Goodwin; paternal cousins, Luke Salter, Hope Wade, Maggie Guthrie, Ashlyn Guthrie, Tanner Wade and Parker Wade; girlfriend, Ariana Christensen; special friend, Tristen Hall; and furry friend, his dog, Amos.
Daily was preceded in death by his maternal grandmother, Amy Willis; paternal grandmother, Bonnie Mason; maternal great grandparents, Linda Goodwin and Frances Willis.
The family would like to thank the community for the outpouring of love and support during this difficult time.
As an expression of sympathy, flowers are welcome or memorial contributions may be made to the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center in c/o Core Sound Family Fund, P.O. Box 556, Harkers Island, North Carolina 28531.
Family and friends are welcome to submit online condolences at www.mundenfuneralhome.net
Arrangements by Munden Funeral Home & Crematory in Morehead City, North Carolina.
Noah Lee Styron
May 28, 2006 ~ February 13, 2022 (age 15)
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Sunday, February 13, 2022, is a day that will forever be etched in our minds and hearts. On this day we experienced the tragic and unexpected loss of Noah Lee Styron; our son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, neighbor, classmate, and friend to all. In what will forever be known as a horrific tragedy for Down East, Noah lost his life with seven others, including three dear lifelong friends as they returned from an amazing youth and veteran duck hunting weekend. We are so very grateful that his last memories were with people he loved, doing what he loved.
Noah was born May 28, 2006. Noah was a sophomore at East Carteret High School. He was a member of the school’s chapter of Future Farmers of America (FFA). He attended Cedar Island United Methodist Church.
He was a young man with many plans and projects, always dreaming of his next overhaul. His love for his family and friends was deep and genuine, as well as for anyone he ever met. Noah preferred a simple life, loving to fix just about anything over making a new purchase. He beat to his own tune, never stressing over trying to make an impression, yet walking through life making a lasting impression on all those he met on his brief yet powerful journey. He was a role model to anyone who was blessed to know him. He was admired for his brilliant mechanical abilities and his engineering skills which were skilled well beyond his years. There never seemed to be an undertaking or an order too tall for him to accomplish. For even at times, he could be found sewing up his favorite hunting coats with his sister’s help.
Noah was an experienced waterman with knowledge of the local waterways well beyond his years. His true passions were hunting, fishing, everything outdoors, fishing for anything with Granddaddy, being on the water with Zack Davis on the Addie Dallas, crabbing with his “Uncle As”, riding dirt bikes with his brothers, and of course being an avid sportsman. He was a skilled mullet fisherman, once catching over 100 lbs. by himself in his own little boat during his Uncle Johnny’s mullet tournament. He was a certified welder with the unique talent of fabricating just about anything. Such inventions included installing a tip muffler from a diesel truck onto his dirt bike and modifying several riding lawn mowers into high-speed racing machines and even using them for launching his boats.
He earned the ECHS Welding II award his freshman year. While attending Down East Middle School he also earned NC state recognition as an accomplished Young Author with his poem, Mullet Fishing. Noah was never at a loss of words, as evidenced by his many stretched out stories and “tales of a Down East boy.” During his years at Atlantic Elementary he earned the admiration of not only his teachers but his classmates who are forever faithfully intertwined with him.
He is survived by his parents, Charles and Amber Styron of the home; siblings, Carter, Sabrina, and Levi, all of the home; his Lab, Addy B; maternal grandparents, Cathie and Aron Styron Jr. of Cedar Island; paternal grandparents, Mary Styron of Cedar Island, Theresa and Andy Taylor of Sea Level; paternal great grandparents, Richard and Jo Ann Styron, Phyllis Gillikin; aunts, Amanda Styron, Melissa Gillikin, and Vada Styron; uncles, Aron Styron III (Faith Ann), Shane Styron (Jennifer), Richard C. Styron (Kelly), Joshua Austin, and Fred Styron. He is also survived by cousins, Juliana Inman, Ilyse Vogel, Anderson Styron, Daylen Piner, Darren Piner, Adam Styron, Chassidy Styron, Lilyanna Styron, Emily Davis, Richard C. Styron Jr, Drake Styron, and Skylar Styron. He also is survived by his built-in “big brother” Bodie Finn Goodwin, as well as many extended family and friends.
He was preceded in death by paternal grandfather, Richard A. Styron, Jr. and great uncle Johnny Styron.
Noah’s funeral service will be held at 2 p.m., Sunday, February 20th at Cedar Island United Methodist Church, officiated by Rev. Nelson Koonce. The family will receive friends from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m., Saturday, February 19th at Cedar Island United Methodist Church. The service will be live streamed at Atlantic Elementary School Auditorium and will also be available on Noah’s obituary page on Munden Funeral Home’s website. A private interment will take place at a later date at the Ronald and Becky Goodwin Memorial Family Cemetery.
As an expression of sympathy, flowers are welcome or memorial contributions may be made to the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center in c/o Core Sound Family Fund, P.O. Box 556, Harkers Island, North Carolina 28531.
Family and friends are welcome to submit online condolences at www.mundenfuneralhome.net
Arrangements by Munden Funeral Home & Crematory in Morehead City, North Carolina.
Stephanie Anne Fulcher
February 4, 1980 ~ February 13, 2022 (age 42)
~
It is with overwhelming sadness that we announce the passing of Stephanie Anne Fulcher on February 13, 2022, at the age of 42. She went to her heavenly home along with her precious son Kole, her soulmate Hunter, Pilot Teen, his son Jeffrey, and 3 boys she loved like her own Noah, Jake and Daily.
Steph was born on February 4, 1980, to Mike and Anne Fulcher. The last of 3 children, she was the baby and brought so much joy to their lives. After getting her BSN RN from UNCW Stephanie started her career at Carteret Health Care. When the opportunity came for her to join her sister at work at Carteret Children's Clinic, she did not hesitate to make the change. Steph loved working with her sister and loved taking care of children. She was known to answer calls and make house calls for friends, families and even strangers.
Steph’s life changed forever when she and Kyley welcomed the most beautiful white-haired boy into this world on May 1, 2006. Jonathan Kole showed her what true love really was. Her whole world was centered around Kole, supporting, and encouraging him in everything he did. She loved playing ball with Kole in the yard, throwing him birthday parties, having sleepovers, trips to Battleworks, listening to his extraordinary knowledge of war and old guns and just watching him grow. She loved being able to take Kole on trips and show him the world, especially their recent trip to Scotland. She would look at Kole all the time and say, “He sure is pretty to me.”
Many thought Steph would never leave Down East, much less the Country. But all that changed when she met her soulmate Hunter Parks. For the past 11 years Steph and Hunter traveled the world including Africa, Spain, Poland, Germany, Amsterdam, France, England, Scotland, and many other beautiful places. They were truly a match made in Heaven. Through all her travels, her favorite place was always Home. She loved sitting on her back porch swing listening to music, riding the farm on the ATV, shelling the banks with her friends, boat riding, fishing, puzzles, board games, baking, reading, and watching “Her Ducks.” She was an avid hunter and spent a lot of her time in the deer stand or the duck blind. She loved sharing her love of the outdoors with her friends and family. She was always smiling.
In 2018, Stephanie and Hunter created Another Perspective and started the Sarah James Redfish Tournament to honor her niece, Sarah James Fulcher. It succeeded far beyond their expectations, Steph was so proud of what they had done to honor her precious niece.
Stephanie’s caring spirit and generous heart could be felt by everyone she met. She inspired others around her to succeed and pursue their dreams. Steph’s life would seem short to many but those blessed to know her and love her, know her impact on our hearts and her impact on this world far exceed the quantity of time that she lived on this Earth. She will live on forever in our hearts.
Stephanie is survived by her parents, Harry Michael and Anne Fulcher; brother, James Fulcher (Brooke); sister, Angie Goodwin (Buddy); nieces, Riley Goodwin (Cameron Whitlow), Saylor Fulcher, and Emma Moore; nephews, Bodie Goodwin, Sawyer, Sullivan and Samuel Fulcher, Hunter Moore; and best friend, Bean.
Along with her son, Kole, she was preceded in death by her grandparents, Harry and Lucille Fulcher, Carl and Bobbie Pollard; and niece, Sarah James Fulcher.
A Celebration of Life Service for both Stephanie and Kole will be held at 2 p.m., Sunday, March 13th, at the Fulcher Home at 772 Seashore Dr., Atlantic, NC 28511. The family will receive friends following the service. A private interment will take place at Over the Brook Cemetery in Atlantic. For those unable to attend, the service can be viewed through their obituary page on Munden Funeral Home’s website. The service will remain on the Funeral Home website for 90 days.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Stephanie’s memory to Another Perspective PO Box 10415 Wilmington, North Carolina 28404.
Family and friends are welcome to submit online condolences at www.mundenfuneralhome.net
Arrangements by Munden Funeral Home & Crematory in Morehead City, North Carolina.
Douglas Hunter Parks
~
They’ll come this day to remember.
But more to celebrate the life and times of Douglas Hunter Parks, the 45-year-old entrepreneur, passionate conservationist, wildlife enthusiast and born-again Christian.
“At the end of duck season, you got an extra week for kids and military veterans,” Greg Parks was saying about his nephew. “That was the hunt they were on and coming back from on that Sunday.”
Hunter Parks was among seven passengers aboard the Pilatus PC-12/47 aircraft owned by Parks that left Hyde County on Feb. 13 headed toward Beaufort, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The plane crashed within three or four miles of Drum Inlet in Carteret County.
Parks’ longtime girlfriend, Stephanie Ann McInnis Fulcher, 42, and her 15-year-old son Jonathan Kole McInnis, both of Sea Level, also died in the crash, according to the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office.
The others who died were Ernest Durwood Rawls, 67, the pilot; Jeffrey Worthington Rawls, 28, the pilot’s son; Noah Lee Styron, 15; Michael Daily Shepard, 15; and Jacob Nolan Taylor, 16, the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office said.
A friend you could count on
Hunter Parks was a vivacious kid who grew up in the Summertime neighborhood off Morganton Road hanging out with friends to include Leighton Bostic, Jim Soffe, Richard Fox, Jason Stancil, Neil Davis and Brian Armstrong.
They were your typical kids riding their bicycles, skateboarding and shooting their BB guns and “occasionally, we got into some trouble,” Armstrong recalls. Nothing serious, mind you. Just boys being boys and developing friendships along life’s way.
“Hunter was the friend I could call on if I ever needed help, and without fail, he would show up,” Armstrong says. “And believe me, I called on him several times over the years, and he was there. Hunter was there for all of his close friends. And we, his friends, were there for him as well. Hunter was loyal almost to a fault, but he expected the same in return.”
And, Armstrong will tell you, Hunter Parks was a man of his word.
“When he told you he would do something or be somewhere,” Armstrong says, “you better believe he would follow through, and then some.”
Hunter Parks would gain new friends at N.C. State University in the mid-1990s, particularly with fraternity brothers of Sigma Chi.
He was smart.
He had visions of better tomorrows.
He wasn’t afraid of the risk for the greater reward or the greater good.
“He charted his own course,” Armstrong says, “and was dedicated, persistent and determined in whatever venture he undertook.”
And no businesses were more important to him than Mattamuskeet Ventures, of which he was a partner on family-owned land, and Green Assets, the Wilmington-based company that Parks founded for forest carbon production credit transfers.
A love of the land
He loved the land, something he inherited from his grandfather, the late Jack Parks, and his father, Chip Parks, who died at age 62 on Oct. 17, 2005. And Hunter Parks loved sharing his passion for hunting and the outdoors with others.
“It's my understanding that there are a few weekends each hunting season that are designated as ‘Youth Weekends,’” Armstrong says. “During these weekends, Hunter would host kids and their parents at his hunting club in Hyde County and would guide their hunts. Most of the time he did not even fire a shot or even carry his shotgun, as the part he loved most was watching the smile on the kids’ faces after they bagged their first-ever duck.”
And Hunter Parks found the perfect complement to his life more than 10 years ago in Stephanie Fulcher.
“She was truly one of the nicest people I’ve ever met,” Armstrong says. “She was a perfect match for Hunter, and we often joked that she was the female version of Hunter. He absolutely adored her and during the time they were together was the happiest I’d ever seen Hunter. He was at his best while they were together. Kole was just an all-around good kid. Hunter immediately took to him and they had an incredible bond. Kole had a big, bright future ahead of him.”
Epilogue
Will Graham will deliver the eulogy for the celebration of Hunter Parks’ life scheduled for 3 to 7 p.m. today at the Carolina Barn, 7765 McCormick Bridge Road, in Spring Lake. He is the oldest son of Franklin Graham and grandson of the late evangelist Billy Graham.
Will Graham knew Hunter Parks well, and no better than that Nov. 17, 2017, day at a small church in Fairfield near Lake Mattamuskeet in Hyde County.
“Hunter was saved by Will Graham on Nov. 17, 2017,” Toliver Parks says about the hour when his brother rededicated his life to “his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
No need for neck-ties this day.
Come in your blue jeans, your khakis, your boots.
“Hunter Parks-type attire,” Toliver Parks says with a smile.
Hunter Parks would have it no other way.
Ernest Durwood Rawls
Pilot Ernest "Teen" Rawls and passenger Jake Taylor
Brand new... 2017. And acquired last year by an LLC. This means probably a G1000 NXi onboard. A certificated aircraft of this price tag and sophistication doesn't fall off the sky unless some gross issue happened. Or a midair with a bird, but the latest is frankly a remote possibility.
ReplyDeleteI said probably but any other sophisticated avionics will do. Like G3000 or Honeywell if no Garmin. It means hopefully a little blue button to recover from any unusual attitude.
DeleteThe more technically advanced an aircraft is, the more built in safety features. It is a fact.
It is way harder to crash an advanced aircraft since the FARs mandate so much more redundancy and improvements for Part 23 certification.
Some airplanes will have issues though like that brand new TBM that had a decompression incident and flew all the way past Cuba a while back.
PC12 comes with Honeywell Primus Apex which is a very robust system.
DeletePictures of the aircraft, and the for-sale listing in 2020. @Aircraft.com
Deletehttps://www.aircraft.com/aircraft/198546699/2017-pilatus-pc-12-slash-47
It’s way harder to crash in an advanced aircraft? Silliest thing I’ve heard today. Happens all the time. I fly out of APA where a wonderful advanced Cirrus airplane chopped it’s way through a Metroliner. The 777 is very advanced. Didn’t save Asiana at SFO. The Airbus 330 is advanced but that didn’t stop a couple of knuckleheads from stalling it into the ocean.
Delete"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." ― Douglas Adams
DeleteNot great weather in the area, but nothing that the plane can't handle.
ReplyDeleteLocal news reporting 8 people on the plane at the time it went down.
ADSB track data has trademarks of spatial disorientation.
Praying for all involved.
KMRH 131958Z AUTO 01009KT 10SM OVC012 07/05 A2994 RMK AO2 RAE05 SLP139 P0000 I1000 T00670050 TSNO
KMRH 131949Z AUTO 02009KT 10SM OVC011 07/05 A2994 RMK AO2 RAE05 P0000 I1000 T00670050 TSNO
KMRH 131858Z AUTO 02013G18KT 10SM -RA OVC009 07/06 A2993 RMK AO2 CIG 006V012 SLP137 P0002 I1000 T00720061 TSNO
KMRH 131839Z AUTO 03011G21KT 10SM -RA OVC009 07/06 A2994 RMK AO2 CIG 007V012 P0001 I1000 T00720061 TSNO
8 people? Sad if true... and yes if SD that's unforgivable... someone who owns this kind of machine by definition needs to know better.
DeleteReminds me of an FAA seminar I attended with ATC and the controller there described how some nouveau rich got himself a brand Piper Malibu and busted several airspaces in Tampa including the Bravo taking off from KPIE... so the punishment was that more severe as flying a turboprop you are expected to know better. Money doesn't buy skills or common sense sadly.
SD kills pilots of all ages and of all experience levels; even ATP's 10k+ hours. It can literally happen to anyone. you are making a lot of assumptions about who was flying this aircraft.
DeleteThey only got to 3500 so it's looks like they were going VFR. That track is not unusual for scud running
ReplyDeleteSeems likely that it was a scud run when compared to the prior time the aircraft traversed that route to Moorehead city when weather was clear:
Deletehttps://flightaware.com/live/flight/N79NX/history/20220201/2214Z/7W6/KMRH
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n79nx#2ac9cb92
Even if they were scud running there is nothing to hit out there except the ocean. The would have been safe at 500 feet. We visit the area frequently and see aircraft flying the beach all the time. What was his actually destination, MRH?
DeleteEast Carteret High at Beaufort matches to a KMRH destination.
DeletePilatus operated out of Greenville. Flight from KMRH on Friday looks to be the start of the group's weekend:
Friday's flight:
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N79NX/history/20220211/2031Z/KMRH/7W6
If someone is competent enough to fly a PC-12, they probably wouldn't need to chance scud running in one. OTOH, using a turbine like that for 20 minute trips at 3500' and below seems questionable.
DeleteThe address on the registration matches the land management company that Hunter Parks was executive director at with three other parnters, Mattamuskeet Ventures.
ReplyDeletePictures of part of the trip; https://www.facebook.com/sfmcinnis
A closer look shows registration change/aircraft acquisition around Feburary 2021.
It appears as though the pilot was disoriented/lost control near the end as the airspeed and altitude fluctuate wildly. Could've been a fog bank or an overcast layer that was thicker than he realized and wasn't prepared for.
ReplyDeleteNobody knows the true WX conditions experienced, but the whole track is very squirrely when you compare to the same flight on 01 Feb.
DeletePerhaps an impaired pilot or electrical failure made instrumentation and radios inoperative. If it was the same pilot, would expect ability to make some use of autopilot similarly to 01 Feb.
Compare the autopilot-assisted 01 Feb flight:
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n79nx#2ac9cb92
To the accident flight:
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n79nx#2acf1104
^^ 11 Feb, not 01 Feb (typo fix)
DeleteBoth the 11 Feb and 01 Feb flights running between 7W6 and MRH were autopilot-assisted. Makes no sense to see the wandering throughout the accident flight.
Deletehttps://flightaware.com/live/flight/N79NX/history/20220201/2214Z/7W6/KMRH
Wandering appears to be maneuvering around precip - see NEXRAD playback in later comments.
Deleteor maybe he had a heart attack ...happens ..he was 67 . I'm 66 a pilot and I've had a heart attack but not in flight . After a stent was inserted I'm now cleared to fly but not commercially only recreation-ally . An ECG uncovered my heart issues . Could have been picked up beforehand . All pilots over 60 should get a yearly ECG.
DeleteReminded me of that hunting trip crash out west(Montana?; also in a PC-21. Inexperience and overconfidence played a big role in that crash.
ReplyDeleteIIRC that was a noon takeoff in light snowshowers from an uncontrolled airport, with overnight icing not removed from the plane, after a Thanksgiving pheasant hunt the day before. I read that one as gethomeitis. Doesnt matter, the law of gravity is not appealable.
DeleteChamberlain, South Dakota
DeleteYou are thinking of N56KJ owned by Conrad and Bischoff that crashed in South Dakota returning from a family bird hunting trip. I work at a small airport in western Idaho and Ive personally fueled that plane several times. They took off in a blizzard and I believe iced up and stalled. I was literally recalling that crash as I was reading about this one. They have many eerie similarities apart from weather. I am very saddened from this
DeleteCrash your referencing to was out of Chamberlin, SD. Uncontrolled AP, low ceiling, heavy snow, no de-ice avail. Arrived on a Fri? Hunted Pheasants that Sat. launched following day (Sun). didn't make it far went down in a field shortly after take-off. EMS difficult time getting to crash site do to severe winter cond's; heavy snow, blowing/drifting snow, low visibility. Many fatal; PIC, family members of PIC-from very young to Senior in age. Businessman out of Idaho Falls, ID. Best guess until FAA Final Report. Pilot error, possible W/B-C/G, (+ passengers vs seating) icing AND the all too often 'Home-itis'! There were at least 1 possibly 2 injured but survived. Photos of crash site incredible anyone survived.
Deleteimagine karma hitting you so bad... shooting "birds in the face" and raving on them falling out of the sky then falling out yourself... shooting azt birds especially migrating is the lowest of the low. dsgtn syko family.
DeleteMost likely a 135 pilot. Spare us the class warfare comments please. What do you have against wealth anyway Marc?
ReplyDeleteChecked to see if it was a 135 charter, but N79NX isn't on the list of part 135 Legal/licensed air charter operators' aircraft.
Deletehttps://cms.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/about/office_org/field_offices/fsdo/135aircraft.xlsx
Probably operating part 91 hired by the owner to fly the plane.
DeleteCurious to see the pilots qualifications. Poor judgement on the owner's part of he hired a non-instrument pilot.
Supposedly a retired airline Captain who flew the plane for the owners. 91 flight.
Delete> Supposedly a retired airline Captain who flew the plane for the owners. 91 flight.
DeleteWow! That makes this a most confusing tragedy :(
He didn’t say wealth was bad. He said “more money than brains” which has been the case in many accidents.
DeleteAfter reading all these accidents on KR, not sure if we are going to run out of airplanes or Doctors first...Esp. training type airplanes..
ReplyDeleteThoughtful addition to the discussion. Thanks.
Delete#1 Lawyers
Delete#2 Doctors
Boils down to how difficult and dangerous single pilot IFR flying in complex aircraft is and that non Pilots have no idea of that when they step foot on one...
DeleteI don't agree, as a pilot who has 2600 PIC Hrs. in a PC12NG, I don't find it difficult or dangerous and that is an irresponsible comment. Safest plane I have ever been in, and has great tools to help manage risk. Maybe it was a possible medical event? Anyway very sad deal.
DeleteThis is certainly a head scratcher if the pilot was proficient and competent and also under a valid medical... after all the medical certificate warrants you can count on your hands the cases of medical events in millions of flights that happened in history.
DeleteNow I listed below a few crashes that happened due to personal ownership of those complex machines and where the NTSB laid the blame on the pilots. And indeed the PC12 is legendarily reliable, a solid workhorse and very safe.
So past history of PC12 and jets crashing points sadly to hobbyists owners or very sporadic pilots, since Part 91 is by definition not even on demand flights but sporadic ones, that simply forgot a few things...
surface conditions east of Beaufort @ 1:59 PM, 44.7°F, dew pt. 43.1°F, 94%, NNE 5.8 mph, gusts 10.5 mph, 29.95 in, precip 0.04 in, total 0.20 in, per wunderground.com surface weather station Sleepy Creek - KNCMARSH67, Elev 30 ft, 34.73 °N, 76.52 °W
ReplyDeleteIt's a terrible tragedy no matter how you slice it. I pray for all families involved. I wouldn't rule out a bird strike though as that could have taken the pilot out leaving someone with no experience at the controls.
ReplyDeleteThe PC12 is no speed demon and its windows are actually certified to absorb the shock of a bird. Unless it flew into a Pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus, or a large military drone, I doubt this would have been catastrophic and at least there would have been some comms too.
DeleteNow the transport of ammo and firearms is another issue but unless they were carrying explosives which would be prohibited anyways and a violation of basic part 91 hazmat rules also this is doubtful. A pilot will always make sure ammo and firearms are unloaded and stored safely.
Dot speak too loud Response is heard. Friend of family
DeleteI know who the pilot is. He was a very skilled pilot. I am very close with another pilot who has flown with him many times. I find it hard to believe it was pilot error.
ReplyDeleteCan you email me to discuss - Greg Feith crashdetective@msn.com
DeleteGregory Feith, Crash Detective
DeleteNBC Aviation Analyst, Air Safety Investigator.
2016 Inductee to the Living Legends of Aviation.
https://www.facebook.com/AirCrashDetective
www.aircrashdetective.com
Hello,
DeleteI am from a film company where we are currently working on a piece related to general aviation accidents. And on my research I came across this website where many of the fatal accidents that are of interest. I found it great and very detailed, I see Kathryn's Report (KR) mainly reports about aviation but KR does a very thorough research on the whole case/accident. Does KR follow the stories "live" and updates the report here as it happens or it that done after the accident is concluded? Does anyone happen to know their sources?
Thank you in advance!
I have been following this website for just under a year and I would say that updates are typically made in the first week or so following a crash, as details unfold (mostly confirmations of deaths/injuries, witness reports, obituaries, anything that is readily available online). A couple weeks after a crash there is typically a NTSB Preliminary Report and after that I see little updating, as there is not really anything else that can be said until the final NTSB report is released (can =years). Of interest are the comments sections where other pilots speculate as to causes and try to learn from the accident.
DeleteTo the person who knew the pilot, I am very sorry for your loss. All of us pilots on here want to learn from this and every other event to make us better pilots. But I have to ask, if he was an experienced pilot, why scud run when you would likely have to shoot the approach into MRH anyway?
Deleteprolly a bird. karma got back at them... would write lol but im not the type raving on deaths... unlike them
DeleteAnother possibility, an accidental discharge from a firearm.
ReplyDeletepossible sure, probable...not likely.
DeleteThat near 180 turn makes me wonder if they strayed into R5306A
ReplyDelete180 turn appears to be maneuvering around precip - see NEXRAD playback in later comments.
DeleteSeems the plane was flying erratically which caused it to crash.
ReplyDeleteThe PC12NG is a pretty stable AC, makes one wonder about a medical event?
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what I was thinking.. btw there were 8 people on board and killed in this crash.
DeleteI suspect the same kind of event that killed a hunting party in Chamberlain, South Dakota, also in a PC12, or the Citation that crashed in lake Erie in the middle of the night. Either poor ADM or fatigue/SD.
ReplyDeleteThe lawsuits for the Citation crash are probably still ongoing and claim the pilot was grossly incompetent/unfamiliar with the avionics of the small jet as he probably thought he was on AP but he wasn't and it didn't take long to crash back into Erie at hundreds of miles per hour following this lack of awareness.
Special mention too to the Phenom 100 that crashed in Maryland and killed a widow and her 2 children besides the 3 people onboard including the CEO of a successful biotech.
See the pattern here?
Sorry to say it but if you're a Part 91 flying a complex advanced turbojet or turboprop and not under a company and flying employees like everyday with a crew that is as busy, and frankly then you might as well switch to be a part 135 because the FAA will come actually check to see if you're one (as they are in a crackdown on illegal charters for that matter), then the requirements to maintain proficiency and be safe in such machines are such it's a bad idea to fly one and not be a FULL TIME occupational pilot.
I am not talking the retired 30,000 hrs captain but a pilot that flies at least 20-40 hrs a week and is very very busy. With tens of flights every week.
Otherwise the advanced features of those machines will lull the hobbyist, either the wealthy owner or the contract professional that flies sporadically for the wealthy owner, into DIR i.e disuse, interference, repression.
I agree. I was a C-130J pilot (HUD, advanced aviations, awesome weather radar, advanced autopilot, autothrottles, etc.)
DeleteMy thoughts, if the aircraft automation starts making the plane do something you don't want, disengage the automation, hand fly and then sort out the technology.
Also agree regarding recency. Someone commented about advanced aircraft being more difficult to crash. I think that's correct. Even as a current C-130J pilot I would not have flown a light aircraft single pilot IFR. I was not used to that kind of environment (wasn't current)
Here's the Maryland crash:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.flyingmag.com/ntsb-blames-pilot-in-maryland-phenom-accident/
Here's the Citation crash:
https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/cleveland/ntsb-issues-final-report-on-december-2016-lake-erie-plane-crash-that-killed-6/95-576705850
And finally the Chamberlain, ND, crash, which is eerily similar to that one ie hunting trip in a PC12:
https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/crime/2019/12/17/ntsb-chamberlain-plane-crash-report-south-dakota/2677318001/
One factor to consider is all those machines are multimillion $$$ expensive vehicles and mostly workhorse for established charters, which can afford to lease/buy them.
The PC12 is marketed to wealthy clientele as a personal transport given its docile characteristics up to a degree... as the stall might be abrupt and it ain't no Cessna 172.
As usual, your "analysis" is ridiculously uninformed. How was this crash "eerily similar" to the crash of N56KJ? Because the occupants in both planes were wearing camouflage?
DeleteThe Chamberlain crash occurred on takeoff in moderate snow with an ice and snow contaminated airframe. This accident occurred as a loss of control while at altitude. The two accidents are in no way common, except they were both PC-12/47 aircraft and the occupants were wearing the aforementioned camouflage clothing.
Chamberlin is in SOUTH DAKOTA :)
DeletePlease tell our shipmates and the others searching thank you for the diligent search efforts even though we believe it is a recovery effort instead of a rescue effort. I knew several on board - and count(ed) the pilot as a friend. Their families deserve closure.
ReplyDeleteCG vessels as far away as Cape May, NJ, are searching. Be safe out there and thank you for your diligent service.
DeleteHere are archive NEXRAD weather radar playbacks for the one hour period leading up to the 2:01 PM EST / 1901 UTC crash.
ReplyDeleteThese playback will only function for six days from the accident date, so if you are a researcher or news organization, use the playback controls to stop and step thru and make screen captures of the 11 images in the sequence before the six days of availability passes.
Base Reflectivity:
http://weather.rap.ucar.edu/radar/displayRad.php?icao=KMHX&prod=BREF&bkgr=color&endDate=20220213&endTime=19&duration=1
Composite Reflectivity:
http://weather.rap.ucar.edu/radar/displayRad.php?icao=KMHX&prod=CREF&bkgr=color&endDate=20220213&endTime=19&duration=1
0.5° Velocity:
http://weather.rap.ucar.edu/radar/displayRad.php?icao=KMHX&prod=VEL&bkgr=color&endDate=20220213&endTime=19&duration=1
To compare flight track timing/location to the 11 NEXRAD images in the one hour playbacks, this representation is simple to utilize:
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n79nx#2acf1104
For reference. these NEXRAD playbacks are from:
http://weather.rap.ucar.edu/radar/
That odd u-turn made early in the track corresponds to maneuvering around a green precip area on the NEXRAD composite image.
DeleteCompare track to the 18:34/18:39/18:44 UTC NEXRAD images.
That final turn and crash corresponds to a green precip area on the NEXRAD composite image.
DeleteCompare track to the 18:59 UTC NEXRAD image.
There is a "Restricted Area" (R 5306A) for a bombing range in the general area of the flight path as well.
DeleteJust taking a guess here. Based upon the experience of the pilot and the normal tracks of their preceeding flights. I wonder who was the at the flight controls during this flight, or the later parts of this flight. It is a possibility that some type of medical emergency occured involving the PIC. It appears possible that someone with less experience was at the controls. The flight path IS typical of a low time pilot venturing into IMC.
ReplyDeletePilot's son was aboard, shows up as Jeff Worthington Rawls in airmen registry. Several possible scenarios from that new info.
DeleteA commenter on Blancolrio's channel relates personal experience with runaway trim of a PC12. Recovery was quite challenging for two pilots, likely not possible for a single pilot in his opinion.
ReplyDeleteElectric trim has an override.
DeleteIt tricky thou read this ATSB report.
Deletehttps://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2019/aair/ao-2019-019/
Trim runaway...Royal flying Dr's, Chamberlin SD, Millan Italy, now in NC. Look closely, all same sort of problem.
DeleteI think the pilot had a medical event and one of the passengers (non pilot) took over from the wild track of the aircraft.
ReplyDeleteAnother possibility given the low altitude is they hit a flock of migratory birds. This brought a medvac helicopter down in Arkansas a while back.
ReplyDeleteA few comments bring into question the experience of the pilot of this aircraft. Here are his credentials:
ReplyDeleteLicenses: Ground Instructor - Advanced Mechanic - Airframe Mechanic - Powerplant Pilot : Commercial - Airplane Single Engine Land Pilot : Commercial - Airplane Multiengine Land Pilot : Commercial - Instrument Airplane
Pilot, A&P Mechanic, Inspector
•Ferried customers and planes throughout the Southeastern United States
•Retrieved damaged aircraft and diagnosed technical issues
•Inspected and maintained a variety of aircraft to ensure compliance with FAA standards
As of right now nobody knows for sure what happened to cause this tragedy but an inexperience pilot is not one of them I think we can concur.
Pilot's son who perished in the crash shows up in airmen registry as a student pilot, Jeff Worthington Rawls. Can't disregard scenarios that can occur for that circumstance, whether by PIC incapacitation, distraction, disorientation or short duration "SIC handoff" mishap.
DeleteLiveATC recording from day-of takeoff at PGV has two different voices making radio calls for 9NX. Matching past flights of 9NX with PGV transmissions indicate the same, so this does not sound like the first time someone else was aboard helping with the radio calls. But why no autopilot this time? Dive teams found the fuselage, hopefully the LDR can shed some light.
DeleteIn the LiveAtc CTAF recording before takeoff on the leg from PGV to pick up the pax, a first N79NX pilot's voice can be heard conversing with "Stuart" between minute 2:30 to 3:30 about parking arrangements for the expected return to PGV later that day.
DeleteA different second voice announces takeoff intention to CTAF at about the four minute mark:
"Greenville traffic, uh pilatus seven nine november xray taking active runway two zero (pausing/correcting).. zero two"
The second voice heard again at about 6:45:
"Okay Greenville traffic, seven nine november xray is departing the pattern to the east, last call to Greenville"
LiveAtc recording:
https://archive.liveatc.net/kpgv/KPGV-Feb-13-2022-1730Z.mp3
Track to go pickup pax:
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n79nx#2aceeda5
Looking at the picture of the kids in the plane eating, at the front the the plane one of the avionics screens has a large red X. Does anyone know what that screen does? Is that typical for the screen when it starts up?
ReplyDeleteMany people assume this picture was taken on the doomed flight. Stephanie Fulcher posted the pictures at 10:59 am on Sunday the 13th. The aircraft had not even left PGV to get to Hyde County Airport when she posted the photos. This photo had to be from the flight to Hyde County on Friday based on the time she posted it and anyone who knows Hyde County there is not a McDonalds anywhere close by (or much of anything else) as the boys were eaten in the picture.
DeleteMost likely Pilot just turning on electrical power to aircraft and takes a minute for Instruments to be spooled up so to speak.
DeleteYes it is the start up sequence when the STBY bus is turned on, prior to main batteries. Takes a minute to initialize the AGM card.
DeleteMany good ideas and analysis, I hope the plane has data that can help as well. But if not I am becoming a believer in all pilots installing a garmin type device to record everything the cockpit, for many reasons including finding answers, learning but most of all to get a better idea of what happened.
ReplyDeleteI just watched the flightradar track and he had descended to from 3600 to 2600 in a minute then to 1800 the next minute then shot up to 4300 4600 and 4725 in 2 minutes. During which time his ground speed varied up and down, ending in a continuously slower speed while gaining altitude and g/s dropped to 101, For reference his last landing showed a ground speed of over 150.
ReplyDeleteCould CG be a factor?
ReplyDeletePilatus has a program download for the PC-12/47E which can run on an ipad. Nice little program which makes it easy to quickly determine aircraft weight/balance/CG.
In situations with 6+ passengers and additional luggage like golf clubs, or long guns + bulk ammunition + game packed in large ice chest(s?) + associated clothing... the CG can easily fall into an extreme aft CG condition. If not carefully managed, CG can easily be aft of Pilatus limits.
Aft CG is unstable in pitch, with a tendency to seek an increasing pitch attitude. In a turn this becomes even more critical to manage, as stall is a function of angle of attack, which must increase to maintain altitude.
Fuel has minimal effect on the PC-12 CG, and so if the aircraft is near the aft CG limit at takeoff, it will have nearly the same CG throughout the flight… as long as the passenger and cargo remains unchanged. If that passenger seated in the copilot seat goes aft to use the lavatory and then joins in the card game in the back, then that weight that was helping is now degrading the CG situation. Point is, the PC-12 can be outside the aft CG limit without being overweight.
The luggage compartment is farthest aft in most configurations. The Lavatory is usually behind the copilot. Passengers want access to the Lavatory, so the tendency is to load the ice chests and other bulky/heavy cargo aft of most passenger seating.
Aircraft had been flying for a period of time so Weight and Balance would not be an issue until flying at a slow speed or stall..Looking like a medical issue and student pilot possibly attempting to fly in IFR conditions...
DeleteHow forgiving is CG on PC-12? If a medical event happened that forced the pilot to assist in the cabin, leaving the son at the controls to "maintain attitude," could the loaded aft cabin plus cargo cause an unrecoverable attitude? An adult cannot stand up in the cabin, so if CG moved too far aft, it wouldn't be a quick recovery to get back into the cockpit.
DeleteCG on PC-12?? The above so called CG issue you mention is beyond stupid...
Deleteget the cg program and see for yourself. aft cg stall is a universal concern, not just on a pc12. stall is a direct function of angle of attack, period. If a pilot is aimlessly lost, not able to navigate, how well would anyone expect that pilot is controlling airspeed, angle of attack, altitude, angle of bank? A pilot who stalls and crashes after being lost for a period of time has still died from a stall and failure to recover.
DeleteLooks like Teen Rawls was the PIC https://www.fox3now.com/teen-rawls-was-the-pilot-of-the-plane-that-crashed-off-drum-inlet/?fbclid=IwAR0MWrZaUSgiioPKVhEKRV1Gq-em1PkJ0ozOG9OrQPsNhzVoaKZhZxzcb_s
ReplyDeleteCarteret County Sheriff’s Office has released the names.
Deletehttps://www.carolinacoastonline.com/news_times/article_0b086a52-8e90-11ec-a54d-2b8a22a6a7e0.html
Named pilot Ernest “Teen” Durwood Rawls is in airmen registry.
Airmen registry also has a Jeff Worthington Rawls student pilot listed with address opted out.
Link for lookups:
https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry/
Pilot was 67 years old, with 20 years of experience. I wonder when he obtained that experience; early in life, or the past 20 years?
ReplyDeleteWas there a Mayday call?
ReplyDeleteMan who pilot had worked for confirms pilot's son who perished in the crash was also a pilot. Airmen registry lists Jeff Worthington Rawls with a student pilot certification.
ReplyDeleteArticle excerpt:
"Charlie Snow, a close friend of the pilot, said that Ernest Rawls and Jeff Rawls were father and son, respectively. Jeff Rawls was a pilot as well, Snow said.
Snow said the elder Rawls had previously flown for his company, Outer Banks Airlines, and that he and Rawls had also flown together. The elder Rawls was a highly trained and an extremely capable pilot, not to mention a high-level aviation mechanic, said Snow, who is also a pilot."
Excerpt is from article:
https://www.bigrapidsnews.com/news/article/Sheriff-4-teens-among-passengers-in-N-Carolina-16920891.php
Posted on Outer Banks Airlines Facebook page.
Deletehttps://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10224395626310981&id=1615344605
That writeup at the facebook link describes PC-12 duty/training from prior time period that indicates the accident aircraft type was not unfamiliar. Pilot recovered from lymphoma in 2020. Interesting reading.
DeleteI'm guessing pilot incapacitation. He was 67.
ReplyDeleteThat could explain the ragged flight path if his student pilot son on board picked up the task. No mayday reported, though.
DeleteAccording to his medical info, his medical was issued with only a 1-year validity date.
Delete"Medical Class: Second: Medical Date: 6/2021
NOT VALID FOR ANY CLASS AFTER 06/30/2022."
That stipulation usually means some type of underlying medical or physical condition that is either being monitored or treated.
The pilot was a cancer survivor and his medical was cleared after cancer treatments were well ended.
DeleteGiven the PIC's son was a pilot student and knew how to use the radio a mayday would have been communicated in case of incapacitation or other issues. The lack of comms of all things points to a situation rapidly degrading just like what happened with Kennedy's ill fated flight in 1998.
ReplyDeleteSubtle cues point to deficient ADM... for example the lack of an IFR. You always fly IFR to have the help of ATC so you can TEAM i.e Transfer, Eliminate, Accept and Mitigate any issues that may arise. Especially if the PIC is responsible for that many souls.
Also if the elder Rawls was on a special issuance it was poor decision making to take on a flight with 8 people. Maybe he tried to get on basic med but couldn't and even then he would be limited to 6 seats.
What is the source for lack of comms?
DeleteAviate, Navigate, Communicate is the priority. So aircraft in distress will seldom communicate to anyone because the pilot(s) will be busy managing the issue.
DeleteA pilot will always be trained to fly a plane first, comms are the last thing if ever needed.
Autopilot was being used during the flight to maintain set altitudes. The autopilot would have been auto-trimming nose up trying to maintain the current 1700' altitude setpoint while the aircraft ground speed degraded during 18:57:45 to 18:59:11 UTC as seen in the FlightAware track log data.
ReplyDeleteNose-high trim from auto-trim working to maintain the 1700' setpoint as speed degraded following a too-low power setting may be key to understanding how the loss of control event began.
Except we have a stick shake and pusher that would not have allowed that to happen.
DeleteOk, I can't resist, here's my AAI (Armchair Accident Investigator) theory after a whopping 5 minutes of reading up on limited information about the accident: 67 year old pilot possibly had a medical event (re: heart attack and/or stroke), young student pilot and son of pilot, in right seat struggles with both the emotions of his father in medical distress and taking over the controls of a quite advanced PC-12, with likely only Cessna 152 (or 172) aviation school plane with steam gauges experience, and under 60 hours. Imagine being a fledgling student pilot and all of a sudden faced with a dire flight emergency attempting to pilot a full glass cockpit turboprop plane? That just seems the most probable scenario for a crash in such a sophisticated, proven aircraft as the PC-12 (note: with very little information sitting here in on my couch...).
ReplyDeleteNote to those pilots in their 'increasing' years... When flying passengers, especially when flying kids, it is unwise to fly without another licensed pilot in the right seat should a medical event occur. That's how my dad forced my mom to get her PPL (when I was younger), they kept flying their grandchildren around and realized that if he had a heart attack they'd all get killed. My mom did NOT want to learn how to fly, had no interest in it whatsoever. But she realized he was right.. After struggling through ground school, she was a natural at the controls. Eventually getting her PPL, and I was her first passenger (yes, I have big balls... lol). She then became obsessed with flying, and ended up with her own plane, a 172. Don't plan for a good flight, plan for a bad one.
After examining the radar data, flight experience of the pilot, and weather conditions, I wonder if there was a pressurization issue. While flying VFR at 4,000ft., the first part of the flight showed a steady flight path flying a little bit faster than normal cruising speed. Then, I see the erratic turns noted by MCAS Cherry Point with a significant decrease in airspeed but altitude remains unchanged until the final few minutes. The pilot and his son are both highly skilled, according to media. If they were in trouble, he would have declared an emergency. He was too skilled to not declare a Mayday if mechanical issues arose that affected airworthiness. Plus, they were close enough to land where the pilot could have found an area to land or steered 180. I agree with spatial disorientation but a problem with the pressurization system could have incapacitated all on board.
ReplyDeleteAt 4000 feet? I don't think a pressurization problem at that altitude would incapacitate them?
DeleteThe published FAA AIM 8.1.2 Effects of Altitude section offers insight on whether a problem with the pressurization system could have incapacitated all on board at a maximum altitude of 4,000' MSL:
Delete"Although a deterioration in night vision occurs at a cabin pressure altitude as low as 5,000 feet, other significant effects of altitude hypoxia usually do not occur in the normal healthy pilot below 12,000 feet."
https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/aim_html/chap8_section_1.html
I take off and land at an airport thats at 5,600'. TPA is 6,600'. Most cross country flights are at 9,500' or 10,500'. Sometimes 11,500'. I use a PulseOx frequently just to be sure. No way flying at 4,000' was a hypoxia issue.
DeleteNoticed the ground temp/DP at departure was 07/05. Could there have been some ice/freezing rain at 3,600 causing a probe to ice up? Loss of autopilot because of iced up probes? not able to see out the front if Windshield heat was not selected at takeoff? I have some of that had it happen in our CE-340 and its a handful and scary because it happens fast and your not thinking about it, but should have...CFII/ATP
ReplyDeleteHere is a crash of another PC12 near me in State College, PA. NTSB said it was spatial disorientation. Pilot was instrument rated and had done 2 recurrent training sessions with the manufacturer. Weather was not that bad either 1700 overcast.
ReplyDeleteHere is an excerpt from the report
A review of voice communications and radar data indicated that the airplane was inbound on the RWY 24 ILS instrument approach, when, at 1345, the pilot was advised by the New York Center controller that he could change from the New York Center radio frequency, to the University Park common traffic advisory frequency. After the pilot acknowledged the advisory, there were no further transmissions from him. The last radar return, at 1348, indicated the airplane was about 3,500 feet, 3 nautical miles from the runway and 2 nautical miles inside PENUE LOM, the final approach fix for the localizer instrument approach.
Near the accident site, a witness saw the airplane flying overhead. His attention had been drawn to it due to the amount of time it had been there. He looked up and saw the airplane "banking steeply" before it started "spiraling down" in a "counter-clockwise," nose low, left turn. The wings were "almost straight up and down," and the airplane made "8-10 circles" before briefly recovering. The witness then saw the airplane "gain slight control" before it disappeared behind a tree line.
Several other witnesses were interviewed by Pennsylvania State Police officers. One witness reported seeing the airplane over some pine trees, near a new correctional facility. "Its right wing was up and then it went nose down to the ground after doing a counter-clockwise spin." Additional witnesses reported seeing the airplane "with its left wing down and right wing up, doing a spin toward the ground," and "nose down doing approximately three to four slow revolutions to the earth."
The laymen here not from aviation generally don't understand why aircrafts in distress never communicate. The cause is simple: Aviate, Navigate and communicate is the order of priority at any phase of flight, normal or in an emergency.
ReplyDeleteCommunication is only done to summon help from ATC, say to give vectors to an airport.
This plane was VFR and not on a flight plan so not under the protection of ATC. This is why YOU ALWAYS FLY IFR when rated for it.
Why deny yourself help in an emergency and delegate to ATC personel the task of finding you the nearest airport to land at and weather for it?
Another poor ADM one can chalk to the PIC who was responsible for 8 souls.
Pilots abode by strict rules and everything in Aviation is mandated by Federal Law. Thorough preflight action as well as specific legal rules are written in blood and not following them one can be legal but not necessarily safe.
Regarding medical event, a pilot is by law obligated to self assess and if feeling unfit, regardless of his medical status, discontinue the flight.
Pilot are subjected to strict medical exams that generally will catch conditions such as heart issues. Nothing is perfect hence why a pilot who suspects problems with himself should act accordingly OR get another appropriately rated pilot in the right seat, not a student.
There has been so many fatal accidents in this field, sadly, that pretty much all the permutations of things going wrong are covered in the LAW, from mandated maintenance to medical to how pilots fly and do preflights etc.
A fatal accident like this one is surely a consequence of a violation. Per LOGIC 101.
Your conclusion is not logical.
DeleteAs usual, MarcPilot makes no sense. First he says "aircrafts in distress never communicate" because it's last priority, but then he says pilots should always fly IFR, so they can get help to find the nearest airport, etc. Well if these emergency pilots aren't communicating, they aren't asking ATC for help, so being IFR is not going to get you any more assistance than VFR if you don't ask for it! You don't need to be on an IFR flight plan to call a mayday on 121.5.
DeleteAnd in fact if you bothered to look at the flight track, it turns out this flight WAS on a squawk code ("4514" to be exact) so they WERE in communication with ATC and would have received all the same emergency assistance that an IFR flight would have. In fact, multiple reports say that ATC sent out search and rescue because they saw it flying erratically, so ATC did have eyes on them.
Also, this flight may have picked up a pop-up IFR clearance for all we know. So far no one has said they weren't on an IFR flight plan (hint: FlightAware doesn't always know about every IFR flight plan.)
The whole rambling part about preflight action also makes no sense. "specific legal rules are written in blood and not following them one can be legal but not necessarily safe" Huh? Not following "legal rules" can be "legal but not safe"? Care to explain that one?
All I am saying is that the regs and AIM cover all permutations of possibilities and if a safe pilot adheres to them, pending a military drone or meteorite or act of god hitting your airplane, you will stay alive.
DeleteFor 8 souls onboard the pilots shall have been extra cautious, and given his special medical issuance MAYBE NOT FLOWN AT ALL.
You see in Aviation the most important decision might be to not fly at all that day, or that trip.
Like an expert warrior is expert at NOT USING his superior fighting skills, a superior airman is skilled at determining when not to fly, and make sure to never ever have to need his superior stick and rudder or emergency management skills in real life.
Hence per LOGIC 101 something terribly wrong or violations were committed on that flight.
Look up the Cessna Citation crash in Lake Erie... negative transfer, fatigue, takeoff at night in poor visibility and 4 people dead. Had the pilot decided NOT TO FLY 4 people would be alive.
A simple self assessment would have determined taking a hotel for the night and flying the next day after decent rest would have been appropriate.
I agree with the poster above "As usual, MarcPilot makes no sense".
DeleteThis guy is BONKERS. He makes some of the most bizarre, off the wall, and illogical comments I've ever heard, as I'm sure most of you have read.
Like above " The laymen here not from aviation generally don't understand why aircrafts in distress never communicate. The cause is simple: Aviate, Navigate and communicate is the order of priority at any phase of flight, normal or in an emergency.
Communication is only done to summon help from ATC"
WHAT???? Only communicate with ATC if you need to summon help????
And there are many more like this.
MarcPilot claims to be a flight instructor. Let's hope it's in a flight sim class in not in real life. If this is anyone's instructor, Run Forest Run.
Pilots are cool... why? because we keep our calm even in the most egregarious cases of personal attacks as above, obviously done by people not related to Aviation.
DeleteThat aside and to clarify to the non aviation emotional posters above, I specified the Aviate, Navigate and Communicate priority as a guideline we all teach to students. During an actual emergency things may vary. For example if a pilot loses awareness where he is and the plane is fine then they can call ATC.
The difference between an IFR flight plan and "cowboy" style VFR flying with no flight plan is the former requires communications and ATC is obligated to separate you from other traffic as well as warn you of adverse weather conditions etc...
It is ok to communicate if an emergency allows for it or if better and faster to get the info from ATC. For example considering an engine failure and the pilot scrambling to get to best glide then pulling out the engine failure checklist they still need to get to the nearest airport and know the wind direction there to select a suitable runway, all of this info can be gleaned from an iPad and foreflight, but also it is faster to just ask it from ATC on the radio.
99% of all permutations of problems are covered by following religiously regulations and self assessment etc... so an accident is always due not following those.
Read the NTSB reports of past accidents and you will find pilots are blamed 90% of the time.
Also my comment about communicating to ATC only in to summon help is ONLY IN THE CONTEXT OF AN EMERGENCY!!!
DeleteOf course a pilot will contact ATC or a controlled tower or fellow aviators in the air for a variety of reasons and using the correct flight plan.
Here it is safe to assume the plane had some kind of very abnormal situation onboard hence why in such moments outside radio communication become unimportant, unless they are part of the plan to resolve the emergency and if time allows.
Also a CFI always refers his students to the scriptures regarding radio comms...
Deletehttps://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/aim_html/chap4_section_2.html
In past comments, Marcpilot has said he was working toward becoming a CFI. An actual CFI's comments on accidents wouldn't look as these do, but someone posing as if they were a pilot or CFI wouldn't realize how it looks to everyone else while writing the massive screeds.
DeleteMark Pilot sayz "YOU ALWAYS FLY IFR when rated for it."
DeleteThis is a ridiculous incorrect oversimplification. There are some cases where filing IFR is LESS SAFE than flying VFR. A great example is flying to Catalina Island. If you file IFR, ATC will vector you many miles offshore putting you far from a safe gliding distance from land, which is risky and dangerous for a single engine aircraft. If you fly VFR, you can fly the shortest route that minimizes your time over the water, which is much safer on a clear VMC day, and you can still get flight following to have ATC call out traffic and keep an eye on you. You can also pick a route that keeps you close to the shipping lanes so if you do need to put it down in the water, a quick rescue is assured.
Another situation is flying over remote terrain. If you fly VFR, you can follow highways and choose your route on the fly to remain close to airports and other emergency landing options. Fly IFR, and they will route you where they want which might put you away from safe landing options.
Sure filing IFR can be a life safer in some situations, but it's not ALWAYS the best option. If you think VFR is "cowboy flying", that says more about how you fly VFR than how most safe pilots are doing it. If you file a VFR flight plan and are on with flight following, VFR in VMC conditions can be just as safe as IFR.
Funny anecdote... my headset says "Crazed Pilot" (https://www.pilotshop.com/catalog/avpages/crazedpilot11-16631.php). Not that I am one.
DeleteRegarding IFR yes you can fly to Catalina and I did so several times on IFR. And behold the recommended course is always minimizing flying over water.
If you don't like the approach and it's VFR out then just cancel and land in VMC. That simple.
Aviation is all about minimizing risk first, and using common sense.
Yes there's tons of regs but really one shall ask themselves the why of those regs, now the how.
Considering rote, knowledge, application and correlation, most flight training ends at application and neglects the correlation part.
This is how we end up with people flying in icing in between 2 VFR sectors i.e https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rryvSQhK7k
"Regarding IFR yes you can fly to Catalina and I did so several times on IFR. And behold the recommended course is always minimizing flying over water."
DeleteMaybe in your little flight sim game, but in real life, this is definitely not true. Any IFR traffic arriving or departing Catalina to/from the north/east will always be routed via VTU-WEEZL-SXC to avoid the LAX departure corridor. In fact, this route is codified in the TEC routes which the SoCal TRACON will ALWAYS give you when one exists no matter what route you try to file.
The VTU-WEEZL-SXC route takes you over 58 nautical miles of open ocean. Compare this to 18 nautical miles of ocean if you did a VFR transition from the north/east through the LAX Bravo and flew direct from San Pedro to Catalina. https://skyvector.com/?ll=33.81041765716448,-118.75506591420036&chart=301&zoom=3&fpl=%20KCMA%20VTU%20WEEZL%20SXC%20KAVX
Choosing to fly over 40 extra NM of open ocean just to file IFR is not "minimizing risk" nor is it "using common sense".
And cancelling IFR before you hit the ocean so you can take a shorter path means you would be flying over 75 NM VFR, so that goes against your "YOU ALWAYS FLY IFR" rule.
Marc - one thing you may be forgetting is that Cockpit Resource Management in an emergency can include people outside of the cockpit. Sometimes communicating aids in the Aviate or Navigate bits. ;)
DeleteNews reports say the lightweight data recorder was recovered.
ReplyDeleteActual data from the recording for airspeed, pitch, yaw, roll, engine settings, control modes, alarms, stick pusher, etc might make it into the preliminary report if investigators are able to turn out a similar level of detail as they did in the N56KJ Chamberlain crash prelim.
MarcPilot, maybe they need to enact one more Law or Regulation...
ReplyDeletemake it illegal to crash an aircraft. I'm sure the PIC did everything legally, yet it ended badly.
Nothing is perfect. Now let's dissect another one of those Part 91 flights with 8+ passengers which had pilots do things "legally" yet they crashed and killed 10:
Deletehttps://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/addison-plane-crash-that-killed-10-was-pilot-error-ntsb-says/2635615/
They ignored checklists and when time came applied the wrong rudder action.
Professionals and occupational pilots? Yes...
So all the ratings in the world and your peers testifying how good you are plus a history devoid of accidents and incidents won't guarantee stupidity or complacency to creep in. Ask the pilot of the heli that killed Kobe Bryant.
In fact the lack of minor issues and incidents in a pilot history although excellent might also give you a pilot that had the bare minimum to pass on his written, had 4-5 checkrides to pass every rating, and flew the barest minimum to stay legal and current, yet not proficient.
The first question the FAA will ask regarding both pilots is wether they were proactive in their safety mindset, say by being parts of ta recurring training and the Wings FAA Safety programs.
Statistics show a pilot who has attended even a single wings seminar, for example, is orders of magnitude less likely to be involved in an accident, incident, or violation.
Seeing that "statistics show" claim and your belief that a seminar would have prevented this crash is a "tell", as in poker.
DeleteTake a deep breath and realize that until the lightweight data recorder reveals the parameters of the flight upset and crash sequence, imagining multiple scenarios of pilot misdeeds is unfounded and something that only a person falsely posing as knowledgeable would give so much effort to at this early stage.
I am not sure how you can declare "I'm sure the PIC did everything legally". Have you reviewed every recorded conversation from the Pilatus, downloaded the Flight Data Recorder, conducted an autopsy and toxicology on the PIC, reviewed the W&B, determined why the PIC was scud running rather than filing IFR, determined why the PIC headed directly towards Restricted Airspace when just 12 days before the plane flew to the same destination via W95 staying clear of Restricted Airspace, etc?
DeleteMaybe none of the commenters noticed that N79NX went straight through the restricted airspace when it flew to MRH on 19 January.
DeletePilot had flown the area extensively for years with Outer Banks and lived locally, would expect him to routinely request permission to go straight through on those repeated trips back and forth between MRH and 7W6.
Review of Cherry Point approach controller comm recordings will reveal whether a request to go through was made on the accident day, declined and resulted in a turnback. The turnback by itself doesn't provide much basis for you all to argue from with no comm info to go on.
19 January straight through:
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=aab6ee&lat=35.071&lon=-76.568&zoom=8.9&showTrace=2022-01-19&leg=1&trackLabels×tamp=1642552633
In order to enter Restricted Airspace a pilot must contact the Controlling Agency to ask if it is active (hot) or inactive (cold). Only after the pilot has been informed that it is "cold" can he/she enter. You don't just enter and then ask. You don't enter and make a U-turn and exit and apologize. It is the same with Class B Airspace in large cities. You do not enter without permission. It is a rookie mistake that no seasoned "pro" pilot would make. Even his son, who is a student pilot, reportedly in the right seat, would see the mistake on the moving maps on that huge glass cockpit. With GPS and ADSB the FAA knows every plane that violates these simple rules. A pilot who violates will be contacted by the FAA after the flight. A Commercial Pilot will be grilled and this mistake could jeopardize his ability to fly.
DeleteThe armchair argument needs comm recordings to reveal what was asked, when asked or if permission was given just to skirt precip but not to continue fully through. Not recognizing that permission may have been pre-coordinated for brief entry to skirt weather is another simmer commenting "tell".
Delete@Texas Flyer Not sure that turning around and exiting a restricted area in all circumstances is a rookie mistake. As a retired military pilot, I reckon that's exactly what you should do if you enter an active bombing range :)
DeleteRange Control is meant to monitor that before clearing live, but mistakes happen.
With ref to the “lake Erie” crash it was not uncommon late at night to seek controllers approval to fly straight out to 10k then turn on course This would have made that departure a “piece of cake “ even for a Private pilot in a fast jet and holding 5 mins for such approval would have been well worth it
ReplyDeleteNot sure I understand but you seem to blame ATC for the crash? It is obvious the pilot went into SD and basically thought the AP was on when it wasn't and the plane quickly lost altitude in a spiral. Prior to that flight he had very little sleep and was unfamiliar with a new aircraft while negatively transfering knowledge from a previous model he owned onto that one, including wrong actuation of automation.
DeleteRob's comment clearly was that the Erie pilot could have asked for a straight out departure that would have been worth waiting a few minutes for.
DeleteHindisght is 20/20? :)
DeleteThe problem is the departure he was assigned to was a piece of cake too. It's the pesky part about being able to fly on instruments at night that killed him and his passengers.
So per the preliminary report looks like he almost busted a restricted airspace and was all over the place. No report of a mechanical emergency either. Erratic altitude and inability to follow ATC instructions.
ReplyDeleteThe climb to 4700 from 1700 clearly indicates an SD or medical incapacitation issue. Most likely they were in IMC then? Regardless something was terribly wrong with the PIC's flying and the cause of the crash.
In fact it was wrong enough to warrant declaring an emergency but whatever was happening he didn't mention anything of it.
If a medical emergency happens in flight (very rare and that would be a violation of 91.103 i.e self medical assessment, and the FAA would most likely investigate his medical background leading to the flight) a pilot might be reluctant to mention it for fear their medical will immediately be pulled off immediately and any subsequent medical will be hell. In fact that they will never be allowed to fly again.
Happened to a CFI I know. When he had a minor cardiac event it took him years to get a special issuance and even then it would be restricted to a 3rd class forever.
He also only had a 3rd class, but would have needed a 2nd class to exercise his CPL privileges. And if a ground instructor it generally means he used to be a CFI but let it lapse.
Well if indeed this was a medical event... once again respecting the rules would have saved lives. That is if he would report his true medical condition and accept his pilot's license yanked forever, he would have not flown and killed 7 innocent others.
This is why medicals are so harsh and even a minor heart condition is warrant for its denial.
How convenient that you failed to admit you that the NTSB report proved you wrong when you claimed the pilot was VFR the whole time. Per the report, the pilot requested an instrument flight rules (IFR) clearance into Michael J. Smith Field Airport (MRH) and was later given an IFR approach.
DeleteAlso, saying
"If a medical emergency happens in flight (very rare and that would be a violation of 91.103 i.e self medical assessment" is complete BS. There are many incapacitating medical issues that could not be caught by self assessment. Do you think all victims of a sudden heart attack or stroke could detect it was going to happen 30 minutes prior? That's not a 91.103 violation, it's just bad luck.
Saying
"if a ground instructor it generally means he used to be a CFI but let it lapse." is also false. Even a lapsed CFI cert would still be listed and many people get their AGI and IGI without getting their CFI because they are very easy to get (just written tests, no practical.)
No matter what the PIC is responsible here and it is his responsibility all died on his watch. There's no 2 ways about it.
DeleteHe was on VFR flight following then erroneously requested IFR through a hot restricted airspace which was denied. Big deal. But if IFR it means IMC conditions prevailed close to the destination otherwise someone wouldn't want to get a popup IFR all of the sudden.
Anyhow... some pilots do hide conditions they assume are benign to medical examiners on the assumption it will threaten their medical which is true as there's a laundry list of conditions which can result in a yanked medical. And then getting it back is hell on earth as I have witnessed.
Also a ground instructor is something you can get on your way to a CFI so either he was attempting to get one since the written exams on the way to get a CFI can be used for that.
No matter what the PIC is responsible here and it is his responsibility all died on his watch. There's no 2 ways about it.
DeleteAnother ridiculous comment. It's not always the PICs fault when an accident happens. Was it the PIC of TWA 800's fault that all died after a spark in the fuel tank wiring blew the plane apart? Was it the PIC of MH17's fault that all died after Russian-backed war criminals shot it down over Ukraine? The PIC on this flight could have followed all the rules by the book and still everyone died due to no fault of his own. At this point there are way too many unknowns to say for sure. What if one of the kids accidentally shot the pilot as you theorized in your other comment?
Also, there are plenty of pilots who get their ground instructor certificate and have zero intention of becoming CFIs, just like there are many CFIs that don't get their ground instructor cert. They are two related but completely separate paths. In fact, many good flight schools recommend that instrument and commercial students get their ground instructor certs because the ground instructor exams are almost all the same as the instrument and commercial written exams, so they are a great practice test that your DPE will never see your scores for.
Marc,
DeleteYou sound like the old crash investigations where nearly everything was pilot error. Firstly, google "REASON model". Secondly, that's a pretty silly blanket statement.
While possible, it seems unlikely that the commercial rated pilot had an incapacitating medical event and his student pilot son would not have immediately radioed a mayday call requesting help and instead continued to respond to radio calls without mentioning it and attempted to fly for him.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to analyze the radio calls to determine which pilot was making them as well as the level of stress detected in their voice. Unfortunately, it seems the Cherry Point Approach LiveATC feed has been down since Dec 31 of last year, so the public will have to wait for the accident docket to be released in 2-3 years to hear those tapes.
No one knows how one will react in a panicked situation...Radio calls just add to the panic and stress as well and did not help...Recent crashes have proven that fact...
DeleteSure, I get that making radio calls add to panic and stress, but this flight started going off the rails at 1342 when it penetrated the restricted area, yet continued (most) responding to radio calls for another 20 minutes including correctly reading back an IFR approach clearance. If the non-rated student pilot was stressed about a medical issue with his pilot father, it seems hard to believe he would have the presence of mind to correctly read back something unfamiliar like an IFR clearance yet not have the presence of mind to say "unable", "mayday", or "emergency" for a medical issue with the pilot. Like I said, anything is possible, it just seems unlikely.
DeleteWhatever was happening on that flight it was hidden from ATC. Several attempts too to communicate were ignored. ATC even enquired why there was radio silence and got no answer on the subject.
DeleteSince it was a hunting expedition maybe a rifle fired and it damaged something on the plane, and they would have been busy not talking about it? We now have to go trough a list of things that would embarrass a pilot enough to stay silent about it and bust a restricted airspace too in the process.
His explanation of not being able to receive radio calls also doesn't make sense. I do hope some kind of recorder was onboard as this whole thing is a huge head scratcher.
@Marcpilot - You wrote:
Delete"I do hope some kind of recorder was onboard"
N79NX's Lightweight Data Recorder was recovered. The LDR that Pilatus provides as installed equipment on the PC-12 is what provided the data used in the Chamberlain N56KJ investigation.
You seem to want to project knowledge about aviation, but haven't paid any attention at all to that relevant detail, still unaware of the LDR being present in PC-12's or the news reports noted in comments here stating that N79NX's LDR was found.
As experienced as Teen Rawls was, he failed to check NOTAMs prior to departure and flew directly into the R-5306A airspace after departing PGV, even after ATC told him it was active 3 min after departure. Rawls confirmed the transmission, but didn't change course (why?). Three minutes later ATC called N79NX again, informing him he had entered R-5306A, but got no response after several calls. Something was clearly happening to Rawls at this point, but probably not total incapacitation as he or his son requested an RNAV approach a few minutes later. The flight track indicates the plane was on autopilot until the last 6-7 minutes of the flight (except for a brief course change to get out of R-5306A). At that point direction, speed and altitude became erratic, indicating that the student copilot, Jeff Rawls, was likely at the controls. What is hard to understand is why one of them didn't make a MAYDAY call, after all the radio was already tuned to ATC.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I got attacked for merely pointing the fact the PIC was most likely responsible like in 90%+ of cases where a perfectly good plane is flown to the ground. Also if his son took over that would also have been a violation unless he had an endorsement from a CFI to fly the plane... solo with no passengers as student pilots are forbidden to fly with passengers.
DeleteSo based on the info and ratings of those onboard it was actually illegal for the son to take over, unless an emergency allowed for it.
The track turning back out of R-5306A avoided flying directly through precip visble in the radar history. The pilot's reference to "trying to get out" is referring to that precip avoidance activity.
DeleteLocal experienced pilot knew that R-5306A is continuous use, not something you check NOTAMs for:
Deletehttp://www.cherrypointatc.com/ATCWeb/maca/Cherry%20Point%20MACA%205.htm
As long as rated pilot is PIC, a student can fly the plane under part 61, happens all the time at flight schools where a second student is in the back seat observing..
Deletefrom what i have seen he was not a part 121 airline captain. i think I saw on 3000 hours mentioned.
ReplyDeleteOnce again the Dan Gryder - Probable Cause speculation about a crash is WRONG. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) preliminary report identified Jeffrey Rawls was in the RIGHT seat and his father, Ernest ”Teen” Rawls, was in the left seat. Does Dan Gryder plan on saying his entire "Probable Cause" for this crash was wrong?
ReplyDeleteNo doubt the NTSB included the as-found seated positions specifically to prevent speculation that the student pilot was seated left.
DeleteFamily should sue Gryder for the intentional defamation. Youtube should have banned the channel after the outrageously false claim of co-pilot murder in his N3RB videos...
I listened to:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljcWbBPokgs
And his reasoning is logical and impassionate. Frankly he also warns this is based on the info he has at the time.
99% of accidents are pilot error... and most of the time it has to be GROSS mismanagement or careless and recklessness, like at Addison TX where the 71 year old captain had no CRM to speak of, forbidding his junior second to never manipulate the controls with passengers onboard (WT...). He also never used checklists, and there was no briefing on takeoff what to do if an engine failed. He also never kept his hand on the throttles on takeoff which explains why one throttle went down and he lost power on takeoff on one of the engines. A very manageable situation that quickly devolved into a deadly crash.
Those are the kind of people passengers give their precious life to. Some stuff you gotta do yourself this is why not only I am a CFI but also becoming and A&P... because yes there is shaddy maintenance too out there. Or the decisions pilot make regarding the maintenance can also kill them like the pilot of that baron that refused to heed the shops warning to do an engine overhaul and took a plane that had a busted engine out in the air only to die not far from the end of the runway.
@Marcpilot - Do you actually believe that the NTSB reported incorrect as-found seated positions for N79NX and that Gryder has "better information" that contradicts those reported positions?
DeleteYou say his reasoning is logical, but you don't notice that he bases his speculation on clearly disproven seating positions. Same problem as you not being aware of the installed LDR in PC-12's.
You are not paying attention to details. And now you claim to be working on becoming an A&P - more pretending...
Gryder clearly was working with what he had at the time. This video predates the NTSB report most obviously or the narrative would have changed quite a bit. The seat arrangement isn't important to me, rather the fact they were doing a scenic flight to the South around the restricted airspace is quite the eye opener.
DeleteFrankly the decision to not fly IFR in marginal weather when he had the ratings for it and do a scenic flight which was a massive detour to the straight 20 min flight is why you need to ask if the PIC in this flight was pretending to be a pilot. It gets worst when indeed his career was mostly being a mechanic, not an occupational full time pilot...
I got stellar grades on my written to be an Airframe mechanic and got an endorsement after working for years under IAs and A&Ps so I am appreciating your pointed character defamation behind an anonymous veil. My practical is scheduled next month. Either you keep on learning in Aviation or you become dangerous is my motto...
Tired of apologists for people who kill. I didn't kill any passengers in my career and I strive to be a safe pilot. The PIC of this flight did. It doesn't mean he did it on purpose of course. But after a century of flight for humanity we pretty much cornered the needed ADM to minimize undue risks. The PIC here was certainly legal but safe might have been another matter.
Personally if I am responsible for MANY passengers from A to B I will always fly IFR and any marginal VFR means I quadruple check everything from weather to W&B and PAVE etc.. Also I will not go doing scenic flights around a 24/7 restricted airspace flanked by a lot of clouds.
There is a reason most professional pilots think Gryder is garbage. It’s because he is! He is a hack who lives to Monday morning quarterback and the only people who find him insightful do so because they don’t know the difference.
DeleteGryder is profoundly arrogant, narcissistic and selfish. I have personally interviewed many victims of aircraft accidents. Family members are demoralized by what is happening to them with Gryders' exploitation. It is a demoralizing experience. And sometimes its the worst experience anyone can ever go through their entire life. Gryder has incorrect information on many of his videos and it expeditiously worst for these family members. He is doing damage to victims of aircraft accidents. Gryder simply has no conscience. He's a liar and all of those surrounding him are nothing more than a bunch of uneducated, narcissistic lowlifes.
Delete@MarcPilot - Maybe it doesn't matter to you that Gryder won't take down his false assertion that the student pilot was sitting left seat in Pilatus N79NX now that the NTSB preliminary report specifically stated as-found seating positions that completely invalidates the Gryder speculation.
DeleteThat example is proof that there is no concern by Gryder or yourself for how family members react to false assertions. What responsible person would leave a disproven assertion in place to smear a pilot?
Most people are not aware of WHY Gryder bashes FAA/NTSB so much. It's sour grapes. Find out details at this comment link:
http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2022/03/cessna-182q-skylane-n182xt-fatal.html?showComment=1647116548630#c6032082238978594454
Thanks for the reminder Dan. I'll remember not to "link out" to your crap channel so you WILL NOT profit from the misfortunes of these unfortunate victims.
DeleteDans' philosophy on accidents/incidents is there are 3 sides to every event. Yours, the NTSB (actual factual analysis), and, the correct one MINE.
DTSB = Dan Totally Spews Bullshit.
DG = Explicit racial bias
DeleteClimbing suddenly to 4700 msl sounds a little like a runaway trim
ReplyDeleteI have 4,000 hours in PC12 #101. It is inappropriate to hand fly the airplane with passengers on board in IMC. In fact, we are trained to use the autopilot above 1,000 AGL. It is clear from his panicked transmissions that he was flying. He might have let the kid try it but when it hit the skids he certainly would have assumed control. Only takes one push of a button to hand it over to "George". Tragic.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what you mean when you say "inappropriate to hand fly the airplane with passengers". Is it an issue of smoothness, control, difficulty, workload, or maybe a safety issue? I'm not criticizing your comment, but it needs more explanation so that we non-PC12 pilots can better understand what might have happened.
DeleteI have 2500 hrs. in the PC12NG and there is absolutely no issues with hand flying with or without PX's as one would be flying with reference to the Flight director and it is good practice. This guy was caught by something that caught him out like a stuck trim relay in the up position. We will have to wait for the CVR data.
ReplyDeleteThe comments on special issue medical need a little clarification. I’m a retires 121 captain with glaucoma . I have a first class medical but only good for one year as I must show my pressure is under control. One comment said he was a cancer survivor. Tragic accident wish they had declared a mayday and got talked down
ReplyDeleteI have several years and roughly 600 hours flying ‘legacy’ PC-12s, I’m in training at a big school now to transition to the NG and it’s hard! The airplane is a pussycat and I’d be comfortable flying it VFR but it’s going to be a while before I’m comfortable in IFR. The Apex system is very capable but the learning curve is steep and there don’t seem to be any desktop trainers out there to practice with. Not even at the big name school. I don’t know how much experience Mr Rawls had in the plane but it’s not a plane for the inexperienced.
ReplyDeleteAfter completing training at the big school and passing the checkride in the NG I have decided that I won’t ever fly one. I’m 63 and have been flying my entire life, the Apex system is capable but complex and it would take me a very long time to get comfortable with it. Fortunately I work for a big company which has a lot of legacy PC12s and King Airs so there is no pressure for me to switch planes. But what an eye opener! If you don’t completely understand the Apex system and can’t operate it in your sleep it would be very easy to become overwhelmed by it. And yeah the important thing is to fly the plane but the system is so integrated into the aircraft that the Apex is almost impossible to ignore.
DeleteI currently fly and have over 1500 hours in a PC12/45, am retired from flying as Capt. on a MD11 for 23 years, 35 years with the company. Last year I went to training for the NGX, which like the MD11 uses a Honeywell product. The lack of quality and understandable training materials that are useful is a disgrace.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the industry, namely Honeywell, could not have designed a more difficult, non-logical and dangerous system and been able to honestly say it was safer. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is nothing wrong with the PC12, I'd go anywhere in it, but I wouldn't put the Honeywell Apex System in a wheelbarrow let alone an airplane.
No good deed goes unpunished ! Don’t give free rides unless you are willing to be sued !
ReplyDeleteEven though owner of plane also killed and was boyfriend for maybe 10 years to female passenger, the killed girlfriend’s family is suing boyfriend’s company and probably his personal estate !
Wonder why plane owner never married his girlfriend in 10 years of happy companionship traveling the world together !
Why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free.
Guess girlfriend’s family thinks it’s time for boyfriend to pay for milk !
Marriage with pre nuptial would have been cheaper .
“The families of four people — including three teens — who died in a February plane crash off the North Carolina coast are suing the companies that owned the plane and employed the pilot, who also died.”
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/lawsuit-filed-plane-crash-killed-off-nc-coast-84968255
I thought they were suing the pilot's company, not the owner.???
Delete