Monday, July 25, 2022

Beechcraft A36 Bonanza, N60ED: Accident occurred July 24, 2022 at Ray Community Airport (57D), Macomb County, Michigan

National Transportation Safety Board - Accident Report Number: CEN22LA336

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; East Michigan 

Aircraft crashed during takeoff. 


Date: 24-JUL-22
Time: 18:53:00Z
Regis#: N60ED
Aircraft Make: BEECH
Aircraft Model: A36
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: SERIOUS
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: TAKEOFF (TOF)
Operation: 91
City: RAY
State: MICHIGAN





RAY TOWNSHIP, Michigan (WXYZ) — Just days after a six-seater plane crashed in Ray Township, the 17-year-old who was a passenger in the aircraft is opening up about the harrowing ordeal before heading back home to Atlanta, Georgia.

"All I really remember is realizing something was wrong, and then we were crashing," said Siena Kamal.

Siena's uncle Ronny Kamal was piloting the plane with his wife in the seat next to him. Charlie, their six-month-old puppy, was next to Siena. They'd just fueled up and taken off when Siena — who has grown up around planes — could tell something was wrong.

"The plane started shifting a little bit and like, irregular movement ... just wobbling and I knew that it wasn't turbulence. It wasn't really weather. So I knew something was wrong, but I didn't really quite understand, like we're actually about to ... go down," she said.

They were about a hundred feet in the air when Ronny, an experienced pilot, was able to carry out a controlled crash.

"If it weren't for him, we would not be here," she said.

Rescuers agree Ronny made sure they didn't nose dive, and when they hit the ground, there was an explosion. A family friend who was watching them take off called 911.

Michigan DNR conservation officer Brad Silorey was only about a mile away.

"I looked towards the end of the runway ... a large black plume of smoke coming from the west end of the runway, and the smoke was coming from the treelines past the runway," said Silorey.

The doors of the plane were blown off during impact.

"There was glass and everything, and just like shards of shrapnel from the plane on the ground and stuff. So I just kind of crawled out and Charlie came up behind me and she just ran off," said Siena.

Silorey describes the scene when he arrived. "Two people were on the ground already outside ... and then I started approaching the woods, and then the third ... individual came out of the woods. They were still looking for their dog at that time, but they were in shock and pretty distressed," he said.

Officer Silorey drove them to a nearby ambulance, but the frightened young golden retriever was lost in the woods after the crash.

"I was really worried about her because she's just a puppy," Siena said.

Thankfully, Charlie was found 13 hours later by Penny Faulk who was out delivering newspapers.

"She came right up to the car and she was not going to let me leave without her," said Faulk.

Siena, her uncle and aunt Chirine Njeim — a four-time Olympian — were all hospitalized for burns, cuts and broken bones. Siena, who is going into her senior year in high school, is fierce in lacrosse.

Shoulder surgery that was scheduled for next week is now delayed as she recovers from second and third degree burns to her left arm. But she's feeling fortunate and amazed that they all survived.

"We walked out and we're like ... 'how are we alive right now?' said Siena.


Charlie
~


A four-time Olympian survived a plane crash with her family in Michigan over the weekend.

From the wreckage, it’s hard to believe anyone survived when the Beechcraft A36 Bonanza crashed just after takeoff.

Olympian Chirine Njeim, her husband Ronny Kamal and their 17-year-old niece Siena Kamal were on the plane.

Siena Kamal’s mother said the 17-year-old is in good spirits, but her left hand is covered in burns, with her forearm also burned.

“It is a miracle that all three people survived,” Ray Township Fire Department Chief Mark Hoskin said.

Officials say the couple’s puppy, Charlie, initially couldn’t be found in the wreckage. However, the following day a newspaper delivery driver, Penny Faulk, spotted the dog, who was later reunited with the family.

“I thought I saw a deer walk in front of me. I slowed down and I looked, and it was a puppy. I opened my door and called the dog over,” Faulk said.

Currently, the only person hospitalized from the crash is Ronny Kamal. The 44-year-old from Chicago underwent surgery. Officials say his piloting skills may have been what saved their lives.

“He [Ronny Kamal] had some piloting skills because the plane could have easily nosedived, and it could have been a totally different story,” Hoskin said.

Njeim has represented Lebanon in the Olympic sports of long-distance running and Alpine skiing.


Siena Kamal 
~


RAY TOWNSHIP, Michigan (WXYZ) — Officials are investigating a plane crash in Ray Township that left three people injured. A dog was also missing from the crash, but has since been located, according to Ray Township Fire and Rescue.

According to police, a Beechcraft A36 Bonanza went down shortly after taking off from the Ray Community Airport on Indian Trail Road just north of 27 Mile around 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

The plane reportedly got about 100 feet off the ground before it plummeted behind trees.

The three people in the plane at the time of the crash were taken to the hospital with broken bones, lacerations and burns, the Macomb County Sheriff's Office says.

According to the sheriff's office, they were in the area to visit family. The owner and pilot of the plane is a 44-year-old man from Chicago. The second passenger was his wife, a 37-year-old from Chicago, and the third was the couple's niece, 17-year-old Siena Kamal from Georgia.

Siena's family shared the following photo of her, saying she's been released from the hospital, but that her uncle is in surgery.

The 6-month-old Golden Retriever puppy was reportedly found by a newspaper delivery driver. "The puppy is happy and healthy at the fire station with Chief Hoskins!" Ray Township Fire and Rescue wrote.

At the time it is still unclear whether there was a mechanical failure or another issue that caused the plane to crash.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate this crash.



Charlie
~


A dog that went missing after a plane crash that injured three people at the Macomb County airport Sunday afternoon has been found.

The plane's passengers included a 44-year-old Chicago man and his wife, 37. The couple’s niece, a 17-year-old girl from Georgia, and a 6-month-old golden retriever named Charlie, also were on the plane, according to a County Sheriff’s Office news release.

All three passengers were hospitalized for broken bones and burns. The couple has been released from the hospital. The niece is in stable condition, the news release said. 

The dog ran away from the crash and was missing until 3:30 a.m. Monday morning when he was found by a newspaper delivery driver. The dog is currently at the Ray Township Fire Station.

Charlie, a 6-month old golden retriever, found after being missing following a plane crash in Macomb County.

Macomb County police and fire officials were dispatched to the Ray Community Airport on Indian trail at about 2:55 p.m. Sunday.

According to the release, the pilot stated the plane lost power after take-off. The plane was about 100-feet in the air when the pilot attempted to land in an area just off the the runway.





RAY TOWNSHIP, Michigan – Officials say a small aircraft crashed in Ray Township on Sunday afternoon.

Macomb Sheriff’s Office tweeted that a plane attempted to take off and crashed after being 75 feet off the ground.

According to the tweet, a dog and three people were in the aircraft at the time of the crash. Officials say that the people on board have severe injuries and burns. They were taken to a hospital to be treated. The dog that was on board is currently missing.

What was supposed to be a fun time in the sky turned into a horrific accident on the ground.

“To hear this happen is very scary,” said Tracy Stefanides, who lives nearby. “I’m hoping everybody’s OK and doing well.”

Investigators are now sifting through the wreckage to figure out what went wrong on a flight that severely burned three on.

Stefanides lives only half a mile from where the plane went down at Ray Community Airport.

“It saddens me,” she said. “There’s just no words. I just feel for that family you know, they’re probably just taking a quick trip to go somewhere maybe up north or just for a quick trip around to go for a flight and to have this happen is just it’s completely heartbreaking.”

At this point, there’s no telling what may have caused the plane to crash.

But footage from Sky 4 shows the wreckage burned to a crisp, including the plane’s Fuselage. The plane didn’t even make it all the way into sky, falling from about 75 feet into a fiery impact.

“I heard the sirens earlier today and ok like, something’s going on around here. So I went on Facebook. So, I drove down to see,” Stefanides said.

Stefanides wonders what that could have been like for everyone onboard, knowing something wasn’t right on the way down.

“There’s nothing they can do,” she said. “I have thought about that as I’m watching them flying over top of me and you do think of that.”

All three of the people are now in the hospital trying their best to recover. But a 6-month old Golden Retriever by the name of Charli is still missing. Stefanides is one of the people hoping to bring it home.

“Is truly is so sad,” she said. “I mean, I just that’s, I don’t know how to feel. I just feel for them but I really, really want to find that dog. I hope he or she’s OK. But I wanna find that puppy that’s scared.”




1 comment:

  1. Lucky to be alive after a post crash fire like that. One reason why informing passengers how to unlatch belts/harnesses and doors is a vital pre-flight procedure. Hope all recover fast

    ReplyDelete