Thursday, October 06, 2022

Beechcraft A36AT Bonanza, N902AT: Fatal accident occurred October 05, 2022 in Biddeford, York County, Maine

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Portland, Maine

Aircraft crashed during instrument approach.  

ABET


Date: 05-OCT-22
Time: 17:56:00Z
Regis#: N902AT
Aircraft Make: BEECH
Aircraft Model: A36
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: FATAL
Total Fatal: 2
Flight Crew:  1 Fatal
Pax: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: DESTROYED
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: APPROACH (APR)
Operation: 91
City: BIDDEFORD
State: MAINE

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. 


CPM Construction Founder and CEO Eldon Morrison (left) and CPM Construction President Paul Koziell were killed in a plane crash in Arundel on October 5, 2022. 



ARUNDEL, Maine — The York County Sheriff's Office has confirmed that two men are dead after a plane crashed in Arundel Wednesday afternoon.

The Sheriff William King says 81-year-old Eldon Morrison of Yarmouth was flying the plane when it crashed. Paul Koziell, 55 from Scarborough, was also on board.

The Beechcraft A36AT Bonanza is owned by CPM Construction. It took off from Biddeford Airport Wednesday morning and flew to Presque Isle. The men were returning from Presque Isle that afternoon when the plane crashed. The men were killed upon impact.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation.

56 comments:

  1. Why was 81 year old Pilot/owner of company along with President of company flying together on single engine instrument flight ? Many companies don’t allow 2 high level key company people to fly On same plane . Why did company not hire a professional pilot and buy a safer king air or jet . Company owned lots of expensive heavy equipment run by professional operators so buying a nice twin and hiring a dedicated pilot Wouk’s be like buying another piece of heavy equipment. Company leadership wiped out in one crash .

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    Replies
    1. The entire company is family, the 81 year old is founder, his 3 daughters and their husbands are employees. The passenger was a son-in-law.

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    2. I guess that is what the pilot/company owner wanted, simple as that.
      I hope the passenger was aware that the safety record of GA is not at all what that of airlines is...some folks lump it all together. 81 yr old PIC single engine IFR....good for him (I mean that. ) But sure riskier.

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    3. Lasty, no one really cares about your "guess".

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    4. Why insurance rates go up. age 70+, then 80+ , big rate increase

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    5. The senior aircraft owners are the ones with the BIG bucks. Young and middle-aged folks don't have the funds.

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    6. My "guess" was in response to the previously asked "why were they doing that" question, not an explanation for the accident, which I don't know enough about to comment on.

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    7. The Reddit gotcha crew is stalking the forum. The "tell" is that the gotcha crewmember cared enough to post "nobody cares", instead of simply not posting if they didn't care.

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    8. Someone here likes to post as if he or she is an authority on everything, then can’t handle being called on it. The “tell” is that they strangely blame everything on Reddit.

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  2. should'd hung up the wings at 75 and stopped flying the Dr Killer. Get an 1 place ultralight after that age if you are still addicted to flying so the only person you kill is yourself. Deadly serious. If its travel, hire a young professional pilot or get a very nice Winnebago for half the price.

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    1. "flying the Dr Killer" delegitimizes your comment.

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    2. Well lt wasn't a doctor killer anyway. It was an A36 bonanza. The V tails were the doctor killers but those are actually solid planes so ill say doctors were bonanza killers.

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    3. “Doctors were Bonanza killers”…Hahahaaaa! Awesome!

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    4. Could not agree more that very old pilots should not be flying by themselves. But there is a lot of misunderstanding about why Bonanzas are Doctor Killers. There is nothing wrong with the plane:

      https://dailyaero.com/2021/12/15/beechcraft-bonanza-how-it-got-its-name-as-the-doctor-killer/

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    5. Thanks for posting that "Doctor Killer" article. I enjoyed it.

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    6. ^^Well the "doctor killer" tag on the Bonanza was never meant that it was an unsafe aircraft. And contrary to the article's reference, it was only lowly Cessna 172 owners (renters?) being jealous of the faster aircraft. Hardly. I don't know of one GA aviator who had the jealous mentality of anyone with a better plane.

      No, instead, the "doctor killer" tag got its reference from doctors (and lawyers, and businessmen) of the 1970s and 1980s quickly stepped up to the complex Bonanza after owning for a trainer like a 172 or PA-28 for a short period.

      We see that to this day with the SR-22 and crashes: too much aircraft and too little skill (with too much money). Same thing happens on the ground with performance cars. That article was a farce.

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  3. The crash in Minn. should have been a little reminder of risk taking..

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  4. Was weather IFR ? Think some news report said plane was on approach to runway when crash occurred .

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    1. it was but not super low. PWM was reporting about 1400 OVC 9-10sm visibility and SFM to the south and west was a little lower maybe 700. They were 900 ft lower than the 1300FT FAF which was 3 miles from the airport.

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    2. Yeah, 1400 feet at the airport, 3-4 miles north of the accident. Fog in Maine rolls in very quickly near the ocean and it has very uneven thickness among areas. If you look at the NewsCenter Maine video report, you can see the fog in the trees.

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  5. Any reports from pilot on engine problems?

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    1. LiveATC.net doesn't allow hot-linking to their recordings but if you put together these two URL fragments, you can download the interaction N902AT had with Portland Approach.

      https://archive.liveatc.net/
      ksfm/KMHT-MURP-123075-Oct-05-2022-1730Z.mp3

      The flight checks in with Approach a little after 9 minutes in. It's all normal communication. The flight requests a descent to 3000' and ATC advises to expect the RNAV for runway 6 in Biddeford. The flight receives vectors and a descent to 2300'. ATC clears the flight to transfer to Biddeford's CTAF but I can't find any recording of 2AT checking in.

      Whatever happened came on suddenly as the airplane was in good control but just suddenly slowed down just before the accident.

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  6. https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/crews-respond-to-plane-crash-in-arundel-maine-sams-road-biddeford/97-d1527b3a-5185-4d79-921c-8275fe2308f5

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    1. "The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting the investigation. Brian Raynor, a senior air safety investigator with the NTSB, met with reporters early Thursday evening and said Morrison had 2,000 hours of flight experience, with 900 hours spent piloting the specific make and model that crashed."

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  7. I've watched that aircraft travel regularly between Southern and Northern Maine. The routing takes them directly over my place. A sad day in Maine for the pilot community. Godspeed.

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  8. Flying at that age is risky and this is why our insurance rated keep going up.

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  9. Flying was a family passion. Both were pilots. Insurance rates keep going up because the number of insured to spread the risk keeps going down i.e less pilots.

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    Replies
    1. Re: Right seater: No last name Koziell pilots in Airmen Registry, checked his LinkedIn to verify spelling, no spelling error.

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  10. Why not move up to twin or Cirrus with parachute? Sounds like family was financially able to buy whatever plane they wanted . Think it was a 1991 Bonanza . Lots of Bonanzas crashing lately. A36 is heavy. Probably not a good glider when engine stops. Some pilots approach high enough to glide to landing if engine fails on final. .

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  11. Looks like a "there and back". Then slow flight at decreasing altitude while approaching the destination airfield. https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=ac76ac&lat=43.423&lon=-70.540&zoom=14.6&showTrace=2022-10-05&trackLabels=

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  12. Speed on ADS-B tracking is ground speed not airspeed so flying approach into a 10
    Mph headwind would suggest a 10 mph higher airspeed”. Flight the previous day was only for about 30 min suggests pilot may have been getting current with 3 takeoffs and landings in last 90 days before flying cross country the next day . Ground speed on 2 prior landings was 117 and 91 mph compared to 69 mph on accident flight but no info on headwinds . IFR currency will be questioned .

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  13. Why would you get in a plane with your 81-year-old father-in-law at the controls....most 81-year-olds don't drive very well anymore? Why do you think they are any better in the air? This is fact, not a judgement. The risk is reflected in the premiums so it's a proven issue.

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  14. Hard to say no to Father-In-Law and your Boss at Company . Reportedly right seat person was a rated pilot not sure if IFR rated . Things happen fast on low approach. Last altitude reported on ADS-B was 400 ft with airport elevation of 157 ft so plane was only about 250 ft above ground maybe 200 ft above 50 ft tall trees at last ADS-B report. Not sure how high plane must be for ADS-B to work . 200 ft is typical missed approach altitude but if engine quit at 200 ft not much time to pick landing site .

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    1. Re: Right seater: No last name Koziell pilots in Airmen Registry, checked his LinkedIn to verify spelling, no spelling error.

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  15. Plane looks pretty far from runway and slightly right of final approach to be only 250 ft high if Fight Aware is accurate reporting 400 ft as last altitude with 157 Ft airport elevation . Seems like easy straight in approach until flight stops . Ground seed was low at 69 mph compared to previous flights of 117 mph & 91 mph but not sure of wind or airspeed on any flights . Not sure of stall speed . Wonder if pilot had his airspeed indicator marked with tape at DMMS speed of 1.4 times Vso stall speed ..

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  16. Metar for Sanford <5miles away at time of crash, does anyone know how to get LiveATC?
    KSFM 051813Z AUTO 01007KT 4SM -RA BR OVC007 13/12 A2997 RMK AO2 CIG 004V009 P0000
    KSFM 051756Z AUTO 01007KT 2 1/2SM -RA BR BKN007 OVC010 13/12 A2997 RMK AO2 VIS 1 1/2V3 RAB20 CIG 005V010 SLP152 P0000 60002 T01280122 10133 20111 56012

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    1. KSFM is 11 nm from B19 at the point where they turned left base for what looks like RNAV approach RW06

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    2. Does anyone know how far crash site is from runway ? Last ADS-B says they were 400 ft . How high does pane have to be to report altitude . Could they have flown below 400 ft without ADS-B reporting altitude ?

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    3. 4 1/2 miles away. Crashed in Arundel, airport is in Biddeford.

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  17. Was there a fire after crash ? News does mot mention a fire . Was plane out of fuel ?

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  18. Answer to two above questions, they crashed 3 nautical miles from the runway and there appears to have been a fire, see the link posted by Anonymous Friday, October 7, 2022 at 8:31:00 AM EDT and look at the video footage. They crashed just north of Sam's road to the west of Portland Road (US 1)

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  19. Small airplane IFR flying is very hard to maintain a high level of skill...

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  20. To view archived weather radar at the time, go to:
    https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/maps/radar/
    - Disable ad blocking for this website.
    (Page is blank/no map if adblock interferes)
    - Map screen opens
    - Drag the "Search for a location" box out and use it.
    - Enter Arundel ME, hit enter, pick "town of", then close the search box.
    - A red blinking marker appears.
    - Center map view as you wish and zoom out a bit.
    - Enter Date 2022/10/05, Hour 17 Minute 55
    - Hit "update map" to set start time into map.
    - Zoom out as required.
    - Move time to see motion using -5 and +5 min selectors.
    - Opacity can be adjusted at the Nat. Ref. Mosaic gear symbol.

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  21. "The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting the investigation. Brian Raynor, a senior air safety investigator with the NTSB, met with reporters early Thursday evening and said Morrison had 2,000 hours of flight experience, with 900 hours spent piloting the specific make and model that crashed." @newscentermaine

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  22. IMC crashes aren’t that uncommon. It really isn’t appropriate to latch on to the fellows age as the cause.

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  23. The 81 year old looks 55 and the 55 year old looks 81. What's going on ???

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    Replies
    1. the photos here can be from many years ago.

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  24. NTSB said pilot had 2000 hours total time and 900 in type but does not mention recent experience or IFR experience. The 30 minute flight the day before accident flight suggests pilot was not current so he flew for 30 minutes doing 3 takeoffs and landings to be current for VFR but perhaps still not current for IFR . Crash reportedly occurred 3 miles from runway with last altitude reported as 400 ft which is only about 250 feet about airport elevation of 157 feet at ground speed of 69 mph but airspeed could have been higher if flying into a headwind on final approach . 250 feet is too low at 3 miles from runway . Either engine quit on final causing low altitude or pilot went below MDA/DH trying to see runway . Second person was a licensed pilot but not sure if IFR rated . Most pilots fly with iPads with AHRS and Synthetic Vision to help pilot visualize VFR conditions while flying IFR . Not sure if owner had upgraded his 1991 plane’s avionics to include glass cockpit.

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    Replies
    1. Re: Right seater: No last name Koziell pilots in Airmen Registry, checked his LinkedIn to verify spelling, no spelling error.

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  25. Flight aware shows plane going below approach and entering area of precip. VFR into IMC on final? That would be a difficult transition if you thought you had the airport made.

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  26. If you're on an IFR flight plan, you can't go VFR into IMC. If one should happen to have the field in sight on an instrument approach and then lose sight, nothing changes; you reach MAP or DH and you don't have the runway environment, it's a missed approach.

    Instrument flying is precision flying. Approach plates don't have some kind of hidden safety buffer for pilots who lack proficiency. Those published altitudes are very real. If for any reason you go below the step-down altitudes, MDA or glideslope, there exists the very real possibility of striking an obstruction or terrain...and most likely paying with your life.

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    1. It looks to me like the autopilot was used for vertical speed which is fairly constant. The airspeed increases and then decreases as each descent is started. If they pulled the throttle back to start the descent the plane would have tended to stay at trimmed speed. During the final decent to what should have been 1300 the airspeed slowly bled off. Possibly due to having reduced power setting slightly more than required for the vertical speed commanded. Descent rate remained constant passing through 1300 where they should have leveled off. I’m not sure of the model variations but an A36 POH lists 90kts w/o flaps and 79kts with approach flaps. Stall speed varies with weight between low and high 60’s with flaps. Near the bottom of the descent the airspeed briefly levels off without an increase in descent rate which would seem to indicate available power. During a recent flight over the accident area I was unable to identify the exact location with no swath of damage apparent. Could this be a case of missing the slow loss of speed and the MDA then a tug on the yoke when proximity to terrain is finally realized. Allowing for winds vs ground speed the plane was very close to or at stall toward the end. Pitching up would have made that worse resulting in a stall spin. If the engine had quit why hold a constant descent rate over speed and how did the airspeed level off briefly near the end? It will be interesting to see the final report.

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  27. Doctors and lawyers with more money than sense have been killing themselves in high performance aircraft for as long as anyone can remember. Thus, it is not uncommon or unkind to hear the phrase “descending like a Bonanza full of doctors”.

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  28. Having flown VFR under overcast especially into snow showers less vis than rain have looked out the side seeing down but not forward even picking out familiar buildings landmarks low alt on final suggests this. GA lesson: pilot in right seat could have been asked to call out airspeed simple use of cockpit resource management. Reminded of 1959 bonanza crash pilot likely distracted by tuning in VOR on old Narco coffee grinder radio could have asked Buddy Holly a student pilot to call out altimeter readings. Condolences to families

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