Aviation News, Headlines & Alerts
 
Category: <span>Piper</span>

Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

Plane Carrying Girls Volleyball Team Makes Rough Landing in Alaska

A twin-engine Piper Navajo aircraft, carrying the girls volleyball team from Koliganek, Alaska, had to make a rough landing at King Salmon airport, Alaska, on December 10.

The plane, transporting the volleyball team for state tournament in Anchorage, had to land in emergency after its landing gear got damaged during take-off from Koliganek.

The aircrafts’ landing gear buckled after it touched the runway and skidded some 1,000 feet before coming to stop.

All the passengers and crew members remained unharmed.

Team’s Assistant coach Anastasia Ishnook said, “Our girls are really strong…They kept it together…The pilot was really nice…He said he was sorry it happened today but he couldn’t have had better passengers.”

Small Plane Makes Safe Emergency Landing on a Duplin County Road

PiperA Piper aircraft made an emergency landing on River Road, near Interstate 40, in Duplin County, North Carolina, on the afternoon of December 11.

The plane, en-route from Maryland to Wilmington, was forced to land in emergency after it lost oil pressure. Authorities said the pilot was trying to land at Wallace Airport but could not make it to there and landed on a road.

The pilot, who was the only one aboard, remained uninjured. He managed to push the aircraft off the road immediately after landing.

The plane’s right wing sustained minor damage.


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

Out-of-Gas Small Plane Makes Emergency Landing on U.S. Highway 20

A 1971 Piper Cherokee 140 aircraft made an emergency landing on U.S. Highway 20 near Bend, Oregon, at around 7:15 p.m. on November 7.

The plane departed from Tracy, California and was heading to Prineville when it ran out of gas. The pilot then diverted it to Bend airport but landed on a straight stretch of highway instead, after realizing he could not make it to the airport.

There were 3 people aboard at the time of incident; none of them was injured. Sgt. Aaron Harding of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office identified them as the pilot William Espinoza, 30, his sister-in-law Rebekah Schantz-Kemper, 24 and an 11 year old girl.

The plane took off 3 hours later after refueling.


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

Bird-Hit Plane Makes Emergency Landing at New Century Airport

n11wbpiperA singe engine plane had to make an emergency landing at New Century Airport, Johnson County, Kansas, on the night of October 30.

According to Johnson County spokesperson Jody Hanson, the pilot of Piper PA-32 aircraft decided to make an emergency landing after a bird hit the aircraft’s windshield near Olathe.

The plane landed safely and the pilot did not need medical treatment.

Iowa Plane Crash Kills US Senate Candidate

PiperA single-engine Piper PA-46 aircraft crashed near Dubuque Regional Airport, Iowa, on October 13.

Dr. Doug Butzier, a Libertarian candidate running for the U.S. Senate seat in Iowa, was killed in the crash. He was contending against the Democratic candidate Bruce Braley.

According to FAA spokesperson Lynn Lunsford, the plane crashed at around 11 p.m. while it was approaching the runway to make a landing. He also confirmed that the plane departed from Ankeny Regional Airport around an hour earlier.

Butzier was the only one aboard the aircraft when it crashed.

The NTSB is investigating.


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

Small Plane Crash Lands in Ocean Just Off Oahu Beach

SeaA small single-seater aircraft made a crash landing in the ocean just off a beach located on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, on September 24.

The pilot, Greg Harding, 59, who is a former Alaska bush pilot, reported that he had to make crash landing because the plane ran out of fuel. He said that he was on its way to Dillingham Airport, when “the engine just quit.”

According to Harding, he first thought of landing on the beach but there were about a dozen people on the shore.

The Piper PA-25-260 plane landed safely in around 5 ft of water. Harding remained uninjured.

The aircraft belongs to North Shore Aircraft Leasing Co. The company’s owner Ana “Suzy” Gromacki admired Harding’s skills and noted that he was not likely to survive of the plane had overturned.

The FAA is investigating.

5 People, Dog Killed as Piper PA 46 Crashed in Colorado

PiperA single-engine Piper PA 46 crashed a few hundred yards northwest of the runway of Erie Municipal Airport, Weld County, Colorado, at around 11:40 a.m. on August 31.

The accident happened when the six-seater plane, which took off from Centennial Airport, was attempting to land Erie Municipal Airport.

The plane was carrying 5 people and a dog at the time of accident; Erie authorities confirmed that all of them were killed.

The FAA and the NTSB are jointly investigating the reasons of crash.

Air Ambulance Crashed Near Grand Manan Island Airport, 2 Killed

PiperA chartered Ambulance New Brunswick plane crashed in a wooded area near the airport on Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick, Canada, shortly after 5 a.m. on August 16.

According to the Ambulance New Brunswick spokesperson, the accident happened when the Atlantic Charters plane was returning to Grand Manan after dropping a patient at Saint John Regional Hospital.

The Piper PA-31 aircraft had 4 people aboard; 2 of them, including a pilot and a paramedic died in the crash. Two others, including a second pilot and a registered nurse survived with severe injuries.

The deceased paramedic was later identified as William Mallock of Grand Manan, an employee of Ambulance New Brunswick.

The identity of the deceased pilot who worked for Atlantic Charters has yet to be disclosed.

Capt. Liam Mather from the Defense department confirmed that one survivor was taken to Grand Manan Hospital, while “the other one’s injuries were determined to be too extensive for treatment at Grand Manan so the Cormorant helicopter assisted with a Medivac to Saint John Regional Hospital.”

The interim president of Ambulance New Brunswick, Paul Ward, said in a statement, “We are devastated by this incident.”

The cause of accident is under investigation.

Piper PA-28 Crash Landed at Buffalo Niagara International Airport

PiperA fixed wing, single-engine Piper PA-28 aircraft crash-landed on its belly in the parking lot of Buffalo Niagara International Airport, Cheektowaga, New York, at around 3 p.m. on August 14.

The incident happened shortly after the plane took off for a tourist flight with 3 people aboard, including a pilot and 2 tourists. According to NFTA spokesman C. Douglas Hartmayer, the plane apparently lost power due to which it crash landed. “The full investigation that will be conducted by the FAA will determine the actual cause, but the preliminary cause is being given as a loss of power,” he said.

The pilot, identified as Anastasiia Goldowsky, 31, sustained minor injuries, and was taken to Erie County Medical Center for treatment. She was released after treatment by evening.

Both the tourists remained unhurt. They were identified as Bing Shen, 39, and his 6-year-old son, Qiain.

The plane is registered to Prior Aviation, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.

Single-Engine Plane Makes Emergency Landing in Carlyss, Louisiana

PiperA single-engine Piper PA-28 Cherokee, on its way from Chennault to Orange, made an emergency landing on Highway 108 in Carlyss, Louisiana, on the evening of August 8.

According to the Louisiana State Police, the pilot, Richard Turkel of Orange, Texas, was the only person aboard. He escaped with only minor injuries.

The authorities also confirmed that Turkel, who works for the Coast Guard Auxiliary and was the registered owner of the plane, had to make the emergency landing because the engine of his plane failed during flight.

Although no one was hurt on ground, a power line was clipped by the plane on the way down.

Highway 108, west of Citgo, remained closed for traffic for some time in the evening of August 8.

Small Plane Crashed in Helena, Alabama, 4 Injured

Piper crashA small plane crashed in a yard at the 4500 block of the South Shades Crest road, in Helena, Alabama, at around 2 p.m. on August 1.

All 4 people aboard the plane survived with minor injuries. They have been identified as the pilot, Dan Smith, and the passengers Andy Smith, Sharon Smith and a 17-year-old female whose name has not been disclosed. All of them hail from Tennessee. They were taken to local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Jefferson and Shelby County sheriff’s deputies and Helena police and firefighters arrived on the scene immediately after the crash. Helena police Detective Sgt. Chris Rollan said the pilot and passengers were saved by the neighbors who pulled them from the plane before it caught fire.

Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the plane was a Piper PA-32 aircraft that left Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport in Panama City, Florida, for Dickson Municipal Airport in Tennessee. The single-engine plane was built in 1978 and registered to Cougar Aviation LLC in Dickson, Tennessee.

The FAA and NTSB were called to determine the cause of crash.

Father, Daughter Killed as Small Plane Crash Lands Near Caspersen Beach

PiperA 1972 Piper Cherokee lost power and crash landed on sand near Caspersen Beach on Venice Island, Sarasota County, Florida, on July 27.

Spokesperson of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, Wendy Rose, confirmed that none of the two people aboard the plane were injured in the incident. However a man, identified as Ommy Irizarry, 36, who was walking on the beach with his 9 year old daughter, was killed. His daughter, Oceana Irizarry, was critically injured and was airlifted to Children’s hospital in St. Petersburg. But on July 29, the authorities confirmed that she had succumbed to her injuries. They belonged to Fort Stewart, Georgia.

It is not yet clear whether the two victims were hit by the plane or debris.

According to Rose, at 2:45 p.m., the Venice airport received a distress call from the plane’s pilot. “They were contacted by a pilot whose small plane was in distress. He knew he couldn’t make it back to the airport and was going to try to land on the beach. And he did land at the edge of the water on the beach,” she said.

The NTSB is investigation the incident.

Eleven Skydivers Die in Polish Plane Crash, Pilot Survives

On July 5, 2014 at around 1600 hours, a private skydiving school was planning a tandem jump from a height of 4000 meters with beginner jumpers harnessed to experienced instructors (opening the parachute at 1700 feet) but instead the exercise met tragedy.

The twin engine Piper PA-31P pressurized Navajo skydiving plane crashed, and was damaged beyond repair in an accident near Czestochowa, Poland. The plane was new to the skydiving school, purchased in May. Witnesses who lived in the village where it crashed said that the plane was flying very low, then listed to one side before it crashed.

Twelve people were aboard the plane. Only the forty year old pilot survived but is in serious condition in a hospital in Czestochowa. The survivor is conscious and breathing without assistance, but has multiple injuries. Firefighters, three emergency helicopters and three ground ambulances responded to the scene and a team of seven investigators from the public prosecutors office secured the area and established a base of operations at the Cz?stochowa-Rudniki Airport (Aero Club of Czestochowa) from which the plane took off and where the crew was planning to land. The cargo plane does not have passenger seating but is built to fly skydivers, and is run by a parachute school.

n11wbpiper Experts say it is unexpected for a twin engine plane to have a crash like this, as it can fly on one engine.

The ten seat twin engine Piper was full—perhaps too full—of skydivers when it crashed into a stand of trees in an uninhabited area just outside of the village of Poplar in Silesia. Some of them tried to parachute out but apparently all were burned. Those aboard included the pilot, one of the owners of the company, three instructors, three customers, and four students. The plane caught fire after impact in Topolów near Czestochowa, Poland.

Firefighters arrived at the scene at 16:20, and pulled three people from the plane before it caught fire. The remainder of the bodies were retrieved after the fire, charred beyond recognition.

Plane Crash at Anchorage’s Merrill Field Airport Kills Pilot

UntitledA 1964 Piper PA-12 plane crashed during takeoff from the runway 7/25 of Merrill Field Airport in Anchorage, Alaska, at about 8:24 a.m. on July 2.

The pilot identified as Charles Hancock, 61, died in the crash. The NTSB investigator Cathy Gagne confirmed that he was the only person aboard the aircraft and had made contact with the Merrill Field tower before the plane crashed.

The police and Anchorage fire department responded to the scene.

According to eye witnesses, the plane was airborne before it crashed nose-down.

All runways at the airport were closed following the crash. They were later re-opened after removing the plane by 11 a.m.

Hancock was the owner and operator of a urethane insulation contractor, AIC Foam and Coatings.


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

Colorado Plane Crash Kills 3

piperdebrisA single-engine plane crashed and caught fire in the Loveland Valley Ski Area, along Interstate 70 and west of Denver, Colorado, on June 30.

The incident happened after the plane took off from the Rocky Mountain Airport on Monday morning with a family of 3 persons on-board. All three of them were killed in the crash.

The victims belonged to Raymond, Ohio and were identified as James Kerker, 43, his wife, Amy Kerker, 39, and their 6-year-old son, Lucas Kerker. They were on their way to a family vacation in Moab, Utah, after stopping in Denver to visit family. Kerker was the registered owner of the plane and was piloting when it crashed.

Captain Randy Long from Clear Creek County Sheriff’s office said, “Initial call came from an eyewitness who watched the aircraft fail to gain enough altitude to clear the ridge line, turn back toward the Denver area, lose power and crash into the trees.”

The aircraft, which is believed to be a Piper PA model, was badly damaged. Capt. Long said, “There’s very little if anything left of the aircraft.”

The NTSB is looking into the cause of crash.

Plane Crash in Peachtree City Injures Pilot

PiperA Piper Sport aircraft crashed at the north end of Atlanta Regional Airport, located in Peachtree City of Fayette County, Georgia, at 9:18 a.m. on June 29.

According to a spokesperson of the Federal Aviation Administration, the aircraft went down at the end of the runway 31, shortly after it took off.

According to Lt. Mark Brown of the Peachtree City Police, pilot John Ritchey, 64, of Fayetteville, was seriously injured and was taken by med-evac helicopter to Atlanta Medical Center.

The FAA has launched investigation into the crash.


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

Small plane crash kills Rockefeller

The weather in White Plains was foggy and rainy when a Piper Meridian single-engine turbo prop missed a residence and crashed on a horse farm near Westchester County Airport, killing the pilot, Richard Rockefeller. Rockefeller was a doctor who had just celebrated his father’s 99th birthday. Weather may have been responsible for the accident. Rockefeller did not report a mayday.

There was no one else aboard.

The debris field covered a hundred feet. Rockefeller was 64 years old, and leaves behind two adult children and a wife.

The FAA and NTSB are investigating. The crash occurred on Friday June 13th.


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

3 Killed in Florida Plane Crash

piperlausanneA small plane crashed in Florida’s Panhandle area, near Fountain, on the morning of May 25, killing three people on the spot. The plane caught fire after crashing on a rural road.

The Bay County Sheriff’s Office said that the pilot was rushed to a local hospital in “extremely critical condition”.
The names of the peopled killed or the pilot have not yet been released.

According to FAA spokesperson, Kathleen Bergen, the crashed airplane was a Piper PA 28.

The NTSB and FAA are investigating the cause of crash.


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

4 Die in a Single Engine Piper Crash

piperlausanneFour people were killed after a single engine Piper 32 plane, en route from Hereford, Texas, to Gettysburg, South Dakota crashed in foggy weather, in a wind farm. According to FAA records, the plane was registered to Donald J. Fischer, from Gettysburg, South Dakota.

The incident occured, when the passengers of ill-fated airplane were returning after attending a sale of live cattle and embryos in Hereford. The wreckage of crashed plane was found on Monday, April 28, at the South Dakota Wind Energy Center, located towards south of Highmore and containing 27 turbines, having a height of 213 feet, excluding the blade length.

Three passengers and the pilot were pronounced dead in the incident. Luce Funeral Home confirmed the pilot’s identity as Fischer, 32, while Lien Funeral Home revealed identities of 2 passengers as Logan Rau, hailing from Java and Brent Beitelspacher, belonging to Bowdle. The identity of third passenger is not known at the moment.

A spokesperson of Florida-based NextEra Energy Inc., Steve Stengel confirmed that the incident caused damage to turbine. He also said, “It’s been so foggy up there and we haven’t had a chance to investigate.”

NTSB is investigating the cause of accident.

Tomahawk PA38 Crashed in Hastings, 2 Dead

TomHawk

A Hawkes Bay and East Coast Aero Club-owned Tomahawk PA38 plane crashed at the riverbed near Maraekakaho, 12km past the aerodrome, in Hastings, NZ.

The incident happened at about 11 am on March 23, 2014.  Bruce Govenlock, president of the Club said it was too early to determine the cause of crash; it could be engine failure or a mechanical problem.  The weather was fine and the 30-year-old aircraft was very well maintained.

The eye-witnesses heard the engine of the plane making strange sounds before the crash; one of them described it as “coughing and spluttering.”

Those killed in the crash included an experienced club instructor and a visitor from the UK who was preparing for his pilot’s license validation exam.

The fully qualified pilot from the UK had been flying the single engine plane for half an hour before the crash.  He took off from Bridge Pa Aerodrome for practice.


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

The Mystery of Why?

Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance. I’ve said this too many times to count.

Here’s a question: The event below was a maintenance ferry flight. Every time I hear about a post maintenance ferry flight that crashed, I wonder how that maintenance was performed, and what they forgot to do. Maybe they performed maintenance perfectly—I don’t know. It’s just what strikes my mind when that ferry flight goes down. What did that maintenance crew miss? It’s too much like having a brake failure accident while bringing the family car home from the brake shop. But this accident was PRE-inspection. So maybe it is like having the brakes fail on the way to the brake shop…

On January 19, 2014, at 12:20 , a PT. Intan Angkasa Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain, PK-IWT, flying from from Sentani to Tual crashed on approach to Dumatubun Airport, Maluku, Indonesia. The pilot and three passengers were fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed.

Some reports say it was hit by lightning, but most planes are designed not to catch fire when struck by lightning; careful lightning protection has been engineered into the aircraft. The current tends to travel through the conductive aluminum exterior skin and off an extremity like a wing tip. Additional shielding protects components from haywire side effects called “lightning indirect effects” and bursting into flames is not one of those effects, except in the fuel system, where even a spark is lethal.

So, again, I question maintenance, and the integrity of the fuel system. Was the aluminum skin around the fuel system thick enough to withstand a lighting strike?

Or perhaps it was something else entirely. The flight was described as being pounded by rain and fierce winds (they had just refueled in a thunderstorm)…and the wing fell off before the plane crashed. So was it the gale force winds that caused the wing to come off? Inquiring minds want to know. As always, the investigation is key to finding out why the wing came off and the plane crashed.

Those aboard were a pilot, a technician and two airline employees.

Small Plane Crashes in Indonesia, Four Fatalities

On January 19, 2013, a PT. Intan Angkasa Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain was en route from Sentani to Surabaya when it was struck by lightning. It fell on the Un beach in Tual but no one on the ground was injured. No one on the plane survived. There were four people aboard—the pilot and three crew.

The plane was coming from Sentani Papua and its final intended stop was Ambon, Malaku.

The actual cause of the accident has not been determined. Reports are that residents saw the plane falling in fire from the sky.


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

Mishaps of the day

Some events that happened today:

  • December 16, 2013, on JetBlue Flight 836#N661JB, the Airbus A320 arrived at the gate at JFK airport, New York, and the left wing struck the jet bridge. There was only minor damage and no injuries reported.
  • In Farmington NY on December 17, 2013, a Piper PA28#N43080 engine caught fire when the plane started up. The fire was extinguished, with unknown damage.
  • December 16, 2013, a Lancair/235#N15TG landing at John’s Island Charleston SC, when the nose gear collapsed. Minor damage was reported.
  • December 16, 2013, a Cessna/172 #N421ER was taxiing when the wing struck a light pole. The accident occurred in Wickenburg Arizona. Minor damage was reported.
  • December 16, 2013, an experimental plane, a Zenith 601#N581SL crashed in Leakey Texas under unknown conditions.

Canavia Líneas Aéreas Crash Kills Three


On October 28, 2013, a CANAVIA Líneas Aéreas Piper PA-28RT-201T Turbo Arrow IV out of Gran Canaria airport was on a training night flight when it crashed.

The three people aboard died on impact which occurred in dense fog in the mountainous La Palma area. The same weather that contributed to the accident hampered recovery of the victims, Adonai Orihuela, Geraxane Urrutikoetxea Ormaetxe and the pilot Jerameel Mejías. In the night, the beacon was detected in Tamadaba, which assisted in the search the next day.

The remains were located in the Pinar de Tamadaba, between the ravine of La Palma and Palo. Canary Island 112, and the Emergency Coordination Center responded to the scene.

Two helicopters were on the scene to convey the victims’ remains to grancanario de Gáldar.

Canavia is a Canarian company .


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270

Piper Comanche Emergency Landing

A 1960 Piper Comanche had smoke in the cabin when there was an engine fire on Oct 8, 2013.

The pilot Kristopher J. Richardson made a safe emergency landing at Hutchinson Airport.

The plane sustained minor damage. No one was injured.

Content not attributed to or linked to original, is the property of AirFlightDisaster.com; all rights reserved.

Site Credits