Crash

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    Helicopter Crash in UK

    What: Helicopter out of Blackpool Airport
    Where: Barnaby Sands on the Lancashire coast near Fleetwood.
    When: 23 September 2009
    Who: Pilot and student: Pilot Steven Lewis, 38, from Rainhill, Merseyside, died along with Philip Gray, 45, of Mawdesley, Lancashire.
    Why: The helicopter crashed on a training flight. The pilot issued a mayday based on engine troubles, and steered away from populated areas, hoping to find a softer landing.

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    Medical Helicopter Crashes After Delivering Patients


    PICTURED: a Eurocopter AS350B2
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Michal Nowicki

    What: OmniFlight American Eurocopter AS350B2 medical helicopter en route from Charleston to Conway
    Where: 63 miles southwest of Conway, S.C
    When: 2308 PM, ET on Friday, September 25, 2009
    Who: 3 person crew:p ilot, flight nurse and paramedic
    Why: The helicopter had dropped off a patient at about 9:35 p.m. Friday in Charleston. Thunderstorms were in the area at the time of the crash. The weather was described as “convective.”

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    Venezuela: Tour Operator Sued

    On the Isla Margarita in Venezuela on a trip to Angel Falls, tour operator First Choice is being sued for the death of six year old Thomas Horne, who died on a tour while not wearing a seat belt. In fact, an investigator reported in an inquest that “Thomas would probably be alive had he been restrained properly by a seat belt.”

    A 14 seat Cessna 208 crashed while they were aboard.

    The crew did not inform the passengers how to fasten a four-point waist and shoulder seat belt. The Cessna manual indicates that not wearing the shoulder harness could be fatal.

    The flight was not run by First Choice, but by a third party.

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    Airlink Crash in Durban


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Brian Spurr

    What: SA Airlink JS41 en route from from Durban to Pietermaritzburg
    Where: Durban
    When: Sep 24th 2009
    Who: 4 people, (3 crewmembers) and a woman working on the ground at the school perimeter, have been airlifted to local hospitals. The captain is critical, the other 3 with serious injuries.
    Why: The plane had smoke coming from its engines, lost height after takeoff.

    The crew called Mayday and reported engine loss and smoke. They attempted an emergency landing in the field in front of a school and impacted the fence surrounding the school.

    Preliminary examination apparently shows the hand engine was operating under full power and the left engine failed.

    George’s Point of View

    The fact that anyone at all survived this indicates that the emergency landing was a success.

    However, maintenance is suspect.

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    Sao Paulo Plane crash: 3 or 4 fatalities


    Pictured: an Embraer-EMB-712-Tupi
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Joao Vitor Sayao

    What: Single engine Embraer Tupi plane ( EN-RYC)en route from Sao Jose dos Campos to Sao Jose do Rio Preto
    Where: southeast of Brazil in the municipality of Santa Isabel, in southeastern Sao Paulo
    When: between 9:45 and 11:45 on the Sept 21
    Who: 3 possibly 4 passengers: two adults and a child
    Why: The plane went missing for three hours and there was difficulty finding it because rain hampered search efforts. The local fire department which located the missing plane found the remains of the 3 passengers “carbonized” in aa forest near the Pouso Alegre Peak. They say the plane exploded. Local residents saw a flash.

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    Oregon R22; Canada R22


    Flicker image

    What: Hillsboro Aviation ROBINSON R22 BETA HELICOPTER
    Where: Fern Hill Wetlands, 2 miles south ofForest Grove, Washington County Oregon
    When: Sep 20, 2009
    Who: Two fatalities: Douglas Doty, a 34 year-old flight instructor from Beaverton, and Thomas Hagner, a 32-year-old student from Hillsboro.
    Why: The pilot lost control of the helicopter and crashed and caught on fire, according to witnesses at a nearby fruitstand and a farm. The difficult location made it difficult for rescue and safety personnel to reach the burning wreckage.

    What: ROBINSON R22 two-seater ROTORCRAFT en route from Island airport
    Where: Heritage Road and Steeles Avenue area of Brampton. GEORGETOWN, ONTARIO, CANADA
    When: 09/21/2009 Monday 8 pm
    Who: One fatality- pilot Keith Siversen
    Why: The helicopter is reported to have “careened out of control” in an orchard. It was owned by KEITH SIVERSEN with a temporary certificate expiring 03/05/2009.

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    UK Small Plane Crash

    What: twin-tailed plane
    Where: a field in Tangley, near Andover,
    When: Sunday. 20, Sep 2009
    Who: Pilot and passenger killed
    Why: After witness heard big “bangs,” the plane crashed in the field. Air Accidents Investigation Board (AAIB) is investigating.

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    Helicopter Crash in San Pasqual Valley

    What: Robinson R-44
    Where: Rancho Guejito, east of Lake Wohlford between Valley Center and Ramona in the San Pasqual Valley
    When: Sunday, September 20, 2009
    Who: pilot and passenger
    Why: passengers were airlifted to the Palomar Medical Center

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    Everglades Crash

    What: Bull Gator Air, Inc. Piper-PA 32 en route from Gainesville to Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport
    Where: west of U.S. 27 at the Broward-Palm Beach county line in the Everglades
    When: Sunday Sept 20
    Who: 4 aboard. One “confirmed” dead though there are presumably no survivors.
    Why: After the pilot radioed in for help, the plane crashed in the Everglades while en route. The cause is unresolved and the search is ongoing for passengers’ remains.

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    Beechcraft Fireball Spares Pilot

    What: Twin-engine Beechcraft King Air en route from Hayward Executive Airport to San Carlos
    Where: HAYWARD, Calif.
    When: Sept 16 12:25 p.m
    Who: Pilot
    Why: Witness say after a sputtering take-off, the plane plane’s right wing got low, and the plane had barely got off the runway when it clipped the back of a commercial building just off the airfield. Coming down, the plane was described as a “70 foot fireball”. The pilot was the only one aboard, and he walked away.

  • Glider Casualty in California


    Contact Photographer Steve Nation

    What: Schweizer SGS 1-34
    Where: Skylark Field Lake Elsinore, California
    When: 12-SEP-2009 2:50 pm
    Who: William R. Klesse
    Why: While being towed, the glider pilot lost control, and received received serious injuries.

    The pilot was transported to Inland Valley Medical Center and died within hours.

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    Small Plane Crashes Gated Community

    What: Beech A-30 Bonanza en route from Asheville Regional Airport
    Where: crashed into Kenmure subdivision, a gated golf community
    When: September 10, 2009
    Who: 1 fatality: pilot Larry Youngblood
    Why: In foggy conditions, the plane apparently hit several trees, and landed between two house with its wings torn off. The NTSB is investigating.

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    Charlotte Bobcats Co-owner dies in Plane Crash

    What: private Cirrus SR22 en route from South Carolina to Teterboro, N.J
    Where: Rock Hill airport property just off S.C. 161 in South Carolina just across the state line from Charlotte
    When: 7:15 a.m. Friday
    Who: Pilot and co-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats 49-year-old William “Skipper” Beck of Charlotte, N.C
    Why: Shortly after takeoff, the plane returned, but when attempting to land, crashed and caught on fire. Debris remained at the north end of the runway. Rock Hill airport doesn’t record radio transmissions so there’s no record of whether or not Beck made radio transmissions prior to the crash.

    Beck had 390 flight hours, and the plane had 93 hours in the air.

    Luke Schiada is the lead ntsb investigator assigned to the crash.

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    Climber Rescue in Japan Goes Wrong


    Contact Photographer Shimizu Brothers

    What: Gifu Prefecture Bell 412 EP Ambulance/Rescue helicopter en route from Gifu Airbase.
    Where: Takayama, about 240 kilometers west of Tokyo.
    When: Sept 11 2009, 3:30pm (0630 GMT
    Who: four people (5 crew on board but at least one was on the mountain in the process of the rescue)
    Why: During an emergency rescue of a climber who collapsed with cardiopulmonary arrest while mountain climbing, the helicopter’s tail rotor hit the mountain; and it fell 400 meters into a ravine. 5 crew were originally on board, 2 crew off from the helicopter rappelling down.

    The climber and the three aboard the helicopter were pronounced dead at the scene.

    Please excuse the bad translation below but it is pretty much indecipherable unless we get names:

    Disaster Asakura Hitoshi County (57) (Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture), Miyoshi Hideho mechanic (47) (same), vice captain Gotou Atsushi (34) (Kasamatsu-cho, Hyogo Prefecture ) confirmed dead.

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    Mexican Crash Kills 2

    What: Armada de Mexico helicopter Russian-built MI-17 chopper en route from Veracruz to Mexico City
    Where: border between Veracruz and Puebla
    When: 10-SEP-2009
    Who: 2 fatalities, 3 injuries. The two dead are a lieutenant and a mechanic
    Why: No reason is given for the crash. The weather at the time was rainy and foggy with limited visibility. Survivors were taken to hospitalization facilities in Jalapa and Perote

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    Mexico crash

    What: Armada de Mexico Mi-8MTV-1 AMHT-208 en route from Veracruz to Mexico City
    Where: border between the states of Veracruz and Puebla
    When: Sept 10, 2009
    Who: 5 on board, 2 fatalities
    Why: Crashed close to the kilometer 27 of the Perote-Los Humeros road. Pilot Daniel Cabrera Ruiz and Aviation Mechanic Irineo González Jerónimo were killed. The three survivors were taken to Jalapa and Perote, in Veracruz. The crash is under investigation by Aviation authorities and the Armada de Mexico.

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    Piper Crash in Tulsa kills 5

    What: Six-passenger Piper en route from Jones Riverside Airport to Dallas
    Where: Chandler Park in West Tulsa
    When: 10:40 a.m., Saturday Sept 5 minutes after takeoff
    Who: Two men, a woman and two girls Tulsa doctor Stephen Lester, his wife Dana, two teenage daughters, Laura, 16 and Christina, 13. and Dr. Kenneth Veteto
    Why: Just after takeoff in rainy, foggy conditions, the plane hit a cable attached to a telecommunications tower, crashed, broke up and caught on fire. When the plane hit, the wings came off. The plane flipped several times. The family and a friend had been going to the University of Oklahoma football game. Dr Veteto leaves a wife and two children.

    Two more of the family’s children were not on the plane.

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    Comoros: Putting together the Black Box puzzle

    Yemenia Flight 626 from Paris to Moroni sank into the ocean on June 30, killing 152 people, with one survivor. The black boxes were found Friday.

    Just because the black boxes were found does not mean the route to discovery is on track. Apparently there was so much damage to the black boxes, there is going to be trouble recovering the data. That’s not new. In fact, usually when there is trouble reading the black boxes, investigators call in the company that made the boxes, and they are usually able to mine the data in spite of damage.

    The BEA, the French aviation authority is handling the investigation. Many of those aboard were French and/or French Comoran.

    Did they–are they–sending the boxes to the US? They’d have a better chance of recovery if they do.

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    Published Settlement: $15 million

    What: Twin-engine Cessna 421B on approach to Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling
    Where: crashed into a storage yard
    When: January 2006
    Who: Michael Waugh ( general manager and chief operating partner of Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in Chicago), Kenneth Knudson (founder of Sybaris), and Scott Garland (financial adviser at Morgan Stanley)
    Why: Circuit Judge John Ward awarded $6 million to Waugh’s widow, with the rest being divided among the couple’s three young sons.

    Wrongful death suiit: Morgan Stanley improperly allowed employees to fly personal planes to conduct business–a situation which other financial institutions prohibit.
    Pilot Mark Turek, a Morgan Stanley senior vice president was charged with negligence.

    George’s Point of View

    Settlements are seldom published

    src

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    Piper Crash in Oregon kills 2

    What: 1955 Piper PA-22 single-engine plane en route to to Grants Pass
    Where: Canyon Mountain on the hillside behind Forest Glen Senior Residence in southern Oregon
    When: 9:30 a.m. Sunday
    Who: Ernie Knigge, Elaina Knigge
    Why: The plane crashed in a steep, rugged area in a stand of old-growth trees. The cause of the crash has not been determined. The couple co-owned the 1955 plane.

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    FAA official Lost during Proficiency Check in Jackson MS

    What: Robinson R44 practicing aerial maneuvers operating out of Hawkins Field Airport
    Where: duplex-style house about half a mile east of Hawkins Field airport in Jackson, MississippI
    When: Tues September 1, 2009 at 1932
    Who: Two FAA officials, pilot Charles Farmer and pilot Larry Wells of Crystal Springs
    Why: While in the course of a standard pilot proficiency check, it appeared the helicopter was experiencing engine trouble and trying to land, when the helicopter fell from the sky, clipped a tree and crashed into the unoccupied half a duplex house in Jackson Mississippi. The two victims both of whom worked for the FAA were taken to the Mississippi Medical Center, where Charles Farmer died. Larry Wells sustained serious injuries.

    The 2007 R-44 Rotorcraft belonged to WEBB GROUP FLP of Jackson Ms.

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    Kit Plane Fatality in Pennsylvania

    What: small one seat experimental aircraft built and owned by Neal O. Bond
    Where: behind a home near the Pegasus Air Park on McIlhenny Road in Chestnuthill Township, Monroe County, about 40 miles north of Allentown PA
    When: August 30, 2009
    Who: the pilot
    Why: A witness says that the plane was coming down with an unusual attitude, and part of the tail came off. A second or two later a wing came off. The plane crashed behind the airport; the pilot had been ejected from the craft, a homebuilt one seat vehicle.

    The plane’s owner is treasurer of a radio-controlled vehicle club

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    Seminole Employees Lost in Mystery Plane Crash

    What: single-engine Trinidad TB-20 registration N654GT en route from Montgomery, Ala., to North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines
    Where: just outside Pavo, Ga
    When: Thursday August 27, 2009 wreckage found at 12:30 p.m August 28
    Who: pilot/owner Robert F. Moreland and passenger Michael Villanueva
    Why: The pilot had filed no flight plan, and bad weather hampered the search efforts. The plane crashed in a wooded area. We will be looking for updates on the cause.

    George’s Point of View

    Condolences to the families and to the Seminole tribe

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    Beechcraft Crashes in NC

    What: single-engine Beechcraft Sierra BE24 en route from Creve Coeur Airport in suburban St. Louis to SYLVA NC
    Where: Jackson County Airport near Sylva
    When: 1:45 pm AUGUST 26, 2009
    Who: pilot and passenger as James and Rhetta Lovins of Vaidalia, Ga
    Why: The plane had missed its first pass and was attempting a “go around” when it crashed about a quarter mile from the end of the 3,200 foot runway. The Jackson County airport is located on the ridge of a mountain. The wreckage was pulled from a ravine.