What: Campbell Helicopters Ltd. Bell 212 Twin Two-Twelve
Where: Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada
When: May 20, 2011
Who: 1 fatality
Why: The chopper responding to a (wildfire) fire call crashed for unknown reasons 30 meters offshore Slave Lake, Alberta. The forest fire leveled a third of the Slave Lake community. The pilot’s name has not yet been released.
The STARS Air Ambulance call was cancelled. The pilot died in the crash. Emergency responders were treated for hypothermia.
An Augusta A109S Grand helicopter, belonging to the government of the state Mexico, crashed just 5 miles off the Toluca airport near Lerma, Mexico, on September 2.
The helicopter, which was on its way from the Mexico City area to Toluca, was first reported missing at around 6:25 p.m. The rescue teams located the wreckage after about 2 hours.
Both the people aboard the helicopter died on the spot. The victims were identified as the pilot, Romel Portillo Cervio and the co-pilot, Gerardo Avalos Garcia.
Gov. Eruviel Avila Villegas, extended his deep condolences to the families of the deceased. He also said that the state authorities and the Civil Aviation Directorate will jointly work to determine the cause of accident.
What: a four-seat commercial Robinson R-44 in Maryland
Where: west of the Washington County-Frederick County line, on the western slope of a ridge known as South Mountain, in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70.
When: Thursday night
Who: 4 on board
Why: After a night of storms and fog, Washington County emergency services got a call around 10:30 pm regarding the crash.
What: Desert Sand Aircraft Leasing de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 100
Where: SW of Clayton County Airport-Tara Field, GA
When: 08 MAR 2011
Who: 2 fatalities
Why: The Desert Sand Aircraft Leasing flight piloted by 37-year-old Bryan Hedrick crashed at 11:45 am on March 8, 2011 on a post maintenance flight run. The maintenance was done by National Aerotech Aviation, and the maintenance flight was headed toward Tara Field when the plane went down for an unknown reason, and landed upside down, with the tail leaning on a tree, the right wing off and twisted, and the left wing folded back.
Both the pilot and passenger Oriel Roberts died in the crash.
Regarding the Gol jet that collided over the Amazon rain forest with an Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet owned by ExcelAire Service Inc. of New York: The GOL InvestigatIon has determined that the pilots of a New York-based executive jet had placed the transponder and collision avoidance system on standby before colliding with the Boeing 737 operated by GOL Linhaus Aereas Inteligentes SA on Sept. 29, 2006.
The Legacy landed safely but everyone on the GOL jet died.
Flight controllers failed to alert pilots that they were on a collision course and also did not notice the transponder was off.
The on duty flight controllers and the two U.S. pilots – Joseph Lepore and Jan Paladino have been indicted. They could get up to three years in prison.The pilots deny turning off the transponder. They claim to have been flying at the altitude designated by the air controllers.
ExcelAire says that “the transponder issue is a distraction from the true cause of the accident, which is an air traffic control system that put two airplanes on a collision course for about an hour.”
What: Cessna C-210
Where: Airport Road near Pastoral Center St. Charles Borromeo, Romeoville, near Lewis University Airport
When: June 26, 2011, 2:49 p.m.
Who: Pilot Victor Pantaleo and passenger
Why: After experiencing engine problems on taking off from the Brookeridge Airpark in Downers Grove, the pilot was attempting to return to the airport, when the plane struck trees before impacting the ground front of St. Charles Barromeo Pastoral Center in Romeoville. The plane took down powerlines when it crashed.
The passenger was half ejected from the plane, and rescuers had to disengage him but he survived. Pantaleo was airlifted to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove and was pronounced dead.
Firefighters from the Lockport Township Fire Department responded to the crash.
The NTSB is investigating.
The mass for Panatelo was held at at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church.
A hot air balloon crashed near the small town of Lockhart, Caldwell County, Texas, on the morning of July 30th.
According to sources the hot air balloon hit the power transmission lines and its basket caught fire, leading to the crash.
All 16 people on board were killed.
The crash remains under investigation.
