On January 24, 2013, a Central Flying Services Inc Beechcraft A36 Bonanza en route from Beaumont Municipal to Monroe Regional Airport was on approach to Monroe when it crashed for unknown reasons. Four minutes before the crash, the pilot told ATC of problems with the plane’s landing gear. ATC lost contact with the plane at 1:49 p.m. The plane crashed eight miles from the airport. Witnesses saw the plane circle and nosedive into the woods.
The plane impacted behind Ouachita Correctional Center in Richwood. The manifest says Dean Hart Sr. of West Monroe, owner of Hart Commercial Investments, and Max Larche of Bastrop, engineer with Lazenby & Associates in West Monroe and Don Thompson of Monroe were passengers aboard the flight. The three businessmen were returning from a business trip to Beaumont.
The pilot was also a fatality.
Emergency services included police and fire firefighters, firefighters on ATV. Firefighters relied on fire extinguishers to put out the blaze.
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On May 1, 2013, at Spirit of St. Louis Airport, a single engine Cessna Centurion made a belly landing.
The pilot landed, and suffered a landing gear emergency. Though the landing gear collapsed, the pilot made a belly landing on the runway without any destructive acrobatics.
The FAA is investigating.
On May 1, three other Cessna’s suffered issues:
-Cessna gear collapsed on rollout in Oakland CA
-Cessna landed gear up in Missouri
-Cessna towing banner flipped over off Louisiana runway, one minor injury
What: Polish Air Force Tupolev TU-154M Where: Smolensk When: Apr 10th 2010 Who: 88 passengers and 8 crew Why: On approach to Smolensk North Airport in dense fog, the plane impacted a forest, coming to rest short of the runway. There are conflicting reports leading up to the decision to land at Smolensk (versus Minsk or Moscow), holding pattern, the number of approaches.
Everyone aboard the flight was lost, including Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria, the national bank president, deputy foreign minister, army chaplain, head of the National Security Office, deputy parliament speaker, Olympic Committee head, civil rights commissioner and at least two presidential aides and three lawmakers.
Partial list of those lost in the crash:
1. Lech Kaczynski, President of the Republic of Poland
2. Maria Kaczynska, the president’s wife
3. Ryszard Kaczorowski, head of Poland’s London-based government-in-exile during the communist period
4. General Tadeusz Buk, Head of Polish Land Forces
5. Leszek Deptula, MP
6. Grzegorz Dolniak, MP
7. Katarzyna Doraczynska, President’s Chancellery
8 Janina Fetlinska, Senator
9. General Franciszek Gagor, Chief of Staff
10. Grazyna Gesicka, MP
11. Przemyslaw Gosiewski, MP
12. Mariusz Handzlik, Minister at the President’s Chancellery
13. Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka, MP
14. Sebastian Karpiniuk, MP
15. Admiral Andrzej Karweta, Head of Polish Navy
16. Mariusz Kazana, Foreign Ministry
17. Janusz Kochanowski, Poland’s Ombudsman
18. Stanislaw Jerzy Komorowski, Deputy Defence Minister
19. Andrzej Kremer, Deputy Foreign Minister
20. Janusz Kurtyka, National Remembrance Institute head
21. Tomasz Merta, Deputy Culture Minister
22. Aleksandra Natalli-Swiat, MP
23. Piotr Nurowski, head of Polish Olympics Committee
24. Krzysztof Putra, Deputy Speaker of parliament
25. Arkadiusz Rybicki, MP
26. Slawomir Skrzypek, head of Poland’s central bank
27. Wladyslaw Stasiak, head of Kaczynski’s Chancellery
28. Aleksander Szczyglo, head of the National Security Bureau
29. Jerzy Szmajdzinski, Deputy Speaker of parliament
30. Jolanta Szymanek-Deresz, MP
31. Izabela Tomaszewska, President’s Chancellery
32. Anna Walentynowicz, former Solidarity activist
33. Zbigniew Wassermann, MP
34. Wieslaw Woda, MP
35. Edward Wojtas, MP
36. Pawel Wypych, Minister and Kaczynski’s Chancellery
37. Stanislaw Zajac, Senator
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Southwest Airlines flight 2547 had to return and make an emergency landing at Oakland International Airport, California, on December 23.
According to the airline, “After takeoff, the captain in command made the decision to return to Oakland to check a maintenance item on the aircraft.” It is believed that the plane, that was heading to Chicago at the time, experienced a landing gear issue.
The plane circled over Oakland to burn off excess fuel before landing safely. All 139 passengers aboard remained unharmed.
The plane was taken out of service.
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A Cochise Air helicopter, used by Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, crashed near Benson, southern Arizona, on the night of December 31.
The accident happened when the helicopter was returning from Phoenix to Sierra Vista airport, after maintenance.
Spokesperson of Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, Carol A. Capas, confirmed that both people aboard the aircraft were killed in the crash. They were identified as the pilot Carol A. Capas, who was a retired police officer, and the mechanic Marc Hansen, 51.
The cause of accident is under investigation.
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Remains of some poor soul were discovered on the banks of the Dordogne River ten kilometers from where the helicopter crash killed Hong Kong tycoon Kok Lam. The body has not been identified yet. Due to its condition after being in the water, the id will have to be found through DNA testing. The remains of 12-year-old son Kok Shun-yu, son of Kok Lam, were found indie the Robinson R44 a day after the helicopter crashed.
The body found in the river may be a person missing since April, which might explain the extent of the damage of the remains.
Kok Lam was owner of the Hong Kong based Brilliant group, which runs upmarket hotels and other properties, including the newly purchased Château de la Riviere.
A Robinson R66 #N646AG en route from Lehighton PA to Endecott NY with five aboard was en route when it disappeared from radar during conditions of severe thunderstorms and heavy fog. The last communication to ATC was a report around 10 pm Saturday that he was “losing altitude and would try to return to a nearby airfield.”
The fragmented wreckage was located at 1:50 p.m. in a heavily wooded area. There was no fire, and no witness.
Emergency response vehicles and personnel traveled an access road on the Mehoopany Wind Farm, a BP Wind Energy location, to the top of South Mountain. The unofficial guess at the cause of the crash is that the helicopter was caught in a thunderstorm.
Flight Manifest:
58-year-old Bernard Michael Kelly, of Ellicott City, Md.;
daughter, Leanna Mee Kelly, of Savage, Md.;
29-year-old Carl Robert Woodland, of Lovettsville, Va.;
3-year-old son, Noah Robert McKain Woodland, of Leesburg, Va.;
pilot 30-year-old David Ernest Jenny Jr., of Towson, Md.
* N646AG ROBINSON R66 ROTORCRAFT CRASHED INTO A WOODED RUGGED TERRAIN, THE 5 PERSONS ON BOARD WERE FATALLY INJURED, 8 MILES FROM SKYHAVEN AIRPORT, TUNKHANNOCK, PA
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