Accident of the (Last) Week

(Ed: Sorry for the belated posting, fans. The IFR Pilot spent the majority of his Friday, Saturday, and Sunday pursuing his avocation here, here, and here.)

This accident report doesn't have much meat to it. But, then again, it probably doesn't require much to discern the problem.

Actually, that's probably not fair. The report lets us know the initial decision-making error committed by the PIC: flying in IMC without an IFR flight plan. What is not clear is whether this was a case of continued VFR into IMC, or advertent flight in IFR conditions by a non-instrument rated pilot.

At least no one else was on board.

NTSB Identification: CHI06LA005
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, October 09, 2005 in Union City, OH
Aircraft: Cessna 172RG, registration: N6085R
Injuries: 1 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
On October 9, 2005, about 1945 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172RG, N6085R, operated by a non-instrument rated private pilot was destroyed when it impacted terrain near Union City, Ohio. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was operating in instrument meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The pilot who was the sole occupant was fatally injured. The flight originated from Battle Creek Michigan at an unconfirmed time and was en route to Lexington, Kentucky.

A global positioning system receiver was used to determine the accident site coordinates as 40-degrees, 18-minutes, 49-seconds north lattitude, 84-degrees, 46-minutes, 40-seconds west longitude at an elevation was 1,085 feet above sea level.

Update: A little Googling revealted some weather data for the day of the accident:

611
NOUS51 KILN 100204
OAVILN

PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION REPORT(AVIATION)
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
1003 PM EDT SUN OCT 9 2005

TO:      FORENSIC SERVICES MANAGER(W/OS23)
     NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
     C/O TELLECOMMUNICATIONS GATEWAY
     SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND 20910
   
INFO:    EASTERN REGION (ATTN:W/ER1X2)

ALPHA:   N6085R

BRAVO:   NEAR UNION CITY DARKE COUNTY OH
     2356Z 10/9/05

CHARLIE: PLANE DEPARTED FROM UNKNOWN
     1 ON BOARD. 1 FATALITY
   
DELTA:

SPECI KDAY 100105Z 01007KT 2 1/2SM BR BKN003 OVC009 11/11 A3002 RMK
AO2 CIG 002V006
METAR KDAY 100056Z 01006KT 2SM BR BKN005 OVC009 11/11 A3004 RMK AO2
TWR VIS 2 1/2 CIG 002V007 SLP173 T01110111
METAR KDAY 092356Z 06005KT 2SM BR OVC006 12/11 A3004 RMK AO2 TWR VIS
2 1/2 CIG 004V011 SLP172 60001 T01170106 10117 20106 53008
SPECI KDAY 092337Z 06006KT 2SM BR BKN006 OVC013 12/11 A3003 RMK AO2
TWR VIS 2 1/2
METAR KDAY 092256Z 04008KT 2 1/2SM BR BKN008 OVC013 12/11 A3002 RMK
AO2 SFC VIS 3 CIG 006V011 SLP166 T01170106

ECHO:

TAFDAY
TAF
KDAY 092333Z 100024 03005KT 2SM BR BKN008 OVC015
 FM1000 05004KT 3SM BR OVC012
 FM1400 04008KT P6SM OVC015
 FM2000 02005KT P6SM VCSH OVC015=

TAF AMD
KDAY 092208Z 092218 36010KT 2SM BR OVC008
 FM1000 05007KT 3SM BR OVC012
 FM1500 05008KT P6SM OVC015=

TAF AMD
KDAY 091959Z 092018 36010KT 2SM BR OVC006
  TEMPO 2022 3SM BR OVC015
 FM2200 03008KT 4SM BR OVC015
 FM1000 05007KT 3SM BR OVC012
 FM1500 05008KT P6SM OVC015

FOXTROT: FORECAST UPPER LEVEL WINDS.
     3000 FEET       6000 FEET       9000 FEET
     110 AT 13 KTS   180 AT 11 KTS   200 AT 28 KTS

GOLF:

OH LE
EXTRM NWRN OH...SCT-BKN025 TOPS 070. 05Z BKN025. OTLK...MVFR CIG.
RMNDR OH LE...OVC015-025 TOPS 080 SCT-BKN CI. OTLK...IFR CIG BR
BECMG AFT 15Z MVFR CIG.
....

AIRMET SIERRA FOR IFR AND MTN OBSCN VALID UNTIL 100800
.
AIRMET IFR...ME NH VT MA CT RI NY LO OH LE PA NJ WV MD DE DC VA
AND CSTL WTRS
FROM 70NW PQI TO 60NE PQI TO 50WSW YSJ TO 140ENE ACK TO 100S HTO
TO 90E ORF TO 20NE ECG TO HMV TO HNN TO CVG TO 40SSE FWA TO YYZ
TO YOW TO YSC TO 70NW PQI
OCNL TO WDSPR CIG BLW 010/VIS BLW 3SM DZ/BR/FG. CONDS CONTG BYD
08Z THRU 14Z.
....

AIRMET TANGO FOR TURB VALID UNTIL 100800
.
NO SGFNT TURB EXP EXC INVOF CNVTV ACT.
....

AIRMET ZULU FOR ICE AND FRZLVL VALID UNTIL 100800
.
NO SGFNT ICE EXP OUTSIDE CNVTV ACT.
.
FRZLVL...140-165 THRUT.
....

CONVECTIVE SIGMET
NONE IN AREA
....

HOTEL:   BRIEFING RECEIVED...UNKNOWN

JEFFREY SITES...SENIOR FORECASTER WFO ILN

With a zero or one degree spread between temperatue and dew point, it's not hard to understand why the ceiling was at 900 feet. Why a non-instrument rated pilot would fly into such conditions nearly defies rational explanation. Condolences to the family and friends of the accident pilot.

Plan B Needed

The USPS delivered this to the IFR Pilot's doorstep this morning. Aren't Mondays lovely?

Clearly, the IFR Pilot will have to employ all of his legal eagle skills in responding...

Accident of the Week

Here's a recent accident that, at least on first blush, seems to reinforce the need to ensure that you clean-up the aircraft before "going" during touch 'n goes:

NTSB Identification: MIA06FA007
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, October 16, 2005 in La Belle, FL
Aircraft: Cessna 172P, registration: N99173
Injuries: 1 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
On October 16, 2005, about 1325 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172P, N99173, registered to Christiansen Aviation, Inc., operated by Ari Ben Aviator, experienced an in-flight loss of control during initial climb shortly after takeoff from La Belle Municipal Airport, La Belle, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight from St. Lucie County International Airport, Fort Pierce, Florida, to La Belle Municipal Airport. The airplane was substantially damaged and the student pilot, the sole occupant was fatally injured. The flight originated about 1227, from St. Lucie County International Airport.

A witness who was outside at the airport reported seeing the airplane in the traffic pattern and believed he saw the pilot perform more than 1 landing on runway 32. He noted the airplane flew past his position 1 time, and reported the airplane returned. During the second time on the upwind leg for runway 32, while flying at an estimated altitude of 150 feet, the airplane stalled, drifted to the left, and impacted the ground. He drove to the scene and while en route called 911. After arriving on-scene, he noted fuel leaking from under the instrument panel, and he turned off the master switch. In an attempt to rescue the pilot, he cut the seatbelt and shoulder harness. He also reported the engine sounded like a, "normal sounding engine"; he did not hear any sputtering, and reported the engine was running until impact.

Another witness who was flying near the airport in a helicopter equipped with Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), reported seeing the accident airplane on the upwind leg of runway 32; the TCAS display depicted the airplane was flying at his altitude (approximately 350 feet). He looked and saw the airplane; the airplane appeared normal. He diverted his attention momentarily to look for other traffic, then looked back and saw the airplane in a nose-low attitude. The airplane completed 3 to 3.5 turns of a spin before he lost sight of it. He did not hear a distress call, nor did he hear the emergency locator transmitter.

Preliminary examination of the airplane revealed it came to rest with the empennage nearly vertical, south of the south edge of runway 32. The empennage was displaced slightly to the right, and all components necessary to sustain flight remained attached to the airplane. The flaps were found fully extended to the 30-degree position.

If, in fact, the student pilot was attempting to takeoff with 30 degrees of flaps deployed, it's not hard to imagine that he could easily have entered a stall, followed rapidly by a spin. At 150 feet AGL, that's clearly a recipie for tragedy. Furthermore, if he was attempting to look for traffic (the nearby helicopter), his attention may have been diverted which could have contributed to declining airspeed, followed by the stall.

By the way -- and it has no bearing on the cause of the accident -- the plane was being operated by one of those "zero time to professional pilot" organizations, Ari-Ben Aviator, that Sam talked about here.

Mid-Air Update

Ohio State Highway Patrol confirmed 4 deaths. Weather was VFR, and planes were operating under VFR and, per FAA spokesperson, neither plane was believed to be in contact with ATC.

Dumbest statement ever by local news anchor: "Unfortunately, these small airplanes often don't have flight data recorders." Reeealllllllyyyyyy? In fact, I've never seen a 172 with a flight data recorder. Probably BECAUSE FEDERAL AVIATION REGULATIONS DON'T REQUIRE THEM!!! And, they'd likely cost more than the plane itself.

Sheesh, why don't they call the IFR Pilot for some sound bites?

Fingers Crossed...

News reports abound that there was a mid-air collision earlier today in our neck of the woods. As many as 5 people may have been involved. The pictures don't look promising for survivors:





The IFR Pilot has his fingers crossed that no one he knows was involved. Y'all do the same now, would ya? (www.flightaware.com allowed an immediate check that one of the IFR Pilot's partners, who was out on a jaunt, couldn't have been involved -- too far south on his return trip. It's my newest favorite site....)

Thanks.

Those Crazy Balloonists! (a/k/a Accident of the Week)

A little something different for this week's accident report!

NTSB Identification: DEN06LA002
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, October 08, 2005 in Albuquerque, NM
Aircraft: Aerostar S57-A, registration: N3635U
Injuries: 3 Uninjured.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
On October 8, 2005 approximately 0830 mountain daylight time, an Aerostar S57-A, N3635U, operated and piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when it struck trees and impacted terrain north of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot and two passengers on board the airplane were not injured. The flight originated approximately 0800 from the Balloon Festival launching field in Albuquerque.

According to the FAA inspector who interviewed the pilot, the balloon had been aloft approximately 20 minutes when the pilot decided to land on a sand bar in the middle of the Rio Grande. He observed other balloonists making "splash and dash" (touching down in the water and lifting off again). The pilot decided to do the same. The balloon lifted off and went through 10-foot trees along the river bank that ripped and destroyed the envelope.

"Splash and dash"??? That sounds like the equivalent of the airplane pilot that decides to do a low altitude steep turn over his house -- often with disastrous results. Thankfully, no one was injured this time.

Please, kids, play it a little safer out there!

Template Updated

The IFR Pilot has done another update of the template, this time listing a few more aviation-related blogs that he has unearthed. And, in a ridiculous act of vanity, he added a link to the General Aviation Weekly podcast about The Great Alaska Flying Adventure (tm). Enjoy! I'm off to open the Commerical Pilot knowledge test guide.

Shopping Can Be Dangerous!

The IFR Pilot had to swing by the downtown airport today to pick up some approach plates for one of the partners, who's making a quick jaunt this week. The pilot shop at the Home Base didn't have the right ones, so I did him a favor.

Doing favors usually comes back to haunt me. Do I really need one of these as my "winter project"???

Well, at the very least, it will give me something to do to distract myself while the medical issue resolves itself...

Implications of a Lost Medical

Pretend for a second that you lost your medical. It's clearly a temporary thing; you know that your condition is not permanently disqualifying. But you're definately riding the pine bench for a period of time.

Now, let's also pretend that you're offered the opportunity to go fly. Your buddy needs to get instrument current and so wants you to right seat as his safety pilot. You, of course, are totally itching to get back in an aircraft and slip the surly bonds.

Can you do it legally?

The IFR Pilot has reviewed everything that he can find on this, and has concluded that he may, in fact, act as safety pilot. What he cannot do under the circumstances is log any of that time as PIC time, as he normally would. The IFR Pilot may be able to log it as second-in-command time, though the reasons why that would be of any value are not clear. Simultaneously, the person who is doing the instrument practice must be PIC qualified.

If anyone disagrees with these conclusions, would you mind letting the IFR Pilot know? Citations to appropriate regulations or publications would certainly be appreciated.

Update: Thanks, John, for putting the kibosh on the IFR Pilot serving as safety pilot. Based on the info you provided, yet another Google search led me here. Pretty authoritative interpretation from the FAA. Guess the IFR Pilot will be returning to sitting on his duff. Maybe a glider rating would be in order. No medical required, right?

Accident of the Week

(Ulcer update: The IFR Pilot has been given a clean bill of health by his Gastro doc. Too bad the FAA says you gotta by asymptomatic for 6 months, and provide evidence that your formerly-bleeding ulcer has healed. So, the IFR Pilot will be undergoing another endoscope in late November to get that there evidence. Yum, love having tubes shoved down my throat.)

As winter approaches, pilots start having to deal with night flight more often. This week's Accident of the Week serves as a reminder that night flight inherently carries with it a greater degree of risk, even for operations that, during the day, would not be difficult or life-threatening. Witnesseth:

NTSB Identification: DFW05FA251
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, September 30, 2005 in Crystal Springs, MS
Aircraft: Cessna 150M, registration: N45339
Injuries: 2 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
On September 30, 2005, about 2015 central daylight time, a single-engine Cessna 150M airplane, N45339, was destroyed during impact with terrain during a go-around at the Copiah County Airport (M11), near Crystal Springs, Mississippi. The private pilot and passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot. Dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The local flight originated from M11 at an unknown time.

A witness, who was a commercial pilot, was standing on the airport ramp when he observed the runway lights illuminate. He then heard an airplane approach from the south and watched as it flew a "normal" downwind and base leg in the airport traffic pattern. On final approach to Runway 17 (a 3,000 foot by 75 foot asphalt runway), the airplane "appeared to be too high and fast for landing." The airplane continued to descend, aligned with the runway centerline, with the engine power reduced. When about halfway along the length of the runway, the airplane was at an altitude approximately twice the height of the adjacent trees. With trees then blocking his view, the witness heard the engine power increase and the sound of the engine continue in a southerly direction. Shortly thereafter he heard the sound of an impact and then silence. The witness returned to his airplane and tuned his radio to 121.5 MHz and listened for a transmission from the accident airplane's emergency locator transmitter (ELT). No transmission was received.

The wreckage was located in a pasture about 381 feet southwest of the departure end of Runway 17. The Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates recorded at the accident site were 31 degrees 54.102 minutes north latitude and 090 degrees 22.121 minutes west longitude, at a field elevation of approximately 414 feet mean sea level (msl). The airplane impacted terrain about 90 degrees nose down, and came to rest on a magnetic heading of 270 degrees. The entire airplane was accounted for at the accident site.

An examination of the ELT revealed that the arm/off/on switch was found in the "arm" position and that a signal was not being transmitted. Investigators attempted to trip the g-switch to no avail. The ELT would transmit when the switch was placed in the "on" position.

At 1953, the weather observation facility at Hawkins Field Airport (HKS), near Jackson, Mississippi, located 27 nautical miles north from the site of the accident, was reporting the wind variable at 3 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, clear of clouds, temperature 75 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 63 degrees Fahrenheit, and a barometric pressure setting of 29.99 inches of Mercury.

Normally, a go-around wouldn't be that big of a deal. But, at night, in a wooded area, I guess it can prove deadly. What's intriguing about this report is the total lack of information concerning the aircraft wreckage. Most reports go into great detail about continuity of controls, chordwise scratching of the prop, etc., etc. Not so here.

Also, I'm puzzled by why they detail the ELT switch anamoly. OK, bad that it didn't trip. But, there was a witness to the accident, and it doesn't sound like there was any difficulty in locating the wreckage. Isn't that why you've got an ELT? To locate you when something goes awry and you either can't report your position, or you don't know where it is. Not so here.

Without information about the wreckage, it's tough to opine what might have caused this accident. Perhaps a collision with a tree. Perhaps excessive pitch, causing a stall/spin. We'll just have to wait and see.