2 Killed in Crash at Joliet

Some more info

At about 8:40 p.m. Joliet police responded to a plane crash at Joliet Regional Airport, said Lt. Jeff Allbert. Officers were unable to immediately determine whether the crash occurred as a result of a fire or vice versa.
Airport manager Jennifer McFarland said it appeared the plane, which took off from Buffalo Niagara International Airport, was attempting to land at the Joliet airport.

.....
Multiple callers to area media who claim to be witnesses said the plane was approaching a runway when it appeared to burst into flames and then crashed. Although police said people did witness the crash, the specifics of these reports had not been confirmed by officials.
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http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/01/2-fatalities-possible-in-joliet-plane-crash.html
 
Because the airport is an uncontrolled field where pilots land at their own discretion, "he was landing on his own," McFarland said.
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Otherwise the professionals in the U.S. Government land the plane.
 
My condolences to the family & freinds of the victims. The news reports , especially the breaking news, was amazingly professional. No mention that that flight plan or lack of, caused the accident. DaveR
 
A photo of the plane
360.jpg
 
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This is a photo of who they say was the person in the process of buying the aircraft

Stu2004.jpg


He is also the club president of the club that built the reported plane.
 
I indeed had a late night waiting for the media to get their story straight.....:frown3: I posted over on red....

BTW--I'm jealous you guys had a good time at Pilot Pete's without me:mad3::)

I'll try to see what I can find out today...:frown2:

Brent


smigaldi said:
That is Purdue's1014's home aeroport.

It was a good flying day albeit cold yesterday.
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Good grief. Just saw the story on WGN. The bimbo reporter: "The airport is uncontrolled and the pilot was trying to land the plane himself." WTF do people think we do - lock on to a 'tractor beam' that guides us to the runway!?
 
smigaldi said:
This is a photo of who they say was the person in the process of buying the aircraft
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What's the source of that photo?

Not sure about whether or not we should be posting that...
 
Greebo said:
What's the source of that photo?

Not sure about whether or not we should be posting that...
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It is from the club's website. http://www.lantzairflyers.com/members.htm

The news paper is reporting that he is the one who was purchasing that aircraft
The plane that crashed, a Lancair 360 single-engine aircraft, was bought last year by Stuart D. Seffern and registered at his business address in Madison, Wis., according to FAA and Wisconsin state records. The FAA said Seffern purchased the plane from Lantzair Flyers Inc., a local flying enthusiasts club whose Web site identifies Seffern as its president.
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http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/01/2-fatalities-possible-in-joliet-plane-crash.html

And I listed him as such in the post.

I have no idea if he was flying it or not at this point and have made no such remark. Since that photo is linked to a public available site there is no problem with having a referral to it that I can tell. What is your concern?
 
A concern was voiced about the posting of personal information - in this case, a photo.
 
Greebo said:
A concern was voiced about the posting of personal information - in this case, a photo.
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It is a public photo on his club's website. It is not personal. Apparently he did not want whoever the female was to be seen as part of his public profile and edited her out of the photo, but he apparently did not feel that his image was private as he did not state any restriction on its use. Otherwise I would not have posted it.
 
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smigaldi said:
It is a public photo on his club's website. It is not personal. Apparently he did not want whoever the female was to be seen as part of his public profile and edited her out but he apparently did not feel that his image was private as he did not state any restriction on its use. Otherwise I would not have posted it.
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Yep. Got it. Thanks.
 
FYI
Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil identified them as Stuart D. Seffern, 50, and his longtime partner, Deborah A. Loiselle, 52. He said the identifications were based on aircraft registration and personal effects, and that positive identifications are pending forensic studies.
Carl Scheid, a founding member of the flying club, Lantzair Flyers Inc., said Seffern had been president of the club for the last several years. The club formed to further members' interest in Lancair planes, which are kit planes that people build themselves. The plane that crashed -- a two-seat, single-engine Lancair 360 -- was built by members between about 1987 and 1992, when it was certified for flying, Scheid said.
Seffern and fellow member John Rowe bought the plane from the club in November so the club could finance its next building project, another Lancair plane, he said.
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http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/01/2-fatalities-possible-in-joliet-plane-crash.html
 
mikea said:
Otherwise the professionals in the U.S. Government land the plane.
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I think what happens in these situations is that a spokesman says, "the pilot was landing at an uncontrolled airport without the help of air traffic control, therefore, we do not have any communications with the pilot prior to the accident." The reporter, who doesn't know anything about flying, as most people do not, infers that the ATC has some sort of control over the actual flying of the plane, rather than the flight of the plane.
 
Maxmosbey said:
I think what happens in these situations is that a spokesman says, "the pilot was landing at an uncontrolled airport without the help of air traffic control, therefore, we do not have any communications with the pilot prior to the accident." The reporter, who doesn't know anything about flying, as most people do not, infers that the ATC has some sort of control over the actual flying of the plane, rather than the flight of the plane.
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That "pilot was on his own" was a quote from the FAA spokesperson.

I agree though, that this nonsense all comes from 300 reporters contacting the FAA minutes afterwards to demand to know all about the plane and pilot and pasengers, and more importantly, what caused the accident, and what can we do to save the innocent citizens on the ground. The FAA gives what actual facts they have like whether they found a flight plan on file for this flight.

That's where the "NO FLIGHT PLAN!" and "UNCONTROLLED!" comes from and "...the FAA and NTSB are on the way and will be investigating the cause. Back to you." DOH! In this case, the FAA rep says that dumb "pilot was on his own" deal.

Maybe later the FAA gives more info or less likely, a enterprising staff researcher uses Google to find more like what kind of plane is registered to the N-number, maybe the picture!
 
More updates.

He appears to not have been landing but taking off and was on route form Orlando to Watertown

At the news conference, Sullivan said the exact cause of the crash was still unclear, but officials had begun to piece together a narrative of the last few hours before the incident.
Seffern and Loiselle, Sullivan said, appeared to be flying from Orlando, Fla., not Buffalo, N.Y., as has been reported previously. They landed at the airport, 4000 W. Jefferson St., at about 6 p.m. in search of fuel.
The airport is an uncontrolled field where pilots land at their own discretion, officials said. Sullivan said the couple made several phone calls in search of fuel. The also ate at a local restaurant.
At about 9 p.m., as the plane took off, it "took a hard left," flipped over and crashed into a field near the airport, Sullivan said.
Joshua Stebenau, the manager of a Madison carpet-cleaning business that Seffern owned, said Seffern recently had flown the plane to Orlando, Fla. The city was the site of the Champs Sports Bowl, where the University of Wisconsin football team played Florida State last week.
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http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/01/2-fatalities-possible-in-joliet-plane-crash.html
 
TangoWhiskey said:
He may have taken a trip to Orlando recently as his employee stated, but that FlightAware track quite clearly shows him coming from Buffalo, NY--assuming the FlightAware capture is of this specific flight (the dates matched up). Radar doesn't like that bad!
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Hmmm... When I look at the FlightAware link posted above, the date I see from Buffalo to Madison is Sunday, Jul 06, 2008.
 
TangoWhiskey said:
He may have taken a trip to Orlando recently as his employee stated, but that FlightAware track quite clearly shows him coming from Buffalo, NY--assuming the FlightAware capture is of this specific flight (the dates matched up). Radar doesn't like that bad!
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gprellwitz said:
Hmmm... When I look at the FlightAware link posted above, the date I see from Buffalo to Madison is Sunday, Jul 06, 2008.
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Yeah that is an old track. It appears that he was on VFR for this current flight.
 
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Turns out this guy used to be a member of my flying club, and was a good friend of one of our current members.

Haven't had anyone I know get killed in a crash yet, but it just seems to get closer and closer. :(
 
gprellwitz said:
Dang, that was a nice-looking plane!:yes:
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Ditto!

There sure was a lot of faith placed in that cotter pin. I'd think the only way to go would be a shaft with a detent and a set screw in the handle to hold it in place along with detents in the valve positions.
 
KennyFlys said:
Ditto!

There sure was a lot of faith placed in that cotter pin. I'd think the only way to go would be a shaft with a detent and a set screw in the handle to hold it in place along with detents in the valve positions.
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Yeah, I'm gonna ask Barron about that next time I see him. I suspect that it's simply erroneous reporting by the NTSB. A roll pin would be much more appropriate than a cotter pin in that application and Barron is smart enough to know that AFaIK.
 
lancefisher said:
Yeah, I'm gonna ask Barron about that next time I see him. I suspect that it's simply erroneous reporting by the NTSB. A roll pin would be much more appropriate than a cotter pin in that application and Barron is smart enough to know that AFaIK.
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When I read it, I visualized a cotter pin holding in a bolt or other thicker piece of some sort. :dunno:
 
flyingcheesehead said:
When I read it, I visualized a cotter pin holding in a bolt or other thicker piece of some sort. :dunno:
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That's not how I interpreted "a cotter pin used to secure the handle to the shaft", but it's hard to say for sure what the investigator meant if you reject the literal meaning.
 
I hate these pharging necroposts. I always get dragged in until I see a post by Kenny or Matt or someone.
 
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