Beech crash w/ fatality at PWK

mikea

mikea

Touchdown! Greaser!
Gone West
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iWin
WHEELING, Ill. (CBS/WBBM) - One person was killed and another injured when a small single-engine airplane that took off from an airport in northwest suburban Wheeling but tried to turn back because of engine problems crashed in a nearby parking lot.

The small, single-engine Beachcraft airplane took off from runway 34 at Chicago Executive Airport, according to FAA officials. The pilot was about 1/2 mile away from the runway when he reported a rough-running engine and requested to return.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2010/12/22/small-plane-crashes-in-wheeling/
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A "Sierra 100" http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/035661.html
 
Last edited:
Summary Owner Airworthiness Serial Number
1978 BEECH C24R
Fixed wing single engine
(6 seats / 1 engine) KESINGER G RONALD
JACKSONVILLE, IL
(Individual) Standard/Normal MC-572
Aircraft Details
Engine Weight Speed Mode S Code
LYCOMING I0360 SER
Horsepower: 180 (Reciprocating) Less than 12,500lbs 178mph 51526452
Registration Details
Status Certificate Issue Date Airworthiness Date Last Action Date
Assigned 2010-11-08 1978-03-28 2010-11-19
 
Sad. According to that last report, it was just bought and the pilot was a ferry pilot just doing his job....
 
I'm aware of at least one pilot who has withdrawn from the ferry business due to the condition of the airplanes he is asked to ferry, especially those that are recently-purchased. He said some are outright dangerous and many others break after the first leg. I wouldn't do it for all the tea in China.
 
wabower said:
I'm aware of at least one pilot who has withdrawn from the ferry business due to the condition of the airplanes he is asked to ferry, especially those that are recently-purchased. He said some are outright dangerous and many others break after the first leg. I wouldn't do it for all the tea in China.
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And -- let me guess -- it's the ferry pilot's fault when something breaks?
 
wabower said:
I'm aware of at least one pilot who has withdrawn from the ferry business due to the condition of the airplanes he is asked to ferry, especially those that are recently-purchased. He said some are outright dangerous and many others break after the first leg. I wouldn't do it for all the tea in China.
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There has been more than one plane I have refused to ferry, or at least required several issues to be repaired before I did. I too find it truly amazing the condition some people buy planes in, especially run of the mill type planes. I can understand if it's a rare bird being bought knowing that it will need restoration, but stuff like a 172 or PA-28... that's just beyond my comprehension. Once found an entire row of rivets under a wing with the heads all popped off due to corrosion, I mean WTF? Who would buy this POS besides White Industries or Dodson?
 
Some info about the aircraft:

G. Ronald Kesinger, a defense attorney in downstate Jacksonville, is the owner of the plane.
Kesinger said in a statement published online Thursday by the Jacksonville Journal-Courier that he was supposed to take possession of the Beechcraft Sierra in July. But the previous owner told him the engine had become defective and needed a major overhaul, "which was very honorable of him," the statement said.


The previous owner sent the engine to a repair shop in Michigan for an overhaul, then had it reinstalled in the plane, according to the statement. The owner's pilot then told Kesinger at least three times that the engine "was not operating correctly," Kesinger wrote.
In October, according to the statement, the pilot told Kesinger the aircraft was safe and ready for pick-up. Since Kesinger, a private pilot, had little time or recent experience with this type of aircraft, he said he asked Cole, his friend and mechanic, to ferry the craft from Wheeling to Jacksonville.
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-plane-crash-folo-20101223,0,1177422.story


This is going to be an ugly court case after the investigation.
 
Henning said:
It's worse, it's our fault for finding the problem even before it breaks...:crazy:
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Yep -- I've done a couple -- and thankfully have been returning them after annuals, but some local ramp queens have been ferried out and all I can think is "Wow -- you sure are braver and/ or dumber than me..."

(And probably more desperate for the hours)
 
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