Commander 114A down in SE TX (near Baytown)

Jim_R

Jim_R

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Jim
N5903N down with two lives lost.

kfdm.com

Tragic plane crash claims lives of grandfather and grandson in Chambers County

A tragic plane crash claimed the lives of a grandfather and his grandson on Saturday evening. The Chambers County Sheriff’s Office reported that they received i
kfdm.com kfdm.com

FlightAware doesn't show the track for some reason, but FlightRadar24 still has it:
1748269892195.png

Only other recent flight in either site (which _does_ show in FlightAware) was a couple days earlier. Looks pretty normal...a little bit of pattern work around Baytown followed by a practice RNAV 14 starting at YEBUK:
1748270986237.png
 
Uff. Stall following an aggressive climb? Looks like they traded about 90 kts for 1200ft altitude gain over the course of a minute or so, then descended at -14,000 FPM.

Groundspeed was fluctuating toward the end, maybe trying to recover from a spin?

IMG_3522.jpeg
 
Edit: I keep thinking today is Sunday - I was looking at yesterday's weather, not Saturday's. Mea culpa.
 
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Erratic flight path. Did grandad have a heart attack and grandson flying?
 
Edit: I keep thinking today is Sunday - I was looking at yesterday's (Sunday's) weather, not Saturday's. Mea culpa.
 
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Hmmm. Something going on in that track. - what was really happening? I imagine we all wonder that.

There is nothing between anahuac and winnie to speak of. Anahuac has a decent little airport.
 
Giving the grandson a ride? Maneuvering flight gone awry? Not saying that’s what happened, but we’ve seen it before.

I didn’t see the age of the grandson.
 
sourdough44 said:
I didn’t see the age of the grandson.
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At least one of the stories I saw referred to him as a "juvenile", but I'd say that only narrows it down to somewhere below ~18.
 
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Some of those gyrations may have been the grandson flying the plane.

Although there was weather in the area, they initially seemed to keep well clear of it. Unfortunately, the view from the cockpit can be deceiving...

Turbulence well outside the heavy rain painting on radar can be amazing harsh. First hand observer of this.

On the other hand, a skilled ATC controller in Indiana vectored us through a line of cells, with a smooth ride all the way. My wife kept asking "When will we be getting into the rough part?". We never did. I have wondered how many rough vectors he had given in his career learning where he could send us safely and smoothly?
 
Kinda watching this one some. I realized we’ve all heard it before, but this pilot in question had a very solid reputation. He is remembered very favorably as a pilot from those around him. Yep, only as good as our last, or most recent flight.

Back to the depicted flight path and maneuvering. To see the slow GS with the high rate of descent, seems to imply falling from a stall or even a partial spin? Is that what could be inferred? He was giving the grandson a ride, there was a fair bit of intentional maneuvering much of the flight. Unless it was a flight control problem of sorts, I think it was the 2nd flight after the annual.

Then no distress call noted. Most prelim reports are bland unless the reason is obvious. I guess another week may get a prelim report.
 
61 is pretty young. Im not an expert but incapacitation or control malfunction seems to fit but those seem unlikely. Regardless i would think the average xbox-savvy 14 year old could do better than an uncontrolled dive into terrain if it were pilot incapacitation.

CO?
 
I think it was the 2nd flight after the annual, for what that’s worth. No idea if anything on the annual was related.

I just came out of annual, they put a comment in there about an electrical harness secured so as to not interfere with yoke movement. Yes I check controls, also know things can move a little over time. I just don’t see reason to throw the pilot under the bus with simply poor stall recovery.

We had the accident at Andrew’s with the very accomplished acro pilot, jammed controls, it seems. As just discussion, anyone know of an instance where say a wire harness interfering was a major contributor to an accident? If not that, other examples, besides control lock type events?
 
sourdough44 said:
As just discussion, anyone know of an instance where say a wire harness interfering was a major contributor to an accident?
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There have been a few instances involving wiring vs controls in both airplanes and helicopters. Here's a rather unusual one:
CEN22LA430
Aerossurance Article
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sourdough44 said:
If not that, other examples, besides control lock type events?
Click to expand...
From what I've read over the years it can be just about anything from loose baggage to Ipads sliding into places they shouldn't be to include the controls which lead to incidents and accidents.
 
I met the pilot last year at our annual Commander fly-in. Very down to earth and easy to talk with. His Commander was literally a show winner and meticulously maintained. I am following this one closely as I struggle to understand how this pilot, in this well maintained an aircraft, had this type of accident on a VFR day with a passenger on board.
 
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