Ercoupe down Corning IA

Seemed odd to me that there would be a power line 100 feet from the runway.

I guess using “about” means you can be more than 100% off.
 
Salty said:
Seemed odd to me that there would be a power line 100 feet from the runway.

I guess using “about” means you can be more than 100% off.
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Maybe 150-170 feet, actually. On poles somewhat taller (per googly maps) than what I'd see in my neighborhood. Edit: I thought this was on approach. He wasn't climbing well if he started at the end of the runway and still snagged them.
 
I have never been there, but zooming in on satellite imagery shows what appears to be power lines in this area I marked in red. Probably wasn’t making full power departing north.

Narrative:
The Erco 415-C Ercoupe clipped powerlines and impacted the terrain during the takeoff sequence from Rwy 36 at Corning Municipal Airport (KCRZ), Corning, Iowa.
The sole pilot onboard sustained fatal injuries.

The aircraft came to rest about 100 feet off the departure end of runway 36.

8FC20034-B20F-4F3F-AE05-655EC5FC87F4.jpeg
 
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Salty said:
Seemed odd to me that there would be a power line 100 feet from the runway.

I guess using “about” means you can be more than 100% off.
Click to expand...
For a long time, there were power lines off the end of Princeton airport (39N) less than 200 feet from the end of the runway. The local utilities finally buried them. While they were above ground, they sure helped to teach us students about the consequences of being low on a glidepath.
 
There are lines on the street if landing on runway 18. The lines are not very tall though and the runway is raised above the road. They would have to be very low to hit the wires. I live in this area and the cedars next to the pole are no more than 4 ft tall. I'd estimate 50 feet on the wires. Also the lines themselves are more like 225ft from the departure end of 36.

Edit - I realize now they were taking off. Either way this image should help.

Corning Airport street view.JPG

Corning Airport powerline distance.JPG
 
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Cap'n Jack said:
For a long time, there were power lines off the end of Princeton airport (39N) less than 200 feet from the end of the runway. The local utilities finally buried them. While they were above ground, they sure helped to teach us students about the consequences of being low on a glidepath.
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I remember those well. I was always amazed that they remained in place as long as they did.
 
From some of the conversations in an Iowa based pilot group I'm in, this was an older pilot with an older airplane, neither of which may have been completely airworthy, if you get my drift.
 
midwestpa24 said:
From some of the conversations in an Iowa based pilot group I'm in, this was an older pilot with an older airplane, neither of which may have been completely airworthy, if you get my drift.
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Yes, but it may also have been something simple like carb ice accumulated during warm-up and taxi. The little Continentals are famous for it.
 
I'm sure someone can pull the runway data but if I recall correctly from the last time I was in there, it slopes to the south. That would reduce takeoff performance some especially in an aircraft that could be experiencing some performance issues.

Kyle N said:
There are lines on the street if landing on runway 18. The lines are not very tall though and the runway is raised above the road. They would have to be very low to hit the wires. I live in this area and the cedars next to the pole are no more than 4 ft tall. I'd estimate 50 feet on the wires. Also the lines themselves are more like 225ft from the departure end of 36.

Edit - I realize now they were taking off. Either way this image should help.

View attachment 112869

View attachment 112870
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Sad another plane and pilot gone,waiting for the accident report . RIP
 
According to FAA records, the owner of the accident aircraft only had a Student Pilot certificate issued in 2018. Assuming that the owner was indeed the pilot of the aircraft, it's possible that this was an instructor endorsed solo? Also possible that it was not. (Also, he was a Federal Firearms Licensed dealer.)
 
The chart supplement doesn't mention the powerlines as an obstacle, and they aren't depicted in the diagram, either.

Doesn't seem right that a powerline just 200' from the runway can snag a plane on takeoff and kill a pilot, and it's not mentioned in the AFD.
 
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Cloudhound said:
What does that have to do with the price of tea in China??
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It's completely unrelated, but I'm always sad to lose someone in a community that I am involved with. I'm sad when we lose a pilot. I'm sad when we lose an athlete. I'm sad when we lose a firearms dealer.
 
It almost looks like those power lines are lower than the trees across the road? Asking because trees are mentioned in the non-standard takeoff minimums doc for that airport, but power lines aren't. What I'm getting at is if the wires weren't there he would have hit the trees in a second and a half anyway, perhaps?
 
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