Fatal plane crash in backyard land o lakes FL

I saw that. Some of my family lives right on the east side of the airport off of Bruce B Downs.

Any word if it was on departure? Hard to tell by the impact, but there’s hardly any ground scars or anything. Looked like a pretty flat impact. Also noticed the trim tab appears to be in the nose down position...
 
Ryanb said:
I saw that. Some of my family lives right on the east side of the airport off of Bruce B Downs.

Any word if it was on departure? Hard to tell by the impact, but there’s hardly any ground scars or anything. Looked like a pretty flat impact.
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I haven't heard anything reliable yet. My wild guess is loss of power on departure and stalled it trying to make it somewhere reasonable.
 
Salty said:
I haven't heard anything reliable yet. My wild guess is loss of power on departure and stalled it trying to make it somewhere reasonable.
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That’s what I was thinking as well... I guess Wesley Chapel Blvd wasn’t an option... I do notice that the elevator trim tab appears to be in the nose down position by the photo...
 
Ryanb said:
@Salty - take a look at this flight track. Might be a base to final type stall scenario.

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N711JA
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If the street given in the article is accurate it was on the NW side of the runway. Flight aware can't see planes when they get real low. Coincidentally, it was probably my ADSB feed to flight aware that provided that track. I'll have to look and see.
 
Salty said:
If the street given in the article is accurate it was on the NW side of the runway. Flight aware can't see planes when they get real low. Coincidentally, it was probably my ADSB feed to flight aware that provided that track. I'll have to look and see.
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Yep, I confirmed, I was tracking the flight for flight aware. It's very possible he did a touch and go, or departed later, again, if the report of the crash being on Grand Oaks Blvd is accurate.

About the lowest my antenna can pick up from there is 700 feet.
 
Another thing I've found is that flight aware sometimes "guesses" at parts of the flight track. It "fills in" data with assumptions that I have proof is sometimes wildly wrong.
 
Salty said:
Yep, I confirmed, I was tracking the flight for flight aware. It's very possible he did a touch and go, or departed later, again, if the report of the crash being on Grand Oaks Blvd is accurate.

About the lowest my antenna can pick up from there is 700 feet.
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Okay, ya the reports show it off 54 in the Grand Lakes sub. I’m trying to find the home that’s pictured in the photos to get an idea. Might be a mechanical issue on takeoff, I dunno... still makes me wonder why the trim tab appears fully deflected nose down... if you hear anything ping me!
 
On second look, it might just be the result of the impact. Looks like some of the horizontal stab isn’t right either.

Trying to get an idea of what took place by the wreckage isn’t very telling with this one. Appears mainly vertical, flat impact.
 
This house right here looks like what I recall from the news videos

Screen Shot 2020-05-13 at 12.10.18 PM.jpg
 
Salty said:
This house right here looks like what I recall from the news videos

View attachment 85776
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Ah yes, you’re right, good spot. Looking at that, the wreckage looks to be facing a northerly direction as it impacted, basically facing those trees. Makes me curious..
 
I'm wondering if a wing hit those trees and spun the plane around.. throwing gas everywhere.
 
Based on his previous two landings at X39 that morning he was using runway 32, so departure still seems most likely to me.
 
Salty said:
I'm wondering if a wing hit those trees and spun the plane around.. throwing gas everywhere.
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Yeah makes you wonder. By the way the photos look, he was on a northerly track at impact, especially to take out that fence like that.
 
'“The fact that they fly over the house all the time makes it more nerve-racking when the kids are out playing,” said neighbor Landa Muscarella. ' :confused:
 
Ryanb said:
Yeah makes you wonder. By the way the photos look, he was on a northerly track at impact, especially to take out that fence like that.
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Looks like a vinyl fence, wouldn't surprise me at all if sections beyond the impact were damaged.
 
Salty said:
“Said neighbor who bought a new house in the pattern of an airport that’s existed for 50 years.
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If I ever strike it rich, I'll buy a house here in the PNW next to a ferry terminal. After 6 months of living there I'll petition the government to shut down the terminal as its noisy every time those big ships blast their horns when entering/departing the dock. I'll also talk about the environmental impact the big ferries have as they use diesel engines to move cars and people from one side of the sound to the other. If people want to go to Seattle, they should just live there and not inconvenience anyone living on the other side of the Sound.
 
The lawyers are already circling on this one. https://www.tampabay.com/news/pasco...m-was-skydiver-former-madeira-beach-official/ Here is a quote from the article.
"Robert Katz, a flight instructor and veteran pilot in Texas who closely tracks plane crashes across the country, said what he could see of the crash’s aftermath made him suspect corrosion had damaged the plane, causing the wings to come off. It’s an issue Katz said he’s seen before in older airplanes in coastal communities, where the nearby saltwater encourages corrosion.

“It makes it easy for the wings to snap off — in what was a perfect flying weather day," he said. “Everyone in that neighborhood is lucky to be alive.”

Google Mr. Katz and you get a personal injury attorney, specializing in aviation claims. The lazy reporter just eats what he's serving...
 
Hang 4 said:
The lawyers are already circling on this one. https://www.tampabay.com/news/pasco...m-was-skydiver-former-madeira-beach-official/ Here is a quote from the article.
"Robert Katz, a flight instructor and veteran pilot in Texas who closely tracks plane crashes across the country, said what he could see of the crash’s aftermath made him suspect corrosion had damaged the plane, causing the wings to come off. It’s an issue Katz said he’s seen before in older airplanes in coastal communities, where the nearby saltwater encourages corrosion.

“It makes it easy for the wings to snap off — in what was a perfect flying weather day," he said. “Everyone in that neighborhood is lucky to be alive.”

Google Mr. Katz and you get a personal injury attorney, specializing in aviation claims. The lazy reporter just eats what he's serving...
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That’s pretty sad. I didn’t realize there were crash chasers in the aviation world but I guess it doesn’t surprise me. This crash happened just a few miles from my moms house. I’m sure the next time we talk she’ll tell me about it to emphasize how dangerous of a hobby I involved myself in. Her brother was a pilot when I was a small child and he died in a crash.
 
Nice little airport,mr Katz certainly is opinionated. Sad RIP
 
Hang 4 said:
The lawyers are already circling on this one. https://www.tampabay.com/news/pasco...m-was-skydiver-former-madeira-beach-official/ Here is a quote from the article.
"Robert Katz, a flight instructor and veteran pilot in Texas who closely tracks plane crashes across the country, said what he could see of the crash’s aftermath made him suspect corrosion had damaged the plane, causing the wings to come off. It’s an issue Katz said he’s seen before in older airplanes in coastal communities, where the nearby saltwater encourages corrosion.

“It makes it easy for the wings to snap off — in what was a perfect flying weather day," he said. “Everyone in that neighborhood is lucky to be alive.”

Google Mr. Katz and you get a personal injury attorney, specializing in aviation claims. The lazy reporter just eats what he's serving...
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Hopefully you've informed the reporter that they've been shystered.
 
I drove by the site this morning. It was the house I pointed out above. Honestly, it looks to have dropped straight out of the sky. The trees only appeared to be damaged by intense flame, not an impact, same with the fence and yard. Just one big burnt spot.
 
Salty said:
I drove by the site this morning. It was the house I pointed out above. Honestly, it looks to have dropped straight out of the sky. The trees only appeared to be damaged by intense flame, not an impact, same with the fence and yard. Just one big burnt spot.
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That’s what I was suggesting by the looks of the photos. Like a pancake right into the crash site.
 
The rumor mill passed along something about this one. 3rd party told me that the plane was there for maintenance and the owner ran it up and was unhappy about how it was running, but the mechanic told him "it'll be fine, go fly". He did, and the engine quit on him.

I have no idea if any of the above is actually true.
 
Salty said:
The rumor mill passed along something about this one. 3rd party told me that the plane was there for maintenance and the owner ran it up and was unhappy about how it was running, but the mechanic told him "it'll be fine, go fly". He did, and the engine quit on him.

I have no idea if any of the above is actually true.
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Well that definitely doesn’t sound good at all.
 
Salty said:
The rumor mill passed along something about this one. 3rd party told me that the plane was there for maintenance and the owner ran it up and was unhappy about how it was running, but the mechanic told him "it'll be fine, go fly". He did, and the engine quit on him.

I have no idea if any of the above is actually true.
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You got to wonder if they had an engine monitor...
 
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