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Feds fault NASCAR, pilots in fatal Sanford crash
Gary Taylor |Sentinel Staff Writer January 29, 2009 Federal officials blamed NASCAR and its pilots Wednesday for a 2007 crash into a Sanford neighborhood that killed the two men aboard the plane and three people on the ground.
The Cessna 310R should have been taken out of service because of an electrical problem and burning smell that a pilot encountered the day before, officials from the National Transportation Safety Board said. Allowing the plane to take off on the fatal flight violated federal regulations, the agency said.
"This accident is especially tragic not only because lives were lost and people were grievously injured, but because it could have been so easily avoided," NTSB acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker said.
In a report released at an agency board meeting in Washington, investigators blamed the July 10, 2007, crash on actions and decisions by managers and maintenance personnel of NASCAR's corporate-aviation division, who allowed the airplane to fly while there was an unresolved problem; and the pilots' decision to operate the airplane, which likely resulted in an in-flight fire.
"NASCAR's organizational process allowed for this to happen," investigator-in-charge Brian Rayner told the board.
While the organization is known for promoting safety in its car races, "NASCAR's aviation department was definitely asleep at the wheel," NTSB board member Debbie Hersman said.
"I think it comes down to a lack of leadership," board member Robert C. Sumwalt said. "Flight-department management could have prevented this. You're supposed to be running a professional flight department, not a flying club."
NASCAR: We worked on safety
NASCAR issued a statement later, saying the federal investigation "was largely about finding ways to make aviation safer and we support that effort. We have worked closely with aviation industry experts to improve our safety management systems so as to prevent an accident like this from occurring in the future. Our thoughts continue to be with those whose lives were affected that day."
Michael Klemm, NASCAR's most senior pilot, and Dr. Bruce Kennedy, the organization's chief medical officer and the husband of NASCAR and International Speedway Corp. official Lesa France Kennedy, were killed in the crash.
They were making what was described as a pleasure trip from Daytona Beach to Lakeland, a flight that violated NASCAR's rules because it was not business-related, Rayner said. Kennedy was piloting the plane and declared an emergency about 10 minutes into the flight while cruising at 6,000 feet.
The last radio transmission ended in midsentence: "We're going to shut off all radios and elec . . ."
Because of soot patterns on a cabin door found near the crash site, investigators think it was opened when smoke filled the plane.
Exactly two minutes after the emergency was declared, and about 1 1/2 minutes after the last radio transmission, the plane clipped one home in the Preserve at Lake Monroe subdivision and crashed into two others that were destroyed by fire.
Killed were Janise Joseph Woodard and her 6-month-old son, Josiah, in one house and 4-year-old Gabriela Dechat next door. Gabriela's 10-year-old brother, Daniel Happy, and her parents, Peter and Milagros Dechat, were seriously burned.
The day before the crash, NASCAR pilot Andrew Tumicki was returning from Concord, N.C., when the weather-radar unit went blank and he smelled smoke. When he cut off a circuit breaker that controlled the radar, the smoke went away, he told investigators. He described the smoke as "strong enough where I would have diverted if it had continued."
He wrote about the problem in the plane's flight log and filled out a maintenance form.
"No action was taken to make sure the aircraft was inspected or grounded," Rayner told the safety board.
"This accident started the day before the crash actually happened," NTSB investigator Jeffrey Guzzetti said.
Missed precautions?
NASCAR maintenance officials should have inspected the plane and if the problem with the circuit breaker did not require that the plane be grounded, it should have been secured in such a way that it could not be turned on and a placard placed in the cockpit directing that it not be used, Rayner said.
In fact, four years ago the Federal Aviation Administration recommended that circuit breakers in planes not be reset if they trip.
"Insulation damage is cumulative," said Bob Swaim, an investigator specializing in aircraft systems. It also is possible that other equipment in addition to the radar was connected to the circuit breaker, he said. Investigators could not pinpoint the exact origin of the fire.
It is possible that Kennedy did not know about the problems with the circuit breaker or that he reset it without Klemm knowing, investigators said.
Because damage to the plane was so extensive, investigators could not determine the exact origin of the fire but think it was related to the resetting of the circuit breaker.
NASCAR already has made substantial efforts to correct the problems, including increasing the number of people with the authority to ground its planes, Rayner said. NASCAR has a fleet comparable to a small charter operation or a tiny airline.
In its report, the NTSB recommended that the FAA develop a safety alert about circuit breakers aimed at general-aviation pilots and maintenance personnel, as well as more guidelines from aircraft manufacturers on circuit breakers. The board also said that business operators such as NASCAR should be encouraged to adopt safety-management systems.
Gary Taylor can be reached at 386-851-7910 or gtaylor@orlandosentinel.com.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl-planecrash2909jan29,0,4517645.story
Gary Taylor |Sentinel Staff Writer January 29, 2009 Federal officials blamed NASCAR and its pilots Wednesday for a 2007 crash into a Sanford neighborhood that killed the two men aboard the plane and three people on the ground.
The Cessna 310R should have been taken out of service because of an electrical problem and burning smell that a pilot encountered the day before, officials from the National Transportation Safety Board said. Allowing the plane to take off on the fatal flight violated federal regulations, the agency said.
"This accident is especially tragic not only because lives were lost and people were grievously injured, but because it could have been so easily avoided," NTSB acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker said.
In a report released at an agency board meeting in Washington, investigators blamed the July 10, 2007, crash on actions and decisions by managers and maintenance personnel of NASCAR's corporate-aviation division, who allowed the airplane to fly while there was an unresolved problem; and the pilots' decision to operate the airplane, which likely resulted in an in-flight fire.
"NASCAR's organizational process allowed for this to happen," investigator-in-charge Brian Rayner told the board.
While the organization is known for promoting safety in its car races, "NASCAR's aviation department was definitely asleep at the wheel," NTSB board member Debbie Hersman said.
"I think it comes down to a lack of leadership," board member Robert C. Sumwalt said. "Flight-department management could have prevented this. You're supposed to be running a professional flight department, not a flying club."
NASCAR: We worked on safety
NASCAR issued a statement later, saying the federal investigation "was largely about finding ways to make aviation safer and we support that effort. We have worked closely with aviation industry experts to improve our safety management systems so as to prevent an accident like this from occurring in the future. Our thoughts continue to be with those whose lives were affected that day."
Michael Klemm, NASCAR's most senior pilot, and Dr. Bruce Kennedy, the organization's chief medical officer and the husband of NASCAR and International Speedway Corp. official Lesa France Kennedy, were killed in the crash.
They were making what was described as a pleasure trip from Daytona Beach to Lakeland, a flight that violated NASCAR's rules because it was not business-related, Rayner said. Kennedy was piloting the plane and declared an emergency about 10 minutes into the flight while cruising at 6,000 feet.
The last radio transmission ended in midsentence: "We're going to shut off all radios and elec . . ."
Because of soot patterns on a cabin door found near the crash site, investigators think it was opened when smoke filled the plane.
Exactly two minutes after the emergency was declared, and about 1 1/2 minutes after the last radio transmission, the plane clipped one home in the Preserve at Lake Monroe subdivision and crashed into two others that were destroyed by fire.
Killed were Janise Joseph Woodard and her 6-month-old son, Josiah, in one house and 4-year-old Gabriela Dechat next door. Gabriela's 10-year-old brother, Daniel Happy, and her parents, Peter and Milagros Dechat, were seriously burned.
The day before the crash, NASCAR pilot Andrew Tumicki was returning from Concord, N.C., when the weather-radar unit went blank and he smelled smoke. When he cut off a circuit breaker that controlled the radar, the smoke went away, he told investigators. He described the smoke as "strong enough where I would have diverted if it had continued."
He wrote about the problem in the plane's flight log and filled out a maintenance form.
"No action was taken to make sure the aircraft was inspected or grounded," Rayner told the safety board.
"This accident started the day before the crash actually happened," NTSB investigator Jeffrey Guzzetti said.
Missed precautions?
NASCAR maintenance officials should have inspected the plane and if the problem with the circuit breaker did not require that the plane be grounded, it should have been secured in such a way that it could not be turned on and a placard placed in the cockpit directing that it not be used, Rayner said.
In fact, four years ago the Federal Aviation Administration recommended that circuit breakers in planes not be reset if they trip.
"Insulation damage is cumulative," said Bob Swaim, an investigator specializing in aircraft systems. It also is possible that other equipment in addition to the radar was connected to the circuit breaker, he said. Investigators could not pinpoint the exact origin of the fire.
It is possible that Kennedy did not know about the problems with the circuit breaker or that he reset it without Klemm knowing, investigators said.
Because damage to the plane was so extensive, investigators could not determine the exact origin of the fire but think it was related to the resetting of the circuit breaker.
NASCAR already has made substantial efforts to correct the problems, including increasing the number of people with the authority to ground its planes, Rayner said. NASCAR has a fleet comparable to a small charter operation or a tiny airline.
In its report, the NTSB recommended that the FAA develop a safety alert about circuit breakers aimed at general-aviation pilots and maintenance personnel, as well as more guidelines from aircraft manufacturers on circuit breakers. The board also said that business operators such as NASCAR should be encouraged to adopt safety-management systems.
Gary Taylor can be reached at 386-851-7910 or gtaylor@orlandosentinel.com.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl-planecrash2909jan29,0,4517645.story
