Plane crashes into a house

Wow doesn't look good...Lets hope that there is miraculously some good news as more updates come in.
 
I'm sure that's a facetious reference to a prior crash, but it appears to be Model 35 Bonanza, and I don't think NASCAR (or any of their subsidiaries or related companies) own one of those.
 
wow that's quite a photo - I guess the good side of the story is that the homeowner was okay.
 
That story really shook my wife and I up. That is the airport where my wife and I had to put down on a highway a few years ago when our engine started violent shaking, then blew up (like theirs did). We considered trying glide to the runway but if you are short there is nothing but trees and a few houses in wooded areas. We weren't positive we could make it so we chose plan B. Hopefully, they were confident until the end, then it was quick.
 
They said the plane was a '57 or '58 model? I wonder if the engine is that old too. Even with major overhaul .... I just don't know. Now that I want to learn to fly, I keep seeing more of these accidents ... sigh ....
 
JOhnH said:
That story really shook my wife and I up. That is the airport where my wife and I had to put down on a highway a few years ago when our engine started violent shaking, then blew up (like theirs did). We considered trying glide to the runway but if you are short there is nothing but trees and a few houses in wooded areas. We weren't positive we could make it so we chose plan B. Hopefully, they were confident until the end, then it was quick.
Click to expand...

I remember that. I was working that day and remember you landing near 100 and Old Kings Road. I didn't respond as was working in the north end of Palm Coast when you landed.
 
Rayden said:
They said the plane was a '57 or '58 model? I wonder if the engine is that old too. Even with major overhaul .... I just don't know. Now that I want to learn to fly, I keep seeing more of these accidents ... sigh ....
Click to expand...

Does not matter. I regularly fly an airplane made in 1941.

Sorry to hear about this.
 
Marauder said:
Wow! You would have thought he might try for the road. Probably didn't see it.
Click to expand...

At the risk of sounding callous, and admitting that I don't know the coordinates or the timing, I suspect they saw the runway and the road; and hoped they could make the runway. If they were coming from the coastline as we were, the road would have been easy to see. When we were in an eerily similar situation at 1,000 ft msl, we could easily see both. The runway was a prayer. The road was a calculated risk, but very possible. But with my wife flying PIC, and me in the right seat evaluating the situation without having to fly the aircraft, we probably had a huge advantage over that pilot.

As a lesson to us, and I hope to others, we now always talk about potential emergency landing spots while flying. And we always keep in mind the nearest airport, but we also keep looking out for off airport landing potential. Maybe I should volunteer for a FAASTeam meeting presentation.
 
Rayden said:
They said the plane was a '57 or '58 model? I wonder if the engine is that old too. Even with major overhaul .... I just don't know. Now that I want to learn to fly, I keep seeing more of these accidents ... sigh ....
Click to expand...

Now that you want to learn to fly, you are more cognizant of these types of incidents. There was one aircraft accident in the SouthEast today. How many fatal car wrecks were there? You probably have no idea because they are so common they rarely make the news.

If anything, let this reinforce in your mind the importance of paying attention to your CFI when he/she is discussing emergency procedures. Don't get lazy and skip parts of your pre-flight. And always remember that airplanes are replaceable. Lives are not.
 
flightmedic said:
I remember that. I was working that day and remember you landing near 100 and Old Kings Road. I didn't respond as was working in the north end of Palm Coast when you landed.
Click to expand...
And I appreciate you and your professional compatriots. We wound up lucky, but the emergency response was phenomenal. I didn't even have a chance to check my underwear before they were on site.
 
Rayden said:
They said the plane was a '57 or '58 model? I wonder if the engine is that old too. Even with major overhaul .... I just don't know. Now that I want to learn to fly, I keep seeing more of these accidents ... sigh ....
Click to expand...

Model is insignificant
 
When my wife reads these threads, she always says... That is why we will only get another Cirrus. last resort.... I tend to agree with her though.... RIP.... almost a hero!
 
Rayden said:
Now that I want to learn to fly, I keep seeing more of these accidents ... sigh ....
Click to expand...



JOhnH said:
Now that you want to learn to fly, you are more cognizant of these types of incidents. There was one aircraft accident in the SouthEast today. How many fatal car wrecks were there? You probably have no idea because they are so common they rarely make the news.

If anything, let this reinforce in your mind the importance of paying attention to your CFI when he/she is discussing emergency procedures. Don't get lazy and skip parts of your pre-flight. And always remember that airplanes are replaceable. Lives are not.
Click to expand...

:yeahthat:

I was up with my CFI on the day the JFK jr. crashed. We were based out of Teterboro,NJ (TEb), which is just a few miles from Caldwell (CDW) where he departed from. It was a very hazy day (at least to me as a new student). It was actually not as bad as I thought it was (probably 5-7 mile visibility):lol:.

I remember telling him how uncomfortable I'd be in those conditions without him with me (at that time). Well the next day, it was all over the news that JFK jr. crashed that night, in poor visibility. That made a lasting impression on me and my personal limits and ADM.

Then on the day of my checkride, the DPE had me divert from my XC flight plan to..... CDW, but I couldn't land because someone crashed on the far end of the runway after aborting his takeoff, due to a non-functioning airspeed indicator!

The DPE said to me, "the guy should have just taken off, you don't need an airspeed indicator to fly" :rolleyes:.

I don't think that crash was fatal but I forgot to follow up on it.
 
Last edited:
JOhnH said:
That story really shook my wife and I up. That is the airport where my wife and I had to put down on a highway a few years ago when our engine started violent shaking, then blew up (like theirs did). We considered trying glide to the runway but if you are short there is nothing but trees and a few houses in wooded areas. We weren't positive we could make it so we chose plan B. Hopefully, they were confident until the end, then it was quick.
Click to expand...

Was the plane you put down a Mooney? I remember reading an article on one landing on either a highway or large city street.
 
Now I can see why he didn't try for the road... The airport looks pretty close to Utica Path.

ymupy7yv.jpg
 
Rayden said:
They said the plane was a '57 or '58 model? I wonder if the engine is that old too. Even with major overhaul .... I just don't know. Now that I want to learn to fly, I keep seeing more of these accidents ... sigh ....
Click to expand...

The engine in the plane is an O-470 Continental. Thousands were made, and catastrophic failures of the big bore Conti engines are quite rare. Also, the Bonanza airframe is pretty robust. Of course, anything could go wrong, and possibly did but no more common than any engine which is 10 or 20 or 30 years old.
 
Rayden said:
They said the plane was a '57 or '58 model? I wonder if the engine is that old too. Even with major overhaul .... I just don't know. Now that I want to learn to fly, I keep seeing more of these accidents ... sigh ....
Click to expand...

You will always see them, these things don't have to be fatal, much of it depends on what reaction you personally have when looking at imminent death. Some people disassociate and view it from outside like the pilots on AF 447, some people come into intense focus and fly the plane till it stops thinking and doing at hyperspeed. Who do you think will be the survivor? There was no reason they had to hit that house when they had a perfectly good road on the perpendicular. The trick is to destroy the plane in such a fashion that it absorbs the energy with the lowest rate of deceleration possible. This is almost always available to you in Day VFR conditions, you just have to keep thinking and keep flying the plane to the very end.
 
Last edited:
JOhnH said:
That story really shook my wife and I up. That is the airport where my wife and I had to put down on a highway a few years ago when our engine started violent shaking, then blew up (like theirs did). We considered trying glide to the runway but if you are short there is nothing but trees and a few houses in wooded areas. We weren't positive we could make it so we chose plan B. Hopefully, they were confident until the end, then it was quick.
Click to expand...

Exactly my point, keep thinking, keep analyzing, when one thing doesn't work, you do another. The thing is, IMO this is an inherent part of the pilots wiring, you either have the ability or not. The interesting thing is either way it appears to be a pretty calm event. I know from the time dialation side of it because I've been there and the most calm and focused I have ever been in my life is the middle of crashes, the CVR from AF447 shows the other side of the coin, and they were quite calm as well. So either way, it's ok, we all die one day.
 
Wow. Poor guy sounded calm and professional. He was flying IFR with a ceiling at 900 ft. He probably couldn't see either the field or the roads in time to choose the road. He was following ATC vectors. I am not sure why they didn't take him to OMN. I will have to listen again. He may have been coming from the north making OMN farther away which would mean he must have already passed XFL and had to turn back. Gonna listen again later.
 
I believe this is a situation where you have a calm competent pilot, good response by ATC, and yet through a series of questionable decisions and/or lack of mechanical knowledge we have another tragedy.

Why give up any altitude? Best glide to the approach end and circle down. 900' is very doable.

At one point he reports seeing the water, I'm putting it in close as I can to shore. Why pass on a survivable landing in IMC conditions?

Zero oil pressure, means the engine will seize in a minute or two. Perhaps, it is better to shut it down vs. let it destruct and start a fire. Sounds like that might have happened with the smoke in the cockpit.

Last, when I was in a somewhat similar situation, the ONE thing I wasn't going to do was stall it. I don't care if I hit a house, trees, whatever, I kept telling myself don't stall over and over. I believe this is what happened in the end.

I don't say any of this in a spirit of criticism or disrespect. In those situations it's hard just to keep the rat running on the wheel (mind working). Rather, just some points for discussion, hopefully each of us can consider from the comfort of the ground what we might do in a similar situation that would have made a difference.
 
Marauder said:
Was the plane you put down a Mooney? I remember reading an article on one landing on either a highway or large city street.
Click to expand...

No, my plane was a Cessna 172. Fortunately, we had good weather so that we could see the airport and the roads and we were able to pick the option with the highest probability of survival.
 
They said the plane was a '57 or '58 model? I wonder if the engine is that old too. Even with major overhaul .... I just don't know.
Click to expand...

I would trust a 50 year old big bore Continental or Lycoming that has been well maintained over many of the newer

Now that I want to learn to fly, I keep seeing more of these accidents ... sigh ....
Click to expand...

I deal with crashes for a living because of the research that I do. What you are seeing is simply increasing awareness. Think of it as "unintentional cherry picking" when it comes to the data. You hear about the crashes but you don't hear about the thousands of flights that end with a smooth landing and a cup of coffee. Keep your skills sharp, your aircraft well maintained, mind your limitations and don't push your luck and you should be fine.
 
It won't stop me from wanting to start my PPL process, it just makes me that much more careful about safety, even if it was already #1.

I sort of equate this new flying thing to when I used to ride sportbikes despite numerous reports of bike accidents and their nickname of organ donors. Back then it doesn't faze me one bit as I am confident in my abilities and know my risk tolerance and limit. I was never worried or scared of crashing or dying. The only difference now is that with a family and a 2.5 yr old (the ABSOLUTE LOVE of my life) I am more aware of the consequences. It changed my thinking and risk tolerance because I absolutely want him to grow up with a father. I am starting this journey now with safety being the absolute top of the list.

Henning said:
You will always see them, these things don't have to be fatal, much of it depends on what reaction you personally have when looking at imminent death. Some people disassociate and view it from outside like the pilots on AF 447, some people come into intense focus and fly the plane till it stops thinking and doing at hyperspeed. Who do you think will be the survivor? There was no reason they had to hit that house when they had a perfectly good road on the perpendicular. The trick is to destroy the plane in such a fashion that it absorbs the energy with the lowest rate of deceleration possible. This is almost always available to you in Day VFR conditions, you just have to keep thinking and keep flying the plane to the very end.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top