Platte River near KFET, 3 fatal

DaleB

DaleB

Final Approach
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DaleB
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Not much detail other than three fatal, happened Friday evening. Having flown in that area, including along the river there, I can imagine what may have happened but won't speculate.

www.klkntv.com

Three dead after plane crashes into Platte River near Fremont

Three people were killed Friday night when a non-commercial plane crashed into the Platte River in eastern Nebraska, authorities say.
www.klkntv.com www.klkntv.com
 
For flying at night or over terrain with no landing options, one should consider the BRS as the best life insurance for themselves and friends/family.
 
MountainDude said:
For flying at night or over terrain with no landing options, one should consider the BRS as the best life insurance for themselves and friends/family.
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The crash was reported about 8:15 p.m

Sunset was 8:11. So it had nothing to do with darkness still being civil twilight
 
MountainDude said:
For flying at night or over terrain with no landing options, one should consider the BRS as the best life insurance for themselves and friends/family.
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True, but this accident happened about a mile and a half south of the airport at sunset.

That said, it was overcast:

KFET 190115Z AUTO 33012KT 10SM OVC060 09/M02 A3002 RMK AO2 T00901025
 
Racerx said:
The crash was reported about 8:15 p.m

Sunset was 8:11. So it had nothing to do with darkness still being civil twilight
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I did not say this flight was at night.
 
Ed Haywood said:
I would not generally characterize eastern Nebraska as "terrain with no landing options."
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That's accurate. It's pretty flat on both sides of the river in that area. Reports indicate the plane was a Skywagon.
 
murphey said:
you keep repeating yourself.

What about those aircraft that aren’t on the approved list to install BRS?
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The more demand there is for BRS, the more planes will receive the STC and more new plane will come with it.
 
robin ardoin said:
Many of these fatal accidents occur at an altitude AGL that would not allow sufficient response time and opening of a whole airframe chute.
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Of course BRS cannot prevent low altitude accidents or flying into power lines. However, there are still plenty of cases where it can save lives.
 
murphey said:
By any chance, do you own stock in BRS?
price for a 172 is $16k plus 40 hrs install for a total of over $22k. Not in my budget.
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I don't have any financial interest in BRS. Just hate to see so many people perish that BRS would have saved.
 
murphey said:
By any chance, do you own stock in BRS?
price for a 172 is $16k plus 40 hrs install for a total of over $22k. Not in my budget.
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The engine overhaul is 40-50k. If one was available for my plane I'd take it in a heartbeat. Spicy price tag, but cheap in the grand scheme. But I like night flying, and most of the terrain around here isn't great for a forced landing.
 
unsafervguy said:
i won't go into details, but it was a group of stol u-tubers, hit a wire.
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That scenario would not surprise me much. The names of the deceased have been released; two from Fremont and one from Moundridge, KS.

I’ve flown down that stretch a few times. There are number of wires if you get too low. I’m not quite that adventurous. I’ll leave the lower altitudes to the airboats.
 
Another 180 just went down in IL this morning, also hit power lines in really low weather. 4 fatal.
 
Racerx said:
And neither element was here for this one so it’s odd to bring up and harp when it would not have helped in this case.
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1. I did not know that when I posted.
2. It's only harping to those who don't believe in BRS and want to suppress its mention. It is informative to those who want to minimize the risk to themselves and their loved ones.
 
As far as BRS is concerned, it's a solution that works for a limited situation and even with planes that have it, there are still people who don't pull the chute. I wouldn't think it's the get out of jail card, compared to all the other things we can do to keep safe BEFORE you have to pull the chute. I read the comments here, I think to myself, a false idol is being worshiped. The solution is not trusting in something to bail you out, it's not getting in the situation where you have to be bailed out. We had one case in Seattle where there was a complete engine failure that they pulled the chute on, because of the urban setting. I'll grant that. But it's one data point among very many. I does strike one like ICON selling planes that would be "as easy to fly as driving a car". . . nope, that just encouraged reckless flying.
 
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murphey said:
By any chance, do you own stock in BRS?
price for a 172 is $16k plus 40 hrs install for a total of over $22k. Not in my budget.
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I’m just not sure if I would want to pull the handle on the BRS, because certain conditions need to exist for it to be successful (not close to the ground), when are you going to pull it. If you lose an engine at altitude and see an airport or field, would you still pull it?
 
Too many people have died trying to save the airplane.
If I'm not 100% sure the surface I'll be landing on is satisfactory (and you never know what surprises that field under you is hiding, unless it's in your local area and you have good knowledge of the surroundings), the handle gets pulled. The plane belongs to the insurance company the moment I decide this is an emergency. My job is to ensure me and my passengers are alive and unharmed after all the pieces stop moving.
Today I make a mental note during takeoff when the altitude is sufficient for an "impossible" turn. My Cirrus-owning friends have a similar call-out when CAPS is available for use.
 
mandm said:
I’m just not sure if I would want to pull the handle on the BRS, because certain conditions need to exist for it to be successful (not close to the ground), when are you going to pull it. If you lose an engine at altitude and see an airport or field, would you still pull it?
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Depending on what are you flying, you can successfully pull at pretty low altitude … this one looks pretty low to me.
 
Warmi said:
Depending on what are you flying, you can successfully pull at pretty low altitude … this one looks pretty low to me.
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I’m questioning how I would make that decision.
 
Warmi said:
Depending on what are you flying, you can successfully pull at pretty low altitude … this one looks pretty low to me.
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The 1st responder in the hard hat looks like he's jogging on a treadmill.
 
KFET 190115Z AUTO 33012KT 10SM OVC060 09/M02 A3002 RMK AO2 T00901025
KFET 190055Z AUTO 33013G21KT 10SM OVC060 09/M02 A3002 RMK AO2 T00901020
KFET 190035Z AUTO 32012G18KT 10SM OVC060 09/M01 A3001 RMK AO2 T00921015
KFET 190015Z AUTO 33014G19KT 10SM OVC060 09/M01 A2999 RMK AO2 T00911013
 
Let me put it this way: I've flown up and down the river, including that exact spot. There's only one way to hit a wire there, and that's to be really, REALLY low down the river. As in, no reason to be there other than your engine quit and you decided the river would be a better choice than any of the open, flat fields and roads on either side of it, or the paved airport runway a couple of miles away. Or I suppose if you decided that landing on or taking off from a Platte river sand bar at sundown would be a good idea.

No matter what the decision was, it didn't work out well.
 
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