Saratoga down near OKC

Turbo-Arrow-Driver

Turbo-Arrow-Driver

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Apr 8, 2019
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Turbo-Arrow Owner
N8266D was owned by a flying club, pilot and pax now identified. Nothing obvious in the ADS-B data and there was some manuvering prior to the accident. Maybe a checkout, maybe just some practice. ADS-B ends at around 4,000 feet, and the actual accident isn't apparent in the data.

Photos of the crash site look like it was a near vertical dive. Almost nothing recognizable except the tail section. Was this maybe an unrecovered spin?

An earlier post on Kathryn's Report has a comment about the accident,

http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2020/08/piper-pa-32-301t-n8266d-incident.html

https://www.enidnews.com/news/ohp-i...cle_861ffc6a-96bd-11ed-8e8c-0f1c9a76d678.html
 

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That’s a smoking hole…hard to imagine what happened there
 
The other pilot's obituary (both were named John)

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/john-hazelton-obituary?id=38689708

I was good friends with this John (but did not know Benton). We were coworkers for a long time, fellow CFIs, fellow guitar players. Great guy with a great laugh and smile.

I am a former member of this flying club, and have flown the accident aircraft, but not recently. They were apparently up on a routine training/checkout flight. At this point, none of us have any idea what went wrong. To me, the debris pattern does suggest a dive at a steep angle, but not quite vertical like a spin would be.

They will both be missed dearly.
 
I saw a comment on Facebook claiming a witnesses saw the aircraft on fire in a steep descent. Likely was a flight testing out the aircraft's new autopilot that was recently installed.
 
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Turbo-Arrow-Driver said:
I suppose it could have been a wing spar. If so, one wing will likely be found elsewhere. The debris field is so dense and compacted it's impossible for me to tell if there are two wings in there or not.

Listed with 2800 hrs in 2013, not very high time at that point.

https://www.aircraft.com/aircraft/200862237/8266d-1980-piper-t-saratoga
Click to expand...

Hard to take such take seriously, so I'll give it a response befitting of it:

Unlikely it was the wing spar, ERAU isn't listed as the owner.....:rolleyes::D
/snark
 
hindsight2020 said:
Hard to take such take seriously, so I'll give it a response befitting of it:

Unlikely it was the wing spar, ERAU isn't listed as the owner.....:rolleyes::D
/snark
Click to expand...

You obviously don't own a Piper aircraft, or you might be more concerned about the idea of a wing falling off while thousands of feet in the air. Next time you're up there, give that a thought or two. My a/c isn't anywhere near the limits the FAA set in the AD, but I'm still concerned about it. /snark

Seriously, I did see some more news footage of the accident site where both wings were clearly visible in the wreckage, so no, it wasn't a wing spar.
 
Turbo-Arrow-Driver said:
You obviously don't own a Piper aircraft, or you might be more concerned about the idea of a wing falling off while thousands of feet in the air. Next time you're up there, give that a thought or two. My a/c isn't anywhere near the limits the FAA set in the AD, but I'm still concerned about it. /snark

Seriously, I did see some more news footage of the accident site where both wings were clearly visible in the wreckage, so no, it wasn't a wing spar.
Click to expand...
Yet, he does.

:popcorn:
 
My condolences. Hopefully the answers are quick in arriving.

RussR said:
The other pilot's obituary (both were named John)

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/john-hazelton-obituary?id=38689708

I was good friends with this John (but did not know Benton). We were coworkers for a long time, fellow CFIs, fellow guitar players. Great guy with a great laugh and smile.

I am a former member of this flying club, and have flown the accident aircraft, but not recently. They were apparently up on a routine training/checkout flight. At this point, none of us have any idea what went wrong. To me, the debris pattern does suggest a dive at a steep angle, but not quite vertical like a spin would be.

They will both be missed dearly.
Click to expand...
 
Turbo-Arrow-Driver said:
So much for this being a place were folks can have respectful discussions.
Click to expand...

Oh I wasn't intending disrespect, I caveat the comment by adding the snark tag. Meaning, I meant for you to see it coming as sarcasm. I was using your post as a tangent in order to aim at the target of my real contempt: ERAU.

But yes, respectfully, we certainly disagree on the legitimacy and scope of the AD in question. And yes, contrary to your belief, not only do I own a Piper, I own the model at the heart of the kerfuffle, just like you do.

In full credit to you, you have been respectful. If you want to see what disrespect over a disagreement looks like, you should try one of the type-specific boards that shall remain nameless, where one of the frequent contributors unironically offered to pay to engrave "he died for his principles" on not just mine, but my wife and child's future gravestones. Real class act that place. Trust me, this place can seem outright cordial by comparison. :D
 
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