Socata TB-20 Crash In Sierras

Mark and Brenda Richard, pictured, went missing on April 17 while they were flying from the Truckee-Tahoe Airport to the Petaluma Municipal. Brenda, 53, left, was piloting their single-engine plane. Mark, 54, left, was on board

Do we have a multiple personality issue here? In all seriousness though..that's unfortunate, both look like nice people..
 
You know we get a lot of reports of single engine plane crashes on these boards. I really try to learn something from every accident that comes up but I sometimes have to realize that I'm not going to be able to. There are some pilots that died with 5 digit hour amounts. You can die even if you are doing the right thing in the air. Be careful out there
 
and again some sage input from the comments section. Mr.Fartknocker astutely pointed out that California is not just palm trees, but that it is a huge state

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I flew that search.

I clocked my record winds there, two days after the crash. 59 knots. No, I'm not kidding. You could tell it was a regular occurrence from what it did to the trees. And reported winds out of KTRK were light and variable.

There is lots of speculation about ice and IMC, but with winds like that and an underpowered airplane, the amount of ice you need to stop flying is zero.
 
and again... while single engine *can* be safely flown over inhospitable terrain I don't really take the 172 too far out of gliding range of roads, etc. Yes, I know we don't know what caused the accident.. for all we know it may have had nothing to do with the engine.. but it still reminds me how inhospitable the wilderness can be
 
Non-turbocharged in the mountains. While flights CAN be done safely in those conditions normally aspirated, it doesn't offer much margin for error. And as noted above, high winds don't help matters at all. One too few options in this case.
 
wsuffa said:
Non-turbocharged in the mountains. While flights CAN be done safely in those conditions normally aspirated, it doesn't offer much margin for error. And as noted above, high winds don't help matters at all. One too few options in this case.
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Hence the reason that I fly 10.5 w/b and either 9.5 or 11.5 e/b over the cascades in WA. You CAN cross much, much lower than that but in my 182, I'd rather burn the extra fuel in climb to give me a reasonable chance at gliding to something resembling civilization.
 
The story is from the general press. Not an NTSB report. Gotta wait for it. But mountain flying during the winter, especially this winter in the Sierras with record wind and snow was extra dangerous and hazardous for everyone. And fatal for these folks.
 
Tantalum said:
while single engine *can* be safely flown over inhospitable terrain I don't really take the 172 too far out of gliding range of roads, etc.
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The article said they were found near Yuba Pass, which Google Maps says is right next to an interstate.
 
Will wait for the NTSB report to come out then, poor guys
 
asicer said:
The article said they were found near Yuba Pass, which Google Maps says is right next to an interstate.
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"Near" is relative.

Don't take a third generation non-professional report too seriously. The search area was not anywhere near that interstate, or any other paved road.
 
Gravity can be a mother.... but so can winds. Especially in those mountains.
 
MAKG1 said:
"Near" is relative.

Don't take a third generation non-professional report too seriously. The search area was not anywhere near that interstate, or any other paved road.
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Did the search area include the actual location they were found?
 
asicer said:
Yuba Pass, which Google Maps says is right next to an interstate
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According to Wikipedia there are a couple "Yuba Pass"es, I'm not sure I trust the article and Google Maps to be linking to the right one
 
Tantalum said:
According to Wikipedia there are a couple "Yuba Pass"es, I'm not sure I trust the article and Google Maps to be linking to the right one
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More likely the newspaper picked the nearest well known landmark, 'cause if they said "Walker Lake," everyone would have wondered where the F that was. And if you google it, you'll get the wrong one. There are many reused place names in the Sierra backcountry.
 
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