PA28 Accident near Venice Beach Florida
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PA28 Accident near Venice Beach Florida
Accident on 3rd December.
A 1976 Piper Warrior with a tail number of N4676F took off at night from Venice Beach and crashed about 2 1/2 miles off shore. The pilot had his wife and 12 year old daughter on board. The wife's body was found floating in the sea, the daughter was found dead in the back seat of the wreckage and the husband's body has not been found. The plane was found in 15 feet of water.
The NTSB have salvaged the plane. There was no distress call made. There are similarities to the JFK Junior accident being night time over water with no visual references. It was a rental aircraft and I wonder how experienced the pilot was.
A 1976 Piper Warrior with a tail number of N4676F took off at night from Venice Beach and crashed about 2 1/2 miles off shore. The pilot had his wife and 12 year old daughter on board. The wife's body was found floating in the sea, the daughter was found dead in the back seat of the wreckage and the husband's body has not been found. The plane was found in 15 feet of water.
The NTSB have salvaged the plane. There was no distress call made. There are similarities to the JFK Junior accident being night time over water with no visual references. It was a rental aircraft and I wonder how experienced the pilot was.
I wonder how experienced the pilot was.
https://www.news.com.au/travel/trave...9d8857085e6cf8
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This is obviously very sad. I was very young when I started flying, and at the minimum age for the licenses I earned. That had the unintended advantage of my looking young everywhere I flew. In hindsight, an aviation community in both Canada and the US was caringly watching over me. As I looked young, I would occasionally receive some words from the wise, even from elder pilots I did not know. "I wouldn't go now son....". As I have done a lot of advanced GA training to more established PPLs (nearly all male) who had found their way in life to a position where they could afford the big GA adventure, I have noticed a little more of a "type A" personality in many. Sure, this is how they earned their way into affording an expensive amphibian, but it didn't mean that they had the wisdom to decide not to go. They'd have it equipped very well, so it was capable, but their training, experience and wisdom was not there yet.
That, and the sense of (maybe even just self imposed) pressure to go when passengers are involved, particularly for night flights. The reminder lesson the VFR GA pilot group should have learned when JFK Jr. crashed should be refreshed from time to time - that fact that you can, does not mean you should, and passenger pressure should definitely not sway your "I think I won't go" into a decision to go.
That, and the sense of (maybe even just self imposed) pressure to go when passengers are involved, particularly for night flights. The reminder lesson the VFR GA pilot group should have learned when JFK Jr. crashed should be refreshed from time to time - that fact that you can, does not mean you should, and passenger pressure should definitely not sway your "I think I won't go" into a decision to go.
Black hole conditions claim experienced pilots as well as the inexperienced.
Night training needs to include takeoffs under the hood and exposure to actual black hole conditions until the student is competent with instruments at night and knows when they are needed.
Night training needs to include takeoffs under the hood and exposure to actual black hole conditions until the student is competent with instruments at night and knows when they are needed.
In the USA that there is no night training requirement beyond FAR 61.57 is my reading
Doing three circuits with an instructor at a well lit airport at night is not night flying, his night flying experience will be interesting..
You cannot act as pilot in command (PIC) while carrying passengers from 1 hour after sunset to 1 hour before sunrise unless you have made three takeoffs and landings to a full stop in the same category and class of aircraft within the preceding 90 days. This is a minimum requirement; additional training or practice may be required to achieve a reasonable level of proficiency
61.109
3 hours of flight training in a single-engine airplane on the control and maneuvering of an airplane solely by reference to instruments, including straight and level flight, constant airspeed climbs and descents, turns to a heading, recovery from unusual flight attitudes, radio communications, and the use of navigation systems/facilities and radar services appropriate to instrument flight
3 hours of night flight training in a single-engine airplane that includes -
(i) One cross-country flight of over 100 nautical miles total distance; and
(ii) 10 takeoffs and 10 landings to a full stop (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport.
(i) One cross-country flight of over 100 nautical miles total distance; and
(ii) 10 takeoffs and 10 landings to a full stop (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport.
He should have used runway 5 towards a lighted area or runway 31.
I am very familiar with VNC airport as I used to take students there on night cross countries.
I used to show them the additional dangers of using runway 5 for landing as your turn from downwind to base leg and (in a high wing) part of your turn to final is without any visual reference.
Runway 13 or 23 for landing an runway 5 or 31 for departure.
I wouldn’t say VNC is notorious for this but there have been more fatal accidents at night, quick search shows 3 (4?) fatal loss of control accidents at night in the last 20 years.
https://www.airnav.com/airport/KVNC
As a standard investigation practice the flightschool and the instructor will get a visit from the FAA/NTSB.
