TOGA Descent
7th Apr 2005, 17:16
I (and several of my collegues) worked for this guy back in the 80's.
Loud 'bang' heard before plane crash
By Clarke Morrison, Staff Writer
Nov. 4, 2004 10:54 p.m.
ARDEN - Witnesses heard a loud "bang" from the twin-engine aircraft shortly before it crashed about three-quarters of a mile from the runway last week, killing all four people aboard, according to a preliminary report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The pilot also had a hard time starting the right engine before the doomed flight took off from the Asheville Regional Airport the morning of Oct. 27, the report states.
Once the pilot got the engine started, he immediately taxied to one of the runways and began the takeoff. At about the 3,000-foot marker on the 8,000-foot runway, "witnesses saw the airplane about 100 to 150 feet above the ground with the landing gear retracted when they heard a loud bang,' the report states.
"They said the airplane made no attempt to land on the remaining runway after the noise.
The airplane continued climbing and seemed to gain a little altitude before passing the end of the runway."
At that point the plane began a right descending turn with the nose pointed downward. The witnesses then lost sight of the aircraft and a few minutes later heard emergency personnel responding to the crash site off Glenn Bridge Road.
Air safety investigators found debris from the crash scattered over an area 47 feet long, according to the report. Both propeller assemblies were buried in the ground.
NTSB investigator Butch Wilson earlier said oil was found on an engine cowling, indicating a possible oil leak. He said investigators would attempt to determine why the aircraft banked to the right before clipping a power line and plowing into the ground. The pilot reported mechanical problems moments before the 10:50 a.m. crash.
The wreckage of the Beechcraft BE-60 was taken to an air recovery center in Griffin, Ga., for further examination. Wilson said it could take up to a year for NTSB to issue a final report on the cause of the crash.
Three residents of Guatemala and the pilot from Pompano Beach, Fla., were killed in the crash. The victims were identified as Beatriz Gonzalez de Sagastume, 47, owner of an aircraft business in Guatemala; her son, 18-year-old Jeffrey Layton; Oscar Alvarado; and pilot Rafael Zur.
A family member said Gonzalez de Sagastume was on her way to Winston-Salem to look at an airplane she was considering buying. The four stopped in Asheville after leaving Miami because the pilot had some personal business here, he said.
Contact Morrison at 232-5849 or [email protected].
Loud 'bang' heard before plane crash
By Clarke Morrison, Staff Writer
Nov. 4, 2004 10:54 p.m.
ARDEN - Witnesses heard a loud "bang" from the twin-engine aircraft shortly before it crashed about three-quarters of a mile from the runway last week, killing all four people aboard, according to a preliminary report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The pilot also had a hard time starting the right engine before the doomed flight took off from the Asheville Regional Airport the morning of Oct. 27, the report states.
Once the pilot got the engine started, he immediately taxied to one of the runways and began the takeoff. At about the 3,000-foot marker on the 8,000-foot runway, "witnesses saw the airplane about 100 to 150 feet above the ground with the landing gear retracted when they heard a loud bang,' the report states.
"They said the airplane made no attempt to land on the remaining runway after the noise.
The airplane continued climbing and seemed to gain a little altitude before passing the end of the runway."
At that point the plane began a right descending turn with the nose pointed downward. The witnesses then lost sight of the aircraft and a few minutes later heard emergency personnel responding to the crash site off Glenn Bridge Road.
Air safety investigators found debris from the crash scattered over an area 47 feet long, according to the report. Both propeller assemblies were buried in the ground.
NTSB investigator Butch Wilson earlier said oil was found on an engine cowling, indicating a possible oil leak. He said investigators would attempt to determine why the aircraft banked to the right before clipping a power line and plowing into the ground. The pilot reported mechanical problems moments before the 10:50 a.m. crash.
The wreckage of the Beechcraft BE-60 was taken to an air recovery center in Griffin, Ga., for further examination. Wilson said it could take up to a year for NTSB to issue a final report on the cause of the crash.
Three residents of Guatemala and the pilot from Pompano Beach, Fla., were killed in the crash. The victims were identified as Beatriz Gonzalez de Sagastume, 47, owner of an aircraft business in Guatemala; her son, 18-year-old Jeffrey Layton; Oscar Alvarado; and pilot Rafael Zur.
A family member said Gonzalez de Sagastume was on her way to Winston-Salem to look at an airplane she was considering buying. The four stopped in Asheville after leaving Miami because the pilot had some personal business here, he said.
Contact Morrison at 232-5849 or [email protected].