Lear Jet Crash

[Robssupra]

Lear Jet Crashes In Tahoe; Two Dead

POSTED: 3:47 pm PST December 28, 2005
UPDATED: 5:05 pm PST December 28, 2005

TRUCKEE -- A private business jet crashed Wednesday afternoon on approach to Truckee Tahoe Airport and exploded into a ball of flame killing both people aboard, authorities said.

According to the Placer County Sheriff Department the plane went down about 2:05 p.m. Placer County and Nevada County emergency teams responded to the area, confirming at least two deaths.

The Learjet had taken off from Twin Falls, Idaho, and was scheduled to pick up two passengers at Truckee Tahoe Airport, said Bruce Nelson, a Federal Aviation Administration operations officer in Los Angeles.

He said officials had yet to identify a potential cause of the crash, but a storm had brought rain, snow and high winds to the Sierra Nevada.

According to the Sierra Sun newspaper, radio transmissions from first responders reported that the aircraft had been totally destroyed. A large debris area was reported on Martis Creek Dam Road.

Truckee resident Mark Maisel witnessed the crash.

"The right wing went straight up with the left wing straight down, then the left wing went straight up," he told the newspaper. "Then it hit the ground with the biggest ball of flame you’ve ever seen. The ball of flame was bigger than any tree around here."

The National Weather Service said the area was under a winter storm warning at the time of the crash.

Truckee Tahoe Airport, situated at 5,900 feet, is a general aviation airport that operates without a control tower.

Anybody knows whos A/C this was?

Crew RIP.

[flynverted]

N781RS, registered to RSB Investments INC of Washington, PA.

C&P from Avitop.com:

N-NUMBER 781RS
Aircraft Serial Number 218
Aircraft Manufacturer GATES LEARJET CORP.
Aircraft Type Fixed wing multi engine
Aircraft Model 35A
Engine Manufacturer GARRETT
Engine Type Turbo-jet
Engine Model TFE 731 SER
Year Manufactured 1978
Registrant Corporation
Name RSB INVESTMENTS INC
Address 155 AIRPORT RD

WASHINGTON , PA-15301-9078
US
Registration Date 28 December 2004
Airworthiness Certificate Type Standard
Approved Operations Transport
Status V
Aircraft Transponder Code 52512705
Copyright�1998-2004 Avitop.com

Approach to Truckee Tahoe Airport.
http://www.truckeetahoeairport.com/pilot.htm

[timmcat]

Local newspaper link with photo here. (http://www.sierrasun.com/article/20051228/NEWS/51228001)

[jondc9]

I live about 30 miles from this crash site and have flown into KTRK many times.

On a good day this is a demanding airport, 5900msl.

go to airnav.com and you can download the approach plates.

I called the airport and couldn't get any data including which runway they were trying for and which approach they had made.


wx at the time aabout 1500 broken 3-4 miles wind from ssw at 10-15 AT THE SURFACE...tops of the mountains gusts to 80 knots nearby.

some reports indicate great wing rocking(90 degree bank to 90 degree bank)

jon

[vapilot2004]

Link to article in Skyward Aviation's hometown paper:

http://observer-reporter.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=7786&SectionID=6&SubSectionID=&S=1

More from same source:

Jonathan Martin's wrapped Christmas presents were awaiting his return home when the plane he was piloting crashed in poor weather Wednesday on the West Coast, killing him and another local pilot.

The second victim, Brett Karpy, had just celebrated his 34th birthday vacationing with his family in Florida before returning to work at the Washington County Airport-based Skyward Aviation.

Their families on Thursday were preparing funerals after receiving word that the Learjet 35-A the men were flying had crashed short of a runway in Truckee, Calif., en route to pick up two passengers. The pilots were the only people on board at the time of the crash.

"We're devastated. It's just a nightmare," said William Karpy of Eighty Four, the pilot's father.

Martin's ex-wife, Nancy, of Prosperity, said the couple's two sets of twins also were devastated.

"It's the most horrible thing they could ever imagine," she said Thursday.

The plane was met with rain and wind gusts of up to 40 mph at Truckee Tahoe Airport north of Lake Tahoe, said Placer County Sheriff's Sgt. John Giovannini. The airport had issued a warning on its Web page saying pilots might encounter "turbulence, downdrafts and wind shear." The flight left Twin Falls, Idaho, sometime between noon and 1 p.m. PST before crashing in a ball of flames about an hour later.

Skyward President Ronald A. Corrado issued a brief, typed statement Thursday, confirming that the two crew members were from the Washington area. He referred additional comment to the National Transportation Safety Board.

The NTSB said the plane was flying a "positioning flight," one that moved the crew from one place to another to pick up passengers. The plane crashed 28 feet short of the runway, an NTSB spokeswoman said.

Nancy Martin said two men from Skyward came to her home in Prosperity Wednesday night to tell her about the crash and that there were no survivors.

Martin, of Washington, is survived by twins, Amy and A.J., both 13, and 10-year-olds Kelly and Caity.

He was a former paramedic at Washington Ambulance & Chair Service, where he was remembered Thursday as being a model employee, outgoing and dedicated to his work.

"It's a sad day here," said Rodney Rohrer, operations manager of the ambulance service. "All of our employees are pretty low today. They had a lot of respect for him."

Martin also had his own woodworking shop and had made furniture for people.

Karpy was a graduate of Canon-McMillan High School.

"He was a really good kid," said Canonsburg Councilwoman Jean Popp, a longtime friend of the man's aunt, Dorothy Vehar. "He did so good for himself."

Karpy, who lived with his parents, was relatively new to Washington County Airport, having previously flown from Allegheny County Airport. He was seriously injured about four years ago in a wind-gliding accident in North Carolina, Popp said.

He also is survived by his mother, Joyce, and a brother, Royce.

[pilotlear]

...My deepest Condolences to the familys and friend of the two Aviation Professionals...

Capt Cesare Quarantani
Rome (Italy)
..Learjets Pilot..

[westhawk]

The NTSB preliminary report has been released and sheds some light on the circumstances surrounding this accident.
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NTSB Identification: LAX06FA071
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, December 28, 2005 in Truckee, CA
Aircraft: Learjet 35A, registration: N781RS
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
On December 28, 2005, about 1406 Pacific standard time, the flight crew piloting a Gates Learjet, model 35A, N781RS, experienced an in-flight loss of control and descended into the ground on short final approach to runway 28 at the Truckee-Tahoe Airport, Truckee, California. The airplane was owned and operated by RSB Investments, Inc., Washington, Pennsylvania, d.b.a. Skyward Aviation. The airplane was destroyed during the impact and post crash fire. The airline transport certificated captain and the commercial certificated first officer sustained fatal injuries. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed. The purpose of the flight was to reposition the airplane to Truckee in order to pickup passengers awaiting transportation to another location. The accident flight was performed under the provisions of 14 CFR 91, and it originated from Twin Falls, Idaho, about 1257. (All times used in this report have been converted to Pacific standard time.)
The operator reported to the National Transportation Safety Board investigator that the subsequent on demand air taxi flight was to be performed under the provisions of 14 CFR 135.
According to information received from the Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC), its personnel cleared the airplane to perform the VOR/DME RNAV (GPS-A) approach to the Truckee-Tahoe (uncontrolled) Airport. A crewmember in the airplane acknowledged the clearance. Also, a crewmember informed the ARTCC radar controller that he had received the Truckee weather.
The Truckee-Tahoe Airport has the following runways: Runway 10/28, which is 7,000 feet long by 100 feet wide, and runway 19/01, which is 4,650 feet long by 75 feet wide. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has published two instrument approach procedures (IAPs) for the airport. These IAPs are named (1) "VOR/DME RNAV or GPS-A" and (2) "GPS RWY 19." Pertinent information regarding these IAPs for "category C" aircraft is as follows:
(1) The GPS-A weather minima for a circling approach to the airport indicates an 8,200 feet mean sea level (msl) minimum descent altitude (MDA) and 3 miles visibility. No straight-in approach is published; and
(2) The GPS Rwy 19 weather minima indicates a 7,340 feet msl MDA and 3 miles visibility. A straight-in approach to runway 19 is published along with a circling approach to the airport. The weather minima are the same for the straight-in and circling approaches to all runways.
The ARTCC controller cleared the airplane to perform the GPS-A IAP, and a crewmember acknowledged the clearance. FAA recorded radar data indicates that the airplane proceeded on a southeasterly course toward the airport (runway 10/28) while descending past the Lolla initial approach fix (IAF), as published for the GPS-A approach. Thereafter, the airplane descended below the minimum altitude for which the FAA records radar data.
Several witnesses, located in the vicinity of the airport, reported observing the airplane as it approached Truckee from the north. According to the witnesses, when they first observed the airplane it was flying in a southerly direction toward runway 19. The airplane flew over the airport and turned left (eastbound), thereby entering the left traffic pattern downwind leg for runway 28. The witnesses further reported observing the airplane turn onto the base and final approach legs for runway 28, while continuing to increase its left bank angle.
One of the witnesses, who was located near the middle of the airport on the second floor of the terminal/airport administration building, made the following statement regarding his observations: "I...looked toward the approach end of RWY 28 and observed a white jet with tip tanks in an unusual attitude. The aircraft appeared to be about 300 feet agl [above ground level] in close to a 90-degree left bank and in the mist, trying to line up on runway 28. It appeared the aircraft had overshot [the runway's] centerline. As I continued to watch, it appeared the bank angle sharpened somewhat, the nose began to tuck and the aircraft slipped into the ground. On impact there was a fireball."
Another witness, who was also in the administration building, made the following statement regarding his observations: "I saw the aircraft in and out of the clouds in a close base for [runway] 28. I then saw the aircraft emerge from a cloud in a base to final turn for runway 28. The aircraft appeared to be approximately 300-400 feet above the ground. The left wing was down nearly 90 degrees. The aircraft appeared north of the [runway 28] centerline. The aircraft pitched nose down approximately 30-40 degrees and appeared to do a 1/2-cartwheel on the ground before exploding. "
The on scene examination of the accident site and airplane wreckage revealed evidence of left wing fragments in the ground swath at the initial point of impact (IPI). The IPI was located on estimated 10-degree upsloping ground, about 1/3-mile east of the approach end of runway 28. The approximate global positioning satellite (GPS) coordinates of the IPI are 39 degrees 18.790 minutes north latitude by 120 degrees 07.469 minutes west longitude. The estimated elevation is 5,860 feet msl.
The ground swath was approximately 3 feet deep by 10 feet wide at its widest point, and 75 to 100 feet long. Fragmented airplane components consisting of the airplane's wings, engines, empennage, and cockpit were located west of the ground swath and extended over an estimated 200-foot-long area. The cockpit was found at the western end of the wreckage distribution area, adjacent to the east side of the Martis Dam (airport perimeter) Road, at an estimated 5,875-feet msl elevation.
In total, wreckage was observed over an estimated 300-foot-long area. The principal axis of the ground swath was 252 degrees, magnetic. The IPI was between 250 and 300 feet north of runway 28's extended centerline. Fire burned native vegetation in, and adjacent to, the impacted area, and also burned portions of the fragmented airplane structure.
Regarding the meteorological conditions at the Truckee-Tahoe Airport, elevation 5,900 feet msl, minutes prior to the ARTCC's issuance of the instrument approach clearance to the airplane the reported weather was, in part, wind from 220 degrees at 13 knots with gusts to 36 knots, and visibility 3 miles. The sky condition was as follows: 1,800 feet scattered, 2,400 feet broken, and 4,200 feet overcast. (Altitudes are above ground level.)
Near the time that the airplane passed the Lolla IAP (12 miles west of the airport), the reported weather was, in part, wind from 200 degrees at 18 knots with gusts to 26 knots, and visibility 2 1/2 miles. The sky condition was as follows: 1,300 feet scattered, 1,800 feet broken, and 3,400 feet overcast.
About the time of the accident the weather was, in part, wind from 210 degrees at 20 knots with 30-knot gusts, and visibility 1 1/2 miles. The sky condition was as follows: 1,200 feet scattered, 1,500 feet broken and 2,400 feet overcast. The visibility was variable between 1/2 and 5 miles.
Index for Dec2005 | Index of months
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Just a few observations here. They are not intended to draw final conclusions just yet. Rather, I'm more interested in adding whatever insight which might be gained from analyzing this accident scenario to my own experience in the hope that every little bit learned helps to optimize my own aeronautical decision making abilities.
No mention is made of the CVR or whether it was recovered with any usable audio content. Obviously, this data could be useful in revealing not only the sequence of events, but also any verbalized thought processes and observations made by the crew.
At the time the approach clearance was issued, automated wx reports indicated conditions were above published mins, so they might have reasonably expected to see the airport from the MAP at MDA. Conditions apparently were variable and worsened about the time they arrived over the airport.
There is rapidly rising terrain within 3 miles south and east of the airport. Particularly in worsening visibility, the tendency would be to keep the circling maneuver in close to the runway. This, coupled with the likelihood of even stronger southwesterly wind at the circling altitude, would tend to promote an overshoot of the extended runway centerline. In my personal experience and observation, the temptation to attempt to correct this condition with over bank is strong indeed. Add the likelihood of strong up and downdrafts due to strong winds near high terrain and you have a heck of a situation. The possibility of the presence of airframe icing conditions might also be considered. Toss in some perceived commercial pressure (whether external or internal) to land at this airport and you face a major challenge to your skill and judgment.
In time, new information regarding the facts related to this accident may indeed come to light. NTSB will issue their probable cause finding and possibly some recommendations. Until then, I must only consider what is known so far to be a cautionary tale, useful only in that increased vigilance may be applied by those of us who continue on. Unless lessons are learned from the mishaps of others, " There, but for the grace of (enter your applicable deity here), go I." Such a sad thing.
Best regards and safe flying,
Westhawk