Air Ambulance Citation down in Lake Michigan.

[con-pilot]

Air Ambulance Citation down in Lake Michigan. All lost. RIP. :(

http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/7830972.html

[vapilot2004]

A little more from the Detroit Free Press:

UPDATED 10:20 PM A Cessna 550 carrying six members of the University of Michigan Survival Flight Team crashed into Lake Michigan at 5:05 p.m. today en route to Willow Run Airport from Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport.

The pilot signaled there was an emergency about 5 minutes after take off, saying he needed to turn the plane around and go back to Milwaukee. Shortly after that, the Federal Aviation Administration that it lost sight of the plane on its radar.

Dr. David Ashburn, a physician-in-training in pediatric cardiothoracic surgery, was onboard along with Dr. Martinus Spoor, a cardiac surgeon; transplant donation specialists Richard Chenault II and Richard Lapensee, and Marlin air pilots Dennis Hoyes and Bill Serra.

They were transporting a donor organ for a patient who was awaiting a transplant at U-M Hospital. The surgery was postponed and U-M officials say the donor recipient remains in critical condition.

"The thoughts of the entire University community are with the families of those involved this evening," said Dr. Darrell A. Campbell, chief of staff of the U-M Hospitals & Health Centers and a transplant surgeon. "We vigilantly await the results of the Coast Guard’s search."

As soon as the FAA lost contact with the plane, it alerted the U.S. Coast Guard, which began a search and rescue mission in Lake Michigan. Debris was found in the water about 6 miles northeast of Milwaukee, but as of 8 p.m., the FAA said there was no word of survivors.

The Marlin Air Cessna jet, which is leased by U-M's Survival Flight air amublance program, was owned by Toy Air and based at Willow Run in Ypsilanti.

An FAA spokesman said the investigation will be handled by the National Transportation Safety Board.

[bomarc]

There is now a published report indicating that the pilot radioed a "trim runaway". Below is a copy of the checklist for such...I FEEL that it should have been easy to take care of, BUT that there may have been more to this than just a trim runaway...should the elevators be found far from the crash site...perhaps this will add to the questions.

---

electric trim runaway
Autopilot/Trim disengage: Press
Manual elevator trim: As required
Electric trim inoperative
Electric trim circuit breaker: Check CB
If still inoperative:
Manual elevator trim: As required
Page 13

[checklist69]

Have another look at your check-list, bomarc:

1. AP/Trim Disc Button...........PRESS
2. PITCH TRIM Circuit Braker...PULL
3. Manual Elevator Trim........AS REQUIRED

'69

[formulaben]

With all due respect to the proper use of checklists, a runaway pitch trim condition is NOT a checklist procedure. It is a memory item. There simply is not enough time to consult the checklist unless the memory item(s) are done FIRST.

[Eboy]

The results of the simulation are "consistent with the copilot inadvertently pushing the autopilot button instead of the yaw damper on the airplane center console," according to a recently released report by one of six NTSB teams looking into the crash.

Probe of U-M crash: Autopilot on in error | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press (http://www.freep.com/article/20090412/NEWS06/904120558)

[hawker750]

Tricky business trying to fly an aircraft manually when the A/P is inadvertantly on. Similar situation happened a year or so back at Edinburgh when a Cessna 550 tried to do it and eventually landed with an IAS of over 200 kts. What happens is the pilot pushes and the trim goes the other way. Suggest a SB or an AD will be on it's way but it should be be in every pilot's mind as to where the A/P and trim C/Bs are and put coloured collars round them

[haughtney1]

Not being familiar with this particular Cessna product, is there no amount of "break-out" force that can be applied to the control wheel that will cause the A/P to disconnect?

[421dog]

Well, in most Cessna products, application of electric trim against the direction of inappropriate autopilot input will result in either the trim or autopilot breaker popping. (This, unfortunately, probably only comes into play when the computer has failed and the pitch servo is screwing you and you're fighting it actively). On the other hand, anyone who's been subjected to the FMS 800 or the marginally better Bendix M4c (I think, God knows I've tried to suppress bad memories of both) will regale you with tales of what happens when you flip on the autopilot when not reasonably well trimmed. It's surprising, though, that a couple of high time ATP types would fall victim to such a common occurrence.