King Air down in Oahu

[atakacs]

Apparently 9 casualties. Anyone with more specifics?

NYT crash report (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/22/us/hawaii-plane-crash.html)

[Hokulea]

Latest news here:

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/06/22/authorities-responding-reports-possible-plane-crash-north-shore/

There's confusion about whether the crash happened just after take off or on return to Dillingham airfield.

[atakacs]

Only that the NYT says it was a King Air
Right you are. Title amended

[bill fly]

Latest news here:

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/06/22/authorities-responding-reports-possible-plane-crash-north-shore/

There's confusion about whether the crash happened just after take off or on return to Dillingham airfield.

Well if landing, some jumpers were still on board...

[Airbubba]

It was a King Air A90 N256TA. Latest reports say 11 people onboard, no survivors.

Authorities increase death toll in 'tragic’ skydiving plane crash to 11By HNN Staff (https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/authors/HNN%20Staff/) | June 21, 2019 at 6:57 PM HST - Updated June 22 at 9:48 AM HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - A twin-engine skydiving plane crashed on Oahu’s North Shore shortly after taking off Friday for a “sunset tandem” flight, all 11 people believed to have been on board.https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/resizer/wTx2Mji6KmML8uZIPklGh21oF1M=/1400x0/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-raycom.s3.amazonaws.com/public/KDFRYDJFZNGKJPILHWH433D2HA.JPGNine people were killed when a skydiving aircraft crashed on Oahu's North Shore on Friday. (Image: Jordan Li)The aircraft ― a Beechcraft 65 King Air operated by the Oahu Parachute Center ― crashed about 6:30 p.m. in an area near the western edge of the Dillingham Airfield.

In the hours after the crash, state officials said nine people ― three customers and six employees ― had died.
But Saturday morning, an FAA spokesperson told Hawaii News Now that their investigation showed 11 people had been on board the aircraft at the time of the accident.And incident logs released by the Honolulu Police Department indicated 11 people had perished in the crash.
When firefighters arrived at the airfield, they found the wreckage of the craft fully engulfed in flames. Photos from the area showed smoke from the fire could be seen from miles away.

“We saw big smoke. We saw big fire, firemen trying to put it out. Crazy,” said witness Justin Kepa.About an hour after the crash, a somber Fire Chief Manuel Neves told reporters that there were “no survivors.”He said that family members of those on board the aircraft were on the ground when the crash happened and may have seen the plane go down.

“It is very difficult. In my 40 years as a firefighter here in Hawaii, this is the most tragic aircraft incident we’ve had," Neves said.
“We had some helicopters with the military, but this is a civilian plane with that many people on board.”State Transportation Department officials said the FAA and NTSB will be investigating the crash.“We are mourning this terrible tragedy," DOT Director Jade Butay told reporters Friday night.
"During this difficult time, we want to express our deepest condolences and sympathies to the families of the flight crew and passengers.”Hawaii News Now spoke to a skydiver who’s been a volunteer instructor, and who raced to the scene after hearing about the crash. He said the skydiving community is in mourning.

On board the craft, he said, were three students, five skydivers and the pilot.On Twitter on Friday night, Mayor Kirk Caldwell said he was following developments on the crash. “At this time, our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the victims,” he wrote.Neves said firefighters worked Friday night to secure the debris field ― a relatively small area that covered about 50 feet by 50 feet. The crash was near the airfield’s fence line.

The Dillingham Airfield will be closed indefinitely in the wake of the crash, the state said. Farrington Highway in the area has since reopened after being blocked off for several hours.

[Romeo E.T.]

It was a King Air A90 N256TA. Latest reports say 11 people onboard, no survivors.




https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/799x533/363693_c4c8b113c9c0a205ac00638f43e448cfdba3a5cc.jpg

[Airbubba]

An earlier incident with this aircraft had the right horizontal stabilizer and elevator come off during a stall/spin recovery with 14 jumpers onboard.

NTSB Identification: WPR16LA15014 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, July 23, 2016 in Byron, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 03/05/2018
Aircraft: BEECH 65 A90, registration: N256TA
Injuries: 15 Uninjured.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

The pilot’s failure to maintain an adequate airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent spin. Also causal to the accident was the pilot’s failure to follow prescribed spin recovery procedures, which resulted in increased airspeed and airflow and the subsequent overstress separation of the right horizontal stabilizer. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s inadequate preflight weight and balance calculations, which resulted in the center of gravity being aft of the limit.



On July 23, 2016, about 1900 Pacific daylight time, a Beech 65-A90, N256TA, sustained substantial damage following a loss of control while climbing out near the Byron Airport (C83) Byron, California. The commercial pilot and the 14 passengers were not injured. The airplane was registered to N80896 LLC, and operated by Bay Area Skydiving under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the sky-diving flight. The local flight departed C83 about 1851.

According to the pilot, as the airplane neared the planned jump area and altitude, about 12,500 ft, mean sea level, he initiated a left turn to line up for the drop zone. He stated the airplane's airspeed was a little slow and then "suddenly the airplane abruptly stalled, rolled off to the left, and began rotating nose-down." He stated that the airplane "did a couple of downward barrel rolls." One of the jumpers, seated in the co-pilots seat, heard a "loud bang" during the recovery sequence and stated that "the pilot did not retard the throttles during the recovery, causing the airplane to develop too much speed." The jumper further stated that during the recovery he felt the g-force on his stomach. The pilot said that he temporarily recovered the airplane to a wings level attitude for a few seconds and observed that the airplane was about 90° off the planned heading, and slow in airspeed.

Subsequently, the pilot stated there was a "shock" to the controls and "simultaneous the airplane suddenly broke hard to the left," stalled a second time, and began to rotate downward. The pilot told the sky-divers to jump out of the airplane. The parachutists complied, and all of them successfully exited the airplane during this second spin event. The pilot then initiated the spin recovery procedures to no apparent effect through about 9 rotations, and stated that the roll rate was a lot more rapid than the first spin event. He then pulled both propeller controls levers to the feather position and was able to get out the spin. He recovered the airplane to a wings and pitch level attitude, but shortly thereafter, the airplane "broke left" and stalled for a third time. The pilot recovered the airplane again by lowering the pitch attitude and increasing the airspeed.

The pilot turned back towards the airport and since the airplane was handling abnormally, he adjusted the elevator trim to its full nose up position to help him maintain straight and level flight. He stated that the full nose up trim setting was used on the approach. In addition, the pilot flew the approach 15 knots faster than required, in order to compensate for the control issue of a marked decrease in elevator performance.

The pilot described the landing as being nose low relative to a normal landing. After landing at C83, a witness observed that the airplane's right horizontal stabilizer, with the attached elevator, was missing. The separated airplane parts were subsequently located in a field a few miles south of the airport.

The pilot reported that there were no abnormalities with the airplane on the previous flights that day, or during his pre-flight inspection for the accident flight. He stated that the weather was clear and that there was a light chop. Further, he reported no engine issues during the flight.

Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the wing's top and bottom skins were unremarkable. The engine mounts, and the left horizontal stabilizer attachment points were examined for overstress, but none was observed. No signs of flutter were observed on the left horizontal stabilizer.

The right horizontal stabilizer, with the elevator attached, that had separated from the airplane, was examined. The right elevator and elevator trim tab remained attached to their respective attachment points. Fractures were observed on the main and trailing edge horizontal spars on the right horizontal stabilizer. There was some wrinkling on the skin surface. The attachment bracket that connected the right horizontal stabilizer to the airplane, and to the other horizontal stabilizer, exhibited fracture surfaces on the right side where the right horizontal stabilizer attached.

Portions of the right horizontal stabilizer, elevator, and the attachment bracket were sent to the National Transportation Safety Board Materials Laboratory for further examination. Magnified optical examination of the fractures surfaces revealed features consistent with overstress separations. No indication of fatigue or corrosion was observed. Deformation and fracture patterns in the right horizontal stabilizer spars were indicative of the stabilizer tip bending up and the lower spar also had upward tearing of the webs.

The airplane's flight manual spin recovery states: "immediately move the control column full forward, apply full rudder opposite to the direction of the spin, and reduce power on both engines to idle. These three actions should be done as near simultaneously as possible, then continue to hold this control position until rotation stops and then neutralize all controls and execute a smooth pullout. Ailerons should be neutral during recovery."

The airplane's weight and balance was calculated for the accident flight. The center of gravity (CG) was estimated to be about 6-7 units aft of the limit. Due the center of gravity (cg) being aft of the limit, the maximum allowable gross weight was unable to be determined at the time of the accident. According to the FAA Pilot Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge states, "as the CG moves aft, a less stable condition occurs, which decreases the ability of the aircraft to right itself after maneuvering or turbulence."

[Hokulea]

Well if landing, some jumpers were still on board...
The confusion seems to be if the crash occurred immediately after take-off or if it happened when the aircraft was trying to return to the airfield after a problem occurred. Some witnesses report the latter, but obviously nothing has been confirmed yet. That's all I meant about there being confusion.

[bill fly]

The confusion seems to be if the crash occurred immediately after take-off or if it happened when the aircraft was trying to return to the airfield after a problem occurred. Some witnesses report the latter, but obviously nothing has been confirmed yet. That's all I meant about there being confusion.

Yep, I agree. If they were still on board for a landing they had an in flight problem.

[sms777]

What concerns me is is the impact area of 50x50 feet according to the fire crew which indicates a pretty much vertical impact.

[Hokulea]

One witness said the plane "nose-dived". That seems to be consistent with a small impact area.

"Stevene Tickemyer was in the area and saw the plane nose dive just before the crash. He ran toward the flames, hoping against hope there were survivors."

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/06/22/authorities-responding-reports-possible-plane-crash-north-shore/

[capngrog]

One witness said the plane "nose-dived". That seems to be consistent with a small impact area.

"Stevene Tickemyer was in the area and saw the plane nose dive just before the crash. He ran toward the flames, hoping against hope there were survivors."

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/06/22/authorities-responding-reports-possible-plane-crash-north-shore/

That being the case, I'd be checking to see if the previously over-stressed horizontal stabilizer structure (see Airbubba's above post) was still attached at impact.

Cheers,
Grog

[aterpster]

I heard third-hand that it was on takeoff, looked much like a VMC roll.

[PastTense]

One brief description:
Steven Tickemyer said he saw the plane take flight, get 75 to 100ft and turn away from the mountain range nearby. He said the plane then started to nosedive and flip belly forward so that it was upside down. The aircraft then flipped again and hit the ground nose first. There was an explosion when it hit the ground.This all transpired in about 20 to 30 seconds, said Tickemyer, who watched from a beach across the street where he was attending a friend’s small wedding ceremony.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/23/hawaii-plane-crash-11-dead

[JLWSanDiego]

Over gross wt, aft CG would be my guess

[gearlever]

One brief description:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/23/hawaii-plane-crash-11-dead

Sounds indeed like a Vmc roll.

[sheppey]

the pilot then initiated the spin recovery procedures to no apparent effect through about 9 rotations, and stated that the roll rate was a lot more rapid than the first spin event. He then pulled both propeller controls levers to the feather position and was able to get out the spin.

Feathering both propellers appears to be the key to a successful recovery under the stated conditions at the time. Clearly the pilot would have a sound reason for feathering the props. Can anyone suggest that reason?

[Airbubba]

Sunday's onsite NTSB briefing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XGaRljSu8E

[Airbubba]

Not much new in the Monday NTSB media briefing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX6kC19tdw0

Many of us have stayed at the Ala Moana Hotel over the years, looks like the carpet is the same as three decades ago.

NTSB Board Member Jennifer Homendy has repeatedly referenced this 2008 NTSB study of the safety of parachute jump operations:

https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-studies/Documents/SIR0801.pdf

[421dog]

Every jump plane I ever flew had more attention given to the illicit hotwired stereo system than to maintenance...

[aterpster]

Every jump plane I ever flew had more attention given to the illicit hotwired stereo system than to maintenance...

And, even that probably wasn't well maintained.

[capngrog]

Here's a video of the spin incident in which the accident airplane lost half of its horizontal stabilizer and its right elevator.

The link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCF5JQK0eh8

It looks like everyone aboard during that incident was lucky to get out. I don't think it gets any scarier than that!

Grog

[Airbubba]

A couple of frames from the video above showing the damage to the tail after the 2016 stall/spin mishap.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1965x997/asawa1_eb7ed72adec7173df2823039b4510e9a61aa7ea1.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1971x971/asawa3_9c716835c75a254714ba3bf3134bb18c0d50473b.jpg

[EXDAC]

Every jump plane I ever flew had more attention given to the illicit hotwired stereo system than to maintenance...

Well maybe the jump planes I flew, and their owners, were unusual. If I reported a defect it was fixed. I have declined to fly aircraft that I didn't think were safe but none of them was a jump plane. Overloading of jump planes, particularly aft CG, is likely more of an issue than maintenance. I have told jumpers there were too many in the airplane and if one of them didn't get out then I was going to.

[421dog]

Well maybe the jump planes I flew, and their owners, were unusual. If I reported a defect it was fixed. I have declined to fly aircraft that I didn't think were safe but none of them was a jump plane. Overloading of jump planes, particularly aft CG, is likely more of an issue than maintenance. I have told jumpers there were too many in the airplane and if one of them didn't get out then I was going to.
Unfortunately, when I was 20, and entertained aspirations of flying for a living, I didn’t have the cojones to say that..

[capngrog]

In 2015, the FAA issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) concerning the empennage of certain Beech King Air models. The SAIB described inspection procedures for inspection for corrosion. This SAIB may or may not have any bearing on the accident in Hawaii, but it is interesting.

The link to the SAIB:

http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgSAIB.nsf/dc7bd4f27e5f107486257221005f069d/7c5b94ac2d0f1ea686257e2d006f9f01/$FILE/CE-15-15.pdf


Cheers,
Grog

[Airbubba]

NTSB Preliminary Report:

Location: Mokuleia, HI Accident Number: WPR19MA177
Date & Time: 06/21/2019, 1822 HST Registration: N256TA
Aircraft: Beech 65A90 Injuries: 11 Fatal Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Skydiving

On June 21, 2019, at 1822 Hawaii-Aleutian standard time, a Beech 65-A90, N256TA, collided with terrain after takeoff from Dillingham Airfield (HDH), Mokuleia, Hawaii. The commercial pilot and ten passengers sustained fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was owned by N80896 LLC, and was being operated by Oahu Parachute Center (OPC) under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a local sky-diving flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.

According to the owner of OPC, the accident flight was the fourth of five parachute jump flights scheduled for that day. Two flights took place between 0900 and 0930 and the third departed about 1730 on the first of what OPC called, "sunset" flights. The occupants on the accident flight included the pilot, three tandem parachute instructors and their three customers, and two camera operators; two solo jumpers decided to join the accident flight at the last minute.

The passengers were loaded onto the airplane while it was on the taxiway next to the OPC facility on the southeast side of the airport. A parachute instructor at OPC observed the boarding process and watched as the airplane taxied west to the departure end of runway 8. He could hear the engines during the initial ground roll and stated that the sound was normal, consistent with the engines operating at high power. When the airplane came into his view as it headed toward him, it was at an altitude of between 150 and 200 ft above ground level and appeared to be turning. He could see its belly, with the top of the cabin facing the ocean to the north. The airplane then struck the ground in a nose-down attitude, and a fireball erupted.

The final second of the accident sequence was captured in the top left frame of a surveillance video camera located at the southeast corner of the airport. Preliminary review of the video data revealed that just before impact the airplane was in an inverted 45° nose-down attitude.

Runway 8/26 at Dillingham Airfield is a 9,007-ft-long by 75-ft-wide asphalt runway, with displaced thresholds of 1,993 ft and 1,995 ft, respectively. A parachute landing area was located beyond the departure end of runway 8, and the standard takeoff procedure required a left turn over the adjacent beach to avoid that landing zone. The displaced threshold areas had been designated for sailplane and towplane use, with powered aircraft advised to maintain close base leg turns to assure separation.

The airplane came to rest inverted on a heading of about 011° magnetic, 500 ft north of the runway centerline, and 5,550 ft beyond the runway 8 numbers, where the takeoff roll began. The debris field was confined to a 75-ft-wide area just inside the airport perimeter fence. The cabin, tail section, and inboard wings were largely consumed by fire, and both wings outboard of the engine nacelle sustained leading edge crush damage and thermal exposure. Both engines came to rest in the center of the debris field, and fragments of the vertical and both horizontal stabilizers were located within the surrounding area.

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information Aircraft Make: Beech Registration: N256TA Model/Series: 65A90 Aircraft Category: Airplane Amateur Built: No Operator: Oahu Parachute Center Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions Condition of Light: Day Observation Facility, Elevation: PHHI, 840 ft msl Observation Time: 0456 UTC Distance from Accident Site: 10 Nautical Miles Temperature/Dew Point: 24°C / 20°C Lowest Cloud Condition: Few / 5000 ft agl Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 4 knots / , 180° Lowest Ceiling: Broken / 7000 ft agl Visibility: 10 Miles Altimeter Setting: 29.94 inches Hg Type of Flight Plan Filed: None Departure Point: Mokuleia, HI (HDH) Destination: Mokuleia, HI (HDH)

Wreckage and Impact Information Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal Aircraft Damage: Destroyed Passenger Injuries: 10 Fatal Aircraft Fire: On-Ground Ground Injuries: N/A Aircraft Explosion: None Total Injuries: 11 Fatal Latitude, Longitude: 21.580556, -158.188333 Administrative Information Investigator In Charge (IIC): Eliott Simpson Additional Participating Persons: Eric West; Federal Aviation Administration AVP-100; Washington, DC Marc Hamilton; Transportation Safety Board of Canada; Ottawa, FN Peter Basile; Textron Aviation; Wichita, KS Note: The NTSB traveled to the scene of this accident.

https://t.co/FBmzosqXhS

[ironbutt57]

Unfortunately, when I was 20, and entertained aspirations of flying for a living, I didn’t have the cojones to say that..


which is why the practice is able to continue....I suggest you grow yourself a pair, they will be needed throughout your career

[421dog]

which is why the practice is able to continue....I suggest you grow yourself a pair, they will be needed throughout your career

Hey jefe, I’m 35 yrs older and wiser, not the subject of one of these threads, (a commercial pilot who’s never dinged a plane, and whose employed pilots have never done so either in all that time)

I continue to run a couple of aviation businesses 35 years down the road from my time as a jump pilot.

Tell me how to run my career when you get here laddybuck...