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So sad to hear, it would not have been pleasant.
This type has a controversial stability history that goes right back to it's original 1974? certification, God help the poor pilot if the SAS fails, especially in those conditions. If I recall correctly, and I am sure I will be corrected if I am wrong, the UK CAA refused to certify the type, there were also allegations of fraudulent or "missing" certification data and some "unhealthy" links between senior Piper management and the FAA. If you are interested. it is rivetting reading |
Sorry to hear the bad news. TNP was the one from memory, not sure if PAY2 or PAY3 on the taaats flight plan. Must be pressurised: cruise level was around FL220 from memory; they diverted off cleared route for a scenic overflight of Jervis Bay last I saw.
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Missing Plane Found
Six people were killed in a plane crash in rugged bushland in north-eastern Victoria, search authorities believe.
The wreckage of the aircraft was found 30km south-east of Benalla shortly after 5pm (AEST), Australian Search and Rescue (AusSAR) spokesman Ben Mitchell said. A helicopter had landed at the crash site near the Morhyu Road between Willow Bank and Myrrhe and confirmed there were no survivors, the spokesman said. "Paramedics have assessed the crash as non-survivable," he said. The twin engine Piper Cheyenne was en route from Bankstown to Benalla when it vanished from radar screens in poor weather south-east of Wangaratta shortly after 11am (AEST). Those aboard the aircraft included five staff from wood products company D&R Henderson and a pilot, a company spokesman said. yahoo news |
I think TNP was the only remaining CheyenneII in the country at the moment.
All the other Cheyenne's are the III which are an entirely diffent aircraft in every respect. The II is an absolute blast to fly with awesome take off performance but handling which is terrible close down to the ground. Its unstable in every respect with poor visibility and having flown around Victoria for fair time a bad WX day in the II is not a good place to be. On instruments the aircraft is a untrustworth devil of a thing with a habit of meandering away at the slightest twitch. Great fun on a cavok day but if the wx is bad or its in the dark,no thanks. Having a fair bit of flying in the II and III no two aircraft could be further apart. Lufthansa still use the III for pre jet training and it is a superb piece of kit. Stable as,great handling and excellent performance.A delightful aeroplane to fly and then some. I still prefer the Cheyenne III over the B200 apart from the visibility factor which is still very restrictive but it makes up for it in handling and performance. Very sad that these 6 people have lost there lives and having met i believe the pilot on several occasions it only adds to the impact. Another sad day. Ramjager |
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Six people killed in light plane crash
22:15 AEST Wed Jul 28 2004 Five senior timber company executives were among the two women and four men killed when a light plane crashed in rugged and inhospitable country in Victoria's north-east. A police helicopter spotted the wreckage of the Piper Cheyenne aircraft at 5.50pm (AEST) on Wednesday, about six hours after it went down in bad weather 30km south-east of Benalla. There were no survivors, Australian Search and Rescue spokesman Ben Mitchell said. "It's been a high-speed impact and the cabin has been consumed by fire," he said. "The paramedics have assessed the crash as non-survivable." The aircraft was carrying executives of Sydney-based timber company D&R Henderson Pty Ltd from Bankstown, in Sydney's south-west, to Benalla, 160km north of Melbourne, where the company has a sawmill and chipboard plant. The company said five of its senior managers were on board along with a pilot who had been used by the company for 15 years and who had logged some 1,500 hours of flying time. "There were six people on board, all associated to D&R Henderson, so all are known to the rest of the staff and the organisation," a company spokesman said earlier, as hopes faded for the aircraft. "It's basically a family company - we employ four hundred people, everyone knows everyone, so this has hit everyone pretty hard." General manager Darren Smith said the pilot flew the company plane on weekly trips from Bankstown to Benalla. The company is headed by directors David and Robert Henderson and opened its first warehouse in Sydney in 1964. Weather conditions in the area at the time the plane disappeared were bad, with low cloud, rain and snow, authorities said. Australian Air Services spokesman Richard Dudley said the last radar contact with the plane was at 5,000 feet, 33km south-east of Wangaratta, where weather conditions were severe. Before contact was lost at 11am (AEST), the aircraft was around 60km from what would have been an instrument landing at Benalla. Wangaratta Superintendent Trevor Carter said the plane crashed in inhospitable terrain which was heavily timbered and on a steep slope. The crash site was not accessible by car and it took police 20 minutes to walk there, he said. "It's obviously very dense terrain and it has taken us some time to get there and to get to the crash site, as you can imagine," told reporters in Benalla. "The crash site is quite significant. "There is a large amount of debris so the full extent and circumstances of the collision will have to be examined tomorrow." Police said two of those on board were from Queensland and the four others were NSW residents. The crash site has been secured by police and the coroner and police investigators will be on the site tomorrow morning. The Air Transport Safety Bureau will launch an investigation into the accident tomorrow. A bureau spokesman said he expected six investigators would arrive at the crash scene by mid-morning. İAAP 2004 |
Thurs "The Australian"
Six die as plane goes down in storm By Steve Creedy and Carmel Egan July 29, 2004 BAD weather has been blamed for the deaths of six people after a corporate aircraft crashed in rugged terrain in northern Victoria yesterday. The Piper PA-31T Cheyenne plane was on a private business trip from Sydney's Bankstown airport for particle board manufacturers D&R Henderson. It disappeared at 11.08am, 33km southeast of Wangaratta, shortly after the pilot announced he was lining up for an instrument landing at Benalla using the global positioning system. The wreckage was found just before dusk 30km east-southeast of Benalla. Local police said debris from the plane was strewn over steep, inhospitable terrain. Paramedics were winched down to the crash site from a helicopter. "They were able to get to the plane but had to leave rather quickly because the wreckage was discovered just after dusk," Superintendent Trevor Carter said. The plane is believed to have burst into flames on impact, with the nose showing signs of fire damage. Last night five police officers reached the wreckage by foot to secure the sight for the arrival today of the Victorian state coroner and investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. Among the victims were D&R Henderson director Robert Henderson, his daughter Jacqui and pilot Kerry Endicott. Mr Endicott had 1500 hours flying time and the twin-turboprop aircraft, built in 1979 and first registered in Australia in 1984, was said to be in good condition. The other passengers -- a woman and two men -- were understood to be friends of Mr Henderson accompanying him on a weekly business trip to look at the company's operations in Benalla, 160km north of Melbourne. A Henderson family member said the crash would devastate the family-owned business, established in 1964 and now operating in five states with more than 400 employees. "He's a company director, he's a wonderful man, my father's brother ... everyone's going to be absolutely devastated," Mr Henderson's niece, Kim, said last night. "We're just trying to come to terms with the immediate findings." The aircraft was flying in bad weather and one theory is that the pilot may have punched the wrong co-ordinates into the global positioning system and headed away from the correct track. Rescuers began to fear the worst when the aircraft did not respond to mobile phone or radio calls and there was no sign of an emergency transmitter. Helicopters flying into the area to help with the search reported serious difficulties getting through. Richard Shanley, a farmer living in Myrrhee Valley, specu lated the plane may have been off course because the flight path for smaller aircraft on the Sydney-to-Benalla route is usually further to the north of his property. ========================================== |
Richard Shanley, a farmer living in Myrrhee Valley, specu lated the plane may have been off course because the flight path for smaller aircraft on the Sydney-to-Benalla route is usually further to the north of his property. The aircraft was flying in bad weather and one theory is that the pilot may have punched the wrong co-ordinates into the global positioning system and headed away from the correct track. |
I wonder if ice had anything to do with it? What deice equipment does a Cheyenne have?
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There was a sigmet for severe icing in the benalla area yesterday, from 5000ft up to FL120.
Might not have mattered that there was deice kit on board. Bevan.. |
:( I trust they mean 1500hours on type?
RIP + |
My cousin owns the vineyard just below where the accident happened. The terrain above them rises pretty sharply.
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Does anyone have a rough lat/lon for the accident site? How close to BLAEE/BLAED/BLAEG was the accident?
Ozbusdriver - could you PM me with the location of your cousin's vineyard, I'll check out the co-ords on Digital Map Australia CS |
CS PM on it's way.
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My most sincere condolences...
One of the POB, initials GB. Anyone aware if he was a pilot too? |
another sad day in aus aviation.
R.I.P |
Yes GB was a pilot, and a great one at that too. He will be missed. :{
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The aircraft was flying in bad weather and one theory is that the pilot may have punched the wrong co-ordinates into the global positioning system and headed away from the correct track. Had the pleasure of chatting with Kerry many times at BLA, over the years that I worked there. With the exception of when gliding op's were in progress it was standard for him to fly the GPS approach, and this allowed him a straight in for RWY26L. So it's not as though he wasn't familiar with the approach. My thoughts also go to Rhonda and the staff at GCV, as possibly the last people to have contact outside the plane. Kerry was a great guy, very easy and interesting to chat with. Prayers for his family, and those of the passengers. God rest their souls, now at journeys end. |
JP... Mr Creedy indicated to me in personal communication that that theory came word for word from AUSSAR.
Perhaps TB might like to comment, or any other AUSSAR types? Lifted from the recently updated on line version at news.com.au Australian Air Services spokesman Richard Dudley said the last radar contact with the plane was at 5000 feet (1530m), 33km southeast of Wangaratta, where weather was severe. Before contact was lost about 11am, the aircraft was about 60km from performing what would have been an instrument landing at Benalla. "They were reasonably close to the Benalla aerodrome," Mr Dudley said. "He (the pilot) indicated he was using GPS (global positioning system) to land. "The pilot was accredited to do instrument landings." Then this garbage allegedly from one of our own. Matthew McAleer, a qualified flight instructor with military helicopter experience, said it was possible the plane had crashed into the mountainous terrain, rather than having experienced a mechanical fault. "That type of aircraft is a good machine. Its engine is one of the best ever built. Its reliability can't be questioned," Mr McAleer said. To rule out any form of mechanical failure at this stage is disgusting and a slur on the reputation of the pilot. You might like to follow the links Gaunty provided on the previous page, and reassess your comments. Please give him the respect he deserves. |
Cactus..you are QF aren't you? Check out Qrewroom. GB's details are there.
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