King Air 200 down at KICT - 4 Fatal
 

Reportedly hit one of the FlightSafety buildings....

WATCH LIVE: Four killed, others missing in plane crash near ICT | Local News - Home

Further reports saying they were trying to return to the airport.

Blimey.

The crewchief of our mx shop is there right now for recurrent training.

I just hope he is unharmed...

Edit: just got a call, he is okay....

Loos like it went into the simulator halls right on the north-east most corner of the building;

Not looking good for the 4 still missing.

Wichita, KS - Plane Crashes At Kansas Airport, At Least 4 Dead

NTSB Briefing Report
 

Just watched a live NTSB report on what they have so far.

Summary:
Three eye witnesses provided similar reports, the airplane started veering to the left after lift off, continued to turn left and impacted the top of the large building.

Building is unsafe and they are working on the structure so the fire department and NTSB can get inside, maybe tomorrow.

Three victims are still inside the building, they were inside a simulator when the King Air 200 crashed and burned.

The airplane was fitted with a CVR. It also has a flight performance recorder, not a FDR, but a digital recorder that might provide some information.

Airplane was fresh out of maintenance and just completed two maintenance test flights with nothing unusual noted in the logbooks. Airplane was being flown to a paint and interior modification center in Arkansas.

Pilot was a retired ATC tower controller, with over 3000 hours. No co-pilot.

Sad, but talk about ironic,


Crashing into a simulator building..

Met the pilot a few years back, Mark was a retired US controller, well known ,he received twice a award for assisting flights in difficulties as a controller, used to ferry aircraft in his retirement time. Intial reports/rumors say engine failure on take off, this can be a handful when you are alone , which was the case here.
The 3 in the SIM now reported dead as well. Very, very sad.

As an ex simulator instructor, this tragic accident seems bizarre in the extreme to me.

Pilots go training in a flight simulator to carry out stuff that might be seen as too risky in the air. To get taken out whilst doing so in the simulator..... I really cannot think that this sort of accident has ever occurred before.

Yes and no... it is a single pilot airplane after all. Autofeather should been fitted (if the S/N I have googled for the airplane is correct) and should be of great help for that case.
But sitting here in my armchair...is easy. I´m very thankful that I had never to prove that I could handle an engine failure yet. I sure hope it stays that way....

One possibility seems to keep going through my head... but since i have not flown a B200 I really cant even begin to dissect it. What are the chances of the prop going into Beta or Reverse while in flight? what protections does the airplane have? and would this be a flyable scenario? I would imagine an empty Kingair, with a few miles of open space and runway, & with a respected Aviator would do OK with an engine out scenario, but something like an engine going into reverse, that seems very difficult to handle down low, over the ramp and buildings. I was at Yingling Aviation the day before the accident, very sad to hear of a loss, especially so close to home.

Effect on Training
 

Latest from the FSI site is the following programs are effected

Caravan G600/G1000, XLS, XLS+, Mustang, VII, M2, CJ3+, CJ4.

Looks as if the others at FSI Cessna/Wichita continuing on schedule.

Dreadful accident! Underwent 2 initials and a recurrent at the Cessna Learning Center a few years back. Happy memories of my times there. Very sad for those involved! :(

Two Issues
 

First, while an engine out situation right after takeoff is tough, a King Air 200 should be able to climb on one engine. So why did it go down? M/E pilots are trained specifically for this emergency (not saying it is easy). Second, with one engine working, why put the plane into a very prominent building? It is Kansas, one big landing zone. I am not a conspiracy-minded guy, but it just does not add up. I hope NTSB will look at the possibility this was intentional. If so, it will be very bad for our industry - I hope it was just a combination of bad luck for the folks on the ground and some set of factors that caused the pilot to be unable to at least maintain altitude on one engine. Turnoprops are so reliable I will be very interested to hear why this one shut down.

That ranks as the most stupid post I have ever read on Prune (which is saying something). I did my first jet type rating in the CJ sim at Wichita many years ago and I find it incredible that people have died whilst training in a simulator. Its also tragic that someone has died whilst flying a plane but thats a risk we all understand to a certain extent.

Whilst I am shocked by incident itself I can accept that its happened and it will have root causes and an event chain that has resulted in this terrible event.

But I find it impossible to understand how, a few days after this awful accident, someone can be so stupid as to post on a pilots forum that a pilot has done this deliberately. I honestly believe there are some professional pilots who still contribute to this site but they are becoming few and far between and you are definitely not one of them.

Cirrus Falcon, first post, probably last one too.
Total bull if you knew the guy, and totally unrespectful :*.

Only Stuff You Agree With, Eh?
 

Tommutrie, I am currently training for my commercial certificate, so no - I am not (yet) a professional pilot. And my speculation (all it was) is hardly unique - I heard the same comment from an airline pilot and CFI. Most pilots are cool, but what about that guy in Texas a few years ago who flew his single engine into the IRS building? We are not all saints. Save your outrage, and do not call people "stupid" just because they say something you disagree with.

It's Not About Personalities
 

ATC Watcher, Did you know the pilot? I did not intend to be (dis)respectful. The fact remains that a powerful twin turboprop went down on one engine with only one occupant, when the science says it should be able to climb...and he hit a prominent building rather than putting it down in a field, or a highway, etc. sometimes people do unexplainable things. Don't make everything personal, be rational. Are you saying NTSB should not consider all possibilities?

Typoprops
 

TWT, turboprops are more reliable than my spelling, for sure. Thanks, friend.

Cirrus Falcon,

As a new CPL, you have a lot to learn about aviation. Wait til you've lost friends thru "inexplicable"accidents, then post.

Cirrus, yes I have met the guy . I said this earlier.
plus we have audio of the ATC communactions.."just lost the left engine "

For the rest I attach a comment on another forum made by an instructor at FlightSafety International :And listen to Galaxy Flyer and some others here who have far more experience , and like me probably also lost a few good friends over the years .
Your remark : " when the science says it should be able to climb." would make me laugh if it was not in such tragic circumstances.

Cirrus Falcon,

You managed to resist the temptation to post from your join date of March until today. I suggest you wait another eight months before highlighting just how very little you know about aviation, and in the meantime reflect on the crass stupidity of what you just typed.