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Windsor Pilot - C-GRJH died in crash at Nashville

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Windsor Pilot - C-GRJH died in crash at Nashville

Old 30th Oct 2013, 16:43
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Windsor Pilot - C-GRJH died in crash at Nashville

Windsor pilot killed in Nashville airport crash, wreckage goes unnoticed for hours

WINDSOR, Ont.

The Canadian Press

Published Wednesday, Oct. 30 2013, 11:39 AM EDT

A pilot from Windsor, Ont., has been killed in a crash at Nashville’s international airport that wasn’t noticed for hours, according to Windsor radio station CKLW.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board says the crash of the small plane is thought to have happened after 3 a.m. on Tuesday.

Spokesman Peter Knudson says a fire began after the plane went down but the wreckage was only spotted about six hours later by the crew of another passing plane.

The Windsor Flying Club has confirmed that the pilot killed was one of their members.

President David Gillies isn’t releasing a name but says the pilot had been licensed for quite a while.

Maintenance records show the plane was in good working order and fully capable of making the trip from Windsor to Nashville.


Windsor pilot killed in Nashville airport crash, wreckage goes unnoticed for hours - The Globe and Mail


UPDATE: Taxiing plane discovered fatal crash at Nashville airport
UPDATE: 3:13 p.m.

The plane that crashed onto one of Nashville International Airport’s runways Tuesday sat there for as long as six hours before another taxiing plane discovered the wreckage, an official said.

The small, single-engine Cessna-172 crashed sometime after 3 a.m., killing the pilot, according to National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson. The crash was reported to Nashville emergency crews shortly after 9 a.m.

An NTSB investigator was dispatched to Nashville Tuesday to probe the crash further.
“We will want to understand what the circumstances were that caused it to go undiscovered for so long,” Knudson said.

The plane is registered to the Windsor Flying club in Ontario. An official at the organization would not comment Tuesday.

The Davidson County Medical Examiner would not comment on the crash victim’s identity.
UPDATE: 1:39 p.m.

The National Transportation Safety Board has announced they are investigating the fatal plane crash at Nashville International Airport.

The crash, which was discovered this morning, took place last night, according to the agency's official Twitter account.
Reported earlier

The FAA is currently on the scene of a a small airplane crash at the Nashville International Airport. A Nashville emergency dispatcher reported one fatality.

Airport spokeswoman Emily Richard said emergency responders are on the scene of the crash on the center runway. The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority said a single-engine Cessna-172 crashed there.

Airport emergency personnel, Metro Police, Metro Fire and Metro OEM responded to the accident. The medical examiner and an accident investigator from National Transportation Safety Board were also notified.

Runway 2 Center is currently closed. The other three runways are open and operational. There were no delays to commercial flights Monday, and travelers were coming and going normally.

According to the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, the plane crash happened on Runway 2 Center involving a private aircraft, Cessna-172 single engine plane.

Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority emergency personnel, Metro Police, Metro Fire and Metro OEM responded to the accident. Aviation experts from FAA Flight Standards are on the scene.

Medical examiner and an accident investigator from NTSB have been notified.

Runway 2 Center is currently closed. The other three runways are open and operational. There are currently no delays.

Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority said it is cooperating fully with the investigation.

Details surrounding the crash are still unclear. Check Tennessean.com for updates on this developing story.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20...nclick_check=1

Small plane crashes at big airport; no one notices
By Mike M. Ahlers, CNN
updated 10:09 PM EDT, Tue October 29, 2013


CNN) -- Authorities struggled to explain how a small plane crashed at an international airport, erupted in fire, but evidently went unnoticed for hours.

The incident occurred early Tuesday in Nashville.

But exactly what time remains a mystery.

The single-engine Cessna registered to the Windsor Flying Club in Ontario, Canada, evidently crashed sometime after 3 a.m. local time, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

But it wasn't noticed until well after sunrise when another plane taxiing for take-off saw an engine cover on the edge of runway 2C -- the middle of three parallel runways.

Controllers contacted airport personnel, who found the fire-scarred wreckage. The plane's sole occupant was dead, officials said.

The airport's control tower is staffed 24 hours a day, the Federal Aviation Administration told CNN. But it was not immediately clear how many controllers were in the tower during the overnight shift.

An FAA spokesman said there was low visibility overnight and fog.

Another FAA spokesman said it was not known whether the plane had been in contact with controllers, or if it had made a distress call.

The agency declined to answer questions, saying the matter was under investigation.

Airport spokeswoman Shannon Sumrall referred all questions to the NTSB.

The board spokesman, Peter Knudson, said the aircraft suffered a post-crash fire and the cause of the crash is under investigation.

The name of the victim was not released.

Small plane crashes at big airport; no one notices - CNN.com




Windsor pilot dies in Nashville plane crash, not noticed for hours
By Heather Loney Global News

NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said a fire began after the plane went down but the wreckage was only spotted about six hours later by the crew of another passing plane.
Windsor pilot dies in Nashville plane crash, not noticed for hours | Globalnews.ca


Local man dead after Windsor-registered plane crashes in Nashville

A local man was killed Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2013 when the plane he was flying crashed at an airport in Nashville, Tenn. Dense fog conditions were reported and the wreckage may not have been found by a taxiing plane until several hours after the crash. Photo courtesy of NewsChannel5.com

Chris Thompson
Oct 29, 2013 - 6:40 PM EDT

NASHVILLE — A local man is dead after the plane he rented from the Windsor Flying Club crashed at Nashville International Airport in heavy fog early Tuesday.

Windsor Flying Club president David Gillies said the man in his 30s, who is not being named pending the notification of next-of-kin, picked up the keys from the club at around 4 p.m. Monday, and was scheduled to leave sometime after 8 p.m., when the club’s offices close.

“He flew to Nashville, he tried to land on the runway there and apparently it was fogged in,” said Gillies, who spent much of the day Tuesday dealing with authorities in relation to the crash.

“Now I don’t know why he did that, but that’s what he did. He tried to land anyway, and it didn’t work.”

Gillies said the man, who had been a pilot since 1989, had rejoined the club in 2011 after a five-year absence.

“He was a member in good standing, his licence was in good standing, he was qualified to fly at night, there was no irregularities there, just he probably didn’t check the weather, or it closed in after he checked it,” said Gillies.

“I have no idea what the hell he was doing in Nashville.”

The deceased man provided no next-of-kin information and listed a Howard Avenue address, which was not current Tuesday. Members were unaware of any family connections.

Windsor police and RCMP are attempting to track down the man’s next-of-kin, Gillies said.

According to Nashville television station website newschannel5.com, emergency crews were called to the scene at around 9 a.m., after the wreckage was discovered by another taxiing aircraft; the crash may have occurred as much as six hours earlier in heavy fog.

Gillies said a flight from Windsor to Nashville in a Cessna 172, which cruises at about 180 km/h, would take about four hours.

The severely damaged plane was registered in Canada as “C-GRJH.”

Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration and Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority told newschannel5.com that the single-engine plane crashed off the side of the runway.

The runway was closed as investigators examined debris scattered across a wide area.

The airport’s three other runways remained open.

An investigator with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board was en route to Nashville to investigate the crash.

Click here to watch a video about the crash.
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Old 31st Oct 2013, 11:24
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I can't wait to hear the circumstances around this crash and why it took ~ 6 hours before it was discovered at an International airport...

Something is really fishy here. I'm sue the pilot was in contact at some point with the tower.
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Old 31st Oct 2013, 16:03
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If the regulations are the same over there as in the UK, all radio transmissions must be recorded and the recordings kept for a minimum of 30 days. If the 172 pilot called ATC, it should be on the recording, but if ATC is manned H24, why didn't ATC hear him and reply?
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Old 31st Oct 2013, 16:51
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The Plot Thickens...

New Details, More Questions In Nashville Crash


By Russ Niles | October 30, 2013







A Canadian newspaper is reporting that the pilot of a Cessna 172 who died in unusual circumstances in a crash at Nashville International Airport early Tuesday has the same name as a convicted bank robber and facing recent p0rnography charges who said he was embarking on a 30-minute flight. The Windsor Star says it has confirmed the identity of the pilot as 45-year-old Michael Callan. A Michael Callan of the same age "has a criminal record dating back to the late 1990s in Windsor, including a number of violent bank robberies," according to the Star. Callan filed a flight plan from Windsor to Pelee Island, about 30 minutes away, and closed that flight plan. It's not known if he actually landed there but sometime after 2:45 a.m. the 172 crashed at Nashville, about 500 miles from Pelee Island, and Callan died. There was dense fog at the time. It took up to seven hours to discover the burned out 172 and authorities have said that no one heard a radio call requesting landing permission or issuing a distress call. The FAA and NTSB are investigating.


Callan was a member of the Windsor Flying Club and the club apparently knew something about the past referred to by the newspaper but decided it wasn't relevant to his flying activities. “What I did was establish that he was a pretty good pilot,” Club President David Gillies told the Star. “He has a legitimate pilots’ licence and medical, a night rating, quite a few hours behind him and zero infractions while flying an airplane. In 2011 when he came back to us and asked us if he could re-join the club, the board discussed it and said well, who are we to judge? And in he comes. And he was allowed back into the club again.” The paper says the bank robber Callan was also facing charges related to him openly watching p0rn on his computer at a library and on transit buses. The charges resulted from a crackdown on child p0rnography by police in Windsor.
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Old 31st Oct 2013, 19:15
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Once again, the Cessna 172 features as an international stealth aeroplane.....anybody else remember one that landed in Red Square, Moscow a few years back?
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Old 31st Oct 2013, 19:46
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Why is this thread not in R&N??

Flash
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Old 31st Oct 2013, 21:43
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Looks like 480 miles as the crow flies. Within the range of a 172 if it is performing well, but not a lot of spare range if you're messing around going other places.

Did he land at a US POE and clear customs, or just charge on down?
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Old 31st Oct 2013, 22:59
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Because, Flash 2001, nothing exciting ever happens in Canada....which is why only 22 people ever look at that Forum!

If you can be the one to flag it up on Rumours and News, good luck to you!
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Old 1st Nov 2013, 15:18
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Nashville

Why has the Nashville crash thread running in Canada and closed in Private Flying not yet made it to R&N? I'd a thought that a crash on a major US airport that went unnoticed for 6 hours or so

A) Was news and:

B) Would generate a few rumours!

This post originally on R&N but moved here without explanation by the powers that be.

Last edited by Flash2001; 2nd Nov 2013 at 00:16. Reason: Explanation for presence
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Old 1st Nov 2013, 22:33
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Mystery Crash

As someone who has made the GA trip to and from Canada many times I find this story amazing and very worrying.

1 - I have heard nothing about this on any national media which surprises me. It does represent a pretty clear border breach.

2 - If this guy did not land at a POE and get cleared this is a major bust. We can expect another layer of Homeland/CBP action/budget to be justified.

3 - Hard to believe he could crash at BNA and not be noticed for hours. Did he ever contact the tower?

It does not sound like he had EAPIS clearance - do we know that for sure? The Canadian flight plan should have had him to the port of entry.

Without doubt this will be used to justify further restrictions on GA.

20driver

Last edited by 20driver; 1st Nov 2013 at 22:34.
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Old 2nd Nov 2013, 03:44
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Except for the story that his Canadian flight plan was to Pelee Island. No transborder issues there. Then he took off, and went somewhere else.

So we've been told for years that private aircraft crossing the border without notification (i.e. flight plan and customs appointment at a POE) WILL be detected, and intercepted.

Apparently not.
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Old 24th Sep 2015, 17:39
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I know this is an old post. But I signed up just to talk about this. I knew Mike and I just learned of his death yesterday. I have quite a bit of information about him. I am actually relieved that he is dead. He was a dangerous guy. I wasn't afraid of him in a violent guy just that he was capable of anything. I was a friend of his for a good couple years until I realized how dangerous he was. It was difficult to separate him from my life as I wanted to go down a straight and narrow life path. He was going down some paths I didn't want to be a part of. I would hear of his endeavors but never who or anything like that but I know what he has done in his past.

The only reason we were friends was because both were interested in flight simulators and he was one of only a handful of people that could say that were I lived. So we spent a lot of time flying online and head to head. He also took me up to fly many times. We used to hit bars and he would get drunk and tell me all sorts of things he wanted to do. When I heard about him robbing a bank years later I was not surprised.

The worst part of this story is that I WARNED the Windsor Flying Club about this. I was getting my pilots license too at the time but never finished as I changed careers and went back to school. I called the head of the club back then Bill Jarvis and told him how nuts the guy was. Bill said he knew but his record was spotless he never did anything wrong. They had considered reprimanding him many times but Bill left to be an air traffic controller so when Mike came back to the club they had no idea really who he was. The couldn't have known.

I also warned the POLICE about him including face to face interviews with officers about him. This was all before the bank robberies etc.

I have so many things to say.. I almost want to contact the NTSB but really its a closed case at this point. Nobody was hurt except the person that deserved it the most. So its really just a life story of the guy and what I'm pretty sure happened. 100% alcohol had nothing to do with this story. There really is no pertinent information I could give them other than it was a long time coming and may not have been the first time he did this. Its just the first time he crashed.

When I read this story. I know exactly what he was doing down to 2 possibilities. I don't have any details of his life in the last 10 years but I know what he had talked about doing many many times. We used to go out drinking at bars and he discussed doing this very thing. In fact low visibility landings was his all time favorite Microsoft Flight Simulator scenario. He would practice it over and over and over again. He'd set up these scenarios in his simulator setup at home and let me try and handle landing.

I'm positive he was circling waiting for someone to contact him over the radio. He had a hand held he used.

He went there specifically because he knew the weather would be foggy.

Yes he practiced evading radar many times. (I was in the plane once when he was testing it - another story) He would ask for a flight following even though we were in uncontrolled airspace and would fly really low and watch the light on the transponder and test to see how far he had to go before they'd lose contact with him even with the transponder on. There was a green light that indicated (it seemed) when we were getting hit by radar and he'd watch when that light would go off. I could be wrong on that. But I was curious too because of our flight simulation air combat sort of hobby. He'd just tell them our transponder is acting funny et.

Ultimately he was angry at people. the government, society in general because he wanted to be an Air force pilot. He went to school to be a pilot he aced all his classes and even aced all the CAF exams and tests. He wanted to fly CF18s. They rejected him and he said he had scored the highest they ever had. He was a perfectionist in this regard. But I had a feeling that they didn't like him as a "person". Once that part of his life was over and they wouldn't let him in - he became the villain he ended up being.

The Taylor Swift thing is a joke. He would sign things like that all the time trying to be clever.

Anyway .. I don't want to get into too many details. I myself was never part of any of his wrongdoings but I certainly heard about them. When I saw the news last night.. I was shocked. I had no idea who to talk to about this.

I hope some of you are willing to still discuss this old story. This is just the tip of the iceberg on this guy.
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Old 25th Sep 2015, 03:27
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All the details should come out please. I know it may be uncomfortable but the truth is the truth and the public deserves no less.

Thank you for your honesty.
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Old 25th Sep 2015, 19:59
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Well, yes, but let's not lose sight of the obvious fact that the deceased can never state their side of the story...

"We are quick to forget those crimes that are known only to ourselves."

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Old 26th Sep 2015, 19:18
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I'll give you a few more tidbits..

So I read the NTSB report and it is pretty much a carpet sweeper. Although his parole officer was correct about him being "impulsive". He would do things in the spur of the moment many many times. We'd be driving aftering being at the bar to go get something to eat and he'd see someone's Halloween decoration on someone's porch and say "I want that!" he'd pull over go onto the person's property and steal it and throw it in the trunk and take off.

But anything involving a plane or anything major he would be very very calculating and would practice many things over and over again to a level of perfection that was insane. He wouldn't risk anything other than the occasional maneuver in which he'd have practiced a thousand times in a simulator first.

His online flying skills were so good there were Falcon tournaments he'd win online nobody could beat him.

He would go by the online handle "Muffdiver".

He was infuriatingly good.

However showing an obsession over Taylor Swift.. I definitely could see that. He had obsessions over different women over different times.

He didn't have too many friends. I was probably his closest friend he'd have when he got older because anyone he associated with quickly found out how unstable he was. I only related to him because I was in a dark period of my life and we had felt the same anger in our lives at the time. So I was willing to let some things slide. I'm a law abiding citizen and didn't participate in any of his antics but I did observe them.

He would regularly take up the Cessna 172 and actually do some rolls and loops when obviously it was not rated for it. The flying club knew it.

I went to the bar last night and someone I know knew the president at the time of the flying club and they all suspected the same thing I did. Apparently they all suspected the same thing I do.

It was involving drugs.

The bottom line was he was either A) Dropping off drugs or B) Picking up drugs and when he radioed his contact at the location they didn't' show and left him high and dry. That is why he circled for 2 hours hoping to hang around

The Taylor swift thing was going to be a cover for in case he got caught. He could have chalked it up to a mental disorder instead of actually running drugs.

He used to bring drugs in from Columbia taped to his crotch area. Once I found out these sorts of things about him this is when I started to disassociate myself with him. I never learned any names or anyone other than him. But he did show me guns he owned, and showed me cash he made from running drugs. I reported this to the Police but they also blew me off.

When I met with the police I told him he was threatening me and they stated that "99% of the people who make outright threats like this never follow through". I told them he is that 1% and that they need to watch that guy. They were nice but basically said they knew the guy already they worked out with him at the Gym.

There was several times he impersonated an officer while we were out bar hopping.

Couple years later he robs a bank. At that point I was like "whew finally people will now take me seriously and keep an eye on him".

When we'd be out at the bar he used to joke about filing flight plans to go to Ottawa and land on the parliament lawn (this was all before 911) as a form of protest or something like that. He was willing to do something to get "thrown in jail for a short period of time.. server 5-10 years and live off the sweat of the people." Then he could work out get bulked up and come out ready to cause more trouble. But before he went to jail he'd have to do something that would earn respect iniside jail. But ultimately society should pay for his life. That this society screwed him so they need to pay for his life. Food water shelter etc.

If he didn't like a particular ATC guy he would regularly harass them with a handheld. He'd park nearby and report in and they would not be able to observe him. He's call in requests to taxi etc. Every time he'd go by or drive near the airport. They knew it was him but couldn't prove it. He used to brag about this quite a bit.

He lived directly under a major decent area for DTW. There was one time we were on his deck and he would be listening in to the tower. He used to use ATC programs/games on his computer and would practice being ATC.

So that night he listened in and spotted and identified a particular plane that was descending over his house. used his hand held and proceeded to tell that flight to alter its course. I watched in amazement as the jet responded and actually began to turn! We heard the tower check in immediately and notify the pilot that the tower didn't issue that order. They said "I thought it was fake as it sounded a little weak!"

They sent out a chopper around his house eventually and he'd taunt the guy on the handheld.

Finally I had had enough of this guy when he started talking about running drugs over the border with a plane. Landing in foggy conditions over in Ohio or somewhere over the border. Someone would meet him with a van load him and refuel him and return. He was lining it all up with his people and wanted me to be his co-pilot.

I was out right there at that point. It was the final straw.

I just wanted to fly flight sims and I was getting my pilot license at the time. I just wanted to share the same love of flight. Not get involved in anything criminal.

I told him I don't care what he does with his life but I wouldn't be part of anything criminal. He was actually pretty good about that being protective and making sure that I didn't know any details. So I don't know where he went where he got anything. I just know he would fly take a vacation come back with cocaine or something.

So when I sort of disassociated myself with him that was when he started making threats etc.

Once they started getting a little over the top threatening I decided it was time to call the cops. I reported everything to the flying club and the police. Shame they didn't take me seriously.

But at least nobody got hurt and we can close the chapter on this guy. I sort of felt bad / empathy for him because he got screwed in his dream of being an air force pilot and becoming bitter his whole life. But he also had clear psychological problems. So this is a sad ending. But its also probably an untrue ending according to the NTSB. I think there was more involved. But I could be wrong. Maybe he did try to go and crash his plane at Taylor Swift's house but couldn't find it because of the fog and loitered.. who knows.

But I'm glad he's gone. I just needed to get off my chest the stuff I knew about the guy.
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