Cessna crash in Tyrol (Austria)
 

A twin engined Cessna departed this morning vom Innsbruck (LOWI) Airport in Austria for a flight to Valencia in Spain. Shortly after take off it crashed into a steep mountainsite, leaving six of total 8 pob dead. I am not very familiar with General Aviation, does anyone have professional input to this accident? Thxs.

Two more links. In German.

Ursache noch völlig unklar: Cessna in Tirol abgestürzt

http://www.tt.com/Überblick/Chronik/...-ums-leben.csp

Rest in peace.
:sad:

RIP indeed.

Info also on ASN Aircraft accident 30-SEP-2012 Cessna 414A Chanchellor N738W , as yet no additional info but could yet come.

Metar lowi 300520z 09005kt 060v120 9999 few008 sct015 bkn022 12/10 q1021 nosig

metar lowi 300550z 06004kt 030v110 9999 few007 sct015 bkn023 12/11 q1021 nosig

metar lowi 300620z 11005kt 070v130 9999 few007 sct020 bkn025 12/11 q1021 nosig

metar lowi 300650z 11003kt 350v160 9999 few009 sct025 bkn033 12/11 q1021 nosig

metar lowi 300720z 06004kt 020v110 9999 few009 sct025 bkn037 12/10 q1021 nosig

metar lowi 300750z vrb02kt 9999 few013 sct025 bkn037 13/10 q1021 nosig

metar lowi 300820z vrb02kt 9999 few015 sct025 bkn037 13/11 q1021 nosig

metar lowi 300850z vrb02kt 9999 few015 sct025 bkn037 14/11 q1021 nosig

metar lowi 300920z vrb01kt 9999 few015 sct025 bkn037 15/11 q1021 nosig

Innsbruck - Valencia is about 780NM IFR distance. The C414 with vortex generators has about 1000kg useful load. This means with 8 POB, it can't carry much fuel.

If they were planning to go to Valencia non stop, then they must have exceeded the MTOW.

I don't think there is enough information out there to say whether an engine failed or whether it was a CFIT. In one report I read they were doing this trip VFR which sounds odd with that kind of aircraft and mission.

R.I.P.

Not much left.

This shows the terrain around Innsbruck.

More info here - Tirol: Mehrere Tote nach Kleinjet-Absturz - Nachrichten - KURIER.at

The experienced pilot is identified as a close friend of Felix Baumgartner, the skydiver who is about to attempt the space free fall record this week.

In a German forum, the name of the pilot was posted (not going to reproduce that here) and a lookup in the FAA database revealed that he did not possess an Instrument Rating. That explains why the flight was conducted under VFR.

The weather is not exactly VFR though, is it, if you want to climb out of the airport and head above the surrounding terrain? Look at the metars.

He collided with terrain at about 3300ft above aerodrome elevation, i.e. between the scattered and the broken layer according to the METARs.

The information that he didn't hold an IR is from his public FAA record. He could have held a JAR IR which would give him the knowledge to fly in IMC but not the legal capability to do so on an N-reg.

According to the ORF (Austrian public broadcaster) website, the last radio contact was when ATC queried the pilot if conditions permitted continued VFR flight. To which he responded in the affirmative.....

:(

Crash in the Tirol
 

Translated from today's Las Provincias:

Six people were killed and two injured when a small plane crashed in the Tirol region in Austria en route to Valencia, according to the agency APA quoting sources of the Red Cross. The twin-engine aircraft departed at 06.50 (03.50 GMT) from the city of Innsbruck to Valencia, in Spain, with a pilot and seven passengers on board, according to local Tyrolean sources. The plane crashed half an hour after takeoff in a wooded area, during poor weather conditions. When rescue teams reached the area of the incident, they found that one of the survivors with minor injuries was able to walk unaided. Another passenger was found with serious injuries. The attempt to evacuate by helicopter had to be suspended because of the severe weather in the area at the time. The six dead, including the pilot, were in the part of the cabin that caught fire after crashing, This also caused a forest fire which was extinguished by firefighters.

More details: ASN Aircraft accident 30-SEP-2012 Cessna 414A Chanchellor N738W

Eight people and a 700 n.m. leg?

The Chancellor has a range of about 1300 n.m. One presumes the Captain did his weight and balance calculations!

Caco

Thread already running here with more links to the story.

Apologies - I should have checked!