Plane Missing

[the_dmn8tr]

Just got back from the airport and there was a bustle going around dispatch as one of the SEMIs was missing. Hope they are found safe.

[BuickCFI]

huh?!!!???

[TXaviator]

IT WASNT ME!!!

[Snickersnwa]

Hope everyone's all right, and everything turns out ok...

[dc3flyer]

So what is a SEMI???




Have they found them yet????

[Micaoct]

Piper Seminole

I hope everything is alright too.

[BuickCFI]

nothing in the email this morning, anyone have more details? hope nothing happened and they were just running late

[the_dmn8tr]

I can tell you what I know from last night, it was 327ND and it was coming back from STP. They opened a flight plan but did not return on time and were out of contact. Hope they made it back safe.

[the_dmn8tr]

http://www.grandforksherald.com/arti...ction=homepage
Doesn't look good...

[Mtts422]

From the Herald...

UND Aerospace has reported no contact with two pilots who departed at about 9:26 p.m. Tuesday from St. Paul in a UND Piper Seminole.
Annette Klosterman, UND aviation flight instructor from Seattle and Adam Ostapenko, UND aviation student from Duluth were on a cross-country flight from Minneapolis enroute to Grand Forks, when Minneapolis Center last spoke to them during a routine conversation at 10:15 p.m. At that time they were in the St. Cloud, Minn., vicinity, according to Peter Johnson, UND media relations coordinator.

A ground search of all airports from St. Cloud to Grand Forks was conducted early this morning, and the Civil Air Patrol has dispatched five aircraft at daybreak to continue the search.

[JEP]

msp paper:

Small plane missing on flight from St. Paul to Grand Forks

Associated Press

Last update: October 24, 2007 – 12:01 PM

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — A search was under way today for a University of North Dakota airplane carrying two people that disappeared on a routine flight from St. Paul, Minn., to Grand Forks.

UND spokesman Peter Johnson said the Piper Seminole left St. Paul shortly before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

UND identified the two people in the plane as Annette Klosterman, a UND flight instructor from Seattle, and Adam Ostapenko, an aviation student from Duluth, Minn. The Piper company Web site, www.newpiper.com, describes the Seminole trainer as a twin-engine aircraft that seats four people.

Air traffic officials in Minneapolis last spoke to Klosterman and Ostapenko in a routine conversation at 10:15 p.m., in the St. Cloud area, UND said in a statement.

The plane was due to arrive in Grand Forks at 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said. The FAA sent out a notice at 1:46 a.m. Wednesday, alerting airports and law enforcement officials along the flight path, when the pilot did not close out the flight plan filed with the agency before takeoff, she said.

"What (the notice) does is alert airports and sheriffs and local law enforcement on the path ... and asked them to start looking,'' Isham Cory said.

A ground search of all airports from St. Cloud to Grand Forks was conducted early Wednesday, UND said, and the Civil Air Patrol sent five aircraft at daybreak to continue the search.

Capt. Al Pabon said late Wednesday morning that three of the planes were still searching, and more might be sent up in the afternoon.

"It's possible the aircraft could have landed at another airport,'' he said. "There might have been an emergency. It could have gone down somewhere in between those two locations, so we're trying to systematically search out that area. It's a large area and will take time.''

It has been less than a year since two UND students were killed when a single-engine Cessna left the Crookston, Minn., airport and crashed into a farm field.

Pilot Jacob Rueth, 18, of Orland Park, Ill., and passenger Jacob Allen Sundblad, 19, of Annandale, Minn., were killed in the December 2006 crash.

[amorris311]

sad stuff. i hope this is resolved quickly and that they are sitting at some airport.

[N826AW]

Originally Posted by amorris311

sad stuff. i hope this is resolved quickly and that they are sitting at some airport.

Same here. Does not sound good though.

[darrenf]

[TXaviator]

Al Johnson reports there has been no ELT signal.

off airport landing in middle of nowhere out of cellphone coverage....and maybe they forgot to turn the ELT on?

its a possibility i suppose.

[TheShocker]

The instructor missing is an office mate of my instructor. My instructor is a little devastated right now since they have known the person for quite a while. I hope we have some news by the end of the evening.

[TXaviator]

oh creepy, i flew 327 day before yesterday.

no complaints with it when i flew it though.

for the armchair QB's, heres the METARs from yesterday around the time and vicinity of flight.

looks like good weather everywhere last night

KSTC 240453Z AUTO 34009KT 10SM CLR 07/00 A3012 RMK AO2 SLP211 T00670000
KSTC 240353Z 35005KT 10SM CLR 06/M01 A3009 RMK AO2 SLP204 T00611006
KSTC 240253Z 34008KT 10SM CLR 08/M01 A3007 RMK AO2 SLP196 T00831006 51030
KSTC 240153Z 34008KT 10SM CLR 09/M02 A3004 RMK AO2 SLP189 T00891017
KSTC 240053Z 34011G20KT 10SM CLR 11/M02 A3001 RMK AO2 PK WND 33029/0015 SLP177   T01061022
KSTC 232353Z 34010G18KT 10SM SCT070 12/M01 A2998 RMK AO2 PK WND 33027/2318   SLP166 T01171011 10178 20117 51049
KSTC 232253Z 33014G29KT 10SM FEW065 13/M01 A2993 RMK AO2 PK WND 35031/2233   SLP150 T01331006
KSTC 232153Z 33018G38KT 10SM FEW065 14/01 A2988 RMK AO2 PK WND 32038/2147 SLP132   T01390006
KSTC 232053Z 32025G37KT 10SM SCT060 16/02 A2983 RMK AO2 PK WND 32040/2018 SLP114   T01560022 53019

[Dj To Rule]

I would see the instructor frequently at work. It's creepy to see the table she prebriefed her students at.
I'm hoping the worst case scenario is them landing in a remote place with no communication with no injuries or worse.

[MFT1Air]

Still no word, huh?

[Poopsmith]

Just posted this topic on the general forum. Sorry for the dup.

It doesn't look good so far, but still hoping for a good outcome. My instructor and I were discussing possible scenarios. He knew the instructor involved pretty well.

It's gonna be a rough couple of days here at UND.

[the_dmn8tr]

So far no new word when they briefed us in class.

[Dj To Rule]

*Some updates
They have 9 aircraft searching the area and I heard through rumours that 327ND had a history of electrical problems. Baker, remember any discrepancies from that plane?

[TXaviator]

Originally Posted by Dj To Rule

*Some updates
They have 9 aircraft searching the area and I heard through rumours that 327ND had a history of electrical problems. Baker, remember any discrepancies from that plane?

nope everything seemed to work just fine when I flew it on the 22nd.

little engine roughness on runup but that was solved with some leaning/clearing the carbon.

other than that, ran like a champ.

[the_dmn8tr]

I saw them in dispatch before they went to the plane and then I saw the plane taking off, sure hope they can find them.

[roundout]

not good....hope for the best.