Orlando plane crash in 2005

[AFClydeman]

Back in '05, one of my friends, Dan, was killed in Orlando while flying with a friend that he worked with as a commercial pilot. There just happened to be a news chopper flying in the area at the time. It turned out that the hose running to the oil cooler fractured and their engine froze. It had been over 4,500 hours since the hose had been changed in 1982. Good reason to look over those maintenance records every once in a while.



and a video of after the crash. http://revver.com/video/106885/airpl...rmath-orlando/

NTSB Findings-
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/GenPDF.asp?...05LA046&rpt=fi

I just love how the NTSB just loves to put the cause of accidents on pilots. They stated that the fractured oil line was a "Factor" but the crash was caused by the pilot. It's actually pretty amazing that his friend survived.

[FiveO]

Wow. Sorry to hear you knew the pilot. I remember seeing this video too.

[jac]

Wow, sorry for your loss. He did a good job to keep from taking out cars on the road.

[troopernflight]

Man, that's sad to watch.

[surreal1221]

I recall watching the video numerous times.

Sorry for your lose.

[Maurus]

The NTSB is able to label the cause of the accident on the pilots because they were still in complete control of the aircraft. It is a harsh thing to say I know, but you can't blame the cause of an accident on the oil line when the pilot flies into power lines after the engine froze.

The NTSB always finds the probable cause of the accident. Not the events leading to the accident. When using the definition of an accident, the actual flight that we saw wasn't an accident till it hit the telephone pole (pilot controlled).

Probable Cause of the Accident: Pilot Error

Factors (these are the chain of events leading up to an accident):
Bad maintenance.
Old oil hose breaking.
Engine ceasing up.


It is just how the NTSB works. The NTSB just answered the question "What event caused the accident to become an accident". An oil line breaking and ceasing up the engine doesn't fit the definition of an accident. It fits for an incident.

I know I was kinda harsh, sorry about that, but these are events to learn from, not throw cause on a contributing factor for personal reasons.

I do know how it is to lose a friend to an aircraft accident. One of my instructors was involved in a mid-air collision right after I got my instrument rating. He was a good teacher in more ways than one.

Sorry for your loss.

[coa787]

Originally Posted by Maurus

The NTSB is able to label the cause of the accident on the pilots because they were still in complete control of the aircraft. It is a harsh thing to say I know, but you can't blame the cause of an accident on the oil line when the pilot flies into power lines after the engine froze.

The NTSB always finds the probable cause of the accident. Not the events leading to the accident. When using the definition of an accident, the actual flight that we saw wasn't an accident till it hit the telephone pole (pilot controlled).

Probable Cause of the Accident: Pilot Error

Factors (these are the chain of events leading up to an accident):
Bad maintenance.
Old oil hose breaking.
Engine ceasing up.


It is just how the NTSB works. The NTSB just answered the question "What event caused the accident to become an accident". An oil line breaking and ceasing up the engine doesn't fit the definition of an accident. It fits for an incident.

I know I was kinda harsh, sorry about that, but these are events to learn from, not throw cause on a contributing factor for personal reasons.

I do know how it is to lose a friend to an aircraft accident. One of my instructors was involved in a mid-air collision right after I got my instrument rating. He was a good teacher in more ways than one.

Sorry for your loss.

You're basically correct. The incident of the oil line break led to the accident of the plane flying into the pole. Pilot error? Perhaps. But, he did save countless lives on the road by not smashing into the vehicles.

Anyway, AFClydeman, I, too, am sorry for your loss.

[AFClydeman]

Yeah, I went through Tech School with him at Sheppard AFB. He was going to be my flight instructor till this happened. As for the NTSB thing, I know, I know.... It's pretty lucky that they didn't hurt anyone. They were actually lined up on the road till they saw that SUV and ended up hitting the pole in attempt to avoid it. Amazing what an extra hundred feet or so would have done. Probably would have been able to make it to the golf course. A bunch of people from sitting on a patio at a restaurant across the street actually jumped up on the plane, with the power lines everywhere and pulled the two of them out.

2 sets of hero's if you ask me. Dan for not hitting the SUV and the people who pulled him out.

[Maurus]

In a residential/high population area it is hard to put your life ahead of others if you are going to crash. He made a good choice, and he should be under the hero category.

[coa787]

Was there any possible way of going up to fly over the SUV instead of trying to fly around it? The outcome could have been different that way. It's hard to tell from the angle of the video.

[AFClydeman]

Hard to say. I believe there was a car not too far in front of the SUV. Plus, if he had tried to go over the SUV he probably would have stalled and landed right on top of it. But who knows. Hard to say from the angle of the shot and the obscurement caused by the trees.

[aviatorrbt]

Originally Posted by troopernflight

Man, that's sad to watch.

[kellwolf]

My friend was the guy that survived that crash. I had about 20-30 hours in that plane in my logbook and had just moved up to MEM from MCO when that happened. Sadly, that wasn't the first time there was an indication something was wrong with the cooling system. I remember starting that thing up, taxiing out, seeing a high oil temp/low oil pressure and taxiing right back to MX hangar with it....

[coa787]

If those kind of problems persisted with the aircraft, then that should have been an indication that maybe the aircarft needed to undergo some serious maintenance checks, you know?

[AFClydeman]

Did you know Dan then too? He worked there I believe. I know he flew for a guy flying his plane for him but I thought he worked as a CFI also. I never found out how Steve faired. Did he recover from his injuries?

[bravodelta79]

I remember watching this video live and thinking they were going to make it down, then BOOM.

Terrible. Sorry for your loss.

[kellwolf]

Originally Posted by AFClydeman

Did you know Dan then too? He worked there I believe. I know he flew for a guy flying his plane for him but I thought he worked as a CFI also. I never found out how Steve faired. Did he recover from his injuries?

Didn't know Dan. Steve had to have re-constructive surgery, and his girlfriend/fiancee wouldn't let him fly anything with only one engine for the longest time. Last I heard, he was flying a Pilatus for one of the car dealerships in town, but that was a while ago. I can find out exactly what he's doing tomorrow with one phone call, though.

When I mentioned the Pilatus still only had one engine, it was brought up that his girlfriend now has the utmost confidence in a PT-6.

[BillH]

I often think about this same scenario if it would happen to me. Sorry to say but I would of risked taking out the SUV with my cessna. The SUV is a lot stronger and heavier than the Cessna...
Sorry to hear about your friends, and for chair flying this scenario after the fact. It just provoked thoughts and discussion of such a scenario.