Posts Tagged plane crash
video from Larry Shapiro from the plane crash in Wheeling yesterday (6-25-13) including the recovery and transportation of the damage plane through the streets of Wheeling (during a dramatic lightning display)
More images from the plane crash in Wheeling from Larry Shapiro … with a video to follow that includes the recovery and relocation of the plane.
One view of the downed aircraft. Larry Shapiro photo
Wheeling Crash Truck 23 in position to hit any fire that might erupt. Larry Shapiro photo
A severed tree rests on the plane Larry Shapiro photo
Another view of the downed aircraft. Larry Shapiro photo
Wheeling Crash Truck 23. Larry Shapiro photo
Wheeling Engine 23 stands by the crash site as investigators review the scene. Larry Shapiro photo
Firefighters search the plane’s interior. Larry Shapiro photo
A view of the front section of the plane. Larry Shapiro photo
Wheeling’s deputy chief addresses the media. Larry Shapiro photo
A heavy-duty wrecker on the scene. Larry Shapiro photo
A tree is cleared from the plane. Larry Shapiro photo
The plane in a sling for loading onto the flat bed. Larry Shapiro photo
The plane in a sling for loading onto the flat bed. Larry Shapiro photo
Frie’s Towing with heavy equipment at the crash site. Larry Shapiro photo
The plane as secured onto a flatbed. Larry Shapiro photo
The plane as secured onto a flatbed. Larry Shapiro photo
The plane is transported to a storage lot. Larry Shapiro photo
The plane is moved on Milwaukee Avenue. Larry Shapiro photo
Click here to view a gallery with many more images from the plane crash in Wheeling.
The first of several posts about a plane that went down on Wolf Road, in Wheeling, 1/2 mile north of Chicago Executive Airport.
From the Chicago Tribune:
A twin-engine plane crashed near an apartment complex as it was attempting to land at the Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling this evening but there were no injuries to anyone on the ground, officials said.
The crash happened at about 8:28 p.m. near the intersection of Hintz Road and Wolf Road, police said. The plane landed nearly about four tenths of a mile from the Foxboro North Apartments, police said.
According to Federal Aviation Administration officials, the twin-engine Beechcraft 20 plane crashed just north of the airport, said Tony Molinaro, an FAA spokesman.
The pilot was the only person on the plane and sustained minor injuries, Molinaro said. The aircraft sustained some damage, Molinaro said.
Images and flight tracker from Drew Smith.
Drew Smith photo
Drew Smith photo
Drew Smith photo
Drew Smith photo
Drew Smith photo
from Flight Tracker
Radioman911.com has provided the audio.
2013/06/25 Wheeling Airplane Crash Wolf Rd. north of Hintz Rd.
The National Transportation Safety Board has released a brief preliminary summary report about the plane crash in Riverwoods on November 29th. Other postings on the crash can be found HERE, HERE, and HERE.
NTSB Identification: CEN12FA086
Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Accident occurred Monday, November 28, 2011 in Riverwoods, IL
Aircraft: PIPER PA-31-350, registration: N59773
Injuries: 3 Fatal,2 Serious.This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
On November 28, 2011, about 2250 central standard time, Lifeguard N59773, a Piper PA-31-350, an emergency medical services (EMS) flight, operated by Trans North Aviation Ltd, sustained substantial damage when it impacted trees and terrain in Riverwoods, Illinois. The pilot declared an emergency, reported that the airplane was out of fuel and the flight was coasting direct to the destination airport, Chicago Executive Airport (PWK), near Wheeling, Illinois. The airline transport pilot and two passengers sustained fatal injuries. The pilot-rated passenger and medical crewmember received serious injuries. The non-scheduled domestic on-demand passenger flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. An activated instrument flight rules flight plan was on file. The flight departed from the Jesup-Wayne County Airport (JES), near Jesup, Georgia, about 1858.Fueling records show an airplane was fueled at JES with 165 gallons of aviation gasoline (avgas).
Preliminary review of a recording of the approach controller’s frequency revealed that the pilot requested to fly direct to the outer marker navigation aid. The controller indicated a heading for the flight to conduct an instrument approach. The pilot then declared an emergency. The controller inquired if the flight was still heading to PWK. The pilot reported that he was unable, out of fuel, and that the airplane was “coasting.” The controller asked if the field was insight. The pilot reported negative and asked for the cloud tops. The controller indicated that the cloud deck was 1,400 feet overcast. The pilot responded that the flight was coasting down and that the pilot would report visual contact. The pilot further indicated that the flight was flying direct to PWK. The controller advised a low altitude alert and the flight acknowledged that alert. The controller asked if the pilot had the field in sight. The pilot reported affirmative. The flight was cleared for the visual approach to runway 16 and the pilot was informed to cancel the flight’s IFR flight plan. The controller further indicated that the change to airport’s advisory frequency was approved. There was no further recorded radio communication with the EMS flight.
The Riverwoods Police Department received an initial 911 phone call about 2250. The first responders found the wreckage near a residence northwest of the intersection or Portwine and Orange Brace roads.
The pilot held an airline transport certificate and he held a first-class medical certificate.
The pilot-rated passenger held a commercial pilot certificate and he held a second-class medical certificate
N59773, was a Piper PA-31-350, Chieftain, twin-engine, retractable landing gear, conventional semi-monocoque design airplane with serial number 31-7652044. The airplane had a maximum gross weight of 7,000 pounds. A 350-horsepower Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD engine and a 350-horsepower Lycoming LTIO-540-J2BD engine powered the airplane.
At 2252, the recorded weather at PWK was: Wind 350 degrees at 9 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; sky condition overcast 1,400 feet; temperature 2 degrees C; dew point -2 degrees C; altimeter 29.99 inches of mercury.
At 2352, the recorded weather at PWK was: Wind 360 degrees at 9 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; sky condition overcast 1,400 feet; temperature 2 degrees C; dew point -2 degrees C; altimeter 29.97 inches of mercury.
The airplane impacted trees and terrain in a heavily treed residential neighborhood about 3 nautical miles northeast of PWK. The wreckage path was about 250 feet in length from the first found impact tree to the main wreckage on a magnetic heading of about 130 degrees. The airplane was found fragmented along the path. The left propeller separated from its engine and was found 32 feet west of the main wreckage. The airplane fuselage came to rest facing about 280 degrees magnetic. An on-site inspection confirmed that the fuselage, empennage, wings, and all flight control surfaces were located within the wreckage debris path. The landing gear were found in the up position in their wheel wells.
The left and right throttle levers were found in the full forward position. Both left and right mixture levers were found in the forward rich position. The left and right propeller levers were found in the forward high RPM position. The Hobbs meter read 2848.8 hours. All four magneto switches were in the on position. The left fuel boost pump switch was in the on position and the right fuel boost pump switch was in the off position. Both the left and right fuel tank selectors were selecting their respective inboard fuel tanks. The crossfeed valve was found in the on position. All fuel caps were in place in their filler necks. Approximately 1.5 ounces of a liquid consistent with avgas was found within the airplane fuel system. All four electric fuel pumps were operational when electrical power was applied to them. The flap jackscrew was consistent with retracted flaps in the up position. Left and right engine control continuity was established. Flight control continuity was established.
Both engines’ crankshafts were rotated and each engine exhibited gear and valve train continuity. All cylinders produced thumb compression and suction. Both dual magnetos produced sparks at all leads. All removed sparkplugs exhibited the appearance of normal combustion. Both engines’ turbocharger impellers spun when rotated by hand. The left and right propellers were found in the feather position.
Images from the scene can be found HERE.
Another article about Monday’s plane crash comes from the Antigo Daily Journal.com out of Wisconsin. Antigo is near Mattoon, home to flight medic Maynard Blodgett who survived the crash.
A Mattoon man is recovering in a Chicago-area hospital today after his medical transport airplane crashed Monday evening,
Maynard Blodgett, an emergency medical technician with the Birnamwood fire department, was working as a medic on the Eagle River-based Trans North Aviation flight when it crashed in suburban Chicago, killing three of the five people on board.
According to WSAW-TV, Blodgett contacted Birnamwood Fire Chief Randy Berger on Tuesday to let the department know he was involved in the crash and recovering at a hospital.
The plane was carrying patient John Bialek, 80, of Streamwood, Ill. and his 75-year-old wife, Ilomae Bialek, as well as Blodgett and two pilots, according to Ron Schaberg, the aviation company’s president. The Bialeks were both killed in the crash.
The pilot had filed an instrument flight plan, meaning the plane was being tracked on radar and the pilot was in constant contact with controllers as it flew toward Chicago, Cory said.
The Bialeks were flying back to Chicago from their home in West Palm Beach, Fla. to be closer to relatives as he was being treated for a blood infection.
The Daily Herald today has a follow-up article about Monday’s plane crash. They reference recordings from the cockpit to the controllers:
Someone on board the Piper PA-31 medical plane that crashed in Riverwoods radioed air traffic controllers claiming the plane was out of fuel and coasting, a control tower audio recording shows.
The call to the Chicago-area Terminal Radar Approach Control in Elgin declared an emergency just before the plane crashed Monday night near Portwine Road, according to audio recordings.
The pilot — or a pilot-rated passenger who may have been manning the radio — told an air traffic controller the plane was out of fuel and unable to make it to Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling.
In the audio recording, a voice on the plane is heard telling a controller, “We are declaring an emergency.”
The controller asks: “Lifeguard 773” — the plane’s call sign — “Do you still want to land at Palwaukee?”
A different voice on the plane replied: “Unable. We are out of fuel and we are coasting.”
The entire article can be found HERE.
The FAA and NTSB personnel spent much of the day on Tuesday examining the wreckage and scene of Monday night’s plane crash in Riverwoods.
Federal investigators examine the wreckage of a Piper Navajo that crashed Monday night in suburban Riverwoods. Tim Olk photo
After they were finished, they released the wreckage to Fries Automotive to remove the plane and debris from the scene and transport everything to Campbell Airport in Grayslake. Fries was assisted by Rogner’s Towing out of Palatine. Earlier in the day, a tree removal contractor cut trees that had been damaged by the plane plus those additional trees necessary to clear a path for a truck to access the scene.
A tree trimmer climbs a tree near the wreckage to remove large limbs that were severed and hanging above the wreckage. Tim Olk photo
Also, an employee of the tree contractor climbed one of the tall trees to remove a piece of debris that was lodged there.
A climber has to go significantly higher that the reach of a bucket truck will allow in order to remove a piece of debris. Tim Olk photo
The debris can be seen at the top of a tree which was clipped by the plane as it went down. Tim Olk photo
A rollback tow truck sits on sheets of plywood in a lane cleared after several trees were cut down. Larry Shapiro photo
Debris and trees litter the yard near the crash. Larry Shapiro photo
As the sun sets, the scene is turned over to the recovery crew. Larry Shapiro photo
The medical transport plane had an area for a stretcher. Larry Shapiro photo
The plane's tail number. Larry Shapiro photo
The pilot sitting in the far seat did not survive the crash although the person in the closer seat is alive. Larry Shapiro photo
A skid ster unit carries one of the plane's engines out to the street. Larry Shapiro photo
The plane came to rest in between several trees. Larry Shapiro photo
The plane is pulled from it's position with a cable from the heavy wrecker out on Portwine Road. The cable runs through a snatch block anchored against a large tree. Larry Shapiro photo
Tim has more photos HERE and Larry has a gallery HERE.
Plane crashes in Riverwoods
Nov 29
At approximately 10:45PM on Monday, the Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District received a call reporting a brush fire in the 600 block of Portwine Road in Riverwoods. Station 52 companies responded to the address and were unable to locate a brush fire, but they were flagged down by a resident who reported a plane down in a wooded area between two houses down the street.
Firefighters survey the crash site as others inside the plane work to free one of the passengers. Larry Shapiro photo
At the same time RED Center received additional calls reporting a house fire and a plane into a house. As they were filling out the alarm, the Lincolnshire companies found the crash site which was within 30 feet of a house. There was a small fire that was addressed with a pump can and firefighters began assessing the plane’s five occupants, one of which was out of the wreckage of the twin engine plane when crews arrived.
The flight medic is attended to by paramedics before being transported. He sustained several injuries but was out of the wreckage supplying information to the firefighters when they arrived. Larry Shapiro photo
The Chicago Tribune reports that:
The plane, owned by Trans North Aviation, was transporting the patient, his wife, two pilots and a flight paramedic to the Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling, about five miles south of the crash site, according to Ron Schaberg, owner and president of the South Carolina company.
The patient was being brought to a local medical facility for an undisclosed medical issue, Schaberg said.
The aircraft, which passed a safety inspection earlier that day, picked up the unidentified male patient fromWest Palm Beach, Fla. just before 6 p.m., but made a fuel stop in Jesup, Ga. before continuing on to Chicago Executive, Schaberg said.
The crash came just after the pilot reported that the plane was having a fuel problem.
One of the plane's passengers is loaded into a Buffalo Grove ambulance for transport to Lutheran General Hospital. He later died. Larry Shapiro photo
Three passengers were removed from the plane and transported to Lutheran General and Condell hospitals. Two others were pronounced dead at the scene, and the victim that was transported to Lutheran General Hospital, the patient being transported from Florida, subsequently died.
The debris field is quite large as is the number of trees that were hit by the plane as it descended. Larry Shapiro photo
The wreckage remains in place overnight until investigators can examine the crash site in the daylight. There is a debris field of some 500-1,000 feet through a wooded area which reportedly includes parts high a tree.
The Prospect Heights Fire Department responded to the scene with this 4x4 Titan ARFF. Larry Shapiro photo
The Chicago Tribune reports that plane to be a Piper Navajo, but the company website states that they fly a Piper Chieftain, and the Travel-Care Air Medical Transport site mentions a Piper Cheyenne II XL operated by Trans North.
Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Squad 51 provided additional scene lighting, power, and water as companies removed the victims from the wreckage. Larry Shapiro photo
Lincolnshire firefighters assist the Lake County Coroner's office personnel with removing one of the victims. Larry Shapiro photo
The rear of the plane spun around into this tree severing the tail section. Larry Shapiro photo
The right side wing and engine of the Piper twin-engine plane. Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro and Tim Olk were at the scene. Larry has a gallery HERE and Tim has a gallery HERE. Mutual aid came from Deerfield, Long Grove, Libertyville, Countryside, Buffalo Grove, Prospect heights, and Wheeling.
The Daily Herald has an article updating information about the injured pilot from the crash on December 22 as well as statements from witnesses. Previous posts about the crash are HERE and HERE.
Below are excerpts from the Daily Herald article. The complete article can be read HERE.
Pilot in Wheeling plane crash remains critical after surgery
Todd Cole, 36, of Jacksonville, Ill., underwent surgery Monday at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood to repair broken ankles and transplant skin grafts to his face and hands after suffering burns to 30 percent of his body …
“Apparently he was on fire in the cockpit, but was able to get out,” …
Instantly killed in the crash was Cole’s passenger, 18-year-old Benjamin VanHyning of Jacksonville. VanHyning, an employee at Jacksonville Municipal Airport, had volunteered to keep Cole company on the flight …
Though the investigation continues, the NTSB this week released a preliminary report on the crash.
The report states Cole contacted air traffic control shortly after his 2:45 p.m. takeoff saying he needed to return to Chicago Executive Airport because the single-engine Beechcraft Sierra was vibrating and losing power.
“Witnesses reported that the airplane appeared to be having difficulty gaining altitude after takeoff,” the report reads. “They stated that the airplane leveled off at an altitude of 50 to 100 feet above the runway. The airplane remained at that altitude until it entered a left descending turn prior to impact. The witnesses reported they heard the engine running and that it was normal.”
(the plane’s owner) … said he’d learned from the plane’s previous owner that its engine was defective and in need of a major overhaul. This overhaul took place at a repair shop in Michigan before being returned to Wheeling and reinstalled, according to the statement.
