Despite a major fuel leak, a history of defects with the aircraft and the refusal by three other pilots to fly the aircraft, the owner of a Piper Navajo elected to attempt a ferry flight and died in a crash a few seconds after takeoff. The NTSB’s preliminary report on the crash at Kearney, Missouri, on July 20 includes anecdotes from multiple witnesses who reported malfunctioning engines and fuel tanks that leaked “horribly” on the plane, which was last airworthy eight years prior. The lineman who fueled the plane that day took a video of avgas pouring from the aircraft onto the ramp.
The NTSB said numerous witnesses shot video and stills of the takeoff attempt that showed the airplane becoming briefly airborne before settling back on the runway. “The recordings showed the airplane become airborne near the runway end and yaw to the right before it climbed parallel with the rising terrain,” the report says. “The witnesses observed the airplane barely cleared a line of trees past the departure end of the runway and made a left turn before it disappeared behind trees.” The plane crashed in a field near the airport and caught fire.
The plane had been at Kearney for about six months, and the owner and a mechanic had been working on it over that period. About two weeks before the crash, witnesses told the NTSB an engine runup revealed a hard starting engine that wouldn’t make full power. The owner had obtained ferry permit to take it to Kingman, Kansas, for an annual inspection.
Obviously, this is NOT a picture of the SR-71 before starting. Sadly, as we all know, there are people on this Earth who take these kind of chances despite common sense saying NO. The ONLY saving grace was that he was alone.
To me, this is a case of the ego getting in the way of the rest of his life.
Tragic… and to paraphrase someone else, ‘we have met the enemy and he is us’
The Sage of the Swamp, Pogo.
That’s not a paraphrase, that’s a direct quote of the “Pogo” cartoonist Walt Kelly. It was Kelly who was paraphrasing the once familiar words of Cmdr. Oliver Perry to (then) Maj. Gen. William Henry Harrison announcing the defeat of the British fleet in the Battle of Lake Erie.
Yeah, few know, and no one cares about the War of 1812 these days, except perhaps for the cannon-heavy finale of Tchaikovsky’s overture, which has nothing to do with the American theater of the war in the first place. But in the 1950’s, it was still part of the grade school curriculum. Perry’s message was an historical quotation with little significance, but Kelly turned it into a universal aphorism of the human condition.
And to further cement my credentials as a pedantic a-hole, Kelly really should have said, “… and he is we.” It’s athe predicate nominative, after all, but it would have been all wrong coming from a character in the Okefenokee Swamp.
I think you’re fantastic.
Bravo
Awesome
As certified maintenance professionals, its ok to walk away from a job, customer, or airplane based on the condition of an aircraft. We have done it, and this is the exact reason why.
What’s all the uproar about ? A Navaho with one malfunctioning engine still should do fine so long as the blue line is properly labeled “INOP” and the compromised engine’s prop is locked full feather on the ground with one of those screw-clamp things. Then just cage the rudders and drain the brake fluid. Using throttle and aileron inputs should be able climb at Vwtf if fuel is distributed appropriately. No breaks roll-out ? No problem. Aeroflop does it every day. Being sure to substitute the UA 232 ATC transcript for the preflight and it should have gone well …
Vlol 🙂
“Vwtf”
I’m going to remember that for my next flight review! Thanks.
No doubt. Filing that one away for later use.
By the way, does the rock star who signed the ferry permit bear any liability for signing this coffin off ?
Natural selection strikes again, saving the lives of many while confiscating one.
Are ferry permits issued just based on the airplane condition info provided by the requestor? Would seem hard for anyone to issue a ferry permit if they saw its actual condition.
Are you referring to the FED? The A&P signs a “log entry” stating that the aircraft is airworthy for a “one time flight” IAW any stipulations noted in the issued “special airworthiness certificate.” (ferry permit) Three are responsible here. The Owner, A&P and POC. If you REALLY want to get into the weeds, the ground crew and other airport personnel, that were aware of the condition of the plane, could of “dropped a dime” to the local authorities, (cops) that, who has been told to me, (FAA) to have the authority to stop the operation of a “known unsafe aircraft” that could pose a danger to the general public. A lot of issues in this crash.
Norm
Having once flown an out-of-annual (but in fine flying condition) plane I was selling on a ferry permit . . . The permit is issued by the FAA or their representative, but needs to be signed off by an A&P. It seems likely that this owner didn’t bother to get that sign off but, if he did, it would seem that that mechanic would have some major liability. Also, if this plane was insured at all, that insurance was probably void when flown on a ferry permit.
Darwin Award?
Yup.
Kick the tires, light the fires, count the wings, preflight complete away we go.
Ferry permit cherry permit, what, who cares, Artificial Horizon inop?, no problem, I have an AHI app on my iPhone, license,?, Govt conspiracy deep state. Seen them, known some of them, read about others, take my plane? From my cold dead hands!
Definite Darwin award
Should have flipped a lite match into that puddle of gas under the plane……much better outcome.
Only if not near other combustible items like airplanes fuel trucks, fuel tanks, or any other valuable things around it…
It’s all flat land and he took off in the relative cool of the morning.
The report is preliminary and does not say what the actual cause was (and “two weeks” to work on one of the engines could have been enough to fix the original problems). It’s a complex twin with a lot of sitting around so no telling what gave up on that particular day.
I’ll never understand pilots who do this. I saw a near situation like this once, where a Piper Aerostar took all of a 10k foot runway to depart and took miles and miles to even break 500 feet altitude. Somehow, he didn’t crash, but he had FSDO waiting for him at the arrival airport.
The last time I was PIC in an Aerostar 601P four aboard and full fuel [as best you could tell with those] departing the high desert at high noon, I was stuck with that exact same track when there wasn’t a damn thing wrong with the aircraft and I was flying by precise POH numbers adjusted for density altitude. But once I got on top and let it run free, THAT’s where she shone.
The last time I was PIC in an Aerostar 601P four aboard and full fuel [as best you could tell with those] departing the high desert at high noon, I was stuck with that exact same departure when there wasn’t a damn thing wrong with the aircraft and I was flying by precise POH numbers adjusted for density altitude. After awhile the client leaned forward and said “we’ve already been driven over all this real estate in their Jeep. You can climb on up now” except I was already locked on Vy and watching temps. But once I got on top and let it run free, THAT’s where she shone. All they had waiting for them at the arrival airport was a near new Maybach, parked next to my classic ’58 Caddy convertible [no, that’s the year BEFORE the fins].
This is why civilians are afraid of small aircraft and small airports.
And some people who claim to be pilots…