Mooney down in CT - N53CP

[TTaylor]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/motorsports/nascar-driver-pilot-killed-in-connecticut-plane-crash/ar-AAs3xLM?li=BBgET5V&ocid=spartanntp

 

http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2017/09/accident-occurred-september-16-2017-in.html

 

 

 

[Hank]

Hope it's not the CT M20-C pilot I met this summer . . .

[bonal]

Terrible news, my thoughts and prayers for the friends and family

[takair]

1 hour ago, Hank said:

Hope it's not the CT M20-C pilot I met this summer . . .

It's not me...I have an E.  Very  little info on this, even locally.

[MyNameIsNobody]

 

[mike_elliott]

If anyone knows the contact info for the families of these unfortunate men, please let me know. So so sad..

[joegoersch]

Very sad.  Anyone know what the weather was at the time of the accident ?

Edited September 17, 2017 by joegoersch

[kortopates]

Looks like beautiful VFR weather from a nearby airport:

KHVN 162253Z 00000KT 10SM FEW030 SCT100 23/20 A3014 RMK AO2 SLP206 T02280200
KHVN 162153Z 19005KT 10SM FEW035 24/20 A3013 RMK AO2 SLP203 T02390200
KHVN 162053Z 18008KT 10SM SCT035 25/19 A3013 RMK AO2 SLP202 T02500189 56006

Since they're not releasing the pilot's name or N number there is virtually nothing to go on yet except for aircraft coming in nose first into a heavily wooded area. The report of one pilot going through the windshield suggest either no seat belt, which is unlikely, or enough G's at impact to separate the seat from the railing. These days part 23 requires handing a 9.0 G forward load but not sure what CAR3 required when the C was certified. But suffice to say it implies a pretty hard G loading at impact. 

[TTaylor]

Update on Kathryn's list:

Mooney M20C, N53CP : Fatal accident occurred September 16, 2017 in Guilford, New Haven County, Connecticut

"Police said Sunday that 81-year-old Charles Patrick Dundas, of Manorville, was killed along with modified champion racer Ted Christopher in woods near North Branford.

Federal officials say the plane had left Plainville's Robertson Airport headed for Long Island on Saturday.

Dundas, who also lived in Fort Pierce, Fla., and Christopher were the only two aboard the Mooney M20-C plane when it crashed."

 

 

[kortopates]

FAA records shows pilot/owner was a retired airline pilot with several type ratings, was previously a CFI (lapsed in '93) and also an A&P. Only thing missing is a Medical Certificate. Could mean he was flying under the nee  Basic Med, but even there, there are two things the FAA is tracking for Basic Med certification which are not included either. (although since I don't fly under the basic med program, I have no idea if the FAA's database is actually yet able to officially track that info for real - and thus it could mean nothing). Plus the registration shows he acquired the plane in 2011. Although it doesn't tell us how/why the plane came down, it does show it was flown by a very experienced and exceptionally trained pilot/mechanic and probably someone intimately familiar with his plane. 

Because of age there is always the chance of a medical issue, but nothing to suggest that currently.

[takair]

Some photos in this link.  Hate to speculate, but the prop makes me believe it was not developing much, if any, power.  No fire reported either.  We had some IFR earlier, but it was pretty much VFR over most of the area by that time.  They were likely a couple of minutes from being out over Long Island Sound.  Couldn't find much on Flight Aware for the registration number..so probably didn't file much... Thoughts and prayers with the families and friends.

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/multimedia/PHOTOS-Fatal-Small-Plane-Crash-Takes-Life-of-NASCAR-Champ-445147033.html

[kpaul]

1 hour ago, takair said:

Hate to speculate, but the prop makes me believe it was not developing much, if any, power.

That prop was defiantly not under power at the time of impact, in-fact 2 of the 3 blades look almost untouched.

[StevenL757]

8 hours ago, mike_elliott said:

If anyone knows the contact info for the families of these unfortunate men, please let me know. So so sad..

Mike, Pat Dundas was a hangar neighbor at my small airpark until just recently.  He flew as a 757 check captain at Eastern back in the day, and was a good friend of my instructor/consultant, Joe F., as they were both at Eastern and flew together for years.  Joe is an FAA inspector/sr. manager, and although he's not involved formally in the investigation, I should learn more tomorrow, and beyond as this unfolds, so will pass along what I can.

Steve

[mike_elliott]

6 minutes ago, StevenL757 said:

Mike, Pat Dundas was a hangar neighbor at my small airpark until just recently.  He flew as a 757 check captain at Eastern back in the day, and was a good friend of my instructor/consultant, Joe F., as they were both at Eastern and flew together for years.  Joe is an FAA inspector/sr. manager, and although he's not involved formally in the investigation, I should learn more tomorrow, and beyond as this unfolds, so will pass along what I can.

Steve

Thanks Steve, We all appreciate it. Please give Joe my best also. Alice will contact the surviving families in due course of time to offer assistance with crisis intervention and financial if needed. So sorry for your loss of a friend.

 

[StevenL757]

Thanks very much Mike.  Donna and I have Joe over to the house occasionally, so he's always welcome.  Again, I will pass on what I can as soon as possible, and hope this can facilitate the intervention process.  As always, don't hesitate to reach me if needed.

Steve

[DonMuncy]

We need to publicly acknowledge, and let Mike Elliott, the Mooney Summit folks, and the Bill Gilliland Foundation folks know that we appreciate them. Their efforts to reduce the heartache and pain associated with the loss of life in Mooney accidents is unbelievably generous, and I suspect greatly appreciated by the families of the victims.  

[PTK]

This is extremely depressing. We talk about mitigating risk and stacking the deck in our favor. This gentleman had tons of experience and was also an A&P. Presumably his airplane was in top mechanical shape. One would reasonably conclude that the deck was stacked in his favor. And this still happened. I hate the feeling that if it can happen to someone with his credentials certainly my airplane can kill me on any given flight.  I don't know what else to say. Maybe it was health related like a heart attack or something.

Prayers for their loved ones.

[Guest]

We had a Comanche go into the forrest very similar to this, both survived.  In looking at the pictures I don't see shoulder belts.

Clarence

[DXB]

12 hours ago, takair said:

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/multimedia/PHOTOS-Fatal-Small-Plane-Crash-Takes-Life-of-NASCAR-Champ-445147033.html

Really sad. I find flying over much of Connecticut unnerving  - nothing but trees over large areas, with few good options in an engine failure.  The intact cabin here makes me want speculate on whether it was potentially survivable,  since putting it slow and wings level into the tree tops often dissipates enough energy slowly to end far better.  It's a '64C per the registration, and as noted by Clarence there's no shoulder belt retrofit visible in the pic.

 

[steingar]

To be honest, I'd be hesitant to buy an aircraft from an A&P.  I think the old saying goes "cobbler's kids ain't got no shoes".

[mike_elliott]

14 hours ago, DonMuncy said:

We need to publicly acknowledge, and let Mike Elliott, the Mooney Summit folks, and the Bill Gilliland Foundation folks know that we appreciate them. Their efforts to reduce the heartache and pain associated with the loss of life in Mooney accidents is unbelievably generous, and I suspect greatly appreciated by the families of the victims.  

Thanks Don, we are a small aviation community that really has a need to help each other out in unfortunate times. The Mooney Summit Inc provides a conduit to centralize this thru our charitable foundation, the Bill Gilliland foundation, while promoting safety and bettering our breed. If anyone cares to donate, this can be done via paypal to Iwannadonate@mooneysummit.com or contact me directly for an address to mail your donation. Thanks everyone for your thoughtfulness and generosity.

[kevinw]

1 hour ago, mike_elliott said:

Thanks Don, we are a small aviation community that really has a need to help each other out in unfortunate times. The Mooney Summit Inc provides a conduit to centralize this thru our charitable foundation, the Bill Gilliland foundation, while promoting safety and bettering our breed. If anyone cares to donate, this can be done via paypal to Iwannadonate@mooneysummit.com or contact me directly for an address to mail your donation. Thanks everyone for your thoughtfulness and generosity.

It's been talked about before but a great way to support the Mooney Summit is through the Amazon Smile program. A small percentage of every purchase you make on amazon.com goes to the Mooney Summit. I encourage anyone who uses amazon.com who hasn't signed up to do so. It's very easy; just go to smile.amazon.com.

[takair]

Final report.  Engine failure caused by FOD in fuel system at low altitude with little time to sort things out.  

[takair]

@irishpilot More appropriate in our safety section, but this was the original thread.  Not sure if it can be moved...

[irishpilot]

[mention=14366]irishpilot[/mention] More appropriate in our safety section, but this was the original thread.  Not sure if it can be moved...

thanks@takair, moving to safety section.

Fly safe

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