ARFF Daily News

Monday the 27th of January, 2025

One killed in plane crash in Albemarle County

Sarah Allen & Mark Gad

 ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- The Virginia State Police are investigating a fatal crash that occurred Jan. 25 around 12:30 p.m. 

According to a release, VSP has confirmed one fatality, though they are still in the process of notifying the next of kin. 

The flight originated from Rockingham, North Carolina, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have been notified and are assisting in the investigation.

Officials report the crash is just off East Monacan Drive around 12:30 p.m. Saturday. It's in a wooded area on the floodplain of the Rivanna River.

Details regarding the crash and the identities of those involved have not yet been released, and authorities are continuing their efforts to gather more information. The investigation is ongoing.

https://www.cbs19news.com/news/one-killed-in-plane-crash-in-albemarle-county/article_a25e2bf0-db4d-11ef-9b03-37ae58362e18.html

United Airlines flight makes emergency landing after experiencing mid-air jolt - with at least six injured

By Emma Soteriou

A United Airlines jet was forced to make an emergency landing after plummeting mid-air following take-off.

At least six people were injured after the plane jolted during the flight from Nigeria on Friday.

The flight, which was heading from Lagos to Washington DC, had 245 passengers and 11 crew on board at the time.

Footage shared online showed chaos unfolding, with food trays and personal items scattered down the aisle following the incident.

A technical issue is understood to have been behind the sudden dip in altitude 93 minutes into the flight.

The plane was then forced to turn around and head back to Lagos.

A United Airlines spokesperson said: "[The flight] landed safely in Lagos and four passengers and two flight attendants were seen at a hospital for minor injuries and have been released."

All of those injured have since been released from hospital.

The cause of the incident is still unknown, but United has confirmed that it was not severe turbulence.

An investigation has since been launched with aviation authorities to determine what happened.

It comes after the same aircraft on the same journey from Lagos to Washington’s Dulles International Airport was also diverted on Tuesday.

Flight tracking data showed the plane drop 1,000 feet approximately 89 minutes into the flight.

It remains unclear if the two incidents were related.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/united-airlines-flight-emergency-landing-mid-air-jolt/

NTSB Prelim: Cessna 310

Accident Pilot Elected To Fly The Ferry Flight With The Landing Gear Down

Location: Peebles, OH Accident Number: ERA25FA086
Date & Time: December 30, 2024, 15:15 Local Registration: N6979T
Aircraft: Cessna 310 Injuries: 1 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Ferry

On December 30, 2024, about 1515 eastern standard time, a Cessna 310D, N6979T, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Peebles, Ohio. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 ferry flight.

According to the owner of the airplane, the purpose of the flight was to ferry the airplane, which he purchased in October, fromBranch County Memorial Airport (OEB), Coldwater, Michigan to Alexander Salamon Airport (AMT), West Union, Ohio. The owner stated that the airplane did not have a current annual inspection, and that a ferry flight had been issued for the flight. The 
owner commented that, prior to the flight, he had accomplished maintenance to the airplane and that the accident pilot was supposed to have taken the airplane around the airport traffic pattern prior to the ferry flight. The owner also commented that the accident pilot elected to fly the ferry flight with the landing gear down.

Prior to the accident flight, a fueler at OEB added fuel to the airplane in the presence of the pilot. According the fueler, the airplane received a total of 57.5 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel. When asked about the airplane’s total fuel quantity at the conclusion of the fueling, he described that the airplane had “some” fuel in it, but he was unsure of a specific quantity. 

When asked to describe how much fuel he added to each of the different fuel tanks, he stated that he started at the left main (wingtip) fuel tank and that he added approximately 17 gallons of fuel. He then commented that this was an older airplane that had some fuel leaks, and that the left main fuel tank could only hold 1/2 of its total capacity because fuel would leak out when the take was filled above that point. He then added approximately 13 gallons of fuel to the left auxiliary fuel tank, which filled that tank. He did not believe that the left auxiliary tank was leaking. The fueler did not fill the right auxiliary tank because the fuel bladder had a leak. 

He commented that fuel would have leaked immediately from the right auxiliary tank if fuel was added to it. He then added fuel to the right main (wingtip) fuel tank. The right main tank received about 27 gallons of fuel, which filled that tank. The pilot planned for a second pilot to follow him in another airplane during the accident flight, and for that second pilot to pick him up after the ferry flight was completed. According to the second pilot, on the day of the accident, both pilots met at OEB and completed preflight inspections of their respective airplanes. About 1330, the second pilot watched the accident airplane depart OEB. He then radioed to the accident pilot to ensure everything was normal, and the accident pilot replied that the airplane was operating normally. 

The second pilot departed from OEB and thought that he was likely 15 to 20 minutes behind the accident airplane. Throughout the flight, the accident pilot and second pilot communicated briefly about five times stating that everything was normal. The last communication the two pilots had was when the accident pilot radioed to the second pilot that he was about “20-30 miles away from the destination airport” and that he would begin descending. The second pilot arrived at AMT and noticed that the accident airplane was not there, even though it should have arrived before him. After about 20-30 minutes of waiting, the second pilot elected to take off and retrace the flight path that he believed the accident pilot was flying. He located the accident location after about 40 minutes of flying.

A witness who lived at the property next to the accident location stated that he was in his shop when he first heard the accident airplane. He opened the door and stepped out to see the airplane directly over his head. He described the airplane’s size, given its relative distance, was about 2 inches from his vantage point and that the engines of the airplane were “cutting out.” 

The airplane initially turned and started to fly towards him before it turned back towards the southwest. Once the airplane was over the flat top of the hill (the accident site), both engines “quit” and the airplane “went straight down.” The witness watched the airplane descend, but lost sight of it before it contacted the trees and terrain. When the witness was asked to describe why he thought both engines lost power, he replied that he could no longer hear engine noise, but he was able to hear the airplane “whistling through the air” until it collided with the trees and terrain.

The accident site was located on top of a steep hill at an elevation of 880 ft, situated between trees along a grass pathway. The fuselage came to rest in a nose down attitude, and oriented along a 300° magnetic heading. Both wings exhibited significant aft compression damage to the leading edges. Fuel staining was evident on the bottom of the left wing, outboard of the engine nacelle. The staining originated from the midpoint, and continued aft toward the trailing edge of the wing. The left wing was displaced aft about 3ft at the remaining wing tip, and the right wing was displaced forward about 2ft at the remaining wing tip. The left engine remained attached to the engine mount and wing structure but was imbedded into the terrain at an approximate 30° angle. 

The two-blade metal propeller remained attached to the left engine and was buried about 3ft into the terrain. The right engine remained attached to the engine mount, but the engine mount was broken away from the right-wing structure. The main (wingtip) fuel tanks separated from the wing tips and fractured into several sections. The right engine and mount were imbedded into the terrain at a near 90° angle. The two-blade metal propeller remained attached to the crankshaft flange and was buried 4ft into the terrain. The right propeller blades were bent aft and did not display s-bending, chordwise scratching, or leading edge gouging. One of the left propeller’s blades was bent aft and the second propeller blade was missing the tip of the blade. The empennage was lodged between trees and displaced to the left. The fuselage was partially imbedded into the terrain and the cockpit instrumentation was mostly destroyed from impact forces.

The wreckage was retained for further examination. 

FMI: www.ntsb.gov

NTSB Final Report: Cessna 140

Flight Instructor Stated The Pilot Applied Full Braking, And The Airplane Nosed Over On The Runway

Location: Mason, Michigan Accident Number: CEN25LA050
Date & Time: November 25, 2024, 17:36 Local Registration: N76061
Aircraft: Cessna 140 Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Loss of control on ground Injuries: 2 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Instructional

Analysis: The pilot was receiving flight instruction from the flight instructor towards a tailwheel endorsement at the time of the accident. The pilot completed several flight maneuvers with the flight instructor before returning to the departure airport where they practiced landings. During these landings, the airplane ended up about 10-15 ft left of the runway centerline before stopping. During the last landing, the pilot flew a stabilized approach with full flaps, at an airspeed of 60 mph, and a descent rate of 300 ft/min. 

The airplane touched down on its main landing gear and during rollout the pilot placed aileron control input into the wind. The pilot applied corrective rudder control input when the airplane began to drift left of the runway centerline, but the airplane continued to drift left. The pilot did not remember if he applied brakes during the beginning of the landing rollout but applied brakes to prevent the airplane from going off the runway. The flight instructor stated the pilot applied full braking, and the airplane nosed over on the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer, rudder, and left wing. The pilot reported that there was no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operations.

Probable Cause and Findings: The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be -- The pilot’s failure to maintain aircraft control during landing rollout that resulted in a nose over and an impact with the runway.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov

NTSB Final Report: Haring Robert C Zenith CH601XLB

Airplane’s Nose Gear Settled Back Onto The Runway, It Then Sank Into The Soft Turf, And The Airplane Nosed Over

Location: East Amherst, New York Accident Number: ERA24LA175
Date & Time: April 10, 2024, 14:15 Local Registration: N107RW
Aircraft: Haring Robert C Zenith CH601XLB Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Loss of control on ground Injuries: 1 Minor
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal

Analysis: The airplane was departing from a wet, turf runway. The pilot reported that during the departure roll the airplane began to veer to the right and was not travelling fast enough when he attempted to takeoff. The airplane’s nose gear settled back onto the runway, it then sank into the soft turf, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane came to rest inverted and sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and rudder. The pilot further reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot also stated that he should have aborted the takeoff, but “thought he could power through the drifting and get the aircraft off the ground.”

Probable Cause and Findings: The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be -- The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control and his decision to continue the takeoff from the soft turf runway.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov

Today in History

74 Years ago today: On 27 January 1951 An Alitalia Savoia-Marchetti SM.95 crashed following a lightning strike while on approach to Roma-Ciampino Airport, Italy, killing 14 occupants; 3 survived the accident.

Date: Saturday 27 January 1951

Time: 14:40

Type: Savoia-Marchetti SM-95B

Owner/operator: Alitalia

Registration: I-DALO

MSN: 10

Year of manufacture: 1948

Fatalities: Fatalities: 14 / Occupants: 17

Other fatalities: 0

Aircraft damage: Destroyed, written off

Category: Accident

Location: 8 km N of Civitavecchia -   Italy

Phase: Approach

Nature: Passenger - Scheduled

Departure airport: Paris-Le Bourget Airport (LBG/LFPB)

Destination airport: Roma-Ciampino Airport (CIA/LIRA)

Confidence Rating:  Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:

An Alitalia Savoia-Marchetti SM.95 crashed following a lightning strike while on approach to Roma-Ciampino Airport, Italy, killing 14 occupants; 3 survived the accident.

The SM-95B aircraft named "Ugolino Vivaldi" departed Paris at 10:16 for a flight to Rome. At 14:36 the crew reported over the Civitavecchia beacon at 6500 feet. A few minutes later, the aircraft was then seen descending in flames rapidly. The plane banked to the left heavily and crashed. The same aircraft on the same route with the same pilot on board had experienced a similar accident on 17 May 1949 near Lyon and had made a successful emergency landing at Lyon Airport with a two-meter right wing tip section missing.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "Fire in flight, due to lightning striking the wing frame of the aircraft and igniting a mixture of air and petrol fumes in one of the wing panels or fuel tanks."