06C crash...both alive.

[RockbrigadePC1]

Small plane crashes onto expressway

By Tonya Maxwell and Josh Noel
Tribune staff reporters
Published February 19, 2006, 2:43 PM CST

A flight instructor and his student crash-landed on Elgin O'Hare Expressway Sunday afternoon when their plane lost engine power shortly after takeoff from the Shaumburg Airport, state police said.

The Piper plane flipped over as it landed on the expressway, near Irving Park Road, said Master Sgt. Ted Vernon of the Illinois State Police. The instructor, about age 62, was taken to St. Alexis Medical Center with head wounds. His student, about 18 years old, walked away uninjured, Vernon said.

Vernon did not know the severity of the instructor's injuries.

Shortly after taking off from Shaumburg Airport, the plane began having engine trouble, Vernon said, and the men tried to fly back to the airport. But the engines lost power, he said, forcing them to land in eastbound lanes of the Elgin O'Hare Expressway about 12:40 p.m.

No motorists were hit, but it appeared the plane clipped a pole or tree and flipped over, he said. Westbound lanes of the expressway remained open, but police closed down eastbound lanes from Lake Street to Irving Park Road.

Local authorities have alerted the Federal Aviation Administration. Messages left with the FAA were not immediately returned Sunday, but a recorded message said the agency was investigating the accident.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...49.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

 

[flyboyzz1]

I work with the CFI. He is doing OK.

 

[Salukipilot4590]

Good to hear that everyone is ok!

Hope the CFI recovers quickly!!

 

[FN FAL]

http://imgsrv.wbbm780.com/image/DbGraphic/200602/218018.jpg

Looks like the plane got banged up pretty good, I'm surprised they made out as well as they did.

HANOVER PARK, Ill. (WBBM/AP/STNG) -- Authorities say a small plane that crashed Sunday afternoon on an expressway in suburban Chicago was trying to make an emergency landing.

Illinois State Police Master Sergeant Ted Vernon says no serious injuries were reported, and the plane didn't hit any vehicles on the highway.

Witnesses tell WBBM Newsradio 780 that one or more drivers on the expressway stopped their cars right after the crash happened, and rescued the instructor from the plane.

The single-engine plane crashed onto the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway less than a mile from the Schaumburg Regional Airport.

On board were 63-year-old John Vafhko, of Bloomingdale, and 18- year-old Kenneth Mattuck Jr., of Palatine.

Vafhko, a flight instructor, was taken to an area hospital with a head wound and was listed in fair condition. Mattuck, a flight student, walked away from the plane without serious injuries.

The crash occurred at around 12:30 p.m. Sunday near Hanover Park, according to a Hanover Park police dispatcher.

The single-engine plane, identification number N43280, crashed on the eastbound pavement in the Hanover Park area, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The flight instructor and student had just taken off from Schaumburg Airport when they experienced engine trouble, according to Vernon.

The pilot attempted to return to the airport but lost engine power completely before they could land, Vernon said. They decided to glide to a landing on the Elgin-O'Hare Expy. when they clipped a lightpole, causing the airplane to flip over and crash onto the roadway, he said.

The eastbound lanes of the Elgin-O'Hare were closed for about two hours. The westbound lanes were not closed.

 

[DX Rick]

I know the CFI and he's a good guy. Too bad I cant say the same for the owner of the flight school , who tried pinning the crash on the CFI for having no fuel onboard.
Flight school owner is a liar, and a cheap bastard, skipping out on mx. I quit flying his planes because when I wanted to rent one and go IFR, half the equipment was inop, he said "You're just scared" Thats his typical responce, next too. "You need to learn"

 

[bobs98tlr]

Well Rick i guess we all knew it was a matter of time for this crap to happen....To bad it had to be this way. I know John myself and i dont know one person that has one bad word to say about him...super nice guy and can talk about airplanes all day long. I hope he know how many of us are thinking about him. He stops in at RFD with his C320 for fuel all the time. I got my PPL in this very same aircraft, this was before i knew how the place was run and i quit flying the guys airplanes....I go to DPA now, as well as my flying club.

 

[Metro752]

Yeah I heard that the MX on the plane that crashed was 4$h1t

 

[Metro752]

On NBC and ABC local news in Chicago, the flight school owner is very adiment about there being no fuel on the plane when it took off.

 

[FN FAL]

On NBC and ABC local news in Chicago, the flight school owner is very adiment about there being no fuel on the plane when it took off.

Don't you mean "Atom Ant". I used to watch that cartoon right after "Lance Link Secret Chimp".

 

[JohnE]

I know the CFI and he's a good guy. Too bad I cant say the same for the owner of the flight school , who tried pinning the crash on the CFI for having no fuel onboard.
Flight school owner is a liar, and a cheap bastard, skipping out on mx. I quit flying his planes because when I wanted to rent one and go IFR, half the equipment was inop, he said "You're just scared" Thats his typical responce, next too. "You need to learn"

Maintenance was horrible on the travelairs... Maybe different now though, haven't flown there in quite a while. I got the flier in the mail recently for the "free" vhf transceiver if you become a member.

 

[U of I Tweak]

I don't suppose anyone could post the place where the plane is from?

 

[FN FAL]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2006-02/22046359.jpg

http://imgsrv.wbbm780.com/image/DbGraphic/200602/218018.jpghttp://imgsrv.wbbm780.com/image/DbGr...602/218018.jpg

Two pictures of the aircraft taken at the crash site.

 

[Illini Pilot]

I don't suppose anyone could post the place where the plane is from?

i believe it was the FBO at 06C, not 100% though

 

[DX Rick]

i believe it was the FBO at 06C, not 100% though

The FBO is Northwest FLYERS. They provide mx and charter.
The flight school is Northwest Aviation....two different owners.

the flight school was owned by NW Flyers at one time, but he sold it to MC who owns it now. The old owner actually did decent mx on the airplanes. This new owner does shady mx.
the travel airs are hysterical. I heard one is still grounded after a year. I watched my friend land one single engine. the other prop wouldnt come out of feather.

 

[xdays]

the travel airs are hysterical. I heard one is still grounded after a year. I watched my friend land one single engine. the other prop wouldnt come out of feather.

Sounds like the accumulator wasn't serviced. Samething happened to me 36 years ago!!

 

[DX Rick]

Sounds like the accumulator wasn't serviced. Samething happened to me 36 years ago!!

The prop wouldnt come out of feather and it had been shut down. The owner or the flight school wanted me to go and start it because he was going to try and get it to come out, then try and fly it to his mx about 15 minutes south of us. Why not just have the FBO mechanics work on it? Because he would have to pay them.

 

[staledog]

Yeah I heard that the MX on the plane that crashed was 4$h1t

yeah i have probably a hundred hours in that plane and i am really surprised it took this long for something like this to happen. there are a whole fleet of warriors identical to that one at 06C and they all suck. looking back i don't know how i survived there a whole year as a flight instructor. the owner of the place is shady, that's for sure.

good times.

:cartman:

and of course this is pure speculation but i would really doubt if the plane "took off with no fuel".

 

[AC560]

and of course this is pure speculation but i would really doubt if the plane "took off with no fuel".

The FAA was out yesterday looking at the wreck and the plane had fuel in the lines/carb.

Apparently the flight school does not do 100 hours on their planes and that they have some sort of loophole or exception from the FAA allowing this. Anyone know anything about this or how it could possibly be legal?

 

[Metro752]

Yes, the flight school at Morris C09 does the same thing, or did while I was flying there, because it is a "club" so the members/customers pay lets say for example, a $300.00 deposit for membership, and monthly dues of like $20 along with the hourly rental costs.

There is something somewhere that says this is an OK way to get past doing 100 hour inspections. It's not "getting past" doing them, it's not being required to do so.

I personally think if it's a business like a flight school more than a flying club, you should be doing 100 hours, especially in the case of the FBO at Morris, which has it's own MX Hangar and services.

That's just my no-experiance opinion working at an FBO. So it's worth what you are paying to hear it.

 

[DX Rick]

The FAA was out yesterday looking at the wreck and the plane had fuel in the lines/carb.

Apparently the flight school does not do 100 hours on their planes and that they have some sort of loophole or exception from the FAA allowing this. Anyone know anything about this or how it could possibly be legal?

The owner changed it to a club so he could bypass the 100 hour inspections, all he is required to do now is 50 hour oil changes and annuals......which seem to be just a sign off in the log book. If you flew ANY of his planes, you would see clearly he never has mx done. The squawk book is loaded with reoccuring squawks.

When he converted to a club, he then let all the CFI's go, and let them come back as private contractors, so he is not responsible for them if something like this happen.

MC, the owner, told the media there was no fuel on board, and said that his mx is above industry standand. What he really ment to say was "The plane had plenty of fuel, but my mx sucks!" He did it as a diversion.

I have seen typical flight school airplanes, but this places NWA is just down right sickening.

Knowing the owner, I would not be suprised if he tried to get money out of the CFI and student for this. It's not the first airplane he has lost, and it wont be his last. Before this incident happened there had been word that he would file bankruptcy, so he wouldnt have to pay off all his bills and people he owes....LIKE ME!!! and get a new certificate under a new name.

I wish the FBO would start renting out planes again, SB the owner of NWF had a beautiful Arrow I used to rent, but the owner of the flight school had his buddies at city hall block him from competing with MC. SB was even going to rent out his King Air, Areostar and an apache.....all REALLY nice airplanes.

MC was ok at giving out free flight time, usually doing repo flights or parts runs, but the crap he gave you on the side wasn;t worth it. He would smile sunshine up your arse all day long, then the second you turn your back he would stab you. When guys got hired on at the airlines and leave, MC would tell those students " Joe was fired because he wasn't a good CFI"

All in all, if you're looking for a flight school in the Chicago area, stay away from here. STAY FAR FAR AWAY!! Look in Aurora. DPA is too expensive, although Fox Aviation has some pretty decent planes.

 

[flyboyzz1]

Just got rid of all that I wrote on this post. Dont want to get involved. Everone knows everything though about everything..... or do they?

 

[Burt Reynolds]

Wow, I'm glad that I didn't get hired there. All that I remember about the owner was that he was kind a di¢k about the fact that I had gone to a part 141 school for most of my training... Good restaurant upstairs though...

 

[H.Agenda]

Just got rid of all that I wrote on this post. Dont want to get involved. Everone knows everything though about everything..... or do they?

Why did you delete your posts?

 

[FN FAL]

So what's the conclusion?

So far we've got concurring statements that have pretty much said "Everybody knows the maintenance was bad..."

So, what does that mean?

Does that mean that everybody knew the maintenance was bad, but failed to act in notifying this CFI that wound up in the piper crash?

Or...

Does it mean that the CFI knew just like everybody else and flew the plane anyway?

 

[flyboyzz1]

so far the NTSB has said there is nothing wrong with the engine or airframe

 

[H.Agenda]

So what's the conclusion?

So far we've got concurring statements that have pretty much said "Everybody knows the maintenance was bad..."

So, what does that mean?

Does that mean that everybody knew the maintenance was bad, but failed to act in notifying this CFI that wound up in the piper crash?

Or...

Does it mean that the CFI knew just like everybody else and flew the plane anyway?

The conclusion we will find from the FAA. Records indicates that he took at least 4 hours of fuel.

Few flight school planes are what anyone would consider pristinely maintained.

 

[FN FAL]

The conclusion we will find from the FAA. Records indicates that he took at least 4 hours of fuel.

I'm not talking about FAA conclusions or fuel reciepts, I'm just wondering why someone would publicly admit to the knowledge of danger and fail to act.

 

[H.Agenda]

I'm not talking about FAA conclusions or fuel reciepts, I'm just wondering why someone would publicly admit to the knowledge of danger and fail to act.

who did?

 

[DX Rick]

I'm not talking about FAA conclusions or fuel reciepts, I'm just wondering why someone would publicly admit to the knowledge of danger and fail to act.

They might have had "We're ok this time, but we better get it fixed when we get back" syndrome.