3 CAP pilots killed outside of TYS

[d328pilot]

I just saw it in the news. It said that 3 CAP pilots were killed in a crash in Anderson Co., just outside of Knoxville, TN. Anyone have any more info? I will pass along more if I hear.

 

[d328pilot]

They crashed during a mountain flying clinic yesterday. They were from east TN. No names released.

 

[Typhoon1244]

Oh my god. I was in the Civil Air Patrol in Knoxville. Does anybody know who they were? Is there any more information anywhere?

 

[alvin]

Here's a link to the info..

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_1321252,00.html



Three Civil Air Patrol pilots who died in a weekend crash were identified Monday.

Killed in the Saturday crash were Gerald McLinn, 47, of Knoxville; Chuck Hall, 39, of Maryville; and Fred Vatcher, 64, of Dyersburg.

.....

What else do you say...Thoughts to friends and relatives...

Fly safe

 

[ukcats]

Very sad news. The crash happened not far from where my parents live. To make it even more sad, found out this morning that Chuck Hall was a fellow Netjet pilot. My heart goes out to his family. If any other Netjet folks know anything about a collection for his family or anything, send me a private message so I can contribute.

 

[TedCFII]

I from that area was a CFI out of TYS and still live there. I have been on my 4 days of Continuous-Duty Overnights.. when I go home this weekend I'll see if I can find out more details.


My thoughts and prayers to the families and friends.

 

[JediNein]

This crash is a reminder to all of us that we are not immune to Nature, no matter what the qualifications and certificates we hold.

Fly SAFE!
Jedi Nein
newly rated C.A.P. Mission Pilot

 

[TedCFII]

Speculating

Some of the local guys who flew the same afternoon said that it was very hazy in the hills (typical summer in E.Tenn). A few folks seem to "think" that it was spatial disorientation. Another speculated that maybe an up/down draft caught them.


Again this is all different peoples "opinions" from what little information has been dismenated. We all know that until the "Official NTSB Report" is finalized we can speculate all day. And still come up with nothing.

 

[TDTURBO]

What worries me is I own a 182, I hate to see people die flying them, or anything else for that matter. It seems very unlikely that they would have succumbed to spatial disorientation with their qualifications, but I can see that they may have flown into terrain due the marginal visibility.

 

[ShawnC]

Ted the problem is that we might never know. If it had nothing to do with the aircraft, often the NTSB determining the cause is like shooting at a dart board because they have no other hard evidence to go by.

Unless someone say it, or they made a mayday transmission I think we will never know the true cause of the accident.

 

[Typhoon1244]

Chuck had just "graduated" from the cadet program when I joined the C.A.P. McGhee Tyson Composite Squadron was like a big family. We're all going to miss Chuck very much.

 

[KingAirer]

The synopsis is now available on NTSB.gov. The other fatal accident that week was a friend of mine.