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Article Last Updated: 12/16/2004 01:53 AMNTSB recommends immediate changes to Cessna 208B usage By Michael N. Westley
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune After reviewing more than 20 crashes of Cessna 208B aircraft - similar to the accident that killed two men, one of them from Utah - the National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday recommended immediate changes to pilot training and flight takeoff procedures.
The recommendations are the product of an 18-month review of crashes that claimed the lives of at least 36 people and involved Cessna 208B aircraft known to have flown in conditions that caused ice to build up on the plane.
The most recent crash of a Cessna 208B, not included in the study, claimed the lives of two pilots from Idaho-based Salmon Air.
Fred Villanueva, 60, of Farmington and Ray Ingram, 32, of Idaho died Dec. 6 when their Cessna 208B went down in a field as it approached the Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey, Idaho. While the NTSB has not ruled officially on the crash, the report states icing conditions were identified by another pilot who had flown the same route about 20 minutes earlier.
In the study, the NTSB reviewed 21 from a total of 26 icing-related Caravan crashes from 1987 to 2003. The remaining five cases were not included because they took place outside U.S. borders.
The review raised concerns about the plane's design, its cold weather operations and possible deficiencies with its federal certification for flying in icing conditions. The NTSB says its evaluation of the plane's certification and design is ongoing, but in the meantime, it hopes to increase pilot awareness about the plane's vulnerability to ice on its wings.
"These planes should not be flown in icing conditions, period," said Tom Ellis, spokesman for the Nolan Law Group in Chicago. Ellis' firm is currently litigating for family members of four people who died in separate Cessna 208B icing related crashes.
An operating manual for the 208B says the plane's performance suffers greatly when ice accumulates on its wings and urges pilots to avoid flying in icing conditions.
"We're at the bottom rung of the safety ladder with these recommendations," Ellis said. "More needs to be done and I hope the NTSB continues to come out with some tough recommendations."
[email protected]
Advised revisions
l Pilots should undergo annual training for ground de-icing and determining when it is safe to fly.
l The Cessna Aircraft Corp. should work with Cessna 208 operators to develop an effective program for the plane's cold weather operations.
l Pilots and operators of the Cessna 208 should visually and physically inspect the wings and control surfaces of the plane for ice prior to take off.
l A more complete tracking system of pilots' certification for flying the 208B should be put into place.
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune After reviewing more than 20 crashes of Cessna 208B aircraft - similar to the accident that killed two men, one of them from Utah - the National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday recommended immediate changes to pilot training and flight takeoff procedures.
The recommendations are the product of an 18-month review of crashes that claimed the lives of at least 36 people and involved Cessna 208B aircraft known to have flown in conditions that caused ice to build up on the plane.
The most recent crash of a Cessna 208B, not included in the study, claimed the lives of two pilots from Idaho-based Salmon Air.
Fred Villanueva, 60, of Farmington and Ray Ingram, 32, of Idaho died Dec. 6 when their Cessna 208B went down in a field as it approached the Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey, Idaho. While the NTSB has not ruled officially on the crash, the report states icing conditions were identified by another pilot who had flown the same route about 20 minutes earlier.
In the study, the NTSB reviewed 21 from a total of 26 icing-related Caravan crashes from 1987 to 2003. The remaining five cases were not included because they took place outside U.S. borders.
The review raised concerns about the plane's design, its cold weather operations and possible deficiencies with its federal certification for flying in icing conditions. The NTSB says its evaluation of the plane's certification and design is ongoing, but in the meantime, it hopes to increase pilot awareness about the plane's vulnerability to ice on its wings.
"These planes should not be flown in icing conditions, period," said Tom Ellis, spokesman for the Nolan Law Group in Chicago. Ellis' firm is currently litigating for family members of four people who died in separate Cessna 208B icing related crashes.
An operating manual for the 208B says the plane's performance suffers greatly when ice accumulates on its wings and urges pilots to avoid flying in icing conditions.
"We're at the bottom rung of the safety ladder with these recommendations," Ellis said. "More needs to be done and I hope the NTSB continues to come out with some tough recommendations."
[email protected]
Advised revisions
l Pilots should undergo annual training for ground de-icing and determining when it is safe to fly.
l The Cessna Aircraft Corp. should work with Cessna 208 operators to develop an effective program for the plane's cold weather operations.
l Pilots and operators of the Cessna 208 should visually and physically inspect the wings and control surfaces of the plane for ice prior to take off.
l A more complete tracking system of pilots' certification for flying the 208B should be put into place.
