PC 12 down???

[pc12_driver]

Anyone have any info on the PC12 that went down in PA? I would appreciate any news.

 

[LXJ31]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=616812

Sounds like an owner-flown deal. Don't know if its a PC-12, Piper Meridian or maybe a Caravan.

EDIT: Nevermind, it was a Pilatus.

http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/breaking_news/11239189.htm

Here is the weather around the time of the accident at State College, PA:

KUNV 262000Z AUTO 15004KT 5SM HZ OVC015 04/01 A3010 RMK AO2
KUNV 261940Z AUTO 12003KT 10SM OVC015 04/00 A3009 RMK AO2
KUNV 261920Z AUTO 11003KT 10SM OVC017 04/00 A3010 RMK AO2
KUNV 261900Z AUTO 13003KT 10SM OVC017 04/00 A3010 RMK AO2
KUNV 261840Z AUTO 11005KT 10SM OVC017 04/00 A3011 RMK AO2
KUNV 261820Z AUTO 11005KT 10SM OVC017 04/00 A3011 RMK AO2
KUNV 261800Z AUTO 14004KT 10SM OVC017 04/00 A3011 RMK AO2

Pretty good weather, the early word is ice brought it down. Engine ice ingestion? I haven't flown a PC-12 in a long time, but I seem to recall opening a bypass in icing conditions. Anyone familiar?

 

[SabreFlyR]

From two different reports.


The plane was manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. and registered to J2W Aviation LLC in Providence, R.I. A phone listing for J2W Aviation could not immediately be located.
BELLEFONTE, Pa. Mar 26, 2005 — A small plane carrying two families to a college lacrosse game crashed Saturday, killing all six people aboard, authorities said. The two families from Rhode Island had been on vacation in Florida and were going to Penn State University to watch pilot Jeffrey Jacober's son play in a lacrosse game, according to a family friend.

Witnesses said the single-engine plane sputtered and hit the ground nose-first near a construction site, less than 10 miles from the airport in State College, said Tim Boyde, a Centre County official who was at the scene.

Officials believe icing may have contributed to the crash, Boyde said. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board planned to investigate.




The pilot was attempting an instrument landing approach when the plane went down, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Les Dorr said.

The dead were identified as Jacober, 51, of Providence, R.I.; his wife Karen, 49; their son Eric, 15; Gregg Weingeroff, 49; his wife Dawn; and their 10-year-old son Leland, said Carl Freedman, a family friend and attorney for both men.

Weingeroff operated Weingeroff Enterprises, a Cranston, R.I.-based jewelry business with 140 employees.

Jacober was president of Ocean Group Inc., a medical supply wholesaler, and operated Medport LLC, a manufacturer of health care products doing business as Vita Minder

 

[Benny Hill]

PC-12

s/n 299

N770G

 

[LXJ31]

Icing PIREPS for the last 12 hours for a 50nm circle around KUNV. The first one is telling.

Raw text PIREPs

UNV UUA /OV KUNV/TM 1830/FL040/TP BE95/SK OVC 017/TA M05/IC SEV RIME/RM ZNY CWSU
CXY UA /OV HAR/TM 2000/FL040/TP C182/SK UNKN/IC LGT RIME 040-050 30NMR HAR
UNV UA /OV UNV/TM 2050/FL070/TP H25C/WX CLR/IC LGT 070-040/RM DECENDING INTO UNV ZNY CWSU
AOO UA /OV JST-AOO/TM 2230/FL050/TP C421/SK OVC008-TOP050/TA +3 050/IC NEG
UNV UUA /OV UNV/TM 2345/FL050/TP C172/IC SEV 050-SFC/RM RECEIVED REPORT AT 0133 ZNY CWSU
UNV UA /OV UNV /TM 0200 /FL DURD /TP PC12 /IC LGT-MOD CLR 050 BLO

 

[Groundpounder]

Wow. I used to see that aircraft all the time when I worked in MHT. It was based at PVD.

 

[mainah]

Is this the first fatal PC-12 crash. When I used to fly one I seemed to remember hearing about no fatalities. Maybe I heard wrong, anyone know? Either way, sad to hear about. Best wishes to the families of the deceased.

 

[VA AV8R]

My understanding is that this is the first fatal PC-12 crash. There have been several incidents (read: poweplant failures) as of late though. Pilatus is looking at a redesign of part of the FCU as a result.

As with other turboprops, the inertial seperator is opened during flight in potential icing conditions. Opinion seems to differ (as usual) amongst pilots as to what constitutes those conditions even though the AFM is fairly specific.

The airplane is attractive to pilot-owners for a variety of reasons, too bad most of them don't take the time to learn how to fly it very well.

 

[KeroseneSnorter]

I believe there was a fatal crash in Az a few years back. pilot error was the cause if I remember correct.

 

[cessna_driver2]

There was one in MO coming out of the lake of the Ozarks about 2.5 yrs ago or so. Two Fatalities.

 

[xrated]

Hadn't heard about a fatal PC-12 accident in AZ but years back, right after the PC-12 hit the streets, I believe there was a fatal crash in Africa.

Word was a guy was flying along and got into a split flap situation. The system worked, and shut the flap motor off. Back in the early models there was a flap override system where you could override the flap computer. (I think it was called alternate flaps) He did so and lowered the one good flap further, essencially worsening the split. Don't think the guy survived so they couldn't ask what the hel! he was thinking, but he rolled it in and killed himself and one other....If I recall correctly. I remember in PC-12 training at Simcom, they said the thing could fly with a full split, but then again this particular pilot probably wasn't a test pilot.

Because of the accident, Pilatus removed the alternate flap system.

"haven't flown a PC-12 in a long time, but I seem to recall opening a bypass in icing conditions. Anyone familiar?"


Hey LXJ31, the reason you don't remember opening the "inertial separator" in icing conditions is because you Gallup boys were so afraid to fly in the ice, you would always cancel the flights and you didn't have to worry about it. I know you got the best training money could buy. In addition, your instructors were some of the best pilots in the world, so you should be able take the knowledge you gained to the grave.

 

[JB74]

There was one in MO coming out of the lake of the Ozarks about 2.5 yrs ago or so. Two Fatalities.

Here is the link, the only prior fatal according to the NTSB's database.

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20020927X05238&key=1

 

[mainah]

There was one in MO coming out of the lake of the Ozarks about 2.5 yrs ago or so. Two Fatalities.

I knew they were blowing smoke about no fatalities. That'll teach me to listen to the salesman.

 

[Flyin Tony]

UNV UUA /OV KUNV/TM 1830/FL040/TP BE95/SK OVC 017/TA M05/IC SEV RIME/RM ZNY CWSU

Anyone thats going to go fly in that is nuts (whats a BE95?)

 

[imacdog]

A BE95 is a Travel Air.

 

[Flyin Tony]

Thanks, then if im in a 747 I would try it. But wouldnt you think if your in a light plane picking up that much ice you would be going down

 

[McNugent]

I'm surprised the Travel Air made it out of that.

 

[McNugent]

Anyone flying a Travel Air through that is nuts.

 

[imacdog]

Through what? An overcast sky with the possibility of icing? Out of all the pilot reports listed the Travel Air was the only one reporting severe ice. Unfortunately there are no listed reports before the Beech to compare to but taking off into forcast light-moderate icing conditions is a part of life. If the Beech wasn't equipped for anti/deicing then it wouldn't have been a good idea but who knows what ice reports the Beech pilot had access to.

 

[McNugent]

Good point...