Sad news for Freight

[Geronimo]

KMOV.com now has a picture up on their website of another Grand Aire aircraft down in the Mississippi near STL. Toledo news is reporting the same. Two Falcons in one say; unbelievable.

joe

Here is a news link on the second crash. Not much info yet.

http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_artic...p?storyid=38559

 

[averyrm]

WTOL just released names, I knew two of the pilots on board.

Prayers be with their families.

 

[Otter]

An article in the Toledo Blade indicated that the second crash had a report of low fuel prior to getting wet. I believe the flight was Del Rio to Lambert Field. 5,000 ft departure runway for the CF700, most likely would be low on fuel.

I hope the two surving crewmembers recover, and prayers go out to the three familes of the deceased.

 

[flx757]

This is an excerpt from an article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch regarding the second accident.

Grand Aire Flight 179 was en route to Lambert from Del Rio, Texas, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory.

The aircraft was ordered to land on Runway 30-Right, but poor visibility and rain forced controllers at the Lambert tower to send the plane around and try to land a second time.

While circling above St. Louis, the crew radioed air traffic controllers that the plane was critically low on fuel, an FAA source said. The Falcon 20 turbo jet crashed into the river about 6:30 p.m., FAA officials said.


I like the way the aircraft was ordered to land on Rwy 30R, then the visibility forced controllers to send the plane around.

 

[Buckeye]

I believe this is the fourth or fifth Falcon that they have crashed in the last 5 years, not to mention the Metroliner and Piper Aerostar. I hate to see young people on their way up in avaition lose their life or license flying for an outfit such as this. I am suprised that they will be able to get insurance or keep their certificate aftyer this. Does any one know if the gentlemen in the jumpseat was a check airman? Fly safe, and my thoughts and prayers go out to those families.

 

[SW4guy]

My prayers for their families. I know Grand Air very well. All thier pilots are a good bunch of guys just trying to make it in this industry and they shouldn't have to pay with their lives to do so. I have seen a lot of low timers driving around thier Metroliners and Falcons. The guy that owns that place is an Indian fellow. He loves money and will do whatever it takes to make it. Talking to their pilots at various airports, they all are concerned about how terrible the maint is. Yet they can't leave because nobody is hiring. I think the crew should make the final go/no go decision, and not the owner.

 

[FR8dognit]

I've picked up in Del Rio three times this week...seat covers...151 bags each time...the weight was around 2200 lbs each time and in a falcon 20 you can only take off at about 23,800 gross weight...every time I go anywhere we have to stop for gas in SAT or at least the Dallas area. Don't know how much freight they had but streching fuel is bad

 

[Buckeye]

I was doing a little research on Grand Aire and their safety record, they have wrecked 4 other falcons since 1998, all non-fatal. Plus these 2 makes 6 and a fatality. They also had a fatal crash this past summer (02). It was a PA-60. Is the problem, MX, training or under qualified pilots?

 

[embdrvr]

I was doing a little research on Grand Aire and their safety record, they have wrecked 4 other falcons since 1998, all non-fatal. Plus these 2 makes 6 and a fatality. They also had a fatal crash this past summer (02). It was a PA-60. Is the problem, MX, training or under qualified pilots?

I don't know squat about Grand Aire but I can tell you from personal experience the FAA often allows companies to stay in business that shouldn't be operating. A buddy of mine once explained that the if the Feds shut down unsafe operators there would be fewer inspector jobs so basically the Feds let these guys continue on with an occasional slap on the wrist just so they can keep their jobs.

 

[Fred Rabahabitz]

Unbelievable...a sh*t company crashes two airplanes in the same day and you have the audacity to blame the FAA....WOW...truly unbelievable