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SLC #2 Airport Accident 7/24

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Spooky 1

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 28, 2004
Posts
987
Anyone have the details regarding an accident yesterday, Sunday the 24th at SLC Airport #2. Mooney taking off crashed killing ?? A retired WAL/DAL pilot was listed as a passenger. Any info would be appreciated.
 
Spooky 1 said:
Anyone have the details regarding an accident yesterday, Sunday the 24th at SLC Airport #2. Mooney taking off crashed killing ?? A retired WAL/DAL pilot was listed as a passenger. Any info would be appreciated.


It was an early 60's Beech Bonanza. Pilot 75 years of age, wife in 60's, both from California. Another passenger was from Evanston, Wyoming. They had attended a wedding here on Friday, and we're enroute to Oshkosh. The passengers wife, stayed at the airport & witnessed the accident.

On departing Runway 16, there is evidence of possible wind direction change, but I don't know. A witness said the wings were "teetering", which of course is evidence of an oncoming stall. The aircraft hit the ground, cartwheeled through the airport fence, and split in two, before being engaulfed in flames.


I live in the first subdivision west of the airport, and the plane came to rest in the median against the street that runs behind my home. The Runway is about two blocks east.

I had been doing yardwark, and went into the house just a few minutes before this occured at around 4:00PM. Did not know anything had happened (thanks to snoozing) until around 6:00 to find the street blocked off, an NTSB motorhome & everything else. Just the way people were surrounding the scene, I figured an airplane must have crashed, although nothing was sitting high enough above the ground surface to see from my vantage point.

I went by, at around 8:00 PM when the road was re-opened. The crash scene was still in place for the NTSB investigation. Not much recognizable parts; a door, wheel, and portion of the tail. Note: might be a V-tail model.

Of course, when I hear of a plane stalling on departure, 4600' elevation runway/95 degrees, and pilots from a sea-level area, I always think of "mixture" & leaning during runup; but as some have suggested, the wind could have played apart. I really just don't know.
 
The rumours of today, is that it could have indeed been a density altitude/ takeoff performance problem, considering the pilot was use to taking off at near sea level in California.

I don't know what the density altitude figured at yesterday, but can assume it's in the 6-7000' range (U-42 4603'/95 degrees).

As an example, a Piper Archers mixture knob, could easily be pulled nearly 1/2 the way back (leaned) before takeoff. The lost performance at full rich is very measurable.
 

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