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NTSB report finds inconsistencies in pilot's record
07/08/2006
Associated Press
The Yamhill County man who was piloting a plan that crashed last year in Hillsboro, killing four people, may have used false identification to get a new pilot's license, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report.
Michael McCartney may have also played up his flight experience on federal aviation documents, The Oregonian reported in its Saturday editions.
McCartney was flying with his wife, Pam, and friends Art and Jean Pogrell of Cedar Mill when they crashed seconds after takeoff from Hillsboro Airport on May 24, 2005. Everyone onboard was killed.
McCartney was piloting his Mitsubishi, two-engine MU-2 on a flight to Salem when it spun to the ground after climbing to about 1,000 feet.
The plane is considered difficult to handle in emergency conditions without special training. NTSB investigator Debra Eckrote said earlier that McCartney, 60, had not received any special training before taking the plane's controls.
The NTSB report contains no conclusions about the likely cause of the crash. That may come before the end of the year, said Keith Holloway, an NTSB spokesman in Washington, D.C.
But the safety board report does note that a manager with an Oklahoma company that worked on the plane after McCartney bought it thought McCartney handled the controls like a student pilot and urged him to take the classes before flying it alone.
The safety board's report also says McCartney, who with his wife owned Max Aviation & Development near Newberg, lost his commercial flying certificate in January 1985. The report offers few specifics, saying only that it was "under suspension for several regulation violations and was subsequently revoked."
McCartney reapplied for a license in 1987 using a slightly different name and Social Security number. He listed his first name as "Mychal" and provided a Social Security number ending in 0688 rather than 0866.
Knowingly using a false Social Security number violates federal law.
Holly Baker, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Atlanta, said FAA rules allow for relicensing under some circumstances after one year, she said. Baker added that the change in McCartney's name spelling, while unusual, would not necessarily violate FAA standards if the name was changed legally.
On filing for a new flight license under a different Social Security number, she said, "that's definitely unusual."
Investigators also note that McCartney's listing of his hours of flying experience varied greatly.
In May 1989, the report notes, McCartney said he had 7,500 hours of flight time, with none in the preceding six months. Eighteen months later, he said he had 13,000 hours with only 50 hours flown in the preceding six months, the report said.
Investigators examined flight logs McCartney completed and found his actual flight time, both as a pilot and a co-pilot, was about 2,170 hours in all aircraft.
___ Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com
http://www.kgw.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8IO15HO3.html
07/08/2006
Associated Press
The Yamhill County man who was piloting a plan that crashed last year in Hillsboro, killing four people, may have used false identification to get a new pilot's license, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report.
Michael McCartney may have also played up his flight experience on federal aviation documents, The Oregonian reported in its Saturday editions.
McCartney was flying with his wife, Pam, and friends Art and Jean Pogrell of Cedar Mill when they crashed seconds after takeoff from Hillsboro Airport on May 24, 2005. Everyone onboard was killed.
McCartney was piloting his Mitsubishi, two-engine MU-2 on a flight to Salem when it spun to the ground after climbing to about 1,000 feet.
The plane is considered difficult to handle in emergency conditions without special training. NTSB investigator Debra Eckrote said earlier that McCartney, 60, had not received any special training before taking the plane's controls.
The NTSB report contains no conclusions about the likely cause of the crash. That may come before the end of the year, said Keith Holloway, an NTSB spokesman in Washington, D.C.
But the safety board report does note that a manager with an Oklahoma company that worked on the plane after McCartney bought it thought McCartney handled the controls like a student pilot and urged him to take the classes before flying it alone.
The safety board's report also says McCartney, who with his wife owned Max Aviation & Development near Newberg, lost his commercial flying certificate in January 1985. The report offers few specifics, saying only that it was "under suspension for several regulation violations and was subsequently revoked."
McCartney reapplied for a license in 1987 using a slightly different name and Social Security number. He listed his first name as "Mychal" and provided a Social Security number ending in 0688 rather than 0866.
Knowingly using a false Social Security number violates federal law.
Holly Baker, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Atlanta, said FAA rules allow for relicensing under some circumstances after one year, she said. Baker added that the change in McCartney's name spelling, while unusual, would not necessarily violate FAA standards if the name was changed legally.
On filing for a new flight license under a different Social Security number, she said, "that's definitely unusual."
Investigators also note that McCartney's listing of his hours of flying experience varied greatly.
In May 1989, the report notes, McCartney said he had 7,500 hours of flight time, with none in the preceding six months. Eighteen months later, he said he had 13,000 hours with only 50 hours flown in the preceding six months, the report said.
Investigators examined flight logs McCartney completed and found his actual flight time, both as a pilot and a co-pilot, was about 2,170 hours in all aircraft.
___ Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com
http://www.kgw.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8IO15HO3.html
