Two MKE Air Cargo Carrier Inc. Shorts Collide in WI.

[FN FAL]

didn't they have a mid-air a few years ago?

No, ACC did not have another mid-air a few years ago. The only other incident mentioned by the Milwaukee Journal is a runway overrun in Canada a few years back. M. Journal said both pilots were critically injured.

 

[Lostdog65]

Having flown the SD3 it can be akin to pig wrestling when it comes to turns and such. That said, with or without an autopilot, I found it a fun plane to fly. Sure, it's ugly but it's slow!

My condolences to the family's of those who have suffered a loss. My prayers are for you and yours.

Eric

 

[FN FAL]

The Jefferson County coroner said that the three people killed in a collision were two men and a woman. Coroner Patrick Theder said that the victims were from outside Wisconsin. The victims were identified as Robert Chabot, 25, from Texas, and a married couple -- Todd Hagen, 42, and Tracy Marshall-Hagen, 37 -- from Essex Junction, Vt., WISC-TV reported.


The crash occurred when one of the two fixed-wing cargo planes -- know as short 360s -- collided with the other, broke apart and slammed into a farm field near Watertown, killing all three aboard.


The other plane was damaged, but managed to fly to the Dodge County Airport in Juneau. The three aboard that craft escaped injury.


Jeff Baum, the president of Wisconsin Aviation in Watertown, said that the planes had taken off from Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport and were supposed to land back at Mitchell.


The National Transportation Safety Board investigators said that the planes were making a final test run before heading into service in Iraq on defense contract, WISC-TV reported.


NTSB officials said that the planes were getting ready to go to Iraq and were checking some new fuel tanks that had been added for the long flight...
"Mission was a final check of the fuel systems and all other systems on board the airplane -- and this information is being relayed by the company to us -- before they were supposed to be dispatched for their journey across the Atlantic Ocean," said Todd Fox, NTSB investigator from the West Chicago Field Office.


They were just scheduled to fly for a couple hours -- from Milwaukee to north of Madison and back. The planes were also photographing one another from close range when the plane that eventually crashed and turned sharply into the other plane, WISC-TV reported.


Investigators didn't saying why the crews were taking the pictures, but those photos and some video from the plane that landed safely have been sent to the NTSB's national office for further analysis, WISC-TV reported.
The NTSB is expected to have a preliminary report on the crash by week's end.

......

 

[luvz2fli]

Our thoughts and prayers go out to those involved.

 

[Lrjtcaptain]

anyone know the N numbers, ive gots some stick time on a few of ACC SD3's.

 

[BlueEagle19]

First of all, my condolences to the family's and friends.
I heard the rumor that the 2nd crew could potentially face 3 counts of manslaughter??
Hope thats not true....

 

[Limeyflyer]

that news footage is crazy, At least the one made it in as safe as possible

 

[El Guapo]

N-number

The news clip shows the airplane that made it back safely as N367AC, I personally have roughly 500 hours in that plane alone. It was one of the former Quantas birds. Bless those that didn't make it.

 

[414Flyer]

The news clip shows the airplane that made it back safely as N367AC, I personally have roughly 500 hours in that plane alone. It was one of the former Quantas birds. Bless those that didn't make it.

That does not look correct from the photo i saw.

 

[MAJIC9]

tail numbers

N3735w, A Shorts Sd3-60-100 Acft Crashed And Burned After A Midair
Collision With Another Acft, N372ac, A Shorts Sd3-60, Three Persons In
N3735w Were Fatally Injured, N372ac Landed Without Incident, 14 Ssw Of
Juneau, Wi

 

[IdRtherBsailing]

I worked there for about 3 years and I can say that the guy flying the plane that went down is one of the finest ACC has. My prayers are with the families.

On another note, I know it was one of the quantis 360's but I did'nt think it was 367AC. I've got alot of time in that one too. I work next door now for Airwilly. I have noticed when I am at our MKE hangar that they bought more Aussie 360's

 

[FN FAL]

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/news/img/feb06/crash2020706.jpg

There's a picture of the one that landed at UNU.



​

Planes were circling each other at time of collision

By LARRY SANDLER and TOM HELD


Posted: Feb. 6, 2006

Juneau - The two cargo planes that collided near Watertown were circling and taking pictures of each other on a final shakedown flight before a scheduled Monday departure for service in Iraq, a federal transportation official said.

Its landing gear apparently disabled by the midair collision, this Air Cargo Carriers plane limped to the Dodge County Airport and landed on its belly.


The Shorts 360 planes, owned by Milwaukee-based Air Cargo Carriers Inc., had been fitted recently with extended-range fuel systems for the work in Iraq, said Todd Fox, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator. Their pending mission in Iraq was part of a contract with the U.S. Defense Department.

The planes left Mitchell International Airport around 4 p.m. Sunday. The flights were intended as a final check of those systems and a picture-taking opportunity.

Before the crash, the crews had been taking still and video pictures as one of the planes circled the other, Fox told reporters at the Dodge County Airport in Juneau. Fox said he did not know how the company had planned to use the pictures.

As one of the planes circled, it collided with the other plane.
The circling craft was disabled and crashed, killing Robert Chabot, 25, of Plano, Texas; Todd Hagan, 42, of Essex Junction, Vt.; and his wife, Tracy Marshall Hagan, 37.

Chabot had worked for Air Cargo Carriers for about three years, according to his sister, Elizabeth Chabot.

After the collision, the other damaged plane limped roughly 20 miles to the Dodge County Airport. With its landing gear apparently disabled by the crash, the plane skidded onto a runway there on its belly around 5:30 p.m. All three people on board survived without injury, authorities said.

The left wing was heavily damaged, Fox said, but he declined to comment on whether that was the spot hit by the other aircraft.

Dodge County Sheriff Todd Nehls identified the survivors as Andrew Lambert, 26, of Chesapeake, Va.; Timothy Vanderploeg, 23, of Allegan, Mich.; and Rudy Nikolao, 52, of Kingston, Va.

Fox said the pilots, co-pilots and passengers had expected to be airborne for up to two hours.

The pictures taken by the surviving air crew now will become evidence in the NTSB investigation, along with Federal Aviation Administration radar data, statements from the survivors and the two aircraft themselves, Fox said. It could take weeks or months to determine the cause of the accident.

 

[FN FAL]

I heard the rumor that the 2nd crew could potentially face 3 counts of manslaughter??

A little bit early for that speculation, aint it?

You face the potential for getting criminally charged in car accident, a sea-doo accident, or while riding your bicycle. Thank legislators for that.

 

[Say Again Over]

Condolences to friends and family, unfortunately flying in formation is better left to the professionals. Didn't the makers of the turbine DC-3 have a similar accident?

 

[FlightTraker]

That is correct, back in 1997 Basler Turbo Conversions of Oshkosh had a mid-air between a photo aircraft and a DC-3. The crash killed Warren Basler.


FlightTraker