Beech Bonanza Down - Seneca College

[KAG]

I remember walking into school one morning to discover a fellow student, whom I walked out to the plane the night before had crashed. He and his brother were killed 2 weeks before Christmas.
Accidents in aviation hit close to home, and it's made worse knowing they were young students, and a young man about to be married. Lives cut short, this sucks.

I truly feel for their family, friends and classmates.

Fly safe everyone.

[ng78]

As a long time reader of the forums I understand some of the mixed feelings some may have towards the college and program itself. Thank you everyone for putting those thoughts aside and offering your condolences, thoughts and prayers in this matter. This is the first real aviation related accident for most of the students at Seneca College and knowing that you all share our feelings in this matter is comforting as we mourn the loss of our close friends.

Stay Safe,

Gustin, it is SOP in the industry to poke fun at Seneca students and graduates. Having said that, I personally know many and flown with a few Seneca students and grads, and without exception they are all top notch individuals, yourself included.

I hope that everybody in the program stays strong and continues to work hard towards fulfilling their dreams. It's a tough industry, and its knocks are greater than most, but so are the rewards. Never forget that, and of course never forget the memories you had with your three friends.

[Hedley]

We try tend to pretend otherwise, but Aviation is a dangerous business.

It is a fact of physics that going hundreds of miles and hour, and travelling up thousands of feet in the air, is more hazardous than sitting motionless in a cube. And then toss in nasty wx (icing, Cb's), night time, and mechanical problems. Sometimes you can get away with mistakes, and sometimes you can't. And sometimes, even if you are doing everything perfectly, you are going to be randomly selected for a very nasty test, and it's up to you to see if you can figure out how to pass it. In life, first comes the test, then the lesson.

You're going to lose a lot of friends (and acquaintances) over the decades.

[Capt. Underpants]

Thankfully, we lose fewer colleagues today than we used to when I started 37 years ago. But it only takes one to leave a mark on you. I remember the first time I lost a colleague and friend. I was on duty at the airport manager's office and I took the call from Trenton RCC after his aircraft disappeared off radar. There is no worse feeling than the dread that suddenly came over me. The only other time I've felt that feeling is when I was told my father had cancer.

To the family, friends and classmates of the pilots from Seneca, I offer my deepest sympathies. Even though they are gone, they will always live on in your memories.

[aviatrixfss]

My deepest condolences to the families, friends, classmates, and instructors of these young pilots.

Cheryl Richard
Class of '89

[howard40]

I wondered a bit about a goose or duck, at that end of the city at that time of night. Often I think of something breaking on these steep and fast deals, elevator loss, cable loss etc. it will hopefully eventually come out. Heaven forbid , surely it was not aerobatics. From the sounds of it , this plane had some very serious ,level headed students and an instructor that had a lot going for him. Seneca does not suffer fools long , they are screened out before they get to a cockpit, or shortly thereafter if they do make it. hmmm

[cyrus]

My condolences go out to the family and friends of our late brethren and to the staff and students of the Seneca College aviation program. May we all learn something from this terrible tragedy.

[x15]

A memorial for those that died will be held today (November 26th 2010) at Seneca College Buttonville campus between 1500 and 1600 UTC. The proceedings will be simulcast at the link below.


https://inside.senecac.on.ca/memorial/index.html

[Zhangy]

A friend of mine was killed in that plane. I want to find out what had killed her. Bird Strike? Engine Failure?

[bizjets101]

At this time, unfortunately there isn't much released to the public.

Fortunately we have very experienced investigators, investigations are very in-depth and time consuming, however with time - all the details they uncover will be released to the public.

Officially this is all that has been released;

The Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology Beech F33A aircraft (C-GSCZ) was on a local VFR flight in the vicinity of Toronto (Buttonville) Municipal Airport (CYKZ). The aircraft was observed on radar descending and finally dropping off the radar at 2344Z at 43º53'48"N / 079º08'10"W. J.R.C.C. Trenton Search and Rescue and York Regional Police searched and found the aircraft in a field 10NM east of Toronto (Buttonville) Municipal Airport (CYKZ), south of Highway 407 and west of Side Road 24. The three souls on board were deceased.

UPDATE Supplemental information received from a member of the public: Between 2245Z and 2300Z on Nov 18, 2010, the witness was stopped while making a left turn at the corner of Fincham Ave. and 16th Ave. in Markham. The witness noticed an aircraft flying very low to his left. The direction and altitude were not the usual pattern for aircraft in the area. The aircraft was flying very low and relatively fast but the wings appeared to be level.

UPDATE Supplemental information received from A.O.D.R. 126550-V2: The flight crew of C-GSCZ called Buttonville Tower staff when the aircraft was 15NM east of Toronto (Buttonville) Municipal Airport (CYKZ) to request a simulated RNAV approach for runway 33. Buttonville Tower staff provided instructions to which the flight crew replied "stand by." The radar indicated that the aircraft turned from a west heading to the north and climbed from an altitude of 2,500 feet to 2,800 feet, then the transponder return was lost. There were no further replies from the flight crew to calls by Buttonville Tower staff. The airport weather was good visual meteorological conditions but snow streamers were subsequently reported by the flight crew of a police helicopter east of the field in the general area of the lost target.

UPDATE Supplemental information received from T.S.B. Initial Notification [#A10O0240]: The Seneca College Beechcraft Bonanza F33A (C-GSCZ) was en-route to Toronto (Buttonville) Municipal Airport when radar contact was lost 15 nautical miles east of Toronto (Buttonville) Municipal Airport. The aircraft was substantially damaged and all three occupants on board were fatally injured. T.S.B. staff dispatched two investigators to the accident site. Note: Transport Canada subsequently appointed a Minister's Observer for this Class III accident investigation.

----------------------------------------------------------

Aircraft was found 5km from last radar contact, witness viewed an aircraft at the time flying low and fast, and the police helicopter reported snow streamers.

The accident's details will eventually be known, weather may play a big part (icing), but everything is speculative at this time.

[pelmet]

Findings as to Causes and Contributing Factors
1.After encountering adverse weather conditions, a climbing right turn was initiated. During the climbing turn, engine power was likely not increased and the airspeed decayed. The angle of attack on the left wing was allowed to increase until it stalled and dropped unexpectedly.
2.The location of the flight instruments made it more difficult for the instructor in the right seat to see and react to them and control of the aircraft was not regained before the aircraft struck the ground in a non–survivable impact.


http://tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/a ... 0o0240.asp

[PilotDAR]

During the climbing turn, engine power was likely not increased and the airspeed decayed. The angle of attack on the left wing was allowed to increase until it stalled and dropped unexpectedly.

Hmmm... Climbing turn, airspeed decays AoA on one wing increases to the stall, wing drop should be expected.

The location of the flight instruments made it more difficult for the instructor in the right seat to see and react to them and control of the aircraft was not regained

Hmmm again, should a right seat instructor need instruments to recognize approach to stall in a training aircraft?