Missing plane Wawa

[boeingboy]

My brother just bought the tail-mounted uAvionix transmitter. I'll probably follow suit... (Installing on RVs...)

Will that be compatible with the mandated Canadian standard? Looks inexpensive, but not sure it's a fit for the satellite-based ADSB. Flown into the US a few times recently, and skirting the occasional 30mi ring is inconvenient.

ADSB does leave a nice breadcrumb trail though, even better that the 2 minute Spot, InReach, Spidertrack, Skytrak though any of those are light years ahead of the old ELT mandate.

If every search could be focused to the most recent tracking ping, would the outcome improve? Would the money saved on searches buy everyone a tracking device?

Tailbeacon X is certified for the mandate.

[flyingdutch]

From the Trenton JRCC twitter feed: After 10 days of searching, #JRCCTrenton has made the difficult decision to suspend the search for a missing Piper Comanche with 2 persons on board. Our thoughts are with family and friends at this difficult time.

[fish4life]

This is why it amazes me that ELT’s are mandatory and expensive but a spot is cheap and will leave a breadcrum right to where you last were

[J31]

Quote: "April 24, 2022 –Canadian Armed Forces - The Air Task Force flew 360 hours and covered approximately 17,300 square kilometers during the search."

I agree. A SPOT or Garmin inReasch transmitting positions would reduce the search area considerably. At 180 mph that search area could have been reduced to less than 2500 square kilometers.

[piperdriver]

Does anyone know if they stopped for fuel in CYAM or CYEL?

[flyingdutch]

Negative on both of those locations. FP routing was CDH6 DCT CYEM DCT CYSP.

[karmutzen]

. At 180 mph that search area could have been reduced to less than 2500 square kilometers.

Even better than that: 2.5 minute pings, 180 mph gives 7.5 miles between pings, unlikely more than .5 mile left or right of projected track, so 8 sq miles - 20 sq kilometres. And each ping gives an altitude as well to reduce that probability patch even further. And the impact survivability is pretty good so it might keep on transmitting even after the crash. All good arguments already made by COPA to TC.

[pelmet]

C-GEWK, a privately registered PA-24-250 (Piper Comanche 250), departed Delhi Aerodrome
(CDH6), Ontario, at approximately 1535 EST on 14 April 2022, with two private pilots on board, for
a VFR flight to Marathon Airport (CYSP), Ontario; the first leg of a flight to Lethbridge Airport
(CYQL), Alberta, where the aircraft would be based following a recent change in ownership. When
the pilots did not report their arrival at CYSP, Nav Canada initiated steps to locate the overdue
aircraft at airports along its proposed route of flight, and via telephone; they were not successful in
locating the aircraft. The last known position of the aircraft was derived from ADS-B data; at 1803
EST the aircraft was approximately 15 nm south of Wawa Airport (CYXZ), Ontario. The JRCC took
over, and searched over the next 10 days with a number of aircraft and helicopters, in addition to
ground searches. The conditions were difficult, as the area included rough terrain with significant
snow cover, and additional snowfall occurred during the early days of the search. On 24 April,
JRCC suspended their search efforts. The search was turned over to the Ontario Provincial Police
as a missing persons case.

[J31]

Double post

[J31]

Looks like they were 15 miles south of Wawa (CYXZ) at 2203Z. Still daylight, but pretty shitty weather to be in VFR.


METAR CYXZ 150000Z 21012G18KT 10SM -SN OVC040 M01/M02 A2953 RMK SC8 /S03/ LAST OBS/NEXT 151100UTC SLP016=

SPECI CYXZ 142309Z 20009G16KT 8SM -SN SCT009 OVC028 M01/M02 A2953 RMK ST3SC5 SLP015=

METAR CYXZ 142300Z 21012KT 8SM -SN BKN009 OVC034 M01/M02 A2953 RMK ST5SC3 SLP016=

SPECI CYXZ 142239Z 21010KT 4SM -SN OVC009 M01/M02 A2953 RMK ST8 SLP016=

SPECI CYXZ 142218Z 22014KT 1 1/4SM -SN VV008 M01/M03 A2953 RMK SN8 SLP015=

SPECI CYXZ 142213Z 22009G17KT 3/8SM SN VV005 M01/M03 A2953 RMK SN8 SLP014=

SPECI CYXZ 142209Z 22011G17KT 5/8SM -SN VV007 M01/M03 A2953 RMK SN8 SLP014=

SPECI CYXZ 142206Z 21012G20KT 1SM -SN VV010 M01/M03 A2952 RMK SN8 SLP013=

METAR CYXZ 142200Z 21014G20KT 4SM -SN OVC015 M00/M03 A2952 RMK ST8 SLP012=

METAR CYXZ 142100Z 22010G15KT 6SM -SN BKN016 OVC036 M00/M02 A2951 RMK SC6SC2 SLP008=

METAR CYXZ 142000Z 22014G20KT 10SM -SN SCT020 OVC040 M00/M02 A2949 RMK SC4SC4 SLP000=

TAF AMD CYXZ 141403Z 1414/1424 23010G20KT 3SM -SHSN OVC008
TEMPO 1414/1415 P6SM NSW SCT008 BKN025 FM141500 23015G30KT
5SM -SHSN OVC020
TEMPO 1415/1421 P6SM NSW BKN030 FM142100 22012G22KT 1SM
-SHSN SCT008 OVC025 RMK NXT FCST BY 142000Z=

[Heavy Rayn]

Very unfortunate situation. That’s about the furthest thing from VFR weather, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near that in a GA plane, especially in that terrain.

[RatherBeFlying]

Lk Superior stays mostly open over the winter. The lake is bounded by high ground on the east and north coasts; so, any south westerly flow can pick up moisture that produces cloud over high ground, especially in low temperatures.

I remember sitting at Smoky Point by my canoe watching a succession of cumulonimbi sprout over the highlands to the north of Doré Bay.

For the geographically challenged, that's the north east corner of the lake.

Sault Ste Marie to Ft Frances involves customs paperwork and passports if you have to stop in the US, but you have more places to land if the weather craps out. Or you could dogleg to Thunder Bay at Duluth.

[Col. Panic]

“Near Marathon” and “Southeast of Sioux Lookout” don’t really jive well. I mean, technically correct, as YSP (along with most populated parts of Ontario) are southeast of YXL, there are many other places that could be used to better describe the location. It’s equivalent to describing something as being near Windsor, Southwest of Ottawa!

[PilotDAR]

CBC is reporting that the Comanche has been found in Lake Superior park.

[flyingdutch]

The Piper Comanche has been found just east of Old Woman Bay in Lake Superior Provincial Park.

[RatherBeFlying]

That's really high terrain, especially for Ontario. Serious lack of options for a forced landing. That stretch is one of the few places that the highway is pretty much the only option (not many wires crossing the road). I've seen an agplane parked by the road south of Agawa Bay waiting for weather.

[cncpc]

That's really high terrain, especially for Ontario. Serious lack of options for a forced landing. That stretch is one of the few places that the highway is pretty much the only option (not many wires crossing the road). I've seen an agplane parked by the road south of Agawa Bay waiting for weather.

I don't know if this would have been a "forced" landing, in the normal context of some power loss or other emergency requiring a quick return to Earth. If it was, there were dozens of lakes available in that area, and they were likely well frozen. This was more likely controlled or uncontrolled flight into terrain.

Precautionary landing? Road is just fine for that.

[lownslow]

I don't know if this would have been a "forced" landing... If it was, there were dozens of lakes available in that area, and they were likely well frozen.

Screw landing on a lake, just follow the highway on a leg like that. If the engine quits the best suitable runway in the area is directly below you. If Wx forces you lower and lower the only remaining option would be to touch down on the pavement you’re already over. No one has ever built a radio tower in the middle of a road. At Comanche speed it probably adds less than ten minutes to the length of a YAM-YXZ trip.

[JasonE]

However it crashed, it's a sad story and another loss to GA. At least the family will have closure.

[J31]

Spotted from the air.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/ ... -1.6463146