http://www.simcoereformer.ca/ArticleDis ... ?e=1700114Pilot had crashed airplane twice before
Posted By DANIEL PEARCE, Simcoe Reformer
Updated 1 day ago
A Courtland man who died when his single-engine plane went down in a cornfield Wednesday had crashed two other times in the past seven years, says a federal investigator.
Alvin Foster flipped over into a ploughed field during a landing in 2002 and crashed into trees during a failed takeoff in 2007, said Don Enns, Ontario regional manager of air investigations for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
In both cases, the planes received "substantial damage" and in the 2007 incident Foster was "seriously injured," said reports about the incidents posted on a Transport Canada website.
On Wednesday morning, Foster, who was in his early 80s, took off from his own private airfield in Courtland, a village between Simcoe and Tillsonburg, and never returned.
Family contacted police hours later who in turn sent out a search and rescue plane. Foster's plane was found in a cornfield behind Courtland's community centre.
Enns said the exact cause of the crash is unknown but it appears as if Foster lost control of the craft.
"One thing I can tell you is that it was nose down and right wing down. That's indicative of a loss of control. What's going on now is that we are trying to determine what caused him to lose control of his aircraft."
An inspection of the wreckage has determined that the plane's controls were "functional," said Enns. "We found no faults whatsoever."
Two investigators at the scene will bring the engine and the control panel to the agency's Richmond Hill office for further study. Witnesses have been interviewed and a post mortem is scheduled for Friday morning in Hamilton.
Investigators are also looking into weather conditions at the time, added Enns.
A neighbour of Foster's, Ozzie VanHaverbeke, said he watched Foster take off at about 7:30 a.m. into a dense layer of fog that was hanging just over the tree tops.
VanHaverbeke, 78, said Foster flew so low over his property that it caused the pigeons he keeps, and had just let out, to "scatter."
The plane, he said, flew southward over the village, disappearing into the fog. VanHaverbeke said he heard Foster's engine throttle down, stop for three or four seconds, then throttle up again.
"Five, six, seven, eight seconds later the engine stopped again," he said.
VanHaverbeke said he suspects Foster was banking and trying to get back to the airfield.
"He may not have got above the fog," said VanHaverbeke, who helped pull Foster from his plane following the 2007 crash.
"We don't know how thick it was."
Along with this accident (in which the pilot had also, apparently, survived two previous accidents) - viewtopic.php?f=54&t=56809&hilit=muskoka - I can't help but wonder if both age and record are going to become highlights of the TSB findings and recommendations.CADORS Number: 2009O1715 Reporting Region: Ontario
Occurrence InformationOccurrence Type: Accident Occurrence Date: 2009/08/12
Occurrence Time: 1230 Z Day Or Night: day-time
Fatalities: 1 Injuries: 0
Canadian Aerodrome ID: Aerodrome Name:
Occurrence Location: private airstrip near Courtland (east of Tillsonburg) Province: Ontario
Country: CANADA World Area: North America
Reported By: NAV CANADA AOR Number: 110141-V1
TSB Class Of Investigation: 3 TSB Occurrence No.: A09O0171
Event InformationCollision with terrain
ELT/SAR/comm search
Aircraft InformationFlight #:
Aircraft Category: Aeroplane Country of Registration: CANADA
Make: CESSNA Model: 150J
Year Built: 1969 Amateur Built: No
Engine Make: TELEDYNE CONTINENTAL Engine Model: O-200-A
Engine Type: Reciprocating Gear Type: Land
Phase of Flight: Takeoff Damage: Destroyed
Owner: Private Operator:
Operator Type: Private
Detail InformationUser Name: Donaldson, John
Date: 2009/08/13
Further Action Required: No
O.P.I.: System Safety
Narrative: NAV CANADA staff at London F.I.C. received a telephone call from J.R.C.C. Trenton staff regarding an overdue aircraft that had been reported by a responsible person. While a communications search was underway, J.R.C.C. Trenton staff called back to report that the accident site had been located. It was reported that the privately-registered Cessna 150J aircraft had departed a private airstrip around 1200Z and is believed to have crashed shortly thereafter. The aircraft was reported overdue with a search commencing at 1645Z. The aircraft was located at 42º50'N 080º37'W (southeast of London, east of Ingersoll). There was one (1) S.O.B. who was fatally injured.
User Name: Donaldson, John
Date: 2009/08/13
Further Action Required: No
O.P.I.: System Safety
Narrative: UPDATE Supplemental information received from J.R.C.C. Trenton [2009/08/13]: J.R.C.C. Trenton staff reported that the Ontario Provincial Police (O.P.P.) were reporting an overdue Cessna 150 aircraft. J.R.C.C. Trenton staff tasked a SAR Hercules aircraft (RESCUE306), a Griffon helicopter (RESCUE422) and CASARA. The Hercules crew located the aircraft near Courtland, ON (42º50'42"N 080º37'44"W) shortly after arriving on scene. SARTechs jumped and confirmed that the lone pilot was fatally injured. O.P.P. and emergency medical services responded. The case was turned over to the O.P.P. No further action required; case closed. Timings: Griffon helicopter (RESCUE422) - 3.4 hours, Hercules aircraft (RESCUE306) - 2.4 hours; CASARA ON/10/AC1 - 0.7; Griffon helicopter (RESCUE491) - 0.2 hours.
User Name: Donaldson, John
Date: 2009/08/14
Further Action Required: Yes
O.P.I.: System Safety
Narrative: UPDATE Supplemental information received from T.S.B. Initial Notification [#A09O0171]: The Cessna 150J aircraft departed from the pilot's private airstrip and was later reported overdue when it had not returned. A search was commenced by J.R.C.C. staff and the aircraft was located in a nearby corn field. The aircraft had struck the ground in a steep nose down and right wing low attitude. The aircraft was destroyed by the impact and pilot received fatal injuries. A Minister's Observer has been appointed for this Class 3 investigation.
I say with respect as MichealP did so eloquently above.. that at your age.. even being in good health.. the "risks" we speak of do increase dramatically. If you adjust your flying accordingly and use the tools available to you, there is no reason you could not fly another 10 years .. 
, I'd broken up with a girlfriend... I'd flown to the Goodwood breakfast patrol in a MKV Auster and my closer friends suggested taking someone along.... They need not have worried, if I was suicidal I would not do it in an aeroplane, in something that has kept me alive for so long and given me much joy.
