4 fatal - crash nw of Waterloo ON Aug 24 2012

[bizjets101]

A plane is reported to have crashed into a cornfield north of Conestogo Lake Friday night, killing four people.

The type of aircraft or whether there are any survivors was not immediately known. OPP and Drayton firefighters were dispatched to the scene of the crash, which occurred about 8 p.m.

(Conestogo Lake, Wellington County) MAP of area

[flyinthebug]

I just saw this on CTV news. They are reporting 4 pax deceased and that it was a Cessna 172. Thats all they are saying at this moment. As of this time there is no link to a written report yet. I will post a link when one is up.

I offer my most sincere condolences to the family and friends of those involved.

Fly SAFE all.

[CD]

Plane crash in Wellington County kills four
GuelphMercury.com

LISTOWEL - A small plane carrying four passengers has crashed in a cornfield just east of North Perth, Ont.

The single engine Cessna disappeared off of the radar and an emergency transponder signal was activated just after 8 p.m.

OPP officers from the County of Wellington, firefighters from Mapleton Fire Department and paramedics from Guelph-Wellington responded to the location hidden behind trees and rolling cornfields under the cover of night.

After an extensive ground search by members of the OPP Emergency Response Team and canine the aircraft was located. All four occupants, three males and one female, were pronounced dead at the scene.

The Transportation Safety Bureau and the Coroner will be investigating through the day. West Region OPP Technical Identification Services Unit has also been called in to assist

More details to follow.

Plane crash kills four in Wellington County
Janek Lowe/Record staff
GuelphMercury.com

LISTOWEL - A small plane carrying four passengers has crashed in a cornfield just east of North Perth, Ont.

The single engine Cessna disappeared off of the radar and an emergency transponder signal was activated just after 8 p.m.

“A local resident observed the plane spiralling towards the ground and called 911, then we got the call from Cambridge Ambulance,” said Const. Keith Robb of the OPP.

OPP officers from the County of Wellington, firefighters from Mapleton Fire Department and paramedics from Guelph-Wellington responded to the location hidden behind trees and rolling cornfields under the cover of night.

Emergency Response Team members along with Canine and Mapleton Fire Department conducted an extensive ground search.

The aircraft was located about 10:30 p.m. in a corn field just south east of the entrance to a farm at 6773 Sideroad 3.

The farmer from this property assisted the teams by clearing a path through the field to the crash site.

All four occupants were pronounced dead at the scene.

The victims are four young adults, three males and one female, but police are still working to identify next of kin.

The victims will be removed from the scene this morning and transported to Hamilton General Hospital for autopsies.

Robb said a crane will likely be required to remove the plane from the crash site, which remained fairly intact after the crash.

The Transportation Safety Bureau and the Coroner will be investigating through the day. West Region OPP Technical Identification Services Unit has also been called in to assist

Bob Connors, general manager of the Waterloo-Wellington Flight Centre, has confirmed that the aircraft was a Cessna 172.

“We really don’t know what happened,” said Connors. “All we have is the sketchiest of facts, and certainly it’s a tragedy.”

The Waterloo-Wellington Flight Centre operates out of the Region of Waterloo International Airport. The not-for-profit organization has been operating since 1932, offering programs and services for flight students as well as licensed recreational pilots.

[cdnpilot77]

Anyone know the who the pilot was and the reg? Pm me if you could. My Condolences to all.

[indieadventurer]

CBC has an updated article a few minutes ago. Looks like the plane was a rental from Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre, no reg yet though.

Condolences to the families.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/201 ... crash.html

[Ivan42]

An awful tragedy...Please keep us posted if you hear anything at all

[bizjets101]

C-FNET Cessna 172S Imported new in 2000 - Waterloo-Wellington Flying Club


TSB Photo

[cdnpilot77]

This airplane was a Millenim edition but I think it was purchased by WWFC around 2002-2003. I have a few dozen hrs in this particular aircraft, it was a beautiful machine. Tragic day.

[Lotro]

I've got some hours on that plane too and trained at WWFC - i found it to be a Good club. What terrible news.

My condolences to the families, this is incomprehensible.

[burhead1]

Condolences to the families and friends.

I had a bunch of hrs in FNET as well, it is hard to comprehend.

[stallfortime]

... latest i heard the cessna was seen by a couple, it was gyrating, (at first they thought the maneuvers were intentional), it lost power, regained power, lost power and nosed in...

google the story. i read it while at work about an hour or so ago.

[Ivan42]

I read earlier that the aircraft was found fairly intact - that pic looks anything but. How fast would it have been going for it to crumple up so badly? And if it was going fast, couldn't they have made a relatively safe landing in the field? Something must've given with the wings or the engine

I currently fly out of WWFC and this makes my blood run cold...best wishes to the family and all involved.

[Gogona]

... latest i heard the cessna was seen by a couple, it was gyrating, (at first they thought the maneuvers were intentional)

Sadly, the "outer" people can't see the difference between the spin and spiral dive Although that evidence might help the investigators, I believe...

[stallfortime]

no fire
engine cutting out
rental
what environment, other than clear air?

[cdnpilot77]

"engine cutting out" was from an eyewitness who may not be able to differentiate the sounds of a cutting engine from the sounds of a 172 in a spin. Unfortunately I think we will learn in due course that this was another one of those extremely tragic accidents that was entirely avoidable.

[Gogona]

Unfortunately I think we will learn in due course that this was another one of those extremely tragic accidents that was entirely avoidable.

+1
I hate to say that, but it looks like...

[fleet16b]

I read earlier that the aircraft was found fairly intact - that pic looks anything but. How fast would it have been going for it to crumple up so badly? And if it was going fast, couldn't they have made a relatively safe landing in the field? Something must've given with the wings or the engine

I currently fly out of WWFC and this makes my blood run cold...best wishes to the family and all involved.

Of course in a spiral impact there would be major damage and the speed would have been increasing the whole way down.
If you really study that picture, you will realize that the port wing and port strut have been cut away by the fire dept rescue saws in an attempt to extract the occupants.
Still seeing that the stb wing and fuselage area are much more intact , the damage is consistent with a tight left hand spiral impact but we will have to wait for the official report to be sure.
Also I spoke with the local Fire people and they got the 1st call just before 9:00 pm , so they would have been flying in twilight/ near dark conditions.

A very sad event and my condolences to the families of the victims

[Rookie50]

My condolences, I am truly shocked. I have a bunch of hours too in FNET without any issues, including a very long trip. Horrible to read this and for the familes.

[GUMPS]

And if it was going fast, couldn't they have made a relatively safe landing in the field? Something must've given with the wings or the engine
.

Please, will you elaborate on this speculation some more?

Personally I agree this is going to turn out to be another avoidable accident.

[Taiser]

4 adults in a C172, depending on size, is an issue. Amount of fuel on board could be an issue. There is no obvious landing path in that photograph and damage is consistent with the plane auguring into the ground at high speed. It was getting dark. Spiral? Spin? Intentional spin with four people on board? Unlikely but not unheard of... Playing with stalls (or accidentally entering one) and winding up in a unrecoverable spin because of the configuration of the plane? Maybe?

Don't want to jump to conclusions as well and I don't know the pilot but I'm also thinking this will come down to being preventable!

[HighT5]

Very tragic. My condolences go out to the friends, family and employees at the school.

A 'high speed' impact would have similar results to the College Bonanza that crashed during the night. Not as much was left of that plane...you couldn't even tell it was a Bonanza.



The 172 picture shows the plane pretty much intact, less the wing that was cut away by the fire dept, which does not suggest a high speed impact. The bending of the tail downwards just behind the main gear, with the engine bent up, shows the aircraft hit fairly vertical with a slight nose down attitude, which suggests a spin. Whether it was an intentional spin that was more difficult to recover from with pax in the back seat, or an accidental spin that was encountered possibly during a forced approach is the question.

[bizjets101]

Witness statement includes;

"It was doing these spirals but really high up in the air, like at first, we thought it was controlled," said Nicholls, who was out walking her dog.

"But then as we watched, we realized that it didn't look like controlled movements. It looked like it had lost control and it was going down."

Nicholls said before the crash, she saw the plane's engine sputtering but as it got closer to the ground, it looked like the pilot had been able to regain some control.

"The pilot got the engine going again," she said. "It was nice and strong, full power, but only for a second or two. Then it just went dead."

source


TSB Photo

[Doc]

I don't tend to put much faith in "eye" witnesses when it comes to anything airplane oriented. I have a source who tells me they had squawked 7700, but made no call. Again, who knows? I've heard the pilot had a CPL, at least. I'll be watching this one, Something might have broken? First flight after major maintenance? The 172 is about as bullet proof as a small airplane can be. Pilots don't tend to fly the "wings off" with a full load of pax. Especially guys with enough time to have a CPL. The cause here may well be found in the paper work.....?

[flyinthebug]

4 adults in a C172, depending on size, is an issue. Spiral? Spin? Intentional spin with four people on board? Unlikely but not unheard of... Playing with stalls (or accidentally entering one) and winding up in a unrecoverable spin because of the configuration of the plane? Maybe?

Don't want to jump to conclusions as well and I don't know the pilot but I'm also thinking this will come down to being preventable!

I completely agree that this could be one of several possibilities. I can tell you 1st hand that inexperienced pilots like myself at that time, sometimes make very DUMB decisions. It is infact very possible that he entered a spin or stall to "show off his skills" to his friends. Its not unheard of, I did it myself...once.

Back several years ago I loaded 2 of my buddies into a 172 and we blasted off from YQT. I had my shiny new PPL in my pocket and man could I fly a plane! We head out westbound to KB Falls and did some amazing sight seeing at moderately low level. Then my buddy pipes up and says..."You should show us a spin"... to which my immediate reply was...are you sure? They both nodded with huge smiles on their faces and I started to climb. As I was climbing I do recall thinking to myself...I have never done this with 3 people onboard before?...but somehow that didnt stop me. I played it out a few times as I climbed to a safe altitude...realizing I had only practiced a full spin twice solo, and a few times with my instructor.

As I pulled the power back to idle, my heart rate increased and I was having a great time!! I was about to show my buddys the talents I had acquired in flying school. The left wing dropped and over we went. 1 full rotation was enough and I kicked the rudder. No response. I tried to break the stall and no response. We continued into our 3rd complete rotation (now almost panicing) when a light came on in my head that told me my CG was outta whack and fix it or die! I looked back and grabbed my backseat pax and yanked him full forward almost into the front seats. I yelled at him to get as far forward as possible. As he squeezed forward, she suddenly responded to my inputs to the yoke and we broke the stall and leveled out. He was 6' and 220 lbs.

Not one single word was spoken between the 3 of us for the 20 min flight back to YQT. My knees were still knocking when we landed and I seriously needed a few mins after shut down before I could even walk to the hanger. We were 3 rotations away from tearing the wings off that ol 172 and I was shaken to my core. I confessed my mistake to my CFI on the spot and he saw how shaken up I was. He showed mercy and chalked it up to a lesson learned and then made me sit through a 90 min presentation on all that could have gone wrong and why. I have never once put an aircraft into this configuration on purpose since.

I dont know what happened on this flight. I do know what happened on mine many years ago. If I could be that dumb...I somehow think im not the only one? Maybe so, and lets hope so...but I do agree with the above statement that "showing off your skills to your friends" is not unheard of.

Again, I offer my most sincere condolences to the family and friends of those affected by this tragic accident.

Fly SAFE all.

Fly safe all.

[burhead1]

The group had been out on a sightseeing trip over Niagara Falls and Toronto for nearly two hours before they crashed, CTV Toronto’s Ashley Rowe reported.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada ... z24fowoc4y

The area the crash was in, is the practice area for Kitchener.