PICTURED: Instagram stars and models on their private plane to Las Vegas moments before it...

Daily Mail ^

[BenLurkin]

FULL HEADLINE: "PICTURED: Instagram stars and models on their private plane to Las Vegas moments before it crashed onto golf course killing all six on board"

Four of the six people who died when their private plane crashed during a flight from Arizona to Las Vegas on Monday have been identified as Instagram stars, models and nightclub promoters.

Models Mariah Coogan, 23, and Helena Lagos, 22, nightlife promoter Anand 'Happy' Patel, 26, and nightclub host and aspiring pilot James Pedroza, 28, were all on board the Piper PA-24 Comanche when it crashed into a golf course moments after taking off at around 9pm.

They spent the weekend at the Phoenix Lights Festival and were on their way back to Las Vegas.  

Before they took off from Scottsdale Airport, Coogan shared videos from the plane on her Instagram story.  She excitedly filmed herself in her seat and spun the camera round to show Patel who she affectionately called by his nickname Happy.

[PushinTin]

Here is a complete rundown ,with pictures, of the accident...

http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2018/04/piper-pa-24-comanche-n9456p-fatal.html

[central_va]

The biggest mistake when engine fails on departure is to think you can turn around and power off glide back to the runway. You can’t. Look ahead, slow down, full flaps and find a clear spot in front of you. You’ll make it. The plane will be f-ed but you will walk away.

[TTFlyer]

^Good advice. But it’s the powerlines and trees that will get ya.

Watching the video there’s no way in hell I ride with that pilot in a high-performance retractable with 6 people on board. I too am willing to bet that the aircraft was loaded right to the edge of the envelope - if not over it.

[anton]

Didn’t left eye lopez die from the same thing?

[central_va]

Good advice. But it’s the powerlines and trees that will get ya.

With full flaps you can slow that thing down to 55 knots. It doesn't take much of an opening. But even the tree tops will slow you down. Like I said sacrifice the plane, not you. Better to call the insurance man than the undertaker.

[VTenigma]

Initial report says accident investigators are looking into whether the plane was certified to carry six as the certification at the time of build in 1970 was as a four place plane. The pilot in command may have made a very bad fatal mistake especially for one with over 4500 hrs, many in commercial aviation. Physics will overcome skill in many circumstances.

[rlmorel]

True. Aviation is so unforgiving. If you find yourself in a position to have to survive those mistakes, it is often too late except for the most experienced or lucky pilots.

In a boat, you make a mistake, your worst outcome for a mistake might be to make a call to the Coast Guard or marina for a tow.

In a plane, even the most innocent mistake can result in a catastrophic and fatal crash.

I used to be a jet mechanic in the USN and became very interested in reading the reports they put out in the military about aviation related accidents, and even something as simple as someone forgetting to remove a protective cover or safety pin prior to takeoff results in a plane smashing into the ground.

I have always found it interesting that it is almost never the first mistake or issue that causes the plane to auger in, but a succession of mistakes, each one like the coil of a python that gets a little tighter with each attempted breath of the prey, until bit by bit, the victim simply runs out of room to maneuver or expand their lungs any more and their fate is sealed.

A book I always enjoyed (and which very well demonstrates this type of aviation sequence) and I went for several years where I made it a tradition on Christmas Eve to read Frederick Forsythe’s book “The Shepherd”, in which a pilot flying a hop from Germany to England on Christmas Eve in a DeHavilland Vampire has one thing compound into another in just that fashion. Great short read, especially if you are interested in aviation.

I found it equally interesting to study maritime accidents as well, only to find that same type of sequence occurs over and over again...an innocent mistake that compounds with time and effort and eventually spirals into a catastrophic event. (I spent a great deal of time thinking about the collision between the USS Fitgerald and the ACX Crystal last year. It was painfully clear to me what had happened at nearly the very first read of it, and after months of speculation and guessing, the official report pretty much followed my immediate impression)

It is easy to imagine a person trying to manage it, realizing that the course of their lives led them inexorably to a point where the plane is spiraling out of control, they have run out of ideas and options, and the ground is approaching fast.

There was a stage play a few years back, eventually made into a movie called “Charlie Victor Romeo” that re-enacted some famous (and some not-so-famous) aircraft mishaps. What was interesting to me is that, even the crashes I had never known anything about, you could easily predict the sequence of events in many of them. It was a bit bone-chilling to watch, too (since I thought the acting was pretty good) that during the recreations when they were in extremis and likely knew in their hearts that they were simply along for the ride, they somehow just clammed up. Sure, there were some crews that kept trying things all the way into impact, but some...they knew.

[ThunderSleeps]

You’re right, 6 adults, luggage (?), fuel, possibly warm temps. Low-time pilot (?)... All factors reducing margins for error. What is it they say: altitude, airspeed, and brains - you need at least 2 to survive... (got my pilot friend and flight instructor a sign for his hanger that says that)

[martinidon]

From the end of the runway to crash site it is more like a couple thousand feet.

[taildragger]

"The PA-24 is really a very lovely aircraft with amazing performance considering when it was designed and built."

Yes it was and it had a unique NACA airfoil as well and they only stopped making it after the tooling was destroyed in a flood. It's follow on was destroyed as well ( prototype ) and it looked like a hot rod.

By the looks of photo's of the crash site their was no gear down wheel marks, belly scraping, or trail as it hit which makes me consider was this a stall / spin loss of control and straight in. Exacerbated by a power loss? The NTSB will find out. Very sad, for those of us that have lost friends in SEL incidents this is close to home. May they all R.I.P. and prayers for their loved ones.

[DungeonMaster]

I don’t know what an “instagram star” is.

[Obadiah]

That’s what I think. With 6 people and probably max fuel, my guess is that the plane was overloaded or right at its load capacity leaving almost no margin of error for rate of climb. Barring mechanical failure, that it crashed so soon after takeoff seems to provide evidence of this.

[PAR35]

Looks like all of them could have made use of a good plastic surgeon.

[River_Wrangler]

Yup, losing an engine, even in a twin, is a big deal on takeoff.

My Multi instructor once told me that "When you lose an engine on takeoff the remaining engine would take you to the site of the crash". This is particularly true of lite to medium twins.

[central_va]

A good landing: you survive.

A great landing: the plane survives.

[central_va]

The pilot violated the first law of aviation:

The indicated altitude, corrected for barometric pressure, must always be greater than the MSL altitude of the terrain you are flying above. No exceptions, no deviations.

[central_va]

I had an instructor tell me “Don’t give up until the accident is completely over”.

[Bob]

Thanks. While I could see from the map that it was pretty close, I didn’t realize it was quite that close

[Tax-chick]

Looks like all of them could have made use of a good plastic surgeon.

But instead, they made use of a bad one.

[Tax-chick]

An “Instagram star” is a person who posts pictures of (usually) herself on Instagram. Many people look at the pictures, often because (usually) she is nearly naked. She receives a cut of the revenue for ads that run on her Instagram account.