Fatal Crash Haunts Pal Who Gave Up Her Seat

New York Post ^ | 5/23/05 | Lorena Mongelli and Kate Sheehy

[Conservatrix]

The high-school senior who cheated death by suddenly backing out of a doomed Coney Island plane ride thanks God she's alive — but feels excruciating guilt over the pal's dad who took her place and died, a friend said yesterday.

"She feels guilty. Wouldn't you?" said Brother Rene Roy, principal of the tiny Catholic school in West Virginia that stricken teen Melissa McCulley attends.

Two of McCulley's best friends, Danielle Block and Jo Beth Gross, both 18, as well as Block's dad, Courtney, and the plane's pilot died in the tragic beach crash Saturday.

[leadpenny]

Morning!

[Conservatrix]

I appreciate the correction....

anyway small planes (large planes, heights of any kind) scare the *&^%$ out of me.....

[rlmorel]

Also, probably because a Cessna is one of the more common planes flown by new pilots.

Bottom line, if you get behind the curve while flying, things can get complicated beyond your ability to react very, very quickly and you can end up in a serious situation.

A great and engrossing read, and one that I have always enjoyed, is "The Shepherd", by Frederick Forsyth. It is a very, very quick read, can be read in a matter of a few hours, and covers this exact subject. If you haven't read it before, you will get goosebumps at the end. I read it every year on Christmas Eve, if I can find the time.

[LIConFem]

"If you stall too close to the ground.....then bad things can happen."

As sometimes happens during dead-stick landings when a pilot tries to stretch a glide... could be what happened here.

[leadpenny]

http://theintelligencer.net/ (The Intelligencer & Wheeling News Register)

Communities, School Mourn Crash Victims
McMECHEN - Students, teachers and community members gathered in front of Bishop Donohue High School Sunday to help each other grieve the loss of students JoBeth Gross, Danielle Block and her father, Courtney.

~ more ~

[johnny7]

JFK junior was flying at night with little or no night-navigation skills.

[DB]

If the engine misbehaved in a previous flight that day, there is a serious question of the pilots competence. You don't go flying with passengers knowing the plane isn't 100% at take off. In addition since the pilot knew there was potential engine trouble he should have been prepared for it. Instead when it happens he stalls the plane and kills everyone on board. Sounds like repeated serious pilot error to me.

[leadpenny]

A few minutes earlier he was still in daylight with the sun setting behind him. It must have been beautiful riding just above the inversion. Once he went below the inversion, not only was it, for all practical purposes, IMC, but it was night. His was a simple case of vertigo.

[Moose4]

Honestly, if you want to try to get over your fear, see if an airport near you has a flight school that is giving "discovery rides". We had one near my old place in Columbia, SC, that was doing that; they were $99 and they'd take you up for a bit under an hour, fly over town, fly over a nearby lake, show the plane off, let you take the controls for a bit. I'm kicking myself for never taking one.

The airplanes themselves are extremely safe and extremely reliable. It all boils down to the pilot, really. The vast majority of aviation accidents are, directly or indirectly, human error.

}:-)4

[Gunrunner2]

Just a guess, and knowing non-pilot types wouldn't know much about flying. . ."sputtering" could be a number of things, from bad gas to wrong mixture. Additionally, the pilot erred if he was aware of a potential engine problem and elected to fly anyway.

Right now we don't know enough to comment on the exact cause of the mishap. We will shortly, as NTSB mishap investigators are very good.

[Gunrunner2]

And, oh by the way. . .a loss of an engine doesn't mean it immediately goes into a dive and crashes. The aircraft is rather light and gliding is the thing to do when you lose an engine.

[OldFriend]

From yesterday's New York Post

37,000 Cesna Skyhawk sold world wide. It is by far the most popular plane.

There have been 102 deadly crashes.

Popular with families who often use the plane for vacation trips.

[Gunrunner2]

I'd say demanding the aircraft fly when it didn't have the airspeed caused it to stall. An engine failing doesn't mean an aircraft stall. Stall is exceeding the critical angle of attack and disruption of the smooth airflow over the wing. Losing an engine and all the guy had to do was roll out wings level, establish a glide and come in for a glider landing. The fact that he hit the ground nearly vertical indicates a stall but is hardly conclusive of an engine problem. In fact, when faced with a nose down situation pilots usually pull back on the throttle and this sudden (apparent) loss of power may lead the untrained observer to think the engine quite when in fact it had not. It is as likely the pilot wasn't paying attention to his altitude and airspeed and stalled the aircraft while in a tight turn and went it. But until the report comes in, it is certain we can;'t be certain what happened.

[Gunrunner2]

Misread your post. . .time for more coffee.

;-)

[Gunrunner2]

>>I asked because I have read many articles about plane crashes and they all seem to involves a Cessna.... <<

Understand your concern. . .but keep in mind most mishaps involve Cessna's because most light aircraft flown by the general public are Cessna's.

[Gunrunner2]

Fighter pilots do makes errors (not me though---ha).

Actually, we all do as we fly along the edges of the envelop all the time. Thing is, we are trained to know and be comfortable with any attitude at any airspeed and to use our experience and skill to perform (and stay alive). That said, we do make errors and as someone once said, aviation is a very unforgiving environment and you hope to live long enough for your clue-bag to fill up before your luck-bag runs out.

[leadpenny]

In fact, when faced with a nose down situation pilots usually pull back on the throttle and this sudden (apparent) loss of power may lead the untrained observer to think the engine quite when in fact it had not.

I mentioned something like that on another theard over the weekend. Especially if you're low and and you have a windscreen full of ground at low altitude. The sound of the engine sputtering (throttle pulled back) could have hit the ears of those on the ground before they saw the spiral.

[RogueIsland]

I asked because I have read many articles about plane crashes and they all seem to involves a Cessna

The other posters are right -- you hear about them more because there are a lot of them. Cessnas are the Honda Accords of the sky. They are nice, stable, predictable aircraft. Even spin recovery is docile compared to some other aircraft (not that I'd want to have to do it at pattern altitude), and stalls are fairly placid affairs.

Usually when I read an account of a fatal Cessna crash, it involves a pilot flying into icing conditions or weather he is not prepared for. It's not hard to quickly get in over your head in an airplane if you aren't very careful at all times.

[pageonetoo]

Where would you rather be?

I have flown Cessna's since 1965. I have had one "engine-out' landing, and one near miss. I am still able to walk and post...

If you ever see an ad for free rides, or cheap ones, go as fast as you can, to the head of the line. You will never regret it. It's fun, easy, and safe!

There is nothing as exhiliarating, short of spending time with your spouse!