NTSB Concludes Pilot's Actions Caused Colgan Crash

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/investigators_gather_wreckage.html
‘’initial reports said the plane was held up due to [u]mechanical problems[/u]’’
(the plane took off two hours late from Newark)

The MSM had fingered fatigue as the main culprit that caused the pilot to commit his gross error. But there is NO direct evidence that fatigue had [b]anything[/b] to do with it.

Keep in mind when reading the following witness quotes that officially the plane was operating normally before the crash—

NTSB Dockets, File 431227—witness statements

pg2 of 131
Vicki Braun
...plane engine had ‘’echo sound’’ then sounded like the engine stopped then heard a ‘’boom.’’

pg6 of 131
Shannon Alessandra
Just prior to the airplane crashing, the engines made a ‘’weird sound.’’

pg7 of 131
Jean Andreassen
Andreassen stated that she heard strange noises from the engines

pg8 of 131
Kristen and Aaron Archambeault
They both described the engine noise as ‘’sputtering’’

pg11 of 131
Michele Beiter
Michele stated the noise ‘skipped’ and she was relieved it stopped, and then it started again. Michel is positive there was a skip. Michele further described everthing she heard as, ‘Noise, skip, noise, loud noise.’

pg13 of 131
Robert Bijak
The engines sounded like a metallic rattle and reminded Bijak of a car engine with no oil in it.

pg14 of 131
Tin Bojarski
The plane did not sound right and sort of sounded like a car with a broken muffler.

pg17 of 131
Ronald Braunscheidel
...he heard a very loud spitting and sputtering sound of a plane engine flying overhead. Braunscheidel described the noise as a car without a muffler.

pg 18 of 131
Sharon Brennan
Brennan believed the plane was maybe in trouble based on the noise.

pg28 of 131
Dan Cizdziel
...heard a sputtering, binging noise....

pg42 of 131
Doug Errick
Errick indicated that as the plane got closer the engines became very rough. Errick thought the engines were coming on and off, almost like engines were trying to come back on, but couldn’t remain running. Errick thought the engines were changing RPMs rapidly.

pg49 of 131
Mary Grefrath
Grefrath recalled that the engine sounded like it was spuddering.

pg66 of 131
Jean Larocque
Larocque... stated he heard sputtering plane... Larocque reported that the engines were not making a uniform sound.

pg 77 of 131
Molly Merlo
...she heard the airplane make a ‘’gurgling’’ sound.

pg81 of 131
Marianne Neri
The engine noise did not sound like a normal plane, but more like a helicopter. It [b]was obvious[/b] something was wrong with the engines.

pg85 of 131
Angela Pillo
The sound was very loud and ‘’rough,’’ as if the engine was having trouble. The sound was further described as sounding like a ‘’lawn mower’’

pg91 of 131
Lisa Rott
....she heard a consistent low grumbling sound that she believed to be a propeller plane. Rott advised that the sound the plane’s engines was not smooth and did not sound like other propeller planes that she has heard in the past.

pg96 of 131
Kenneth Smith
...heard a big bang then continued to hear the sound of airplane engines.

pg89 of 131
Joseph Summers
...heard a plane which was very low and didn’t sound normal. Mr. Summers cited a ‘’rambling noise’’ which sounded as if an engine was not running properly.

pg101 of 131
Rick Telfair
Telfair stated he then heard a winding or grinding noise, then a screeching or grinding noise and approximately 20-30 seconds later heard a large boom... Telfair further described the noise of the engine as fighting, almost as though they were trying to go faster but couldn’t, not accelerating but distressed.

pg 102 of 131
Denise Trabucco
Trabucco described the sound as a humming, similar to a transformer prior to it blowing. Aafter the humming, Trabucco heard a popping sound. ... About a minute after the humming and popping sound, Trabucco and her family felt a vibration that felt a little like an earthquake.

pg105 of 131
Lorraine Unverzart
The airplane engines made a ‘’chugging’’ sound, similar to a ‘’spark plug misfiring.’’

pg106 of 131
Louis Vitello
...he heard the plane engines sputtering as it approached, and then heard a ‘’popping sound.’’ Immediately after that Mr. Vitello heard ‘’grinding’’ noised, stating that the noises reminded him of gears grinding together, sounding like the gears were missing teeth.

pg124 of 131
David Wolf
...the engines were making an unusual ‘’shuttering’’ sound

pg126 of 131
Melissa Wols
She stated she heard the plane.... grinding and sputtering as it approached and passed over his residence. Wols advised it sounded similar to what grinding metal would sound like.

pg129 of 131
Rita Zirnheld
It ‘’sounded like sputtering’’ and ‘’engine was coughing.’’

pg130 of 131
Barbara Garrett
She said the plane engine was making loud noises, as though metal was banging and clattering.

/

These sounds were most likely made by the props and turbines being fed chunks of ice from the fuselage. Props and turbines do not like that.

More evidence of engine problems before the plane crashed?

File ID 417219 from the NTSB Dockets, ‘’Powerplant Group field notes,’’ does seem to indicate that the left prop may have thrown three ‘counterweight’ assemblies right before the crash, which may have caused some of the shaft bearings to disintegrate(or vise versa). Remember a few of the ear-witnesses heard a sound like metal grinding on metal.

No 1 engine-

pg2of23
-Three of the six counterweights remained attached to their respective propeller blade outer sleeve, while the other three had become separated and [b][u]were not recovered[/u][/b] by the Powerplant Group.

pg7of23
The No.15 roller bearing, located on the aft side of the bull gear, was present and the cage was fractured with [b]two(2) of the roller elements missing[/b]. ...the No.19 roller bearing rolling elements were visible and [b]one(1) roller was missing[/b]. ....The No.2.5 roller bearing cage was still attached to the front of the LP shaft. The cage appeared intact but [b]all the roller elements were missing[/b].

pg8of23
The outer diameter of the PT(power turbine) shaft exhibited circumferential [b]rub mark(s)[/b] from the fractured end to almost the shoulder where the shaft diameter changes.

pg10of23
The three(3) blade positions sequentially around about the top(as the propellor was situated on the ground) had complete sets of counterweight assemblies(counter weight arm, counterweight, and rear collar) still attached, while the three(3) blade positions that were buried in the ground were missing their complete counterweight assembly.

File ID 431227
pg4of131, Maha Abdallah
Before the plane impacted the ground, Abdallah noticed sparks coming from the plane.

It should be noted that none of the aforementioned damage was reported for the No.2 engine.

They said they never found the missing counterweights. Maybe they should have looked harder—

pg27of131, Mary Cimato
The Cimato’s also pointed out [b]three[/b] large holes in a pond located behind their house... ... The previous day the entire pond was frozen over, and the morning after the crash they observed holes in the ice.

back when I wrote my comment, I stated that women have unusually high accident rates when skydiving. here is more proof. another example of improper response/panic.

“She had been trained to use the emergency procedure but unfortunately she did not and instead fell towards the ground.”

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/Skydiver-survives-after-plummeting-3000-feet-030910

in general, i don’t think women should skydive of become pilots.

@TankerKC

back when I wrote my comment, I stated that women have unusually high accident rates when skydiving. here is more proof. another example of improper response/panic.

“She had been trained to use the emergency procedure but unfortunately she did not and instead fell towards the ground.”

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/Skydiver-survives-after-plummeting-3000-feet-030910

in general, i don’t think women should skydive of become pilots.