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HomeNewsArchives‘Misloaded’ Plane Likely Cause of 2009 Fatal Crash, NTSB Finds

‘Misloaded’ Plane Likely Cause of 2009 Fatal Crash, NTSB Finds

This Source file photo shows the aftermath of the October 2009 plane crash that killed three. A report this week from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) points to a misloaded plane as the culprit in the October 2009 crash that killed three on St. Croix.

The crash of the Cessna 177 occurred midday Oct. 29, 2009. The plane, piloted by Caribbean Flight Services owner David Bentley, experienced difficulty climbing out after takeoff from Henry E. Rohlsen Airport.

Bentley tried to bring the plane around to return to the airport but crashed in a field two to three miles east of the runway.

The resulting fire from the crash killed Bentley and the two passengers, Elium King, 58, of St. Vincent; and Mark Atchley, 50, of Tennessee.

The NTSB filed a preliminary report about a month after the accident, which noted that heavy luggage had been loaded into the rear of the plane. The preliminary report said the contents of that luggage could not be determined since it was destroyed during the crash and resulting fire.

Monday’s probable-cause report points a finger at the improperly loaded luggage without explicitly saying it caused the crash.

The report, posted Monday on the NTSB’s website, says:

• Before the flight Beverly told King, who was a potential flight student, to "start the walk-around" inspection of the airplane. After the passenger checked the fuel for water, the pilot returned to check "the controls, aileron, rudder, and elevator." The pilot also confirmed with the passenger that he, the passenger, had checked the fuel for water. King had recently filled out "TSA applications for a foreigner" to commence student flight training, and had almost finished the application process. Beverly previously allowed the passenger to fly from the right seat, according to the NTSB.

• A witness subsequently saw another passenger, Atchley, approach the airplane with two bags, one that "was 3 feet by 12 inches, and the other was 18 inches by 10 inches wide." The witness told the investigators the baggage "appeared to be heavy by the way he was carrying it." King put the large bag in the baggage compartment, behind the rear seat. The second passenger then walked around the airplane and sat in the back seat with the small bag, the report says.

A second witness also saw the preflight inspection and the two bags, but did not note the loading of the baggage or who sat where.

• The first passenger then entered the left front seat and the pilot sat in the right front seat. The witness removed the chocks, the engine was started, and an engine run-up was completed on the ramp, near the taxiway. The airplane subsequently taxied to taxiway B. Everything "seemed normal," the airplane took off, then made a left turn and flew out of the witness’s sight.

• During the takeoff, witnesses said the airplane appeared slow, with a nose-high pitch attitude, and an immediate dip of the right wing. They recalled the initial climb out was also low and slow. The tower controller asked the pilot if he was experiencing any difficulty, and the pilot responded that he was and was going to turn back to the airport.

A witness noted that the airplane appeared to be having difficulty gaining altitude, that the wings were moving up and down, and that the propeller was spinning.

• A transcript of radio transmissions between the airplane and the control tower revealed that, at 1:28 p.m., the airplane was cleared for takeoff from runway 10 at the intersection of taxiway B.

At 1:30 p.m. the controller asked, "Cardinal three one tango, are you experiencing any difficulty?" and the pilot responded, "Yes we are, we’re gonna make a turn back."

At 1:31 p.m. the controller advised, "proceed as requested."

There was no response from the airplane, and 40 seconds later the controller asked, "Are you airborne?" and called again a second later, but there were no further responses from the airplane.

The tower controller then requested that the pilot of another airplane search "two to three miles northeast of the airport," and the pilot of that airplane subsequently reported that the accident airplane was "in a clear pasture, but he’s on fire."

Witnesses said the plane had made a sudden, sharp left turn and descended to the ground. Witnesses near the crash site, interviewed by the Source, described a high-pitched shrieking sound moments before the plane crashed into a small field on East Airport Road, about a half mile south of the Queen Mary Highway.

Post-accident examination of the wreckage showed no sign of pre-crash mechanical problems. "Damage was consistent with a left-turning stall/spin at impact," the probable cause report said. The pitch-trim control was found in the full nose-down position. Combined with the airplane’s observed nose-high attitude, that indicated to investigators the likelihood that the airplane was loaded with an aft [i.e., rear] center of gravity.

Based on those findings, the NTSB determined the probable cause of the accident was "The pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin."

But the report added two notes from two Federal Aviation Administration publications.

• The Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge says, "Generally, an airplane becomes less controllable, especially at slow flight speeds, as the center of gravity is moved further aft."

• And the Aircraft Weight and Balance Handbook says, "If the CG [center of gravity] is too far aft, it will be too near the center of lift and the airplane will be unstable, and difficult to recover from a stall. If the unstable airplane should ever enter a spin, the spin could become flat and recovery would be difficult or impossible."

Bill Bohlke of Bohlke International Airways, which is now managing the hangar Caribbean Flights Services operated, said the report did not come as a surprise. That October day was a sad one for the small, close-knit aviation community on St. Croix, he said, and he hoped that no one else would lose their life under similar circumstances.

The field on East Airport Road between the Queen Mary Highway and the Melvin Evans Highway today is marked with a white cross.

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