Left 11 kids behind, Damn.
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/i..._fatal_1.html#incart_most-readalabamafootball
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/i..._fatal_1.html#incart_most-readalabamafootball
Link: 3 couples killed Sunday in private plane trying to make Tuscaloosa runway
- Thread starter tidegrandpa
- Start date
One thing I don't understand, if the report is correct that it was a Piper PA-31, that plane is a twin, in all of its configurations. I'm sure they rented it so that six could go together. A twin gives you a little cushion, normally, in case of engine failure and yet they crashed right by an airport. I look forward to the NTSB report...
Pure speculation but the Navajo had a useful load of between 2400-2500 lbs, depending on model. Full fuel was 192 gal @6 lbs gallon but probably a good bit less after flight from Kissimmee Fl. However, 6 adults and their luggage for a week and a hot day combine for fully loaded airplane, Single engine operation in a twin is a handful with a moderate load, much less to a strange airport with one prop spinning and close to full load.
Flew my kids when they were younger to a bunch of places and this story really bothered me. Hate it for the kids and families.
That airplane is not a stellar performer on one engine when it’s hot outside and the plane is heavily loaded. There is very little room for error when making an approach and landing on one engine.
I appreciate the input from you all more familiar with aircraft than I. I co-owned a nuclear engineering company for a number of years and we had a number of planes, but the Navajo was our workhorse. After the very first generation of plants, they started building plants out away from cities and general aviation was the only real answer...
I rode by there today, and it was literally right across the street from the runway. For those familiar with the area, it was right behind the Northport Farmer's Market. It is really sad to think about how close they were--though I do wonder if they would have been able to safely land if they had stayed up until they got to the runway or if they would have crash landed.
I've handled the legal work on the sale of two airplanes this month, a Piper PA-32 -300 and a Cirrus SR22. That parachute system sounds pretty good right now...
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