AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 74

SAFETYPILOT
feet in three minutes predicts a vertical speed of something more than 3,000 feet per minute in descent. With small pieces fluttering slowly down and still providing a radar target, it’s probable that the fuselage’s final plunge was much faster. The radar-estimated groundspeed was between 242 knots and 253 knots. Meteorological information The weather was typical for mid-spring with scattered to broken clouds and the possibility of moderate icing aloft. The Buffalo forecast until 9 a.m. included scattered clouds at 1,000 feet, a broken layer at 2,500 feet, and temporary conditions of five miles visibility in light rain and fog. Greensboro, North Carolina’s forecast from noon until 4 p.m. included scattered clouds at 3,000 feet, broken at 7,000 feet, and an occasional broken layer at 3,000 feet. Temperatures were forecast to be minus-4 degrees Celsius at 12,000 feet over Buffalo. At Raleigh-Durham, the temperature was predicted to be just below freezing at 12,000 feet until 2 p.m. The NTSB noted airmets for Pennsyl-

vania and West Virginia that called for occasional moderate rime/mixed icing between 10,000 feet and Flight Level 180. The freezing level was 8,000 to 10,000 feet slightly to the north of the flight path. The winds aloft at 12,000 feet were generally east to northeast, and no thunderstorms or significant turbulence were reported in the accident area. The aircraft The Bonanza had a modified Allison turbine engine. It had no pressurization system, but supplemental oxygen was installed. It was equipped with engine icing protection, which included engine inlet anti-ice, a heated inlet fairing, propeller deice, and continuous ignition. The airplane also had a TKS weeping fluid airframe anti-icing system with windshield anti-ice. There was no indication that any TKS fluid was aboard the aircraft. Despite all this, the aircraft was not approved for flight into icing conditions, and the pilot’s operating handbook was very clear that the engine antiice system must be used any time the temperature was below 5 degrees C (41 degrees F) when in visible moisture. The deice and anti-icing switches were found

off, but this was inconclusive because of the possible effect of impact forces. The pilot The 65-year-old pilot’s dossier is poor. Total flight time at the time of the mishap was approximately 1,500 hours. Time in type was not reported. In June 1994 the pilot failed the private pilot checkride but passed in July. In February 1995, the pilot did not pass the instrument practical test but was successful in March 1995. In the summer of 1996 the pilot attended turbine Bonanza training at FlightSafety International but nearly didn’t survive the trip. The pilot told his flight instructor that while en route to the training site, he’d encountered a thunderstorm. With hail damage and a 6,000-foot loss of altitude, he attempted to reverse course, but wound up in a 60-degree bank, so he leveled the wings, put the landing gear down, reduced power, and “decided to plow through it.” The pilot then landed at the wrong airport and ran off the runway into the grass. He was cleared to land on Runway 36, but landed on Runway 18 with a quartering tailwind of about 15 knots. The hail damage included “some dings on the

DUATS
The Software includes: • Vector Navigational Charts • Graphical Weather Overlay • Graphical TFRs • Topographical Profiles • Customized Chart Preferences • FREE 56 Day Updates CSC DUATS Superior Services: • FAA Weather Briefings • NOTAMS • Plain Language Text Weather • Color Weather Graphics • Automated Flight Planner • Flight Plan Filing • Multiple Pilot Profiles • Multiple Aircraft Profiles • Stored Routes • Preferred Routes • QICP Approved Secure Web Access*
*www.duats.com only

FREE
FAA CERTIFIED

PILOT SELF BRIEFING FLIGHT PLANNING SERVICE

You Can Do It Better, Faster, and More Effectively, Using DUATS Golden Eagle FlightPrep® Software (GEFP)
Make The Most of Your Flying and Upgrade Your Golden Eagle FlightPrep® Get all the easy-to-use free features plus these premium enhancements: Golden Eagle Plus® • Fuel Stop Planning • Multi-Leg Trip Planning • Flight Planning Wizard • Premium Wx-METAR and Wind • Profile Topo, Airspace, Clouds & Wind • Weight & Balance

$79.95 One-time upgrade fee!
Some premium features illustrated

For FREE GEFP software download: www.duats.com For a FREE copy on CD: 800.345.3828 option 1 To order, visit: www.flightprep.com or Call: 800.966.4360

ChartCase Professional® Fully Integrated EFB. No piecemeal download, no complicated option, no hassle, no kidding. • Full Moving Map & Flight Planner • Position on Charts, Plates & Taxi Diagrams • In-Cockpit Weather • TAWS (Terrain Awareness) Display • 3D HITS (Highway in the sky) • Glass Virtual Instrument Panel • Pre-load of Sectionals, TACS, LIFR & Plates

$449.95 One-time upgrade fee!
5546-09 DUATS

http://www.duats.com http://www.flightprep.com http://www.duats.com http://www.flightprep.com http://www.duats.com

AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011