Posted on 03/18/2006 6:34:03 PM PST by Westlander
WINFIELD, W.Va. -- National Guard jets tried unsuccessfully to make contact with the pilot of a private plane Friday night before it crashed near a rural home in West Virginia.
The body of the pilot, the only person on board, was found in the wreckage. He's been identified as 56-year old William Cammack, of St. Paul, Minn.
(Excerpt) Read more at clickondetroit.com ...
The guy was undoubtedly dead, and the plane possibly on autopilot. Plane prolly crashed when it ran out of gas.
Man, this sure sounds like the Payne Stewart incident all over again... his was the first time that a pressure valve ever failed.... hmmmmm
I guess we will have to see the details
Jim
Newer Beech Barons have autopilot; you're probably right.
Not a flyer. Resultant question-are auto pilots interfaced with GPS these days? And #2, this sure seems a long way to scramble from Southeast Michigan.
Payne Stewart wasn't the first...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Rein
So do older ones. The plane that crashed last night was built in 1968. Avionics upgrades, although expensive, don't require a lot of effort or modification.
Sure they are.
But when you get near your destination, you have to "arm" the AP into "Approach mode."
Otherwise, you just keep on going. - The AP doesn't land the plane for you, at least not in General Aviation.
Absolutely A/Ps are coupled to GPS. One can load a flightplan ito the box and the A/P will fly the route including turns (hands off). All the pilot has to do is manage fuel and talk on the radio. A Baron would be so equipped. A sobering thought is the pilot was the same age as me.
Plane prolly crashed when it ran out of gas.
This is prolly series. Prolly hugh!
That's Selfridge ANGB.
Selfridge ANGB, Mich. 48045-5046; 3 mi. NE of Mount Clemens. Phone: 586-307-4011; DSN 273-4011. Units: 127th Wing (ANG); 927th Air Refueling Wing (AFRC); Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps Reserve units; ARNG; US Coast Guard Air Station for Detroit. History: activated July 1917; transferred to Mich. ANG July 1971. Named for 1st Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge, killed Sept. 17, 1908, at Ft. Myer, Va., when airplane piloted by Orville Wright crashed. Area: 3,070 acres. Runway: 9,000 ft. Altitude: 580 ft. Full-time personnel: ANG, 454; AFRC, 247.
Well I got the A & B right. Just 'down the street' from http://www.magnaport.com/
The interception was over Wisconsin. Almost on top of the ANG base, Truax Field, at Madison, WI. I suspect the Michigan unit had "the duty" for that region last night.
And yes autopilots can be tied into GPS these days, but they are often flown in a "heading hold" mode. Thus if he disconnected the autopilot to make a turn towards St. Paul, and then re engaged it before falling victim to whatever he fell victim to (hypoxia, heart attack, stroke, etc) the autopilot would have flown that heading until the aircraft ran out of fuel.
Thanks !
Ping.
good job cat.
"Absolutely A/Ps are coupled to GPS. One can load a flightplan ito the box and the A/P will fly the route including turns (hands off). All the pilot has to do is manage fuel and talk on the radio. A Baron would be so equipped."
Flat-out wrong. Maybe it was so equipped. Maybe it wasn't. A Baron is not a Citation -- this Baron could have had any particular level of avionics since 1968. An autopilot slaved to a GPS is a popular option -- but absolutely not all-pervasive. I know. My Beechcraft does NOT have its autopilot (S-Tec 50) slaved to its Garmin GPS.
Come to think of it...did they ever find that (I think) A-10 packing live missles that went off course during a training mission over the Rockies? It happened like 7-10 years ago.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.