Posted on 03/23/2009 6:34:04 AM PDT by pabianice
An FAA spokesman is quoted by the New York Times as saying as many as 17 people, many of them children, were on board a 12-seat Pilatus PC-12 and all died when the aircraft crashed and exploded in a cemetery in Butte, Montana on Sunday. Les Dorr told the Times that 14 to 17 people were on the aircraft, which left Oroville, Calif., 70 miles north of Sacramento, Calif. for Bozeman, Mont.. The plane diverted to Butte en route and crashed within 500 feet of the airport. The reason for the diversion has not been released but Butte would have been a closer alternative if the pilot had been experiencing problems. According to FlightAware, the flight originated at Brown Field in San Diego and made three stops before the crash.
Local media is reporting that the aircraft was loaded with children heading for a ski vacation...
(Excerpt) Read more at avweb.com ...
Crashed into a cemetary... officials have recovered 46 bodies so far and expect for find more.
Law suits will fly regardless of cause. Sadly, it's the American way......
Did they crash into a funeral procession? Where did the other 30+ people come from?
It was a RENTED plane.
If there are any lawsuits, then the family of the pilot is going to be sued by the rental company.
Most General Aviation accidents are a result of the pilot not knowing some aspect of his plane. Here, the pilot either didn’t know or didn’t pay attention to the weight limit.
It crashed into a cemetary..... keep digging, you’ll get it.
officials have recovered 46 bodies so far and expect to find more.
Love it.
[Must have been a Democrat - No Laws Apply To Me, not even Physics or Aerodynamics.]
OMG...How sad!!
Did they crash into a funeral procession? Where did the other 30+ people come from?
I know it’s monday morning. Think about it for awhile.
[Must have been a Democrat - No Laws Apply To Me, not even Physics or Aerodynamics.]
#####
My thought also. “Good” intentions override reality for dems.
It’s not surprising they can’t tell yet how many were on board - a nose dive into the ground followed by a bad fire. I’m glad I don’t have to work on stuff like that.
I don’t think weight is the determining factor here because these were children. FAA allows 170 lbs for an adult, not sure how much for children but in any case the PC-12 mis a very capable airplane and would carry that weight without any problem. I’m thinking pilot error associated with some other aspect of the flight.
If indeed it was rented (where can you rent a PC-12?) the estate of the pilot, along with the pilot's family, will likely sue the owner of the aircraft, along with the manufacturer of the aircraft and any entity that made anything that was on the aircraft. Ultimately, though, if there were only 12 seats and 17 souls on board, the pilot is at fault, regardless. It is his sole responsibility to ensure that everyone on the aircraft is belted in prior to take off and that clearly can't happen when you have 12 seats and 17 people on board. This one will be in the courts for years and years and the only winners will be the lawyers....
There are Old pilots and there are Bold pilots, but there are no Old Bold pilots.
If they were lap children, it could be legal.
It sounds to me like the pilot didn’t know what the stall speed was, or paid no attention to his air speed. (although the gages usually red line at stall speed.) Stall warnings or stick shakers are usually on board also.
By the time they finish finding bodies it will look like the plane was packed like a German Cattle car, c. 1942.
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