Here's the article from the local newspaper:
http://www.semissourian.com/story/1188041.html
Deadly day avoided at Cape airport
Saturday, February 3, 2007
By TJ Greaney ~ Southeast Missourian
Sheldon Stone made an emergency landing at Cape Girardeau Regional
Airport early Friday. He and his co-pilot depressurized the plane when the
windshield shattered, but they then lost consciousness. The tail damage
occurred while they were unconscious.
(Kit Doyle)
[Click to enlarge]
The twin-engine plane was diving toward the ground Friday morning at a speed
of well over 400 miles per hour. Its pilot and co-pilot were unconscious
from oxygen deprivation.
The plane's nose was tilted down and in about 15 seconds would collide with
the earth northwest of Cape Girardeau.
Death seemed certain.
But pilot Sheldon Stone and co-pilot Adam Moore are alive today.
"We must have had angels on our shoulders, that's all I can say," said
Stone, who flies the plane for the owner of Summit Bank of Arkansas and has
about 4,200 hours of flying experience.
Shortly after the plane took off from Rogers, Ark., en route to Shenandoah,
Va., the windshield of the cockpit shattered. The pilots, who were the only
people on board, don't know what caused that, but they immediately
depressurized the cabin.
"We were both worried the windshield would blow out. If that happened, we
would be dead immediately," Stone said.
Stone and Moore took the plane off autopilot and reached for the
"heavy-duty" oxygen masks mounted on the plane's ceiling.
Stone twisted a valve to begin the flow of oxygen. The pressurized tank in
the rear should have promptly started because the plane was above 12,500
feet.
But it didn't.
So Stone pulled on straps at the side of the mask, a type of manual override
to force air flow.
Still nothing.
"We were both getting drunk really fast. I remember thinking, really slowly,
'Hey, I'm not getting any oxygen, what's wrong here?' But I was so loony
already at that point I couldn't even solve the problem if it could be
solved," he said. "I just sort of thought to myself, 'I've got to hurry,'
but everything was fading."
For the next 60 seconds everything went black.
Over the course of that time, the plane plummeted from 27,000 feet to 7,000
feet.
Then Stone got a rush of blood to the head. He woke up.
"My first thought, I mean, you're still so loony, I remember thinking, 'Why
is this plane going so fast?'" he said.
Stone grabbed the throttle and pulled the nose skyward.
The craft stopped falling, but a great deal of damage had been done.
Somewhere during the descent, the left portion of the tail, which houses the
elevator and horizontal stabilizer, ripped off. Each wing was warped in an
upside-down V shape due to the G-force exerted on them.
Stone radioed air-traffic control in Memphis and was told the closest
airport was Cape Girardeau. He was exhilarated to be alive, but quickly had
to get serious.
"I thought I was home free, but then I realize how hard it was to get the
plane under control and I started to think, 'Wait a minute. This thing isn't
over yet. I've got to find a way to land.'"
Just keeping the plane horizontal was a struggle. When Stone accelerated,
pressure pushed the nose upward, but when the pilot slowed down the craft,
its nose pitched downward and the pilot had to yank it back.
Eventually, they decided on a speed of 160 knots and began easing the plane
in for a landing.
Within five minutes of the call to Memphis, the plane was visible at Cape
Girardeau Regional Airport. It landed without incident and before the
emergency responders could reach the scene.
"I'd say it was a supremely good landing," said chief controller Larry
Davis. "I see student pilots make worse landings every day."
And when they saw the battered, broken plane, their jaws dropped.
"This is one of the most incredible stories I've ever heard," said airport
manager Bruce Loy.
Today, the plane sits off the landing strip marked off by yellow tape. Its
wings are warped and engine likely fried. It likely won't ever fly again,
said airport officials.
But for those who it carried to safety, the plane means something special.
"That plane has Christian background," Stone said.
The plane's former owner was an Assembly of God Christian association. Its
registration number, N777AG, had biblical significance combining a holy
number and an abbreviation for Assembly of God.
The church kept the number when they sold the plane to Stone's boss but
suggested the new owners might replace it with "AJ" for "Assembly of Jesus."
They did, and Friday the little King Air 200 pulled off a miracle.
"I'm just thanking God. I'm very thankful to be alive today," Stone said.
335-6611, extension 245
"John Szalay" wrote in message
42...
"Alan" wrote in
mention VNE?) You can Google N777AJ
NTSB Identification: CHI07LA063
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, February 02, 2007 in Cape Girardeau, MO
Aircraft: Raytheon Aircraft Company B200, registration: N777AJ
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain
errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final
report has been completed.
On February 2, 2007, about 1030 central standard time, a Raytheon
Aircraft Company B200, N777AJ, sustained substantial damage during an
uncontrolled descent and recovery from cruise at flight level 270.
Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
The flightcrew reported that they depressurized the airplane after
noticing cracking of the airplane windshield. They then donned their
oxygen masks but were unable to obtain oxygen from the oxygen system
resulting in their loss of consciousness. They later regained
consciousness, recovered from the descent, and landed without further
incident at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
The 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating on an instrument rules flight
plan. The pilot and copilot were uninjured. The flight originated from
Rogers Municipal Airport-Carter Field, Rogers, Arkansas, at 0939.
On-scene inspection of the airplane noted that approximately 2/3 of the
left horizontal stabilizer and elevator were separated from the aircraft
and 2/3 of the right elevator was separated but attached at the inboard
hinge. The left and right wings were wrinkled. The left pilot windshield
outer and inner ply were intact. The inner ply exhibited a shattered
appearance with a crack at the lower right hand corner of the
windshield. The cabin pressurization dump switch was in the dump
position.
The oxygen system worked when it was functionally tested in accordance
with Airplane Flight Manual.