C172 crash at Coney Island

"It started going up," said Roberto Paredes, 10. "Then it stopped [for]
a . . . second. Then it went down fast."
(http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/44449.htm)

I'm inclined to trust the 10-year-old kid's matter-of-fact report more
than those of reporters or adult witnesses who like to "interpret."

So, this 1800-hour instructor -- who reportedly overflew his
girlfriend's apartment at less than 500' AGL "to impress her," a clear
violation even under Part 91 -- definitely stalled the plane.

An unintentional stall, with or without a running engine, almost
certainly points to pilot error.

Almost all general-aviation "tragedies" are preventable. Too bad.

- Miles

wrote in message
oups.com...
(http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/44449.htm)
So, this 1800-hour instructor -- who reportedly overflew his
girlfriend's apartment at less than 500' AGL "to impress her," a clear
violation even under Part 91 -- definitely stalled the plane.

What report are you referring to? The article you cite says nothing about
the plane's altitude at that point. (Also, as the article points out, the
girlfriend's house was along the beach, a common sightseeing route for small
planes, so it wouldn't have taken any special effort to overfly it).

An unintentional stall, with or without a running engine, almost
certainly points to pilot error.

This report also says, for the first time, that the plane was "trailing
black smoke" while it descended and circled. If there was a fire onboard, it
becomes much less clear that there was any pilot error (and it would make
any such error more comprehensible).

--Gary