C-172 down at HPN - 2 fatalities

A Cessna 172 crashed yesterday short of the approach end of RWY 16
killing the pilot and instructor aboard. No cause for the accident has
yet been established, but the weather was at or near minimums for the
ILS-16 approach at the time of the crash and and tracking the flight
on:

http://www4.passur.com/hpn.html

at 15:10 local time on 4.23.05 shows the flight significantly below the
glideslope for much of the approach.

From the news reports I'd guess that it was an instrument student and a
CFII returning from ALB on a long IFR cross country flight.

Here are a couple of news reports:

http://www.capitalnews9.com/content/...27983&SecID=33
http://www.wfsb.com/Global/story.asp?S=3252575

Here's a story from the Stamford Advocate along with the usual helping of
assoholic reporter ignorance at the end:

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news...ocal-headlines
--
Plane crash kills 2 near Greenwich border
By Michael Dinan
Staff Writer
April 24, 2005
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- A flight instructor and his student were found dead
in thick woods just beyond Greenwich's northwest corner yesterday afternoon,
after the single-engine propeller plane they were flying crashed during an
apparent attempt to land at Westchester County Airport, officials said.

"The plane was broken in half, it appeared to me, and there was fire, with
two people trapped in burning flame," North Castle, N.Y., Police Chief
Robert D'Angelo said during a news conference last night at the airport's
media center.

Airport officials identified the instructor as Isaac Negron of Hamden, and
the student as Lev Naumov, 23, of Yonkers, N.Y. Negron's age was not known
last night.

The Cessna 172 four-seater belonged to American Flyers, a flight instruction
school based at the airport, said Lawrence Salley, Westchester County's
transportation commissioner.

The men had flown out of the airport shortly after noon yesterday, to
Albany, N.Y., and appeared to be returning to the airport, though their
arrival was not scheduled.

The Federal Aviation Administration tower, based at the airport, lost radar
contact with the plane about 40 minutes before its smoldering remains were
located by North Castle firefighters, said Anthony Sutton, commissioner of
Westchester County's Department of Emergency Services.

The causes and times of the accident and deaths are not yet known. FAA
officials began investigating the crash yesterday, and National
Transportation Safety Board members are expected to join them today, Salley
said.

The Cessna disappeared from the FAA's radar at 3:19 p.m., Salley said. The
plane, which Salley said relayed no distress signals and whose pilot had no
verbal contact with the air tower, was last seen on screen about a
quarter-mile from the airport runway. It was flying at 800 feet, which
Salley said is not unusually low for a plane attempting to land at the
airport.

A hotline transmission from local police went out at 3:29 p.m., by which
time Westchester County's emergency response teams had converged to perform
a "grid type of search," Salley said. At 3:41 p.m., the FAA had confirmed
that no other air towers were able to locate the plane, Salley said.

The burning remains, were discovered at 4:01 p.m. by firefighters who
smelled something burning in the woods near the intersection of Routes 22
and 120 in North Castle. Negron and Naumov were found dead inside the plane,
D'Angelo said.

The Cessna 172 model was produced in 2001 and does not a have a "black box,"
Salley said. Experts can sometimes use the voice recording device to
reconstruct an accident.

The plane crashed near, but did not contaminate, the Kensico Reservoir,
officials said. It was not clear last night who owned the property where the
plane crashed. Officials said last night that they knew of no witnesses to
the accident.

Six flights were canceled and two flights were delayed as a result of the
crash, Salley said. Outbound services at the airport resumed at 5:20 p.m.
yesterday, but FAA officials halted inbound service, Salley said, to "check
out (the airport's) instrument landing system."

Grief counselors had arrived at the airport last night to talk to Negron's
and Naumov's families, Westchester County Police Commissioner Tom Belfiore
said.

American Flyers runs 15 flight schools nationwide, according to the
company's Web site. Salley, Westchester's transportation commissioner since
2000, said that he couldn't recall the company having a fatal crash before.

The Westchester County Airport grew out of plans to defend New York City
during World War II, and has evolved slowly into a modern airport used by
thousands of business and leisure travelers.

There have been numerous aviation accidents in the region since commercial
operations expanded. Since 1974, 40 people have died and 20 people have been
injured in 31 accidents after take-offs from and attempted landings at
Westchester County Airport.

Most recently, in June 2001, the pilot of a single-engine plane was killed
when his Piper Saratoga crashed into the fog-shrouded woods off Bedford Road
in backcountry Greenwich. The pilot had unsuccessfully attempted an
instrument landing at Westchester County Airport, about a half-mile from the
crash site.










"Tom Fleischman" k wrote in
message
news:240420051342072877%bodhijunkoneeightyeightjun ...

A Cessna 172 crashed yesterday short of the approach end of RWY 16
killing the pilot and instructor aboard. No cause for the accident has
yet been established, but the weather was at or near minimums for the
ILS-16 approach at the time of the crash and and tracking the flight
on:

http://www4.passur.com/hpn.html

at 15:10 local time on 4.23.05 shows the flight significantly below the
glideslope for much of the approach.

From the news reports I'd guess that it was an instrument student and a
CFII returning from ALB on a long IFR cross country flight.

Here are a couple of news reports:

http://www.capitalnews9.com/content/...27983&SecID=33
http://www.wfsb.com/Global/story.asp?S=3252575

What does the reporter say in the article that causes you to classify him as an "assoholic?"

"R.L." wrote:

Here's a story from the Stamford Advocate along with the usual helping of
assoholic reporter ignorance at the end:


--
Plane crash kills 2 near Greenwich border
By Michael Dinan
Staff Writer
April 24, 2005
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- A flight instructor and his student were found dead
in thick woods just beyond Greenwich's northwest corner yesterday afternoon,
after the single-engine propeller plane they were flying crashed during an
apparent attempt to land at Westchester County Airport, officials said.

"The plane was broken in half, it appeared to me, and there was fire, with
two people trapped in burning flame," North Castle, N.Y., Police Chief
Robert D'Angelo said during a news conference last night at the airport's
media center.

Airport officials identified the instructor as Isaac Negron of Hamden, and
the student as Lev Naumov, 23, of Yonkers, N.Y. Negron's age was not known
last night.

The Cessna 172 four-seater belonged to American Flyers, a flight instruction
school based at the airport, said Lawrence Salley, Westchester County's
transportation commissioner.

The men had flown out of the airport shortly after noon yesterday, to
Albany, N.Y., and appeared to be returning to the airport, though their
arrival was not scheduled.

The Federal Aviation Administration tower, based at the airport, lost radar
contact with the plane about 40 minutes before its smoldering remains were
located by North Castle firefighters, said Anthony Sutton, commissioner of
Westchester County's Department of Emergency Services.

The causes and times of the accident and deaths are not yet known. FAA
officials began investigating the crash yesterday, and National
Transportation Safety Board members are expected to join them today, Salley
said.

The Cessna disappeared from the FAA's radar at 3:19 p.m., Salley said. The
plane, which Salley said relayed no distress signals and whose pilot had no
verbal contact with the air tower, was last seen on screen about a
quarter-mile from the airport runway. It was flying at 800 feet, which
Salley said is not unusually low for a plane attempting to land at the
airport.

A hotline transmission from local police went out at 3:29 p.m., by which
time Westchester County's emergency response teams had converged to perform
a "grid type of search," Salley said. At 3:41 p.m., the FAA had confirmed
that no other air towers were able to locate the plane, Salley said.

The burning remains, were discovered at 4:01 p.m. by firefighters who
smelled something burning in the woods near the intersection of Routes 22
and 120 in North Castle. Negron and Naumov were found dead inside the plane,
D'Angelo said.

The Cessna 172 model was produced in 2001 and does not a have a "black box,"
Salley said. Experts can sometimes use the voice recording device to
reconstruct an accident.

The plane crashed near, but did not contaminate, the Kensico Reservoir,
officials said. It was not clear last night who owned the property where the
plane crashed. Officials said last night that they knew of no witnesses to
the accident.

Six flights were canceled and two flights were delayed as a result of the
crash, Salley said. Outbound services at the airport resumed at 5:20 p.m.
yesterday, but FAA officials halted inbound service, Salley said, to "check
out (the airport's) instrument landing system."

Grief counselors had arrived at the airport last night to talk to Negron's
and Naumov's families, Westchester County Police Commissioner Tom Belfiore
said.

American Flyers runs 15 flight schools nationwide, according to the
company's Web site. Salley, Westchester's transportation commissioner since
2000, said that he couldn't recall the company having a fatal crash before.

The Westchester County Airport grew out of plans to defend New York City
during World War II, and has evolved slowly into a modern airport used by
thousands of business and leisure travelers.

There have been numerous aviation accidents in the region since commercial
operations expanded. Since 1974, 40 people have died and 20 people have been
injured in 31 accidents after take-offs from and attempted landings at
Westchester County Airport.

Most recently, in June 2001, the pilot of a single-engine plane was killed
when his Piper Saratoga crashed into the fog-shrouded woods off Bedford Road
in backcountry Greenwich. The pilot had unsuccessfully attempted an
instrument landing at Westchester County Airport, about a half-mile from the
crash site.

The two statements...

"its smoldering remains were located"
"The burning remains, were discovered"

....did it for me. I think while one could be explained as poetic license the
second was just for the fun of it.

Also, I doubt the guy gives a 30 year death and maiming history for every
car wreck he covers.

"Since 1974, 40 people have died and 20 people have been
injured in 31 accidents after take-offs from and attempted landings at
Westchester County Airport"


wrote in message ...
What does the reporter say in the article that causes you to classify him
as an "assoholic?"

"R.L." wrote:

Here's a story from the Stamford Advocate along with the usual helping of
assoholic reporter ignorance at the end:


--
Plane crash kills 2 near Greenwich border
By Michael Dinan
Staff Writer
April 24, 2005
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- A flight instructor and his student were found
dead
in thick woods just beyond Greenwich's northwest corner yesterday
afternoon,
after the single-engine propeller plane they were flying crashed during
an
apparent attempt to land at Westchester County Airport, officials said.

"The plane was broken in half, it appeared to me, and there was fire,
with
two people trapped in burning flame," North Castle, N.Y., Police Chief
Robert D'Angelo said during a news conference last night at the airport's
media center.

Airport officials identified the instructor as Isaac Negron of Hamden,
and
the student as Lev Naumov, 23, of Yonkers, N.Y. Negron's age was not
known
last night.

The Cessna 172 four-seater belonged to American Flyers, a flight
instruction
school based at the airport, said Lawrence Salley, Westchester County's
transportation commissioner.

The men had flown out of the airport shortly after noon yesterday, to
Albany, N.Y., and appeared to be returning to the airport, though their
arrival was not scheduled.

The Federal Aviation Administration tower, based at the airport, lost
radar
contact with the plane about 40 minutes before its smoldering remains
were
located by North Castle firefighters, said Anthony Sutton, commissioner
of
Westchester County's Department of Emergency Services.

The causes and times of the accident and deaths are not yet known. FAA
officials began investigating the crash yesterday, and National
Transportation Safety Board members are expected to join them today,
Salley
said.

The Cessna disappeared from the FAA's radar at 3:19 p.m., Salley said.
The
plane, which Salley said relayed no distress signals and whose pilot had
no
verbal contact with the air tower, was last seen on screen about a
quarter-mile from the airport runway. It was flying at 800 feet, which
Salley said is not unusually low for a plane attempting to land at the
airport.

A hotline transmission from local police went out at 3:29 p.m., by which
time Westchester County's emergency response teams had converged to
perform
a "grid type of search," Salley said. At 3:41 p.m., the FAA had confirmed
that no other air towers were able to locate the plane, Salley said.

The burning remains, were discovered at 4:01 p.m. by firefighters who
smelled something burning in the woods near the intersection of Routes 22
and 120 in North Castle. Negron and Naumov were found dead inside the
plane,
D'Angelo said.

The Cessna 172 model was produced in 2001 and does not a have a "black
box,"
Salley said. Experts can sometimes use the voice recording device to
reconstruct an accident.

The plane crashed near, but did not contaminate, the Kensico Reservoir,
officials said. It was not clear last night who owned the property where
the
plane crashed. Officials said last night that they knew of no witnesses
to
the accident.

Six flights were canceled and two flights were delayed as a result of the
crash, Salley said. Outbound services at the airport resumed at 5:20 p.m.
yesterday, but FAA officials halted inbound service, Salley said, to
"check
out (the airport's) instrument landing system."

Grief counselors had arrived at the airport last night to talk to
Negron's
and Naumov's families, Westchester County Police Commissioner Tom
Belfiore
said.

American Flyers runs 15 flight schools nationwide, according to the
company's Web site. Salley, Westchester's transportation commissioner
since
2000, said that he couldn't recall the company having a fatal crash
before.

The Westchester County Airport grew out of plans to defend New York City
during World War II, and has evolved slowly into a modern airport used by
thousands of business and leisure travelers.

There have been numerous aviation accidents in the region since
commercial
operations expanded. Since 1974, 40 people have died and 20 people have
been
injured in 31 accidents after take-offs from and attempted landings at
Westchester County Airport.

Most recently, in June 2001, the pilot of a single-engine plane was
killed
when his Piper Saratoga crashed into the fog-shrouded woods off Bedford
Road
in backcountry Greenwich. The pilot had unsuccessfully attempted an
instrument landing at Westchester County Airport, about a half-mile from
the
crash site.

wrote:
What does the reporter say in the article that causes you to classify him
as an "assoholic?"

What I think is funny: "burning flame"

Really!?!?! What other kinds of flames are there?

--
Mike Flyin'8
PP-ASEL
Temecula, CA
http://flying.4alexanders.com

R.L. wrote:
Here's a story from the Stamford Advocate along with the usual helping of
assoholic reporter ignorance at the end:

Sounds completely cockeyed to me. Westchester is a controlled field, yet the
reporter states that the "pilot had no verbal contact with the air tower"?
Conditions were IMC, yet "their arrival was not scheduled"?

George Patterson
There's plenty of room for all of God's creatures. Right next to the
mashed potatoes.

When I read posts critical of the knowledge of reporters I think one of
two scenarios: One, the poster has forgotten how much training it took
for him to get so "smart" and thereby figures the reporter and anyone
else should know as much as he does. Or, second, criticizing others is a
way for some to pump up their own egoes. Some reporters are better than
others (as are pilots), and they have to report on a wide variety of
topics in a timely fashion and often make statements that are erroneous
or seem juvenile. They can't all be perfect or there would be only one
newspaper in the country. Some of these statements, however, answer the
questions that uninformed readers may want to know, such as the fact
that 172s don't have a black box: A stupid statement to a pilot but not
to the readership. I think "assoholic" does not apply to the reporter of
this particular story. Now, politically motivated stories are another
matter...


wrote:
What does the reporter say in the article that causes you to classify him as an "assoholic?"

"R.L." wrote:

George Patterson wrote:

Sounds completely cockeyed to me. Westchester is a controlled field, yet
the reporter states that the "pilot had no verbal contact with the air
tower"? Conditions were IMC, yet "their arrival was not scheduled"?

The reporter thinks of "scheduled" as in part 121. If someone mentioned
"general aviation" to him, he'd probably want to interview the fellow (of
obvious import due to his high rank {8^).

It's possible that there was no contact with the tower if the pilot hadn't
been handed off yet (or if he never made contact with the tower after the
hand-off). It's been a couple of years since I ILSed into HPN, so I don't
know how early/late TRACON does the hand-off.

- Andrew

RomeoMike wrote:

They can't all be perfect or there would be only one
newspaper in the country.

I don't expect a reporter to know all subjects. I expect them to ask
intelligent questions, collect and understand the answers, and report from
that. This obviously has not occurred to some degree with this reporter.

However, the reporter also chose inflammatory phases (if you'll forgive the
pun), which does - in my opinion - earn distain. The question as to
whether he or she discussed the last few decades of automobile accidents
while reporting on every accident on the road is a good one, and points out
the bias reflected in the reporting.

Some of these statements, however, answer the
questions that uninformed readers may want to know, such as the fact
that 172s don't have a black box: A stupid statement to a pilot but not
to the readership.

I don't think that anyone questions the utility of these informational
points. It would have been nice had the reporter indicated that this type
of aircraft is not required to - and such almost never do - carry a black
box. Instead, he left that hanging as if the plane was in violation of
some rule which will prevent experts from reconstructing the accident.

Further, the mention of "arrival not scheduled" without context implies a
rogue operation, as opposed to someone operating under ATC control but
without being a part of an airline. It's just as bad as the reporters that
love to write "w/o filing a flight plan" yet apparently hate to write
"which wasn't required".

- Andrew

George wrote:

Westchester is a controlled field, yet the
reporter states that the "pilot had no verbal contact with the air
tower"?

Technically, this might be correct. Perhaps approach had yet to hand
off the aircraft to the tower.

Conditions were IMC, yet "their arrival was not scheduled"?

Again, technically, this might be considered correct, too. The
aircraft was operating under part 91, not part 121.

Its possible those facts were relayed to the reporter, who then added
them to the article out of context.

--
Peter