Just heard this on KTVU/Fox 2:
The SR22 pilot was trying to fly from Reno, NV to Novato, CA when he contacted ATC and reported icing just west of
Lake Tahoe, near the “Sugar Bowl” ski resort.
He deployed the BRS parachute, but according to ATC radar tapes this was done too late - at an airspeed of approximately 400 knots.
Hence, the parachute ripped off the airplane and the airplane crashed.
The pilot, owner of a home-based business in Novato, CA, had bought the SR22 in December 2004 and had was a low time pilot, according to KTVU.
Yes, another Cirrus owner eliminates themselves from the gene pool. Unfortunately this can not be attributed to the aircraft as it was brand new and had the TKS de-ice system. This is another example of the pilot making bad decisions. He was level at 16,000 and I suspect that he did not have oxygen so maybe that helped impair him. I would like to know if this pilot completed the necessary training from UND or from COPA regarding the safe operation of the aircraft and if he had obtain the proper instrument proficiency check in the aircraft. We are now begining to uderstand that it take 15-20 hours to make the proper transition into the glass panel… Reports of the aircraft disenigrating at speed of greater than 300mph are probably not accurate. God Speed… More to follow… news at 11:00.
Who is “TM”? Clicking on him name - “TM” yields no information. Clicking again to do a search on “TM” comes back empty. Is there some integrity issue here?
While not the “end of the story”, I did note that on one of the news video clips I noticed a oximizer or like nasal cannula recovered from the accident site.
So I do believe from this evidence that at least O2 was on board and probably being used by the pilot.
My prayers and heart goes out to the family and friends/
Who is “TM”? Clicking on him name - “TM” yields no information. Clicking again to do a search on “TM” comes back empty. Is there some integrity issue here?
Gerry<<
Integrity issue? Give me a break…the only integrity issue is the need to impugn someone’s character because they don’t reveal the same load of personal information that you may choose to reveal. It’s an internet board for goodness sakes. With comments like your’s, why would anyone choose to give you their name? For the record, click on my name…you’ll see you don’t get information on me either, because I’m not a paying member of COPA.
I have noticed in the past many times that some posters on this board always insists on personally attacking anyone who posts anonymously. It’s nothing but a blatant attempt to divert the discussion from the subject of the anonymous posts…It’s stupid, pointless and negates the point of any internet board, which is to share information and ideas.
Crash of Cirrus plane kills pilot in California mountains
NEWS TRIBUNE, NEWS SERVICE REPORTS
SODA SPRINGS, Calif. - Placer County sheriff’s officials Monday found
the body of the pilot of a Cirrus plane that disappeared from radar
Sunday after it left Reno-Tahoe International Airport and went down near
the Sugar Bowl Ski Resort.
Authorities have not released the pilot’s name.
The plane’s pilot had told the Oakland Center air traffic control
facility in Fremont on Sunday night that his wings were icing and he was
going down, said Donn Walker, a Los Angeles-based Federal Aviation
Administration spokesman. At the time, he was over a rugged area
accessible only by snowmobile, helicopter or ski because of the heavy
snow pack.
A snow-groomer at the Sugar Bowl ski area reported about 1:45 a.m. that
he had found aircraft parts and a parachute.
The plane is owned by a small, Marin County construction management
company, Alamar Construction, in Novato. An official at Alamar said
employees were having a “rough time” Monday.
Officials said early indications were that the $500,000, single-engine
plane began to disintegrate after its parachute was deployed while the
aircraft was going more than 350 mph, about three times the speed
considered safe for deployment.
“We think it did significant damage to the plane, possibly ripping it in
half,” Capt. Rick Armstrong said.
Bill King, vice president of business administration for Duluth-based
Cirrus, rejected the suggestion that deploying the parachute could have
torn the airplane apart. It’s just not possible, King said.
Jim McDonald, editor of Aero-News.net, an online magazine that tracks
the aviation industry, also was skeptical of Armstrong’s account. He has
tested the parachute system and said it is designed to give way well
before it would cause any damage to the airplane fuselage.
The parachute system is designed to be deployed at a maximum speed of
133 knots.
McDonald believes the pilot exercised poor judgment, taking off at night
in poor weather over mountainous terrain.
“I’m very careful about trying to prejudge these kinds of things, but
with the weather data that was out there, and the forecast for icing
conditions, there’s no way I can imagine charging into that,” he said.
McDonald said that while the airplane did have de-icing equipment, it
was not designed to handle prolonged flight in icy weather.
“It works exceedingly well, but it basically is designed to give you one
to one-and-a-half hours to find some place to get down,” he said.
NTSB officials expect to begin investigating the crash site this
morning, accompanied by a team from Cirrus Corp., King said.
No integrity issue, just newer person to the site and have not loaded all the data, maybe that’s better. Have been reading alot of various posts and have alot to contribute. Sorry Gerry if that upsets you…