N113SH Citation down in Oklahoma City...

Tue March 4, 2008
Plane crashes in Oklahoma City

Police and fire officials are reporting a small jet has crashed in northwest Oklahoma City.

The plane crashed about 3:15 p.m. near NW 10 and Council, said Roland Herwig, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration. He said it was a Cessna 500, also known as a Citation. The aircraft departed Wiley Post and crashed 5 miles southwest of Wiley Post.

We are told, and this is preliminary, that there is at least one fatality, Herwig said. We don’t know how many were on board at this point.

He said the destination was Mankato, Minn.

Herwig also said the registered owner of the aircraft is Southwest Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Clinic P.C. of Oklahoma City.

The plane belongs to Dr. Anthony L. Cruse, said Wayne Allison, a clinic official. Cruse was not on the plane and was performing surgery at the time of the crash.

Cruse does not know who was aboard the plane, Allison said.

As she was driving west on NW 10 to Bethany, the plane flew right over Lindsey Allison, who is not associated with the clinic. The small plane was going south.

She thought it was a stunt plane.

It was flipping and spinning and going almost upside down. It was all happening right in front of me. Then it seemed to lose all control; it went straight down and crashed, said Allison, a clerk with the Oklahoma County sheriff’s office. With her was her son, Levi, 6.

I couldn’t believe that it was going to crash, she said. She thought she was the second person on the accident scene

A fire department official could not say whether there were any fatalities or injuries. Fire, police and paramedics are on the scene.

Flightaware flight tracker for N113SH.
FAA Registry

News coverage

Witness describes crash

Crash scene video

Tragic

Early reports state; possibly four person on board, witness reports aircraft passed thru flock of birds, including statement of dead bird/birds floating on lake after striking aircraft.

Just statement from witness, no confirmation from FAA.

I am only going to confirm what the news has already stated, as I am unable to disclose further details. The accident aircraft is N113SH, a Citation I based at Wiley Post Airport. The accident appears to have occurred due to ingestion and strikes by numerous birds. At this time, there is only one confirmed fatality which appears to be the pilot. This man is a well respected member of the aviation community, well known at the airport, and all around very nice guy. He will be dearly missed.

My thoughts and prayers to his family and other friends, as well as anyone involved in this tragic occurrence.

This is the second tragedy at this airport within three months. In early January a Line Service Technician was killed when he was struck by a propeller. It is known that it was an accident, but further details are unknown simply because nobody, including the pilot, saw the accident happen. Therefore, nobody knows exactly what happened and, unfortunately, some have put their own spin on the story.

This is truly a sad year for myself, and our brothers and sisters in aviation at Wiley Post Airport.

As it is not unusual for first reports to be incorrect, the local police have just issued a statement. There are two crash scenes, witnesses saw, a piece of the aircraft fall off, the piece hit the ground and started a grass fire.

The aircraft continued, out of control for a quarter mile from the first scene, impacting the ground.

KOCO News Update

FAA confirms the pilots as Rick Sandoval and Tim Hartman, and two passengers as CEO of United Engines Garth Bates, and VP Frank Pool.

Fire services believe 5 souls onboard, but are awaiting daylight for recovery to continue.

Photos from scene;

i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd20 … 113SH3.jpg
i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd20 … 113SH2.jpg
i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd20 … 113SH1.jpg

Speculation on my Part…Assuming th eBird Strike theory is true then what we have are 2 Different failures at once…i.e. the Bird Strike/Ingestion followed by the Mechanical Failure of some piece of the plane…Unless it was an Ingetion that caused an engine to explode…

Interesting how the witness in the Early report describes the plane as “doing Stunts and then losing control”…

FAA Preliminary Report confirms a total of 4 fatalities.
LiveLeak Video

AP report 5th victim confirmed;

AP Report

A bird strike could certainly cause a catastrophic engine failure, aka “throwing parts”. Also to be considered is that a bird could have penetrated the windshield. Having hit Canada geese and seagulls, I can assure you that it is a nasty nasty thing. Condolences to all affected, family and friends alike.

Those fatally injured in the crash have been identified. Although the FAA’s preliminary report of N113SH’s crash (faa.gov/data_statistics/acci … 0305_N.txt) states that there were four people on board, five have been recovered.

I knew Tim, one of the pilots, but not very well. I had only met him a couple of times, but it was enough to know that he was a great and charismatic guy. That being said, I’ll let these articles speak for themselves.

All five OKC plane crash fatalities identified newsok.com/article/keyword/3212139/

Crash victims going to be greatly missed’
newsok.com/article/keyword/3212617/

An article printed in todays Oklahoman talks about the actual crash. Just from reading the article title one must remember to take (read) this with a grain of salt as it is the media’s interpretation of events.

Did birds doom jet?
newsok.com/article/keyword/3212615/

May all their souls rest in piece, and may their friends and family have the strength to endure this terrible ordeal.

Latest report…

-States that a security camera mounted at the OG&E Mustang power plant about a half mile from the crash site recorded the plane crashing. The plane plummeted at steep descent into the ground with smoke trailing it.

-The cockpit voice recorder box in the Cessna 500 Citation I, which was recovered at the site, was not in use when the plane went down near NW 10 and Council Road on March 4, according to the report.

-Witness, a 20-year veteran U.S. Air Force crew chief, saw the plane go down into the woods and explode into a "huge fireball, according to the report.

He also claimed to see "pieces of bird falling from the sky to the water near where he was standing at Lake Overholser. The bird pieces were said to be white.

The witness also reported hearing a sound that resembled an "engine compressor stall. Looking at the plane, he saw it descending into the ground at a 60 to 70 degree angle.

-Residue sent to a Smithsonian Institution bird expert may hold the answer as to why a plane crashed in Oklahoma City last week, killing five men, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report released Wednesday.

NTSB Report

Thank you for the update . . .

Probable cause; ‘Was airplane wing-structure damage sustained during impact with one or more large birds (American White Pelicans), which resulted in loss of control of the airplane.’


airport-data photo