Strange Crash?

Aviation Notable Activity
1

According to the NWS prelim weather report, the aircraft was last tracked around 2pm ET near Oklahoma City, and debris was found a few miles southwest of Anders in SE Oklahoma. However flightaware.com/live/flight/N55JS has it at 23000ft in SE Oklahoma at 2:02pm ET, then slows it down to 109kts after a little ‘altitude glitch’ before losing it over northern LA. Any idea what was being tracked at that point?

NOUS54 KTSA 161532
OAVTSA

WRKOAV
AIRCRAFT INCIDENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
1030 AM CDT MON OCT 16 2006

TO: FORENSIC SERVICES MANAGER (W/OS52)
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
C/O TELECOMMUNICATIONS GATEWAY
SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND 20910

INFO: NWS SOUTHERN REGION W/SR1X2

ALPHA: PILOT…UNKN
ACFT TYPE…AERO COMMANDER
REG NMBR…N55JS

BRAVO: LOCATION…NEAR ANTLERS OKLAHOMA
DATE…10/15/06
INCIDENT TIME…1800 UTC

      AIRCRAFT TOOK OFF FROM WILEY POST AIRPORT IN OKLAHOMA      
      CITY SUNDAY. DESTINATION WAS ORLANDO, FLORIDA. AIRCRAFT    
      WAS LAST SPOTTED ON RADAR AROUND 1800 UTC SUNDAY           
      NEAR ANTLERS. SOME AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE HAS BEEN FOUND
      3 MILES SOUTH AND 5 MILES WEST OF ANTLERS.

CHARLIE: 4 ABOARD: UNKN FATALITIES.

DELTA: MCALESTER REGIONAL AIRPORT
METAR KMLC 151853Z AUTO 07008KT 4SM VCTS RA BR BKN030 OVC090 14/12 A2983
RMK AO2 LTG DSNT S TSB52 SLP097 P0020 T01390122
SPECI KMLC 151837Z AUTO 09008G15KT 060V120 3SM +RA BR BKN026 OVC090
14/12 A2985 RMK AO2 LTG DSNT S P0016
SPECI KMLC 151824Z AUTO 07008KT 2 1/2SM +RA BR BKN026 OVC037 14/13 A2986
RMK AO2 P0012
METAR KMLC 151753Z AUTO 09007KT 4SM RA BR OVC026 14/13 A2988 RMK AO2
SLP113 P0019 60043 T01390128 10144 20133 56020
METAR KMLC 151653Z AUTO 08006KT 4SM RA BR BKN024 OVC070 14/13 A2989 RMK
AO2 SLP118 P0005 T01440128

ECHO:
KMLC 151744Z 151818 08006KT 5SM -RA BR SCT009 BKN025 OVC070
TEMPO 1821 3SM RA BR BKN009 OVC025
FM0000 11006KT 4SM RA SCT009 OVC025
FM0900 12008KT 4SM +RA BKN005 OVC025
TEMPO 0913 6SM -RA SCT007 OVC025
FM1500 09009KT 4SM -RA BR OVC007
KMLC 151604Z 151612 07007KT P6SM -RA SCT025 OVC100
TEMPO 1620 5SM -RA BKN025 OVC100
FM2000 15010KT 6SM -RA BR SCT006 OVC025
FM0000 15010KT 5SM -RA BR SCT006 OVC012
FM0600 12008KT 2SM -RA BR BKN006 OVC012 PROB30 0612
1/2SM TSRA FG OVC004CB

FOXTROT: WINDS ALOFT BASED ON TLX RADAR
3000 FT WND 30804 KTS
4000 FT WND 29404 KTS
5000 FT WND 24803 KTS
8000 FT WND 24201 KTS
9000 FT WND 19502 KTS
12000 FT WND 26807 KTS
16000 FT WND 26412 KTS
18000 FT WND 22241 KTS
20000 FT WND 21060 KTS
25000 FT WND 20172 KTS
30000 FT WND 20482 KTS

GOLF: UNKN.

HOTEL: WEATHER BRIEFING/DOCUMENTATION BY UNKN

PREPARED BY HODGES
FORECASTER WFO TULSA OK

2

kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=5542460

dfw.com/mld/startelegram/new … 772572.htm

3

Those stories seem to confirm the 2:02pm ET crash - so what was FA tracking after that point?

4

Just for clarification, Wiley Post is a couple of miles NW of Oklahoma City, which is in Central Oklahoma. Antlers, the city (town, actually) where it crashed is in Southeastern Oklahoma.

I’m curious what FA was tracking as well.

5

I don’t think FA was actually tracking the flight after its crash. To be very general, I think it is a software issue that continues the track if there is no other info to be processed. Note that the speed from 2:02 on is constant at 109 kts plus the blip in alt. at the same time, this from the track log.

I’m sure someone else can clarify this futher.

6

I knew everything on this site was made up. :laughing:

KIDDING

7

didn’t his kind of thing happen in the “MATRIX”

8

Let’s ask Damiross…he has answers for all this ‘stuff’.

9

Ouy…provoking again.

Anyway, just a FYI, they found the fourth body this morning, the other three two days ago. Those aviation CSI types are still trying to figure out what happened, other than wadding up the plane by flying into weather…

10

OK, just heard on local TUL radio that the FAA says the plane did a 180 at Antlers, OK and was on radar as decending at over 13,500’/min. FAA says obviously the plane exceeded its structural limits, but they don’t know why the plane went into the dive.

11

There is a lot more to the story, no one is talking about. The plane was experimental. It had new 5 blade props. Also had slipper tanks.

12

Woah…Hi, left field…

You can’t just leave it at that…explain.

13

This plane was going to the Orlando airshow to serve as a show plane to show off what the company who owned it could do to the Commanders. It was totally tricked out. New interior, gold plated handles, plush everything. But the “cool” item was the 5 bladed props were put on as a test. They were to give the plane faster take off and climb.

I’ve heard that on test flights it was smooth. I’ve also heard that when it was idling the tail flopped back and forth. Hmmm if it broke apart in midair, someone might look at the tail section first to see if there was too much stress. It had to be a catastophic structural failure.

The prelim says debris was scattered 3 miles long and 1 mile wide. That IS a midair break up.

As to the pilots, try reading their obits. They were more than capable to fly and control this plan in any weather condition.

Left seater, Doc Howard was an ex Thunderbird and son in law
Jon Olsen was a longtime charter pilot.

My personal friends Wayne Radko and Perry Price were going to the air show to help promote the facility and the plane’s attributes.

Everyone who uses this service to “track” a plane has to realize that the computer will continue to generate “assumed” transponder data for sometime because it sees no data as the glitch.

After all, would you like to be tracking an aircraft and see it fall out of the sky? Take it from me, these were our friends. You wouldn’t want to know like that. It was hard enough getting the phone call. Then seeing all the bogus information on the news. We all attended 2 funerals last week. THAT is something no one wants to ever do in their lifetime.

Is that enough info?

14

Sorry for your loss.

15

I apologize if I came across wrong. It is very sad, and I am sorry for the loss of your two friends. My Father In-Law and I were talking about this yesterday and what the local radio/TV stations were saying. We actually discussed how we could actually use someone like Hal Fishman from KCAL out here. Someone who has a clue about aviation.

That being said, my comment was actual shock and I did want more info, especially after reading your next post.

Again, I am sorry for your loss.

16

Preliminary data from the FAA indicate the aircraft broke up in flight. As for the tail section shaking, that is normal for structural integrity. If you watch a Turbo commander on the ground, during a engine runup test, the aircraft is not moving. The is a lot of air pressure force and you will see the tail section shake due to ground conditions and turbulence. I doubt the you will see the same thing in the air. I flew in a turbo commander that had a tail section that was wagging in flight, or at least that was the way it felt. It was the servos and cable connections that needed adjusting and the problem went away.

This was an experimental and I think there was a problem with either the prop or the engine. Radar indicated the aircraft performed a 180 left turn before decending at 13500 FPM. Also notice before the glitch in flightaware that the aircraft had just reached altitude and was at a point of increasing to cruise speed or had just reached cruise speed.

The left engine was found 3500 feet from the aircraft. The right engine was still attached. This was an experimental. Because it is experimental my first thought was there was a catastrophic propeller failure because of the sudden change in course and drop in altitude. But because the engine was not near the aircraft it is possible there could have been a failure in the engine mounts on the left engine. This is all just speculation.

This was the maiden flight after major service was completed on the aircraft. The question I had is was everything done to completely inspect the aircraft, or is it possible mechanics were rushed to complete work on time for the air show, which was where this aircraft was bound. This aircraft had undergone major service over the 4 months preceeding.

Flight safety and aircraft repair is most important. I find the best way to repair an aircraft is on thorough inspection and give the mechanics plenty of time to do their job. I just hope no mechanic was rushed to complete work for the airshow event. Personal experience is things always go wrong when you rush the mechanics to finish sooner.

I personally knew john olsen and talked to him by phone on many occasion. I thought of him as a capable pilot. He had many hours multiengine time. He talked and was excited about the upgrades to his plane. It is very sad for me when it was someone you know and I had been talking to him only recently. In piloting the plane I do not think the pilot was at fault. I thought about weather conditions but I don’t think it was the cause. I believe it was a catastrophic engine/airframe failure and/or propeller failure and I will be waiting to hear the complete report from the FAA on their findings.

He told me that with the five blade props you would get more climb power and the aircraft would fly quieter. You hear less rumble than in the 3 or 4 blade props.