NTSB preliminary report on Tulsa, Oklahoma crash does not reveal a lot of new information.
A Piper PA-32R similar to the accident aircraft. Photo by Adrian Pingstone.
In the last post at Velozia Air (which was something like ten days ago), I listed a quick summary regarding the Tulsa, Oklahoma crash of a Piper Cherokee Six/Saratoga (registration N1228H) into a radio tower and then into a park. The National Transportation and Safety Board’s (NTSB) preliminary report on the accident does not really give us any additional information than what we already know. Still, I can now clear up some of the details of the September 5, 2009 accident.
The Piper PA-32R-300 departed Tulsa’s Richard Lloyd Jones Jr./ Riverside Airport (RVS) at 10:35 AM CDT and the five occupants were headed to Dallas Love Field (DAL) in Dallas, Texas where they planned to watch an Oklahoma Sooners game. Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) prevailed at the time as the clouds were overcast at 600 feet and visibility was four miles. About 8 miles north of the airport, a six hundred foot radio tower is located with guide wires that keep it in place extending diagonally from it towards the ground. For reasons that are yet unknown, at 10:42 AM, the Piper collided with a guide wire that was attached to the tower at 150 feet (the plane hit the wire at approximately fifty feet from where it joined with the tower). The plane then crashed to the ground dragging the wire behind it. A 300 feet section of wire was still attached to the plane’s wreckage which was located about 1,500 feet from the tower. Everyone on board was killed. Aboard the plane were Laura Lester, Stephen Lester, Christina Lester, Dana Lester, and Kenneth Veteto.
Judging from the fact that the plane was on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan, it could be said that the plane probably was supposed to be at a much higher altitude at this point of the flight. At least way above 150 feet above ground level. Something was definitely wrong with this plane before it hit the wire. With as little information as has been presented up to this point, it is difficult to say what may have been the problem. The plane may have lost engine power and may have been searching for a place to put down (the pilot may have known the park was there and may have been trying to land in it). Another possibility was that, whether for instrument error reasons or physiological reasons, the pilot may have been disoriented as to his location and not known he was near the tower. The only problem with this scenario is that at the height that the aircraft hit the tower, the pilot would have been clear of the overcast skies and would have known he was off course. I tend to favor some kind of engine or other problem as the reason behind this.
I’ll keep everyone updated when the NTSB factual report or any additional information is released.
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If you see the photos taken at the crash scene, you’ll notice fog at the ground level. Also, the crash scene is on top of a sharply rising hill and the radio tower is at the very top of that hill. The hill quickly rises over 200′ from surrounding terrain. The pilot hit the guy wires while in complete fog and IMC. Also, there is a report that the pilot (although a high-time pilot) was not instrument rated, and should not have departed that day. Some local comments pose he was scud-running to get to the OU-BYU game later that day in Dallas and ventured into the fog.
Alan,
Thanks for the info on the topography of the area around the radio tower. As for the pilot not being instrument rated, I’ll have to look into that because it would definitely clear up a lot. It always amazes me how many non-instrument rated pilots are flying around in clouds these days.
Fernando