msb@hosmsb.ATT.COM (Mike Balenger) (01/05/91)
I got this little tid-bit in the mail from a friend in Portland.
Anyone else know more? Pilot error? Non-current plane inspection?
Poor maintenance? Wind shear? Gravity waves? It was probably a
C-182, and was therefore well within weight limits.
...we lost another skydiver in the [Portland, OR] area. One of Ralph
[Hatley]'s planes lost power on takeoff and went into a bunch of
Christmas trees with pilot and 3 jumpers. One guy was killed and the
pilot and a jumper were seriously injured. Another jumper was thrown
clear and went back to help.
Pretty amazing that someone could be thrown clear of a plane, and
still have enough body fluids and whole bones left to even stand up.
I guess in this case, contrary to most automobile accident statistics,
being thrown clear may have helped -- he seemed to be in the best
shape.
Note that although this is clearly an AVIATION accident, it gets seen
in the public eyes as a SKYDIVING accident. I've cross-posted to
rec.skydiving and rec.aviation. I'd like to hear from non-skydivers
on this. After all, the two are pretty closely entwined.
As skydivers, we (should and do) respect the decisions of the
pilot-in-command with regard to loading, weight limits, whether it's
OK to take-off, when to exit, etc. We often do so without even
thinking about how much responsibility they take on our behalf.
Should we, as skydivers, take a more active interest in the aviation
side of our sport? If so, how can we do so without pissing off all
the jump pilots, but still making sure that we're hopping into a
"perfectly good airplane". After all, if skydivers have to _LAND_ in
it, it probably wasn't a "perfectly good airplane".
--
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<cute quote> Michael S. Balenger (908) 949-8789
<cute disclaimer> AT&T Bell Labs FAX: (908) 949-7512
M_Balenger@att.com Room 1L-405
msb@hos1cad.att.com Crawfords Corner Road
att!hos1cad!msb Holmdel, NJ 07733-1988msb@hosmsb.ATT.COM (Mike Balenger) (01/07/91)
>>>>> On Fri, 4 Jan 91 17:34:33 GMT, msb@hosmsb.ATT.COM (Mike Balenger) said:
msb> I got this little tid-bit in the mail from a friend in Portland.
msb> Anyone else know more?
Here's the whole text of the newspaper article in "The Oregonean", (I
think).
================================================================
SKY DIVER KILLED, 2 BADLY HURT IN PLANE CRASH NEAR ESTACADA
One passenger walks away after plane's engine stalls and the craft
crashes into a stand of christmas trees
ESTACADA, OREGON -- A sky diver from Clackamas died and two others,
including the pilot, were seriously injured when their small plane crashed into
a stand of Christmas trees shortly after taking off from an airstrip north of
Estacada.
A third passenger walked away with only bruses.
The crash occurred shortly after 2 p.m. on December 31 at 30130 S.E.
Farmstead Road after the plane left Beaver Oaks Airstrip, 29388 Heiple Road.
William Partlow Jr., 53, of Clackamas was taken by Life Flight emergency
helicopter to Emanuel Hospital & Health Center, where a nursing supervisor said
he died while still in surgery at 7:45 p.m. of extensive abdominal injuries.
Frank Sevcik, 40, a sky diver from Tigard, and Farrell Valliere, 40, a pilot
from Portland, were taken by another Life Flight helicopter to University
Hospital.
An Oregon Health Sciences University admitting supervisor said that Sevcik
was in critical condition Monday night with a spinal cord injury. Valliere was
in serious condition with multiple fractures, she said.
Scott Farmer, 30, a sky diver from Vancouver, Washington, was taken from the
scene by ambulance to Mount Hood Medical Center in Gresham, where he was
examined and released. A nursing supervisor said Farmer, who was sitting in
the back of the plane behind the two front seats, suffered only bruises.
Witnesses said the plane's engine sputtered several times and the pilot
apparently was attempting to turn back toward the airstrip when the crash
occurred. The plane had taken off from the Western Sport Parachute Club at the
airstrip.
Greg Linn of Estacada was visiting his father's house across Farmstead Road
from the tree stand when he said he heard a plane's engine stall three times.
Linn said he heard the engine kick in and saw the plane pulling out of a
nose dive when it struck the trees.
One man, dressed in sky-diving clothes, was thrown about 20 feet from the
plane and was able to stand up and walk, he said. Linn said the man,
apparently Farmer, pulled two other men from the pland, including the pilot.
"He's the one who kept saying, 'Sorry guys,'" Linn said.
Deputy Judy Gage, a Clackamas County sheriff's public information officer,
said she was told by witnesses that the 1959 Cessna 182 was 400 to 500 feet in
the air when the engine stalled.
Authorities from the Federal Aviation Administration were called to the
scene to investigate the accident.
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<cute quote> Michael S. Balenger (908) 949-8789
<cute disclaimer> AT&T Bell Labs FAX: (908) 949-7512
M_Balenger@att.com Room 1L-405
msb@hos1cad.att.com Crawfords Corner Road
att!hos1cad!msb Holmdel, NJ 07733-1988