Just opened my email and found this:

1 dead, 4 hurt after small plane crashes in Alaska
By RACHEL D'ORO, Associated Press Writer Rachel D'oro, Associated Press Writer 9 mins ago

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A small airplane crashed in a busy business district near downtown during rush hour Tuesday, killing a small child and injuring the four other people onboard, authorities said.

Bystanders rushed to help those onboard the Cessna 206 after it clipped the roof of a motel and crashed in front of an unoccupied former car lot office, sparking a fire, shortly after 5 p.m. No other injuries were reported.

"It was the citizens who did the work and pulled people out," said police Lt. Dave Parker.

A witness, Hunter Brosh, said a girl about 10 years old was among those pulled out alive. Brosh was one of the motorists who jumped out of their cars to help get people out of the burning plane.

Parker said at least one of the injured was flown to a Seattle hospital.

The identities and hometowns of those onboard were not yet known, said Jennifer Rodi, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator. The single-engine plane was registered to Cavner and Julian Inc., a guide and outfitting business based in Port Alsworth, Alaska. No one with the business could be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Rodi said it was too early to say what caused the crash.

The aircraft went down after departing Merrill Field about a mile away. Rodi said it was unknown who was flying the plane or if a flight plan had been filed.

She said the four survivors were critically injured. However, Brosh said the girl onboard was able to unbuckle herself before she was helped out of the wreckage.

One witness, Adan Hernandez, said he was riding his bicycle when he heard the plane above him. The aircraft started to wobble before disappearing beyond the motel and making a thudding sound, said Hernandez, who took photos of the crash site. A small, cone-shaped piece of the aircraft landed in the motel's parking lot.

Brosh was driving to a guitar lesson and had stopped at a nearby intersection when he heard a loud noise behind him. He swung his head back as the plane slammed into the ground. People started to pour out of their cars and run to the aircraft.

Brosh said the plane burst into flames while those on board were still being extricated.

People starting running over with fire extinguishers. At one point, Brosh heard some of those helping exclaim, "You're spraying on the baby."

A man and a woman onboard appeared very hurt, he said. The woman's mouth was full of blood and it appeared her teeth were knocked out, he said.

For Brosh, the experience was an "adrenaline thing," he said, as he stood outside the yellow police tape used as a barricade.

"I can't say I've ever helped people out of a burning plane," he said.

If they had only filed a flight plan.

Tim

qmdv wrote:If they had only filed a flight plan.

Tim

What is that supposed to mean?

A series of pictures from the crash are at the following URL:

http://www.adn.com/2010/06/01/v-gallery/1303320/five-hurt-as-plane-hits-car-dealership.html#id=1303401&view=large_view

I wonder if he was carrying a load of lumber in addition to the passengers?

Those are some pretty compelling photos of the passenger extraction with the flames getting larger and more involved with each frame. Glad the bystanders were quick to action and got most of them out, that can't have been easy.

Dawgdriver, I believe what qmdv is getting at is that plane crash news stories, usually written by an aviation layperson, almost always seem to include whether or not a flight plan was filed, regardless if it's relevant or not. Perhaps for a story about a missing plane that would be germain, but this is in town on a street. Plane crash coverage by most news agencies is the same, and they seem to always include the classic bit about how "the engine stalled."

Those photographs show a lot of brave people taking considerable risk to help the crash victims. Good for them!

1SeventyZ wrote:Plane crash coverage by most news agencies is the same, and they seem to always include the classic bit about how "the engine stalled."

Zane

Here is a quote from another news article: http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/news/5520-small-plane-crashes-in-downtown-anchorage

"Reddell said the plane sounded like it wasn't running right. Other residents of Ingra House, used to the sound of planes overhead, said the plane sounded overloaded or revved up."

It will be interesting to see what the NTSB finds out in their investigation.

Thanks Seventy Z. At first read it just hit me as a little harsh

The thing that struck me yesterday when I was watching news report was seeing all of those volunteers pitching in and, regardless of their own safety with the fire getting larger and larger, acting together with a single goal.....get the survivors out if at all possible and as quickly as possible. In my opinion they are heroes and most didn't know anything about planes....just happened to be there on the drive home from work. Also makes me feel good to know that if I were to go down off 25 like the 206 did, ppl around would bust their butt to get me out. But then that's the way mosts folks act up here....not that way in some other places......Was just a cryin shame about the 4 year old son, who perished. We'll see what NTSB determines. Everything that was left (which wasn't much because it was incinerated) was hauled off in just a few hours and no doubt sits somewhere in a hanger for NTSB. Interesting thing.....what appearedto be a stack of 2/4's was hauled off too. Fortunate it happened at the time of day it ocurred.....5:00 p.m. drive time in downtown Anchorage with lots of folks around. According to later reports apparently it was the lodge owner/pilot, his wife, their 4 year old son, their 2 year old son, and a 16 year old girl that worked at the lodge.

Nizina wrote:

1SeventyZ wrote:Plane crash coverage by most news agencies is the same, and they seem to always include the classic bit about how "the engine stalled."

Zane

Here is a quote from another news article: http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/news/5520-small-plane-crashes-in-downtown-anchorage

"Reddell said the plane sounded like it wasn't running right. Other residents of Ingra House, used to the sound of planes overhead, said the plane sounded overloaded or revved up."

It will be interesting to see what the NTSB finds out in their investigation.

My comment was directed at the common occurrence of a newsperson hearing a reference to "stall" by witnesses or investigators, and assuming it's in regard to the engine, as the term is used in cars. Apparently not the case in the Alaska Dispatch story.

dawgdriver wrote:

qmdv wrote:If they had only filed a flight plan.

Tim

What is that supposed to mean?

Unlike Barney Frank, I can say and wright things tongue in cheek.

Tim

Sure a shame. I saw this one on the TV news. I noticed then that they said at least one casualty would be taken to harborview Hospital in Seattle. That's a helluva long trip-- don't they have a good hospoital in Anchorage? Harborview has a good reputation for treating trauma's, that's where out the bad victims from the outlying areas around here get airlifted to, but I would think that Anchorage is big enough to have a good trauma-ward hospital or two of it's own.

Eric

Seattle has a burn center.

Anchorage is a large enough city but it simply does not support the surgery capabilites to maintain a high level trauma center status. Serious cases that can be stabilized are still routinely sent out to Seattle along with neuro etc.

That being said this was a burn case.

Last year I sent a crash patient straight from a rural scene here in the interior to Seattle. I think the King Air stopped in Ketchikan for fuel.

I was at the airport when they took off. He loaded up lumber, then taxied over to Ace, topped off the tanks and loaded family there. By the time he passed the end of the runway, he had flaps down, full power, nose up, and was still only roughly a hundred feet off the runway. It just sounded wrong when he went by - full power, but way too low - and by the time I limped outside, I'd already heard the impacts and he was down. The others who sprinted out earlier - or were working outside and saw him load up the lumber - saw him go down, and have given their statements to the NTSB.

Maybe a lesson here. When I was flying 150' and 152' with an instructor we worried about weight and ballance. Stepped up to a 172 and it was a lot more forgiving. I have flown a 182B since year 2000. A guy can get the attitude that if it will fit it will fly.

I do not weigh everything each time I fly. I weigh 170 and my wifes weight is confidencial. We can go an any trip with our stuff and not worry. A few years back I took my brother (250 or so) on a camping trip to Idaho with all kind of stuff. We weighed it all and were just under max by 5 pounds.

Just cus it is a 206 does not mean it will carry an upright piano just cus you can strap it on.

With this said, I am not saying that overweight was the problem. I am just saying that after reading these posts, it may be time to get back in the business of worying about weight and ballance.

Tim

Watched our noon news. They brought them to Portland's Emanuel Burn Center. It doesn't look good. I think the doctor said all in induced commas on ventilators. The pictures were telling, a lot of fire.

The people on scene saved there live no doubt!

RobBurson wrote:Watched our noon news. They brought them to Portland's Emanuel Burn Center. It doesn't look good. I think the doctor said all in induced commas on ventilators. The pictures were telling, a lot of fire.

The people on scene saved there live no doubt!

While Anchorage does have excellent trauma and cardiac centers, all of us up here know that the best burn center in the entire NW US is down there. That's why most serious burn victims from Alaska end up at the burn center down there...........

Sure is a shame what happened. Will be interesting to see what NTSB determines, especially including the lumber, w&b especially as to where the cg was, etc.....time will tell. Had a friend that died in his turbo 206. His attitude was, if it fits in the doors and the tail comes up at 1700 rpm, "it'll fly!!"., He was my hunting partner and I was too dumb to know the diff. Later, when I started flying myself, I started cringing thinking about the things we did. When he died, he had all of the seats out except the front two seats, and was loaded to the gills with gear, 147 gals of 100LL in the two wing tanks {highly modified and enlarged to capacity} and the third member from a large dump truck lashed to the floor where the second row of seats go.......... On top of that, he left Ketchikan scud running down the coast route to LA....made it to Nubbins Mt on Annette Island...... Sometimes that mindset that creeps in can become deadly.

There really are not that many Level 1 Trauma centers in the US.

The burn treatment center at Harborview is world class. It serves, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska.

If you want to see what is near you see: http://www.facs.org/trauma/verified.html

TD

I think those of us who enjoy nearly seven months of winter here and are used to flying in density altitudes in the negative numbers quite a bit can be spoiled by the performance, until summer sneaks up on us.