I just learned my former flight instructor and long-time friend died in the crash of a Piper Tomahawk along with a student pilot August 15 near Butte, MT:

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_cad7263c-c9c2-11e0-973a-001cc4c03286.html

My condolences to the families. I'm still in shock at reading this. I have always known Dick to be a very safe pilot and an excellent instructor; this is a very tragic loss.

Please, lets all be careful out there!

Sorry to hear this. Any word on what happened?

We'll have to wait until the NTSB Report comes out. It was a CAVU day with light winds: "WEATHER: KDLN 151753Z AUTO VRB03KT 10SM CLR 26/07 A2990"
There is this news report from http://www.kxlf.com/news/faa-2-people-killed-in-rocker-plane-crash/ "When the plane crash was reported this morning a police scanner report indicated that a plane was spiraling out of control with flames showing." and then there is this quote "The wreckage is fairly intact. There's a lot of impact related damage. We have all major structural components of the airplane present at the accident site. We do not have any evidence of fire. We have the left wing, the right wing, the tail section, the engine, the instruments, the cockpit controls," from a later news report http://www.kxlf.com/news/new-details-in-investigation-of-fatal-plane-crash/


I've never flown a Tomahawk; their reputation is well published, however. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_PA-38_Tomahawk

I'm so sickened to hear of this accident; my deepest sympathies go out to the families. I've never been so accepted into a community as I was in Butte Montana and I'm sure this loss is felt by many in that tight-knit community. The loss of Justin and Dick will be felt for a very long time.

Damn....... I'm very sorry to hear that Mike!

Damn brother. Sorry.

Sorry Mike.

Rob

Sorry for the lose.

Ken in Alaska

Grim.

I'm sorry for your loss. I may be getting sensitive (unlikely) but these losses of pilots I don't even know feel personal and sadden me.

Sorry for the loss of your friend, Blackrock. No doubt the investigators will figure out what happened. As a flight instructor on Tomahawks and the C152 (among others) in the UK in the 80s I always thought the Tomahawk had an undeserved bad reputation. The accident safety record/hours flown was actually better than the C152 - except for spin accidents, and that is what caused its fearful reputation. Spins were a mandatory part of the UK syllabus and I never had a problem or fear of spinning the Tomahawk. Like any airplane you have to learn its characteristics. The golden rule was never to spin below 5,000' agl. The Tomahawk spin entry, like the C152, was always predictable. The difference between the two was that the Tomahawk seemed to spin faster, the nose down attitude appeared to be steeper, and it took maybe a turn longer to come out. All very well if you knew what to expect. In my experience, if the students had time in the C152, the more "aggressive" spin characteristics of the Tomahawk could take them by surprise - to the extent that in post-flight debriefing; "I didn't think it would stop spinning" comments were not uncommon. On one occasion while converting a glider pilot to powered aircraft the student locked us into a spin by freezing on the controls. I managed to take control but it was hairy - hence the 5,000' agl minimum. Over the years, whenever I hear of a Tomahawk going in while on an instruction flight (which most seem to be) I think back to that time with the glider pilot and wonder...

All,

Thank you for the kind words. I'm assuming most who have been around aviation long enough have also lost friends. Not an easy thing. RJB, yes how true all loss of life makes me sick too, even those we don't know. This one just hit closer to home than most for me.

We can hope the 5000agl minimum for spins recommended by Angloflyer is picked-up by others and will prevent some of these events.

Thanks All,
Mike

Most sincere condolences, BCT