http://www.ktvb.com/news/Three-people-survive-plane-crash-in-Owyhee-County-154778025.html

KTVB.COM
Posted on May 27, 2012 at 10:21 AM
Updated today at 3:13 PM

OWYHEE COUNTY, Idaho -- Owyhee County Sheriff Daryl Crandall says three people are alive, and in "surprisingly good condition," after their Cessna crashed in a remote area of Owyhee County.
The Idaho Transportation Department said the 1966 Cessna 172 took off from Sacramento, Calif. and was en route to Mountain Home, Idaho. Crandall said the plane crashed on a cliff at about 12:08 a.m. Sunday, about 1 1/2 miles southwest of the Rough Mountain Repeater.
After the plane crashed, one of the three passengers onboard used a cell phone to call 911, and reached the Owyhee County Sheriff's Office early Sunday morning. Air ambulances searched early Sunday, but had difficulty seeing the terrain, as it was still dark. Crandall said he tried to send in ground crews, but they had to turn back because of blizzard-like conditions.

Early Sunday afternoon, the three were safely transported to a Boise hospital.
The three passengers onboard are Brian Brown, Jan Brown, and Heather. Heather's last name and age, as well as the ages of Brian and Jan, weren't known yet Sunday morning. The passenger who used the cell phone to call 911 said one of them had minor head and laceration injuries and the two others suffered back and neck injuries.

That's good news. Glad they're ok.

Not a good weekend for 172s. Yesterday morning, middle of the night, 4 killed in SGU in a 172.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=20585378&title=four-men-killed-in-plane-crash-officially-identified&s_cid=featured-1

Grassstrippilot wrote:Not a good weekend for 172s. Yesterday morning, middle of the night, 4 killed in SGU in a 172.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=20585378&title=four-men-killed-in-plane-crash-officially-identified&s_cid=featured-1

I wonder if they couldn't make the lights work. The 7 clicks bull$hit has to go, I've had some trouble with them because sometimes (as I've learned after the fact) you have to wait 5 seconds. If you click another 7 times, then you've got an even number in it's brain. I think I've got it dialed now, but they still make me nervous.

The news reported that they were going to SoCal for the weekend. So it sounds like a takeoff accident, not a landing accident...although the NTSB/FAA isn't saying for sure as of yet.

If it was a landing accident, my money would be more on the "black hole" syndrome being the culprit. Getting low on approach and not realizing it.

Four adults in a 172 + bags for a weekend trip away...probably a factor too. I'd think that we'd know a probable cause in a few weeks. Sad deal.

Yep. Crashed on departure. Sure sounds like a departure stall scenerio.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54192289-78/keliher-plane-george-chapman.html.csp

Grassstrippilot wrote:Yep. Crashed on departure. Sure sounds like a departure stall scenerio.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54192289-78/keliher-plane-george-chapman.html.csp

Grossed out plus in a 172, listening to the stall horn hiss as you leave ground effect. Wish I could say I wasn't guilty of that, I was just lucky, or my passengers were.

I've been watching the Idaho crash information develope on the local news for about 36 hours now, and the crash site is between 2 transmitter sites I've worked at for the last 15+ years so I flew up there today to look it over from the air (in great weather 48 hours after the crash). According to the press the plane left sacramento saturday enroute to mountain home, landed for a while at Rome State (kreo) then continued to mountain home and crashed enroute. Rome state is an emergency field built in the 1960's between middle and nowhere alongside hyway 95, it was built for use when the weather got to bad to continue and there was nowhere else to land, like yesterday. They originally said he crashed at midnight, now they are reporting he crashed at about 9:00 pm and made a cell phone call at midnight. The crash site is in a direct line from Rome State to Mountain Home, just below a ridgeline at about 8,100 feet elevation. During windy weather this ridge can have very bad turbulance, and up&down drafts in excess of 1000 feet/min. He apparently landed at Rome State to let the weather improve, then decided to push on to Mountain Home as it was getting close to sunset and the he didn't want to spend a cold hungry night sleeping in the plane at Rome state. The tv station interviewed him and he said the plane "stalled just before he crossed the ridge", probabally hit a downdraft, he was approaching from the downwind side of the ridge. The plane is less than 1/2 mile from the ridge on a 45 degree slope, very crumpled but intact except 1/2 of 1 wing in a treetop. A local search and rescue crew got there quick on 4-wheelers, the army gaurd at gowen field sent a helicopter to winch them from the crash site to a LZ on the ridge line where Air Saint lukes took them into town. Overall VERY lucky to survive, and lets hear a big cheer for the army national gaurd helicopter pilots.

Great story when the pilot/pax walk away.

Sad for the SGU Cessna that took the lives of 4 great guys.

Fly safely folks!

News clip on the Idaho crash. Not sure about the "We were just in a bad situation that happens..." comment. It didn't "just happen". Looks to be on a pretty steep incline. Glad they walked away. Looks like they were pretty lucky. Another plug for having survival gear on board.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=157&sid=20590500&title=man-says-he-belly-flopped-plane-against-mountain&s_cid=queue-13

Hard to believe both front seat people went through the windshield and were wearing their seatbelts.. I can see them smacking their heads on the instrument panel.. but.. the windshield is a long way forward of that.. .


Lucky family no matter how dumb the idea was of continuing it into those weather conditions.

Yeah, that doesn't sound likely.

Interview with the crashers:

http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_bn1#/video/bestoftv/2012/05/30/exp-early-brown-crash-survivors.cnn

Ripe with some layterms.

I will say, although he gets an F for getting in the jam (gotten a few Fs myself I'm embarrassed to say), he gets an A for understanding that speed is life and that he needed to get the nose down to prevent a stall...and to conserve/gain the energy for a flare to match the terrain's pitch when they went in. Easily could have had a different outcome. I had to cringe on the blind faith comments of the ELT...if only she knew. Overall, though, the interview was much better than I was expecting.

Dale Moul wrote:He apparently landed at Rome State to let the weather improve, then decided to push on to Mountain Home as it was getting close to sunset and the he didn't want to spend a cold hungry night sleeping in the plane at Rome state.

It only takes one white knuckle, dry mouth flight looking for a survivable landing site to remember that it's a lot more fun to be bored, cold, wet, safe, and uneventful on the ground 'stuck' in the middle of nowhere, with appropriate gear/clothing, some good reading material, some good tunes from the Ipod, and good coffee n noodles on the stove.

Here is another recent incident along the same lines, with similar decision making, etc. "A" for cutting losses and choosing a survivable landing rather than an involuntary one. "F" for playing the weather lottery:

http://ravallirepublic.com/news/local/article_7347eea8-a093-11e1-a356-0019bb2963f4.html

With all the modern tools we have now to avoid weather-related "controlled flight into terrain"...

Grassstrippilot wrote:I will say, although he gets an F for getting in the jam (gotten a few Fs myself I'm embarrassed to say), he gets an A for understanding that speed is life and that he needed to get the nose down to prevent a stall...and to conserve/gain the energy for a flare to match the terrain's pitch when they went in. Easily could have had a different outcome. I had to cringe on the blind faith comments of the ELT...if only she knew. Overall, though, the interview was much better than I was expecting.

lesuther wrote:It only takes one white knuckle, dry mouth flight looking for a survivable landing site to remember that it's a lot more fun to be bored, cold, wet, safe, and uneventful on the ground 'stuck' in the middle of nowhere, with appropriate gear/clothing, some good reading material, some good tunes from the Ipod, and good coffee n noodles on the stove.

My thoughts exactly.

just for information Rome state was actually a military training base during the war I use to actually live in 1 of the houses in bisque when I worked there. they moved it there when they dismantled the base . that's why the runway is so large

Its much better being on ground and wishing you were in the air, than being in the air and wishing you were on te ground.

PSA: You can buy a book from one of the survivors, if you care to

http://www.ktvb.com/news/Pilot-who-survived-crash-in-Owyhee-Mountains-releases-book-228696121.html?can=n

I do remember that one happening...all very good points men. when my white-knuckle event happened after i bought a new to me 182T, and managed to fly it into the middle of a huge thunderstorm, 1030 p.m., pitch black except for the red/ylw flashes coming out of the garmin box while on approach to afton,wy. made a call out in the blind, and what do u know, just happened to be directly over Mark Heiners house and he just happened to have his mobile radio on, and also managed to talk me out of landing on the hiway as i had just announced...! U see, the rain was coming down so hard i had no forward vis...and was having to look out the side window with it open just to make out the ground...! Mark was cool calm and collected, i wasnt, he simply told me to leave the autopilot on, fly it with heading bug, the rest of the 10 miles to the airport...he also said more than once"dont talk, listen" and i did thankfully...thought i could make it there ahead of the storm...guess NOT!