Pilot in Oct. 24 crash was flying too low, report finds
UNION-TRIBUNE
November 8, 2004
A pilot who crashed an air ambulance into Otay Mountain last month was flying too low, a preliminary investigation found.
The Oct. 24 crash killed five on a medical mercy mission from Mexico.
The federal report released yesterday by the National Transportation Safety Board did not mention pilot error or any technical problems with the
Learjet 35A he was flying.
Federal investigators said the pilot from Med Flight Air Ambulance of Albuquerque was told he needed to climb 5,000 feet to clear the 3,556-foot Otay
Mountain.
But the last radar siting showed the jet at 2,300 feet, according to the report. The plane crashed soon after taking off after midnight from Brown
Field airport near the U.S.-Mexico Border. Weather was clear and was not a factor.
"The low-altitude warning alerted over the Minimum Safe Altitude Warning system during the flight's last two radar returns," the report said.
Before making a final determination about the crash, the report said, investigators will continue to study the black-box c-ckpit recorder found at the
scene.
The crash killed pilot Karl A. Kolb, 56; co-pilot K. John Lamphere, 30; nurse Laura A. Womble, 47; Womble's paramedic husband, Donald, 45; and
paramedic Marco E. Villalobos. The Albuquerque-based crew had picked up Villalobos, 33, in El Paso for the mission.
The crew left Texas at 3 p.m. Oct. 23 to pick up a San Diego man and one passenger from Manzanillo and delivered them to Brown Field at 11:24 p.m.
Oct. 23, according to the report.
The crew spent an hour on the ground, refueled and filed a flight plan for the 75-minute return to Albuquerque. Company officials have said it was the
first fatal crash in the company's 25-year history.
Rescue workers who reached the crash 20 minutes later by helicopter spotted the crash site about 75 feet to 100 feet below the cloud layer.
Otay Mountain was also the site of a March 1991 plane crash that killed 10 people, including seven members of country singer Reba McEntire's band.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- elgatoloco - 11-8-2004 at 11:02 AM
Hose A
I would almost be willing to bet a cold cerveza that a plane has never hit a mountain because it was flying too high.
I may have to get the experts to do a study on this. Maybe I can get a federal grant or something.
Either way it goes to show you that life is short, enjoy it.Dave - 11-8-2004 at 11:24 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by elgatoloco
The crew spent an hour on the ground, refueled and filed a flight plan for the 75-minute return to Albuquerque. Company officials have said it was the
first fatal crash in the company's 25-year history.
If they filed then why would they go VFR?
Help us out Mike.Anonymous - 11-8-2004 at 11:54 AM
Dave and others, often a pro or jet crew will leave their airport of departure "VFR" if true VFR conditions exist, then pick up their official "IFR"
clearance enrout via the radio before:
1. they depart VFR conditions, or
2. get to an altitude above which VFR is not permitted, which is 17,999 Ft., above which ALL aircraft flying HAVE to be on IFR flight plans.
In this case they didn't want to wait for their IFR clearance, sometimes it takes a while - so since it was a clear night - no clouds creating a
ceiling, they opted to take off sans clearance (one that would have mandated a westbound climb to 5000' or so before allowing an east turn,
and they, not familiar with local terrain nor taking the time to study VFR charts - probably had none on board - simply drove into the mountain before
raising the nose up enough to get the feet per mile climb rate needed for safety.
wasted lives by a pro crew....happens all too frequently.
