Post by D. Robert Quick on Nov 30, 2011 9:23:13 GMT -6
NOTE: The following is an excerpt from the 11/28/2011 email edition of the AvWebFlash, and as such, I am including the link to the entire AvWeb page this is posted on, as well as the link to the AOPA PDF file later in the text which had previously raised concerns about the changes... Dave
www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/2066-full.html#205803
Airspace Redesign Factor In Crash?
The Thanksgiving Eve crash of a Turbo Commander near Phoenix could reignite debate over a controversial 2007 airspace redesign that substantially changed procedures for VFR aircraft flying in the area of the crash. To make more room for airliners approaching Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, the FAA lowered the floor of the Class B airspace east of Phoenix from 8,000 feet to 5,000 feet and extended it to 25 miles from the airport. The edge of that zone is within two miles of the Superstition Mountains where the Turbo Commander hit a cliff on a mountain that rises to about 5,000 feet Wednesday, killing all six people aboard, including three children. Although the NTSB is nowhere near to establishing a cause for Wednesday's crash, the airspace changes were called "overly complex" and the area of the Superstition Mountains was specifically mentioned in a 2006 letter from AOPA
www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2006/060720az-letter.pdf to the FAA recommending major changes to the proposed airspace redesign.
The crash plane was heading from Mesa's Falcon Field to the pilot's home field at Safford, about a 45-minute flight. A webcam video of the crash does not appear to show any attempt by the aircraft to climb over the mountain. It hit a sheer rock face about 400 feet below the top of the mountain and exploded. The aircraft would have been equipped with a terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS). The two pilots onboard were familiar with the aircraft and the local area.
The pilot of a Turbo Commander that hit a cliff near Phoenix Thursday was an acknowledged expert on the type and familiar with the area. Shawn Perry, his three children Morgan, 9, Logan, 8 and Luke, 6, and Perry's colleagues at Ponderosa Aviation, Russell Hardy, 31 and Joseph Hardwick, 22, died when their AC690 aircraft hit a cliff about 400 feet below a ridge in the Superstition Mountains Wednesday evening. Local media report that Perry picked up the children in Mesa from his ex-wife and was taking them to his home in Safford, in the southeastern part of the state, for Thanksgiving. The aircraft exploded on impact and started a brush fire.
Perry and Hardy were business partners in Ponderosa Aviation and Hardwick was an employee. Ponderosa has more than 20 piston and turbine versions of the Twin Commander and uses them mainly under contract as spotting and air tanker guide aircraft for wildfire fighting. Perry was chief of operations, Hardy was a pilot and Hardwick was a mechanic.
www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/2066-full.html#205803
Airspace Redesign Factor In Crash?
The Thanksgiving Eve crash of a Turbo Commander near Phoenix could reignite debate over a controversial 2007 airspace redesign that substantially changed procedures for VFR aircraft flying in the area of the crash. To make more room for airliners approaching Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, the FAA lowered the floor of the Class B airspace east of Phoenix from 8,000 feet to 5,000 feet and extended it to 25 miles from the airport. The edge of that zone is within two miles of the Superstition Mountains where the Turbo Commander hit a cliff on a mountain that rises to about 5,000 feet Wednesday, killing all six people aboard, including three children. Although the NTSB is nowhere near to establishing a cause for Wednesday's crash, the airspace changes were called "overly complex" and the area of the Superstition Mountains was specifically mentioned in a 2006 letter from AOPA
www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2006/060720az-letter.pdf to the FAA recommending major changes to the proposed airspace redesign.
The crash plane was heading from Mesa's Falcon Field to the pilot's home field at Safford, about a 45-minute flight. A webcam video of the crash does not appear to show any attempt by the aircraft to climb over the mountain. It hit a sheer rock face about 400 feet below the top of the mountain and exploded. The aircraft would have been equipped with a terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS). The two pilots onboard were familiar with the aircraft and the local area.
The pilot of a Turbo Commander that hit a cliff near Phoenix Thursday was an acknowledged expert on the type and familiar with the area. Shawn Perry, his three children Morgan, 9, Logan, 8 and Luke, 6, and Perry's colleagues at Ponderosa Aviation, Russell Hardy, 31 and Joseph Hardwick, 22, died when their AC690 aircraft hit a cliff about 400 feet below a ridge in the Superstition Mountains Wednesday evening. Local media report that Perry picked up the children in Mesa from his ex-wife and was taking them to his home in Safford, in the southeastern part of the state, for Thanksgiving. The aircraft exploded on impact and started a brush fire.
Perry and Hardy were business partners in Ponderosa Aviation and Hardwick was an employee. Ponderosa has more than 20 piston and turbine versions of the Twin Commander and uses them mainly under contract as spotting and air tanker guide aircraft for wildfire fighting. Perry was chief of operations, Hardy was a pilot and Hardwick was a mechanic.