Three people were injured when a small plane crashed into the back of their car near Napa County Airport Sunday afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The Beechcraft A36 Bonanza lost engine power and crash landed on state Highway 29 near Airport Boulevard where it rear-ended a 2007 Infiniti around 12:35 p.m., CHP and Federal Aviation Administration officials said.
The driver of the Infiniti and the two passengers suffered minor injuries and were taken to Queen of the Valley Medical Center for treatment, CHP Officer John Short said. The two people in the white four-seater plane were uninjured, FAA Operations Officer Bruce Nelson said.
Beech: Built tough.
The pilot, who flew from Lake Tahoe Airport in South Lake Tahoe, was planning to land at Napa County Airport before the power breakdown, Nelson said.
He said that engine power failures could be attributed to a number of factors, including something as simple as not having enough fuel in the tank.
Yup. That would definitely do it.
FWIW, a highway makes an excellent off-airport landing site, so long as that airport is nowhere in Sandy Eggo county. Just about all of the airplanes I fly locally have engine out glide speeds that are slower than the traffic below. Rather that worrying about hitting someone on an engine out approach, I’m more concerned about being rear-ended.
By any chance was your road rager yesterday driving an Infiniti?
I’m guessing that Beech is gonna need a new prop…
From the Napa Valley Register:
http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/plane-crash-lands-on-highway-hits-car/article_7432e48e-d1b4-11e0-bc47-001cc4c03286.html?mode=video
That A-36 will need more than a new prop….
I bet it’s totaled.
So I’m watching then load it up on the flat bed. I keep thinking, it’s not going to fit. Sure enough, as the truck’s driving away, one of the wings clips a sign in the median. You would think DoT would have something to say about “wide” loads. Anyone else cringe? It was some fairly good audio.
That was some loud crunching. Guess the driver figured what the heck, it’s already mangled.
Hmmm. Joe in N Calif’s link shows a Beech with a broken wing. Apparently no fuel spilled, dry grass all around but fire truck didn’t think it necessary to hose the area down. Conclusion: Beech builds strong fuel tanks.
Or that they were empty?
Did have my tongue in cheek there…
…yes you do… but solely with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. Best
Pilot may have won the injury battle vs. the occupants of the car, but you can bet that he’ll lose the money battle in the courts. As will Beech and Continental, don’t ya know.
HEY!
None of us drives on runways I think we should be free of the fear of being rear ended by aircraft on the highway!
Just my feeling.
Tongue firmly jammed in cheek
All I need is about 500 feet of open field if the fan stops. It stalls at 40 mph true. On a good day I probably could get it down without wrapping it into a ball. If I am off my game I’d purposely ground loop it but walk away. But I don’t want to have to either.
The oil pressure line and fuel lines are the two things are the main show-stoppers on the little A-65. If anything else is going to go boink, it will happen coming off the throttle putting negative stresses on the crank and camshafts with the attached moving parts. Fuel gauge is a welding rod brazed onto a brass cylinder float dead center of the windshield. If it has an inch left above the cap I have about 20 minutes of gas left to get it on the ground. Very high tech…..
Veeeeeeeery reliable too. MilSpec no less.
Sounds like a J3. Champ has a much more sophisticated fuel gage. Cork on rod that rotates a dial. Inaccurate as hell but I’m sure was pat of the sales pitch back in the day. Front seat solo far bigger advantage I’d say.
T-Craft. Shoulda said the fuel gage was out in front of the windscreen. Pure low task flying, after an hour or more tooling around the Champlain Valley, I pull the fuel cut off and I feel like I had three fingers of scotch.
Reminds me of this innerwebz classic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpx6o4gvmXE
Umm , Try for the backlight and the trunk lid, and rule 34, and all? Hey, it’s better to hit something going the same direction you are, than to hit something stationary! Plant that nosewheel in that doodah’s rear window!
Choose yer victim, using yer deadly eagle-like fighter pilot eyes, by the bumper stickers on her (probably her) car.