Jordan Nathaniel Fenster
New Haven Register, Conn.
(TNS)
Sep. 9—Officials in Vermont have confirmed that four Connecticut residents have died in a plane crash on their way back to Connecticut.
The victims have been identified as Middletown High School aviation technology teacher Paul Pelletier, 55, of Columbia, Frank Rodriguez, 88, of Lebanon, Susan Van Ness, 51, of Middletown, and Delilah Van Ness, 15, of Middletown.
Delilah Van Ness was taking flight lessons from Pelletier, Middletown police said. All four were pronounced dead at the scene.
Vermont officials said Monday that an investigation was ongoing, and a spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board, said the agency was sending an investigator.
Here’s what we know and what we don’t yet know about the crash
What we know:
The planned route of the plane
The four-seat, single-engine Piper aircraft initially left Windham Airport in Connecticut at about 8:30 a.m. Sept. 8, for a flight of approximately two-hours to Basin Harbor Airport in Ferrisburgh, Vt..
The occupants attended a planned Sunday brunch at Basin Harbor, and the victims left the restaurant shortly after noon for the return flight. According to officials in Vermont, a witness reported seeing the airplane on the runway at about 12:15 p.m.
No distress call was received
Officials said Monday that no reports had been received of either a crash or that the plane was in distress.
The crash was discovered when the plane failed to return to Connecticut and relatives of the occupants alerted the Connecticut State Police and the Middletown Police Department.
Federal Aviation Administration investigators used cell phone location data to determine the plane’s last known location, according to a news release, and the downed plane was recovered in a wooded area to the east of the airstrip in Vermont.
What we don’t know:
Why did the plane crash?
Investigators will focus on flight track data, recordings of any air traffic control communications, aircraft maintenance records, weather forecasts and weather conditions at the time of the accident.
The aircraft will be removed to a secure facility to reconstruct the crash and hopefully determine its cause.
Who was flying?
While police said Delilah Van Ness had been learning to fly, it is unknown if she was the pilot at the time of the crash. Pelletier was a flight instructor and was teaching Delilah Van Ness.
Did the pilot attempt to turn back?
When a plane loses power soon after takeoff, it’s called “the impossible turn.” According to flight education website Boldmethod.com. a pilot’s initial reaction “may be to return to the runway, which under some circumstances is acceptable. But more often than not, your safest option is to land somewhere straight ahead of you.”
It is unknown if the single-engine Piper that crashed Sunday did experience a power loss but, according to an FAA report on “the impossible turn,” “Turning back is the worst possible action when the powerplant fails during climbout in a single.”
“There can be no secret about the dangers of turning back following an engine failure after takeoff; most textbooks, certainly those with reputable names on the covers, firmly advise against the practice,” that report says.
Another FAA resource explains that if a pilot attempts to turn back after a power loss, “it could lead to a stall/spin accident.
“Continuing straight ahead (or somewhere within your windscreen) after an engine fails shortly after takeoff is excellent advice. Most of the time this will be the safest course of action,” according to the FAA. “Statistics are replete with stalls and spins entered inadvertently by frightened pilots with an aversion to flight near the ground. Low-time pilots certainly should not attempt a turnback. The probability of success is proportional to experience.”
What happened between Sunday and Monday?
The plane departed shortly after noon on Sunday, and Middletown police notified Vermont State Police of the situation at approximately 10:20 p.m. Sunday.
A drone was used to find the wreckage at approximately 12:20 a.m. Monday, a full 12 hours after the plane departed. Officials did not disclose how far away from the airport the plane was when it crashed.
Why didn’t the tower see the crash?
The wreckage of the plane was found due east of the Basin Harbor Airport, and as Basin Harbor Airport is in Vergennes, Vt., and that city’s fire department was involved in recovery, it could not have flown far before crashing.
Police said they had no indication of any distress call or that the crash had been seen or noticed before the wreckage was discovered 24 hours later.
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