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The crash of Royal Air Freight flight (Mitsubishi MU-2), Pittsfield, Massachusetts, March 25, 2004

Thursday, March 25, 2004

One killed in plane crash near GE plant off Merrill Road

By Associated Press

PITTSFIELD, Mass. - A single-engine plane crashed early Thursday near the General Electric Co. plant in Pittsfield, killing one person on board, fire and police officials said.

Fire Chief Stephen Duffy said the identity of the victim and where the plane was headed were not immediately available. It also was not immediately clear if there were others aboard the aircraft.

According to witnesses, the plane, apparently on an approach to the Pittsfield airport, went down about 5:40 a.m. in a field off Merrill Road.

Witnesses told Pittsfield radio station WUPE that they heard the engine revving, and then the plane went down belly first after revolving in the air several times.

It came to rest, bursting into flames, about 100 feet from a school bus garage in a field bordered by a shopping center, a residential area and the plant.

Skies were overcast at the time with temperatures in the 40s.

Probe ongoing in fatal plane crash

By Herald staff/Local briefs

Monday, April 5, 2004

A plane that crashed in Pittsfield last month, killing the pilot, plummeted almost 12,000 feet in less than a minute before it hit the ground, according to a preliminary investigation of the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board's report on the March 25 crash did not report the crash's cause.

The cause is likely to be included in the NTSB's final report.

Pilot Brian Templeton, of Waterford, Mich., was the only person on board the plane.

It was carrying freight from Hagerstown, Md., to Bangor, Maine.

Three Accidents in Three Weeks

Air Safety Week, May 24, 2004

* March 27: MU-2B-26A experiences a hard landing at La Verne, Calif. The pilot and two passengers were not injured but the airplane was damaged substantially. The pilot told the NTSB investigator that about 6-7 miles from the airport he noticed the right engine torque meter read zero. This had occurred before, and the torque would come back if he manipulated the throttle. He did not work the throttle and, in the landing flare, the airplane yawed right despite corrective left rudder pedal input. The airplane landed hard, broke the nose wheel strut and slid 2,000 feet down the runway.

* March 25: MU-2B-36 crashed in Pittsfield, Mass., substantially damaging the aircraft and killing the pilot, the sole occupant, who was flying a load of screws. Icing and low altitude turbulence conditions prevailed. At 05:31 a.m. ground radar showed the airplane descending from 17,000 feet. A witness reported seeing the airplane in a "flat spin" as it broke out of clouds. Post-crash examination of the overhead control panel indicated that propeller de-ice, engine intake heat, windshield anti-ice, and wing de-ice switches all were in the "OFF" position (ASW note: this accident has the earmarks of another autopilot/trim and icing combination. The classic overlying warm front leading to freezing rain/ice. It was nighttime and the pilot may not have noticed that he was picking up a load of ice, as suggested by the fact that propeller, engine and wing anti-ice were not activated).

* March 11: MU-2B-40 crashed into the Napa River, Calif., while on approach to Napa County Airport. The airplane was destroyed. The pilot/owner and one passenger were killed. Local Civil Air Patrol found the wreckage a week later (March 18).

Source: NTSB

MU-2 Fell 12,000 Feet In Spin, NTSB Says

By Mary Grady

Newswriter, Editor

AVweb

April 8, 2004

A Mitsubishi MU-2 turboprop that crashed near Pittsfield, Mass., about 5:30 a.m. on March 25, fell nearly 12,000 feet in less than a minute, the NTSB reported in its preliminary findings, released on Saturday. Several witnesses said they watched the cargo aircraft descend in a flat spin, making grinding, whining or howling sounds. It impacted the ground intact, in an upright position, with both engines turning. The ATP-rated pilot, who was alone on board, was killed. The conditions at the time were VMC, and the pilot had filed an IFR flight plan. The pilot's last communication was routine, about nine minutes before the crash. He was told by New York Center to switch to Boston, but he never called them. The aircraft, operated by Royal Air Freight of Michigan, had departed from Pontiac the night before, at about 11:30 p.m. local time. The pilot, Brian Templeton, 33, of Michigan, flew from Pontiac to Rockford, Ill., picked up cargo, and then flew to Hagerstown, Md. He dropped off a portion of the cargo at Hagerstown, and was en route to Bangor, Maine, at about 17,000 feet, when the accident occurred. Two AIRMETs were issued for occasional moderate rime to mixed icing conditions, the NTSB said. One of the AIRMETs was valid between the freezing level and 18,000 feet, and the other was for the southern section of the area, from the freezing level to 22,000 feet. A PIREP was also issued indicating icing and low-altitude turbulence. Investigators examined the cockpit overhead switch panel and found the right pitot/static heat was "on" and the stall heat was "on." The remainder of the overhead switches, which included: propeller de-ice, engine intake heat, windshield anti-ice, and wing de-ice, were all in the "off" position. Both tip tanks were ruptured; however, a substantial amount of fuel was observed on the ground, in the area of both tip tanks. The outboard and inboard fuel tanks on each wing remained intact, and approximately 60 gallons of jet fuel were drained from the tanks. The NTSB did not state a probable cause for the crash, which remains under investigation pending a final report.