Air Ambulance Crashes into Maui BMW Dealership

Ripper3785

Ripper3785

New Member
http://www.thehawaiichannel.com/news/7834077/detail.html

2nd crash of an Air Ambulance here in just over two years. Very sad.

Eyewitness account:"This plane was like a 100 feet off the ground 100, 150 feet off the ground and it turned over Maui Marketplace and the turn looked funny because it was a twin engine and it was banking and falling at the same time," witness William McElroy said.
:whatever:
 
A good friend of mine lives down the street from that dealership; here's a quote from her blog about what happened:

On Wednesday night, Amy, Carrie and I were working out at the gym when there was a big boom. Even through my music I could hear and feel the boom. It seemed weird but since I was running on the treadmill and listening to music, I didn't really know what was happening. Then several fire trucks and police cars came racing by. I figured that something must have exploded.

When we finished at the gym, we walked outside and saw a commotion. We walked closer to the chaos and saw what had happened. A small plane had crashed into the BMW dealership. It destroyed about ten cars. When we got to the scene, it was still on fire. You could see the damaged cars but you couldn't see the plane because of the thick cloud of smoke surrounding that area. There were so many other curious people around: primarily lots of Hawaiians and mulleted people.

The next day I found out more information about the crash. It was an air ambulance- a small plane that was coming to transport a patient from Maui to Oahu. The occupants were the pilot and two nurses. These three people were the only casualties since the BMW dealership was closed for the day. They are not yet sure exactly what happened to cause the accident. It was pretty crazy and sad for those involved.
 
jrm1493 said:
There so many other curious people around: primarily lots of Hawaiians awere nd mulleted people.
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Pass on to your friend, thanks for the very detailed report!
 
sounds like both failed. I wouldn't think a 414 would have trouble single engine, especially at the end of a flight with a lighter fuel load. fuel exhaustion or fire is my guess. i guess since my friend said the fire was pretty bad the plane was probably not empty (of course the BMW's were probably full of gas, but their tanks are on the bottom)
 
I assumed that it happened after takeoff, without reading the whole article. You could be right.
 
jrm1493 said:
Not to overshadow the seriousness of the accident, but she is very amused by mullets... check out her site:
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I knew there had to be something going on. Funny site.
 
jrm1493 said:
sounds like both failed. I wouldn't think a 414 would have trouble single engine, especially at the end of a flight with a lighter fuel load. fuel exhaustion or fire is my guess. i guess since my friend said the fire was pretty bad the plane was probably not empty (of course the BMW's were probably full of gas, but their tanks are on the bottom)
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Even a lightly loaded 414 is going to have a problem with engine failure on takeoff, unless the PIC handles it flawlessly.
 
NTSB Preliminary report issued

http://www.thehawaiichannel.com/newsarchive/8005299/detail.html

talk about VERY PRELIMINARY.

Witnesses reported seeing the twin engine airplane maneuvering very low, between 100 and 300 feet over Kahului about one mile west of the airport, according to the report.The wings were wobbling at times and the airplane rolled up to 60 degrees angle of bank at other times, NTSB officials said.All witnesses heard engine noise they associated with an engine or engines operating at high power and saw the landing and position lights on. All witnesses said they saw the wings wobble and then watched it drop straight down out of the sky.
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It's a very strange one to me. I know your typical jane/john doe isn't going to be a very reliable witness & resource. But 'High engine power' and steep banks? Strange.
 
Ripper3785 said:
It's a very strange one to me. I know your typical jane/john doe isn't going to be a very reliable witness & resource. But 'High engine power' and steep banks? Strange.
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Actually pretty typical for a piston twin with enigine failure on takeoff type accident.
 
Ripper3785 said:
It was on landing... But if it's common of engine failure on takeoff then it is on landing too?
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No, the critical phase of flight for engine failure, especially on a GA piston twin, is takeoff. Engine out landing should be routine. But engine failure in GA twins is more likely to end with loss of control vs. engine failure in singles. So if they mismanaged the approach in some way and got in a position where they had to use full power, loss of control is a definite possibility.
 
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