FL PC-12 Accident Kills Family of 6

Just 300tt here, so not a pro by any means. They are still looking for a victim so probably a break up at some point? But look at the wreckage picture in the huffo article linked above. As others have said, it is remarkably intact for such catastrophic events.

Here's my question - in the same wreckage photo, doesnt it appear as if there has been an inflight fire or engine failure based on the the discoloration of the wind screen and fuselage behind the engine?

It does seem reasonable to say that the pilot came so close to bringing it down in a survivable manner after enduring some extreme challenges based on the intactness of the wreckage.

Blue skies and RIP.
 
Strange. The Radar track shows a direct and purposeful turn, as if toward an airport after an engine failure. The eyewitness descriptions suggest stall/spin. It doesn't look like it just 'dun broke up'. Lots of airports to go to in that area.
 
drunkenbeagle said:
Airframe failure at altitude scares the crap out of me :(
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I hear ya on that. I know the machines I fly are tested for stresses on the airframe, but still...

The PC-12 from my understanding is built like a rock. Wonder what the pieces of this tragic puzzle hold.

Once again RIP.
 
My understanding too is that the PC-12 is well built. I have thousands of hours behind PT-6's and other Pratts and have found them to be very very reliable engines.

I am very curious what happened here especially since the debris is over 4 miles means it was coming apart in flight. Also in the crash pics the prop is bent oddly. Too me it looks like the engine wasn't making power at the time of impact.
 
I just looked at the huffington post story. The second picture features an arm or leg hanging out of the main cabin door partially covered by a tarp.
 
Looking at the photos it seems like there was an in flight fire. I'd bet the engine cowl is the debris that was found away from the main wreck. The PC12 is built like a brick. I'd doubt it would come apart in flight.
 
The stall characteristics of the PC12 are kind of nasty if you don't let the pusher do it's thing. Ice + stall could lead to a pretty ugly situation if you don't follow the profiles. I had a pusher activation in a PC12 in icing over Florida a number of years ago and it was kind of scary.
 
Forgot the separator, lost the engine, etc all fits except how do you go from stall/spin to shedding pieces? More info needed.
 
Mark815 said:
I'm very interested in knowing what happened. The weather posted above doesn't seem that bad. Typical Florida this time of year, in fact we were flying around stuff in the Northeast today that was worse than that. One thing I find VERY interesting is the fuselage. While damaged heavily, it's pretty much in one piece. News reports say first signs of trouble were at FL260. There must have been some kind of distress call?
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One article stated that a huge chunk of the fuselage was missing adjacent to one of the seats. Speculation is that this is where the missing child went. Very sad...this is a heavily wooded area. A needle in a haystack....

In addition to the ice I mentioned earlier, at around 1400, just north of that area, I got into moderate clear air turbulence at 20,000 and I wasn't anywhere close to the clouds.
 
amjon said:
I would say the satellite image isn't really showing an accurate picture. We have not have just normal July rainstorms. It's been all day heavy rain with wind which is not Florida's typical short afternoon shower. It's been nasty on the ground, so don't think I'd want to see it from above.
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I wasn't basing it just the Flightaware image, sorry I should have clarified it. I was checking out the weather history for the day and it really wasn't anything crazy. As drunkenbeagle said, not really heavy convective activity. And being in the air flying around the stuff isn't necessarily as bad as being on the ground. Going through it is one thing, but circumnavigating it at altitude is usually nothing more than bumps if you're doing it right.

dustoff17 said:
One article stated that a huge chunk of the fuselage was missing adjacent to one of the seats. Speculation is that this is where the missing child went. Very sad...this is a heavily wooded area. A needle in a haystack....,.
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I read that too but really can't wrap my head around it. The emergency exit is missing in one of the photos in the article, but I'm going to assume that was from rescuers going in. I don't see any other large holes in the fuselage. If there was some kind of explosive decompression there there MUST have been some kind of mayday call. I mean maybe I missed it but did anyone hear anything, or find anything on liveatc of a mayday call? I really hate doing the speculation thing, but by looking at those pictures there is def evidence of fire up front. Whether it was post flight or in flight I don't know, but the way the burn marks appear, it looks like it was moving up towards the left windscreen. Really hope it wasn't an inflight fire.

I just don't understand how an entire family perishes with the airframe impacting the ground basically intact. If it was a stall/spin we'd be seeing a smoking hole, not what appears to be a controlled crash landing.
 
Mark815 said:
I Whether it was post flight or in flight I don't know, but the way the burn marks appear, it looks like it was moving up towards the left windscreen. Really hope it wasn't an inflight fire.

I just don't understand how an entire family perishes with the airframe impacting the ground basically intact. If it was a stall/spin we'd be seeing a smoking hole, not what appears to be a controlled crash landing.
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Lots of assumptions here.

For the bold part, there are many impact forces that the human body cannot survive, which won't be apparent in airframe damage. Don't ever assume that just because there may not be an apparent loss of occupiable space, that it instantly means the accident was survivable. There are a host of variables that can come in-between that cause/effect relationship you are trying to make. Don't fall into the trap of A + B =G.

In accident investigation, nothing is required to mean anything, and not everything automatically equates to something.
 
One story I read this morning mentioned a witness that heard strange mechanical noises coming from the plane before it impacted the ground. Said that the prop or the engine sounded very strange, and that something was definitely wrong with it.

Tragic. I was surprised to see that this was a PC-12. Dismayed to see an entire family wiped off the map. :(
 
Mark815 said:
I just don't understand how an entire family perishes with the airframe impacting the ground basically intact. If it was a stall/spin we'd be seeing a smoking hole, not what appears to be a controlled crash landing.
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Look at the test G650 crash last year. In tact hull, everyone perished.

MikeD, someone commented on a woman hearing "strange" nosies from the rear of the airplane and that the prop did not sound correct. In an investigation how much credit do you give her. What if she was a pilot?
 
MikeOH58 said:
MikeD, someone commented on a woman hearing "strange" nosies from the rear of the airplane and that the prop did not sound correct. In an investigation how much credit do you give her. What if she was a pilot?
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As much credit as I give any witness statement: it's a statement. I'll see how it stacks up against available evidence, whether it supports it or not, and go from there. If the witness is a pilot, I give their statement extra scrutiny, because pilots generally try to tell you what they think occurred, versus "just the facts" of what they saw. I don't need conclusions from witnesses, I just need observations. The average lay-witness normally describes just what they see, basic to them as it is. There are variations to these themes always, but thats the basic investigative methodology I proceed with.
 
BEEF SUPREME said:
I just looked at the huffington post story. The second picture features an arm or leg hanging out of the main cabin door partially covered by a tarp.
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The first picture looks like there is somebody in the right seat as well.

I felt much safer in the PC-12 than a bunch of twins I have flown, it is such a solid airplane. The engine trouble could have been caused by an in-flight breakup, loss of the prop causing a fire etc. But that airframe looks very intact for a stall/spin scenario. Of course thats most likely what happened judging from the flat attitude the airplane is resting at, and showing no signs of of sliding across the ground.
 
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