Pilot Slams Plane with small Daughter aboard into Inlaws House

"State police had no record of disputes between the Johnsons, Bursten said"

Could be a buzz job gone wrong. If so, good reason to not do buzz jobs.
 
If it was a suicide then it shows how less of a man he was, he did not take his life alone. It just sucks and it breaks your heart. He'll get what he deserves in the afterlife, hopefully.
May the little girl rest in peace.
 
Hrmm

It's a really unfortunate event but lets not all jump to conclusions. For alls we know, it could of been the dad playing hookie with the daughter for the day, take her up in the air and show her around the city. When around the grandparents house, something happened and he crashed.

Lets not all speculate...for just the sake of respect to the victims.
 
I think we're letting the media get the better of us. It was only suggested as a suicide by the police, which have no authority to make judgement in an aircraft accident. From the limited experience of the police, they would think it was intentional because of thier experience with domestic problems. They probably never considered it may be a fly-by gone wrong in order to impress and win over the daughter, especially if the parents never had a history of violent conflict.
 
I understand this guy was not actually a certificated pilot, but a student pilot? That just makes it all the more suspicious - taking his daughter along on some "random" flight.
 
I read about this story in the paper this morning. I must say the thought of a pilot deliberately crashing an aircraft with his daughter on board sickens me to the core. It also breaks my heart.

I really think the FAA needs to re-examine its practices concerning mental illness. Too often, the FAA holds that pilots with a diagnosed mental illness (depression, anxiety, etc...) are unfit to fly. While I agree that mentally unstable pilots have no place in the modern cockpit, I am particularly concerned with pilots who allow mental illness to go un-diagnosed because of fear of losing flying priviledges. Mental illnesses are recognized and treated properly by the medical community. To do something like this guy did indicates a serious mental illness. I pray and hope that we are all wrong and a better explanation for this crash comes about... unfortunately, my logical side tells me it won't.
 
Aeroman said:
I think we're letting the media get the better of us. It was only suggested as a suicide by the police, which have no authority to make judgement in an aircraft accident. From the limited experience of the police, they would think it was intentional because of thier experience with domestic problems. They probably never considered it may be a fly-by gone wrong in order to impress and win over the daughter, especially if the parents never had a history of violent conflict.
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Does the media get more viewers if they have a story about a plane crash or a story about about a suicidal plane crash with a little girl involved? Sadly, they'll take the latter just for the sake of having news.
 
BCTAv8r said:
Does the media get more viewers if they have a story about a plane crash or a story about about a suicidal plane crash with a little girl involved? Sadly, they'll take the latter just for the sake of having news.
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Righto. There's an old saying in pressrooms, "If it bleeds, it leads."
 
CNN says "He was a student pilot who soloed". How did he get access to the plane without an instructor present?
 
Solo students don't need instructors to get access to the planes... as long as their solo currency is up to date.

However... it's looking like it was intentional... :(

Pilot talked to ex-wife before crash By TOM DAVIES, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 16 minutes ago



Eric Johnson told his ex-wife, "You're not going to get her," shortly before the small plane he was piloting with his 8-year-old daughter crashed into his former mother-in-law's house, killing them both.

The mother-in-law, Vivian Pace, wasn't injured and told reporters outside her damaged home Tuesday about the phone call.

She said her daughter, Beth Johnson, was worried after young Emily didn't show up for school after a weekend vacation with her father. She finally reached Eric Johnson by cell phone shortly before the crash.

"I've got her, and you're not going to get her," he told her, according to Pace.

Johnson, a student pilot who had soloed before, had taken off in a leased, single-engine Cessna from a southern Indiana airport near Bloomington on Monday morning. Less than two hours later, officials said, the plane smashed into a wall of Pace's home.

Andrew Todd Fox of the National Transportation Safety Board declined to say if Johnson, 47, said anything over the plane's radio before the crash. The airport has no controller on duty, so no recording was available of any communication, he said.

Pace believes the crash was deliberate.

"That was the only way he could hurt Beth. That was the only way he could get to her," she said.

State and Bedford police were treating the case as a suicide and homicide, State Police 1st Sgt. Dave Bursten said. He said they had yet to find any notes indicating Johnson's intentions with the flight, but the fact that the house was his ex-wife's mother's home raised serious questions.

"All of those things together lead us in the direction that this was done intentionally," Bursten said Tuesday.

The couple had divorced in November after 12 years of marriage, Pace said.

Beth Johnson went to the Bedford Police Department the morning of the crash to file a missing person report, police Maj. Dennis Parsley said Tuesday.

She gave officers no indication of any threats against Emily, Parsley said, and told police that her ex-husband, a property manager for the state Department of Natural Resources, had recently taken the girl to Cancun for a few days of vacation.

"(Emily) was to spend the weekend with dad, and dad was supposed to bring her to school Monday morning," Parsley said.

Fox said Tuesday that investigators were looking at whether the plane was functioning properly and hoped to have a preliminary report within a week.

At Parkview Primary School in Bedford, where Emily was a first-grader, counselors were called in to help the students, Principal Sari Wood said Tuesday.

"We're all grieving over this," Wood said. She described Emily as a "dear little girl" who "got a kick out of things and enjoyed life."

"She just was one of those really friendly, really open little kids," Wood said.

___

Associated Press Writer Tom Murphy in Indianapolis contributed to this report.

(Corrects: Woman called ex-husband rather than ex-husband calling her.)
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SkiHigh2002 said:
I must say the thought of a pilot deliberately crashing an aircraft with his daughter on board sickens me to the core. It also breaks my heart.
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This is the saddest thing. Tragedy involving senseless acts that kill innocent children make me angry. :mad: :mad:
All to get back at his ex. :mad: :mad: :mad:
 
Captain_Bob said:
Solo students don't need instructors to get access to the planes... as long as their solo currency is up to date.

However... it's looking like it was intentional... :(
Click to expand...

the link in post #1 say's this...

Johnson obtained his pilot's license in November, the same month the couple divorced after 12 years of marriage.
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Am I missing somthing???
 
SRA_kbad said:
the link in post #1 say's this...



Am I missing somthing???
Click to expand...

Probably not... the link ns post number 1 is time stamped Today at 6:00pm. The original article came out yesterday... so it's been changed and updated as time goes by and information develops. I was just responding to SeanD's comment about how a "Solo" student could get access to a plane without an instructor.

It does say he optained his "license" in November... but... it could easily be the Press not fully understanding the difference in a "student certificate" and a "license".

For the record though... his FAA record does show the issuance of a "Student Pilot Certificate" in NOVEMBER 2006... which leads me to believe the press just got it wrong.

----------------------------------------

FAA Registry
Name Inquiry Results

ERIC ROSS JOHNSON

Address
Street 617 I ST
City BEDFORD
State IN
County LAWRENCE
Zip Code 47421-2331
Country USA

Medical
Medical Class: Third
Medical Date: 11/2006
MUST WEAR CORRECTIVE LENSES.


Certificates
1 of 1

DOI:11/14/2006
Certificate:STUDENT PILOT

------------------------------------------------

Bob
 
I really think the FAA needs to re-examine its practices concerning mental illness. Too often, the FAA holds that pilots with a diagnosed mental illness (depression, anxiety, etc...) are unfit to fly. While I agree that mentally unstable pilots have no place in the modern cockpit, I am particularly concerned with pilots who allow mental illness to go un-diagnosed because of fear of losing flying priviledges. Mental illnesses are recognized and treated properly by the medical community. To do something like this guy did indicates a serious mental illness. I pray and hope that we are all wrong and a better explanation for this crash comes about... unfortunately, my logical side tells me it won't.
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The unfortunate truth is, flying is similar to driving in this case. Just because there are "laws" and the FAA says you shouldn't fly with any kind of medical problem, doesn't do a thing to stop some one from flying. Remember if you get your drivers/pilots license take away, it doesn't mean you forget how to drive/fly. If your bent on killing your self, I don't think your going to be to concerned what the FAA says about flying and mental illness.

I did read an article in AOPA a few years back in about this very subject. They sited at least a half dozen to a dozen cases where this happened. This is by no means unheard of.
 
I'm sure we all would be surprised on the number of people flying around with no license or one thats not valid. The same could be said for pilots on IFR flight plans with no Instrument ticket.
 
I am kind of sorry now he died. 'Cause if he'd lived he would have to live for the rest of his life knowing he killed his daughter. The son of a...
 
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