Travel

Wind lifted wing moments before fatal crash, report says

Wind lifted wing moments before fatal crash, report says

The private plane was a fixed-wing single-engine aircraft built in 1996.
According to the NTSB, the flight departed Albany International Airport in New York around 10:50 a.m. that day en route to Block Island. The pilot said the purpose of the trip was to fly with two passengers to the island for lunch, the report states.
The pilot began his descent about 20 nautical miles from the island’s airport, and as he headed on the final approach for runway 10, he saw an airplane departing runway 28 and began a go-around, according to the report, released Friday.
The pilot attempted to land a second time, but was too close to the runway on the final approach and then tried for a third attempt, NTSB officials wrote in the report.
“After a third approach to runway 10, the airplane touched down with full flaps about 1,500 feet down the 2,500-foot-long runway,” the report states. “As the pilot applied the brakes, the airplane’s right wing lifted due to a gust of wind. There was insufficient runway remaining for a go-around, the airplane overran the runway and impacted trees.”
According to the report, the plane touched down at 83 knots and exited the runway at 73 knots. The aircraft hit the tree canopy about 50 feet above ground level and came to a rest about 640 feet east of the runway, leaving behind a wreckage path approximately 173 feet long, the report states.
The crash happened around 12:10 p.m., according to the NTSB. The plane was “substantially damaged,” according to the report.
“The wreckage was retained for further examination,” the report states.
When the plane was about 20 nautical miles from the Block Island airport, air traffic controllers at the Providence Terminal Radar Approach Control informed the pilot they had changed radio frequencies, NTSB officials wrote.
Although the pilot acknowledged the change, he remained on the initial frequency and used it to report his position for two of the three runway approaches, according to the report.
Air traffic controllers “advised him several times that he was transmitting on the incorrect frequency and provided the correct advisory frequency,” investigators wrote.
The report lists the plane’s operator as Condair Flyers, Inc.
According to its website, Condair Flyers is a not-for-profit flying club based at the Albany airport dating back to 1964. It owns “five airplanes that can be used for local flying, extended cross country travel, or flight training,” the website states.
Membership is “open to pilots of all categories, to those who wish to become pilots, and to those who do not fly but enjoy general aviation,” according to the website.
A member of the club’s Executive Board did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday.
In July, Montgomery County executive Pete Vroman and Legislative Chairman Michael J. Pepe announced Wilson’s death in a post to the county’s official Facebook page, calling Wilson “a kind, smart, and patient man.”
“He was always thinking of ways to assist others and truly defined what it means to be a community servant,” Vroman wrote in the post.
According to the post, Wilson, who represented District 5, was a dedicated legislator with more than 50 years as a civil engineer. He served the past nine years as chairman of the Physical Services Committee.
The two others injured in the crash were also from New York, New Shoreham Police Chief Paul Deane said at the time.
Material from a previous Globe story was used in this report.