NEWS: Engine problems caused fatal plane crash BY JOSHUA ROBERTS jroberts@paducahsun The pilot of a Piper PA-34-200T reported problems with his plane’s engines, including one that had completely lost power, moments before it crashed near Kuttawa this month, killing four people. The engine problems, along with other flight and weather information, are mentioned in a preliminary report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board on the Jan. 2 crash. The accident killed pilot Marty Gutzler, 48, wife Kimberly, 46, daughter Piper, 9, and 14-year-old cousin, Sierra Wilder, all of Nashville, Illinois. The youngest of the passengers, 7-year-old Sailor Gutzler, survived. A final report is months from completion, an NTSB official said Friday. The average length of investigations into flights that had fatalities is 12 months, he said. Information in the preliminary report is subject to later revision. The Gutzler family departed Tallahassee Regional Airport in Florida after refueling around 4 p.m. EST on Jan. 2, heading for Mount Vernon Airport in Illinois, according to the preliminary report. The Federal Aviation Administration reported Marty Gutzler contacted air traffic control and requested vectors to the nearest airport due to engine problems. The controller directed the pilot to Kentucky Dam State Resort Park, about 11 miles west of the plane’s position. Gutzler said he had the airport in sight, but the plane’s right engine had “stopped producing power,” according to NTSB. He later advised he’d lost sight of the airport and asked for the airport’s traffic advisory frequency. “There were no further radio communications from the airplane,” the preliminary report states. The report does not address the question of whether the plane may have run out of fuel. Radar contact was lost with the plane just before 6 p.m. The Gutzler plane was last seen descending through 2,700 feet about 10 miles west of the state park. Marty Gutzler, according to FAA records, had commercial pilot and flight instructor certificates with ratings for single- and multi-engines. In February 2014, he reported 2,300 hours of flight experience. The plane he was flying, according to FAA records, was made in 1979 and equipped with two Continental Motors 210 horsepower engines, with two-bladed Hartzell controllable pitch propellers. It went through an annual inspection in March 2014 and had 7,573 total aircraft hours. Investigators began an examination of the crash site Jan. 4. The plane was found inverted with the landing gear retracted. The path of the wreckage was about 300 feet, the NTSB reported. The plane’s fuselage and tail assembly were largely intact, the report states, though heavily damaged by impact. The right outboard fuel tank was destroyed by impact and showed evidence of a small post-crash fire. Flight control continuity was confirmed, control yokes were attached to their columns, and the throttle, mixture and propeller levers were intact in the throttle quadrant. The left engine was found separated from engine mounts, but attached to the wing through wires and cables. The right engine was found attached to mounts and the wing. The NTSB also reports that there was a strong odor of fuel at the crash site, and it was noted that an unspecified amount of fuel was draining from ruptured tanks. GPS systems and an iPhone were also gathered from the scene for additional examination. A preliminary examination of weather along the flight route indicated mist, rain and advisories for icing and mountain obscure conditions. Sailor Gutzler’s survival and walk through cold, damp wooded conditions to a nearby home for help made national news. She was treated at an area hospital, and was released to family members. Attempts to reach Sailor’s family for an update on her condition were unsuccessful.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 20:59:54 +0000
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