By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-06 01:47:13 | Updated at 2024-12-22 16:40:16
2 weeks ago
An aviation expert has shared two morbid reasons why he thinks the horrific plane crash in Arizona that killed five people last month happened.
Cary Grant, a professor at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, reviewed the National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report on the November 5 crash that saw a small private jet slam into the fence just outside of Falcon Field Airport in Mesa.
Grant wants to know if this came down to human error or a plane malfunction, which the NTSB said wasn't present, but feels like either one is to blame.
'Why did he make the decision to not take the airplane into the air? Was there something that prevented the airplane from being able to fly or was this just a poor decision on the pilot's part?' Grant told AZFamily on Wednesday.
'It's very tragic for everybody involved.'
As Grant explained, the Honda HA-420 plane never got off the ground, plowing through the fence at a speed of roughly 130 knots.
It then made a fiery impact with a car on the road adjacent to the air field, killing the driver. He was later identified as 67-year-old Ray Longhi.
The people who died onboard the plane were pilot Spencer Lindahl, 43, Rustin Randall, 48, Drew Kimball, 44, and his son Grahm Kimball, 12.
There were a total of five people aboard the Honda HA-420 jet. Four of them died, while the son of the pilot survived and suffered burn injuries
The pilot's 18-year-old son Kimball Lindahl was the only survivor, multiple outlets reported in the aftermath of the horrific tragedy.
According to flight data examined by the NTSB, the pilot stopped communicating shortly after he was cleared for takeoff by air traffic control.
'So, the fact that he didn’t contact air traffic control is not necessarily indicative that he didn’t mean to talk to air traffic controls, just probably didn’t have time to talk to air traffic control,' Grant said.
Grant added that small jets like the one in this incident aren't required to have cockpit voice recorders, which will make piecing together what happened more difficult for investigators.
The NTSB report didn't mention that there was a cockpit voice recorder onboard the jet but said it was equipped with a flight deck.
Cary Grant, a professor at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott
Data from the flight deck revealed that the plane accelerated to 130 knots on the runway before decelerating and charging past the end of the runway into the airport perimeter. This data also revealed there were 'no engine anomalies.'
Grant said 130 knots (nearly 150mph) is too fast to abort a takeoff.
'That’s part of the calculations that pilots have to make before they take off is know your decision speeds. 130 knots is obviously the speed that the report says, was way beyond the capability of the airplane to be able to stop in the runway that was available at Falcon Field,' Grant said.
This flight data examined by the NTSB also revealed there were 'no engine anomalies.' The airplane's brake and anti-skid systems were also found to be operating normally at the time of the crash.
'But from the preliminary report, it’s very hard to determine if there was a mechanical issue. All the preliminary report says is that it appears everything was functioning normally,' Grant said.
It could take the NTSB two years before it has a clear answer as to what caused this devastating crash, which is why Grant added that people shouldn't jump to conclusions.
Father and son, Drew Kimball, 44, and Grahm Kimball, 12, died in the horrific plane crash
Spencer Lindahl, 43, and Rustin Randall, 48, also lost their lives. A total of five people died
In the days after the crash, officials determined that the plane was being flown to see a college basketball game in Provo, Utah.
Records obtained by Arizona Republic show the jet was owned by Ice Man Holdings LLC, a company owned by Lindahl and Randall.
The two men, beyond being business partners, were described to be as close as 'brothers,' according to friend Nate Porter.
'We lost 2 remarkable men last night. Spencer Lindhal and Rustin Randall. They were like brothers and we raised our families together,' Porter said.
In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, the wife and mother of Drew and Grahm, the father and son that died on the plane, posted a heartfelt tribute including an image of them smiling next to each other.
'Our hearts are excruciatingly heavy as we share the passing of Drew and Grahm in a tragic plane accident yesterday.
'We are completely devastated, but find solace in knowing there was a glorious reunion with Braden on the other side. We stand and know, without a doubt, that families are forever,' Tanya Kimball wrote.
She referred to her and Drew's late son, Braden Kimball, who died by suicide in December 2023.
'Please pray for the other two families involved, the Lindahl and Randall families,' Tanya added in a post on her Instagram story.
Ray Longhi, 67, was the fifth victim in the crash. He was driving the car that got smashed into by the plane Lindahl was piloting
Longhi, the driver of the car who was killed when the plane crashed into him, was revealed to be a father-of-two and grandfather-of-one.
He was heading to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport to pick up his wife of 35 years from work when the crash happened. He was just a few miles from his home.
The irony, his daughter said, is that her father was an avid traveler who loved aviation. He had even taken a job at Boeing and moved his family to a house adjacent to Falcon Field Airport in Mesa, according to ABC 15.
'I've driven up the street hundreds of times, and so many of those were with my dad,' his daughter, Lorraine, told the station.
'The airplanes or helicopters would be flying over as we were driving down the road and my dad would just know everything about what model of airplane it was.'
She said she is now struggling to understand what happened.
'When I heard it was an accident, I think I just assumed it was a car accident, but when I found out that there was a plane involved, I think it was just so difficult to wrap my head around,' Lorraine said.
'I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that my dad could get into a plane accident next to the same airport he'd been living next to for decades.
'It was impossible for me to imagine that something like this could happen a mile away from home,' she added.
