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Report: Pilots didn't take evasive action before midair crash
Wreckage of the tow plane involved in a fatal midair crash in Middletown sits near the end of the runway Monday Nov. 30, 2009.
PD FILEPublished: Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 2:30 p.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 2:30 p.m.
Before a small plane and glider collided in Middletown midair, killing both pilots, neither was seen to take evasive action prior to the impact, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The Nov. 28 crash killed glider pilot Harold Chouinard, 63, of Cotati and Sean Boylan, 45, of Hidden Valley Lake.
The report, released this week, offered clinical details on what was happening at the time with each aircraft. But, as is standard at this point, offered no interpretation as to possible cause.
That piece of the investigation was expected to take as long as eight months, estimated NTSB investigator Elliott Simpson Tuesday.
The 11:15 a.m. crash between the single engine Piper and the Schleicher glider was at Crazy Creek gliderport.
The tow plane, piloted by Boylan, began pulling up Chouinard in the glider at 11:05 a.m. on a day with winds from the north between 25-35 knots.
Witnesses told investigators they saw the glider release from the plane at about six miles west of the airport, at about 3,000 feet, according to the report.
The plane then turned back toward the airport, with Boylan starting his landing pattern.
The glider headed north along an adjacent ridgeline and shortly thereafter turned southeast toward the airport.
The glider was equipped with a radio but the plane was not, according to the report.
No information was given in the report regarding whether the glider pilot radioed someone on the ground about landing. Chouinard's son had said his father had radioed that he was coming in to land.
Both were on the last leg of their landing sequence and were making a final turn when they collided, Simpson said.
Witnesses told investigators neither pilot made any abrupt or evasive maneuver.
The collision destroyed the aircraft. A two-foot piece of the glider's right wing was found amongst the wreckage of the plane. The plane also lost a section of wing.
Both men died in the impact.
Simpson said it would take 3-6 months for a final report to be completed and another month or two for probable cause to be determined.
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