Found Deceased Airplane wreckage in NC, Bryan Andrew Manzer, 61 & Steven Neil Lewis, 30 , TN, 4 Oct 2019

[PommyMommy]

Search underway near SW Randolph High in Asheboro for missing airplane
[...]

Witnesses at the Asheboro Regional Airport saw the plane around 8:30 p.m. on Friday, when the aircraft flew past the runway while on landing approach. It continued past the tree line and out of sight. Radar last had the plane near the Asheboro Bypass and Cannon Heights Drive.

[...]

FAA, Highway Patrol, and Ash-Rand Rescue assisted in the Friday night search. At 2:40 a.m. on Saturday, authorities discontinued the search due to “darkness of night and rain”, according to the release.

The search resumed at 4:26 a.m. when authorities received cell phone coordinates in a wooded area near SW Randolph High School.

[...]

The flight came from Tennessee with a pilot and one passenger. The sheriff’s office has not yet released their names.

 

[PommyMommy]

Randolph County Sheriff's Office
**** UPDATE****

The NC Hwy Patrol helicopters returned to the air this morning around the Airport area and located the plane off of Cedar Rock Mtn. Rd. and directed ground units to the scene. The pilot and passenger were deceased. The NTSB has been contacted and are enroute with an extended time of arrival. They should begin their investigation this afternoon. The next of kin have not been notified, therefore, names have not been released.

 

[Gardener1850]

Press conference on the crash:

 

[2csmommy2012]

So sad . At least they located them.

 

[?mysterian?]

Here's video of a press conference about the plane crash:

The "Courier-Tribune" is a Asheboro, NC daily newspaper.

 

[GraceG]

The plane was reported as a PA-28. That's a low wing Piper aircraft. They come with various horsepower depending on the year and model but none are what you'd call "high performance". It's a very stable and easy to fly aircraft commonly used for training. Seats either 2 or 4 depending on the model. My prayers for the families. Wreckage of airplane that went missing found in Asheboro

 

[PommyMommy]

.OCT 5, 2019
2 dead after wreckage of missing airplane found in Asheboro​

• Ash-Rand Rescue authorities confirm that both men were Randolph County residents.​
• One man was a licensed pilot and the other was training to be a pilot.​
• Authorities say they did not get a mayday call over the radio before the crash.​
• The wreckage of a single-engine four-seater, Piper PA-28 Cherokee was found off of Cedar Rock Mountain Road.​
• The airplane took off from Knoxville Downtown Island Airport in Tennessee Friday.​
• Overall, around 60 officials helped in the search for the plane which was found two and a half miles south of the Asheboro Regional Airport.​
• The plane was found in a densely wooded area about 1,500 feet from the cell phone ping that gave authorities the coordinates.​
• A fire official says the plane looks like it hit several trees during the descent and crash.​

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article235842272.html

• A helicopter with the NC State Highway Patrol found the plane.
  
• The plane was reported missing to authorities around 10 p.m. Friday.

North Carolina Highway Patrol finds missing plane, investigations underway

• Radar last logged the plane in an area between the new Asheboro Bypass and Cannon Heights Drive, according to the FAA.
• An incident command center was set up at Asheboro Regional Airport and search operations at Southwestern Randolph High School.
  
• North Carolina State Emergency Management, Asheboro City Civil Engineering, Airport Authorities, Civil Air Patrol and Randolph County Emergency Management helped with the search efforts.

 

[?mysterian?]

Victims in Asheboro plane crash identified

From the article: <snip>"Authorities found Bryan Andrew Manzer, 61, of Asheboro, and Steven Neil Lewis, 30, of Liberty, on Saturday at the crash site near Cedar Rock Mountain Rd., according to press release issued Sunday."<snip>

 

[PommyMommy]

OCT 6, 2019
Plane crash victims identified

• The area where plane was located is a wooded area on private property.
• Residents in a house located about a four-minute walk from the crash site did not report hearing the plane crash.
• The USAF provided assistance by tracing one of the victim’s cell phones to its last known operating location, which was crucial to the search.
• The wreckage site did not indicate that the plane caught fire after impact.
• “No fire was involved. The plane was in one area,” Seabolt said. “It was very much annihilated. It was in an area of 25-30 yards.”
• The plane essentially broke apart upon impact.
• “If it hadn’t been for another flight landing in front of them, we may have never known this plane crashed. No indicators were ever acknowledged as far as safety equipment or any type of locator beacon.”
• LE is waiting on the NTSB to arrive from Atlanta.
• The sheriff’s office will maintain the scene until agents arrive. The NTSB will then take over the investigation and the sheriff's office will assist.
• “Prayers need to go up for the families. Any time someone loses their life in as tragic an accident as this, it’s sad,” Seabolt said. “You really want to reach out and want to comfort the family and just pray — pray for the families.”

 

[Gardener1850]

This is so sad. I wonder if perhaps the pilot had a medical event and that is why there was no attempt to contact the tower or make a mayday call? Another flight being right in front of them on the runway and then the plane pulling up again after the attempted landing makes me think an inexperienced pilot (perhaps the one in training) was trying to land in an emergency situation but crashed instead. Just so tragic. My condolences and prayers to the families.

 

[GraceG]

This is so sad. I wonder if perhaps the pilot had a medical event and that is why there was no attempt to contact the tower or make a mayday call? Another flight being right in front of them on the runway and then the plane pulling up again after the attempted landing makes me think an inexperienced pilot (perhaps the one in training) was trying to land in an emergency situation but crashed instead. Just so tragic. My condolences and prayers to the families.

The airport doesn't have a control tower. They have a common traffic advisory frequency for which pilots are recommended to announce their position in relation to landing. It sounds like they hit trees, that wouldn't be physically possible of their line of sight allowed them to see someone taking off, the trees would have to be BELOW them to see the landing threshold. You can check airman records at www.faa.gov (click on the "airmen certification" and follow the links for the record search). Steven Lewis is a student pilot. He is NOT allowed to have passengers unless he is with a Certified Flight Instructor. Bryan Manzer is a private pilot. He has neither the commercial certificate and the CFI required to teach a student pilot. His medical certificate is also currently expired according to the FAA's online records (a third class medical cert for a private pilot over the age of 40 has to be renewed every 2 years. His last one was 2015). Neither of them, based on that information, were legal to fly this flight no matter WHO was sitting in the pilot's seat. Tragic and senseless. My condolences to their family.

 

[?mysterian?]

Sunset in Asheboro, NC Friday, Oct. 4, 2019, was at 6:59 p.m. By the time this plane arrived near the Asheboro airport, it was dark.

Asheboro, NC Monthly Weather Forecast - weather.com

"93°
/ 65°
Partly Cloudy
0in
Waxing Crescent
Record High
93°
Record Low
31°
Sunrise
7:16 am
Sunset
6:59 pm
Moonrise
1:36 pm
Moonset
11:38 pm"

 

[Richrd]

.

Aviation Safety dot Net -- #229752
Accident Piper PA-28 , 04 Oct 2019

via: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/

Doing What They Loved, However...​

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[Richrd]

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Aviation Safety dot Net -- #229752
Accident Piper PA-28 , 04 Oct 2019

via: Aviation Safety Network > ASN Aviation Safety WikiBase

Doing What They Loved, However...​

.

 

[GraceG]

.

Aviation Safety dot Net -- #229752
Accident Piper PA-28 , 04 Oct 2019

via: Aviation Safety Network > ASN Aviation Safety WikiBase

Doing What They Loved, However...​

.

Thanks for that. Just an FYI. That information is uploaded by ASN members. They could not have gotten it from the FAA as that data won't download until Monday. (go to www.faa.gov and click on the right hand side of the page under "Top Requests" where it says "accident data". Then click on "preliminary data" and finally on visit the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) System Preliminary Accident and Incident Reports page which is a hyperlink) I always take any speculation on the ASN site as to probable causal factors with a grain of salt until verified with investigative officials. The FAA official preliminary report will show up on their website on Monday showing everything that happened since Friday.

 

[Rocky1]

This is so sad. I wonder if perhaps the pilot had a medical event and that is why there was no attempt to contact the tower or make a mayday call? Another flight being right in front of them on the runway and then the plane pulling up again after the attempted landing makes me think an inexperienced pilot (perhaps the one in training) was trying to land in an emergency situation but crashed instead. Just so tragic. My condolences and prayers to the families.

That's possible it was a medical emergency, and that's why no Mayday was called..However....
There are other reasons as well. For example. Impacting terrain. The plane was contained to a 25-30 yard area. Either he hit some fairly large trees that slowed him down,(depending on his speed) or descended at a fairly steep angle. Although Asheboro is only 871 ft. above sea level, he may have struck a hill.
Another reason is, flying at night. He may have developed vertigo and spiraled into the ground.
Where there was no post fire, he may have run out of fuel, and was too low in altitude to make the call.
I had an engine failure in a Piper Arrow (PA28-200R) one night at around midnight with no moon, and I was too busy flying the airplane and trying to find a place to land to make a Mayday call.
80% of all airplane crashes are due to human error.
Poor fuel management, and flying in bad weather, are right at the top.
The NTSB will reconstruct this crash, and in about a year or so, if not sooner, we should have answers.

 

[Blurgle]

This is so sad. I wonder if perhaps the pilot had a medical event and that is why there was no attempt to contact the tower or make a mayday call? Another flight being right in front of them on the runway and then the plane pulling up again after the attempted landing makes me think an inexperienced pilot (perhaps the one in training) was trying to land in an emergency situation but crashed instead. Just so tragic. My condolences and prayers to the families.

The first thing they tell student pilots is never - never never never never - make a mayday call instead of flying the plane. Aviate first, navigate second - and communicate third, if necessary. Never make a mayday call your first act.