A Beech 99 Cargo plane crashed 15 minutes after leaving Manchester. Signed copies available at kerrymccauley.com/ Or on Amazon. www.amazon.com/Ferry-Pilot-Li...
I am also an old night freight pilot with thousands of hours in the Beech 99, mostly C models with the big cargo pod. I flew up and down the Allegheny Mountains, ice capital of the world. The 99 is a great ice wagon but…I once hit ice on an approach into Elkins WV. It piled on so quickly that I couldn’t climb out of the valley for a missed approach. We touched down at the very edge of a stall with both engines pulling full power. If that runway had been a hundred feet further away I doubt we would have made it. One of the scariest moments of my 50 year career. It is a bit of human hubris to think that the sky can’t ever just overwhelm our flying machines. Another thought; one of our 99s lost the pilot’s cargo door during takeoff. The crew brought it back around, but it was a day, VFR, and warm. And it was a crew of two. Night freight in 99s was (is?) a single pilot operation. Night, heavy ice, door gone, single pilot? Nobody should be quick to fault this pilot. Nobody is a match for the sky when it turns mean. Something we tiny little humans often forget.
I have the highest respect for freight dogs. In my opinion they are the second best type of pilots in the world. After international ferry pilots of course. :) I'm sure this pilot had something other the normal day in the office going on here. Possibly losing the cargo door AND heavy icing. That would make things interesting!
@@KerryDMcCauley I went on to fly Air Ambulance, PIC 135 & 121, Corporate, was an active Flight instructor (Primary, instrument & Multi) and worked on an airshow team. As a Pilot / Mechanic I made some bucks doing ferry flights, moving out-of-airworthiness airplanes to maintenance or to be disassembled for parts. Often I was taking off in airplanes most people would be trying to get back on the ground ASAP. (Didn't say I was smart.) But I don't think I was ever as good as I was as a freight dog flying Navajos, 99s, and the EMB110.
I live in south Manchester, close to KMHT, and hear the parade of the Wiggins planes taking off every morning. This morning, the weather was terrible. Going from heavy rain to ice, and rain again. and this guy came over my neighborhood with the throttles absolutely firewalled... twice. This was during a short period of moderate sleet. Then nothing. No trail-off, just total silence. Fired up the ATC app, and confirmed my fear that he didn't make the airport. Very relieved to hear he survived.. Curious to why he was NORDO
The radio transmission after his initial check in with departure from the pilot was extremely noisy and weak. At his altitude and close proximity to the airport it may be from ice on the antenna and/or the loss of a cabin door or widow. Normally the transmissions from there are excellent. I worked both the tower and approach there years ago.
Praying for a speedy and 100% recovery for this pilot. Good to find out soon what really happened. Very erractic flight path and spotty communication. Of course navigation comes before communication but I think he would at least give a quick word on his condition when he did break through. So glad that this ended up without loss of life. Thanks for wonderful coverage Kerry. I always enjoy your synopsis.
This might be old news to this post. It was confirmed the pilot door dislodged and was found a short distance from the crash point. As confirmed as some speculated by the turbulent sound when the pilot was talking to ATC.
It wasn’t just “power lines” it was one of the New Englands most congested important transmission ROW, he got very lucky. He could have tripped 5-8 transmission lines.
They found the pilot side door today covered in rime ice. 6 miles from the crash. He probably had it open because he couldn't see out the front because of ice. That would explain to comm issues.
This 99 was fully equipped with deicing equipment. Not sure which of two pilots were flying but both are very experienced and careful pilots. Always checking their weather and will cancel if there’s any question as to safety. This is a UPS contract flight. I hope he’s okay. I did find out the pilot was a newer hire. Not the two pilots that usually fly this route from KRUT. One of their retired pilots thought there might have been some sort of instrument failure as his flown patterns looked like he was looking for the highway to relocate the airport. I think the biggest issue is that he’s alive and we’re all hoping he comes out of this okay and ready to get back in the cockpit. These planes usually have basic instrumentation like a Garmin 530 but are obviously equipped for icing conditions. That doesn’t mean they can’t build a significant accumulation on the belly area.
I see several comments about possible door malfunction. Way back in ‘89 a light twin Aquila Air Piper Aztec with five onboard out of CYCD (Nanaimo) had an unlatched cargo door (I believe near the nose) fly open. It was just enough disruption shortly after takeoff, low altitude, max weight that control was lost and all 5 perished😢
He got it limped around to left traffic and base for 35. I can’t imagine fling a 99 with no pilot emergency exit door, IMC, no charts, and no communication.
It sounds like the conditions were right for heavy, clear icing. Its one thing picking up rime ice, the boots can handle that clear Icing is really bad news. The 99 is a great airplane; nothing is known; I am making a swag here. Good that the pilot is alive. When you get temp inversions like this, you have to really be on your toes, the deicing equipment working and well, single pilot IFR, there is a bit of a workload, a lot of 99's don't have autopilots. With the pilot shortage, if you believe that one, a lot of lower-time guys are in the seat, and if it's his or her first winter, there could be a problem right there. Like I said, I am just making a swag here. It will be interesting to see what did occur here. I hear some freight haulers are putting pilots with the 135 IFR min is such aircraft. So there is a huge learning curve, and in the North East or Great Lakes region lots of heavy IFR this time of year and Ice. It's way better with temps down in the single digits or below zero. These wet, just barely freezing temps. Oh, I am a retired pilot; I stayed in GA for a whole career, such as it was. 45 years worth.
I have a friend who lives really close to where he crashed. My friend says he heard that the plane may have lost a window or door resulting in the high cockpit noise and the pilot's inability to hear calls. If this is true it hopefully will be determined in the investigation. Conditions where I am, slightly south, were low IFR.
Iam Up north here in Canada and have spent some time in the front seat of a few type of aircraft . It seems there has been a bunch of crashes in the US due to icing this year . Is it a serious issue with pilots in the US to ignore or forget the dangers involved ?
The erratic track appears to indicate more than airframe ice being an issue. I'd combine that with a loss of pitot heat or the heat couldn't handle a severe icing condition. Leading to unreliable speed. I live 20 miles away, and the weather conditions were very dangerous all morning.
@@GDViperWorks I agree with ya, I fly out of MHT often, due to the icy conditions this morning, and the type of aircraft flown is not surprising. Freezing weather with Freezing Rain is a recipe for a disaster. The Metar report was showing Broken clouds from 1,400 feet and overcast to 2,100 feet with rain at 2 degrees Celsius, since the Beech 99 does not have an actual "pitot" system, but instead a "boot" system, it could've easily malfunctioned. My buddy flew the BE99 and almost died due to the boots malfunctioning and his elevator was completely inoperative. I am glad I do not fly these Beeches but in these conditions it's a recipe for disaster, and the worst thing about it, is the rest of the Wiggins aircraft departed right after the accident.
Like many here, been there done that back in my early days, though mostly on the old E110 Bandeirante.. Ice and Fog.. two of the scariest situations to encounter..watching the airspeed dropping as the ice builds up. Does anyone here know if Manchester has a precision approach on any other runway ? An ILS for 35 is a very long way around with calm winds..
@@KerryDMcCauley very nice! I’m a retired C license holder. Had to “retire” after a spinal injury and loads of titanium in last OEF deployment. I’m an old bastard that thoroughly enjoyed my ancient Pegasus 220. Lol. I miss flying that ram-air canopy everyday… Blue skies brother! 🪂🫡
The track looks a lot more like a pilot experiencing loss of primary attitude instrumentation and either struggling with partial panel flying or having unreliable backup attitude information.
Sure is loud in the background when he responds to ATC. Sounds like he was flying a convertible. I admire your million years of experience you must have had some crazy scenery back then....🤣
sounds like an open door. the sound and inability to communicate sure make it seem that way. My theory for now is a door came off and damaged something 🤷♂i mean it seems like ice, but why would ice cause that sound and communication problems? Not seeing much on this yet other than this video and the news clip.
@@rotorfib8719yup reporting now that the door was not with the aircraft. So he was flying with a missing door and whatever damage it caused as it departed.
I like how you didn't edit out take 1 & went forward with take 2. It may have been an editing mistake but i enjoyed it. I'm very familiar with screwing up the first take
@@Catpanllikely disoriented. Falling behind the aircraft, focused on icing conditions, starting to lose his composure. Was probably running the boots like a madman and his mind was running 100mph processing everything.
Yes, he misstated his heading, it was assigned 050. I was surprised to see he did climb rapidly a few times and if he had a severe icing situation I doubt that could be done. Maybe he was preoccupied by a problem already. I worked both MHT ATCT and BOS approach.
@@manfredstrappen7491 "One Thousand, Five hundred" - 1,500 "One-Five Thousand" - 15,000 Those are the correct phraseology for altitudes. Above 180 they become Flight Levels then it would be stated "One Nine Zero" for 19,000 (FL190).
The facts will lead to the answer. Since the pilot is alive, the investigation should be successful. I'm guessing an avionics issue like an inverter or bus failure leading to the Nordo and seemingly random flight path. Possibly a medical issue... thankful he survived.
Just wasn't their time to depart to pilots heaven, and out of all the recent fatal crashes recently, its nice to hear some are getting back down alive, the video looks horrific the pilot must have some divine intervention looking out for them, prayers out they have a speedy recovery from this tragic event.
@@ChristLink-Channel I have no idea how many were on the plane, i didn't watch all of the video, most cargo planes have at least 2 pilots, you have a problem with that?
Gosh sounds like it’s a no-go if you can’t maintain the min icing operating speed during climb for any reason like mandatory climb gradients determined by a departure procedure or arc or terrain or whatever. Unless you’re flying a transport cat turbine w/ bleed air anti-ice there’s just no room for error or misfortune when flying in frozen precip. Boots scare the living sh!t outta me especially since watching this video I now know about min icing airspeed…activate those babies too soon while picking up rapidly accumulating clear ice & you can create a cute lil’ air pocket underneath the wing ice the exact size of the boot at max inflation ie. It’s not breaking up ANY ice. 😅
The flight path looks like spacial disorientation. Thinking blocked pitot and static sources. Would need to see altitude data. Either way I suspect a partial panel situation.
Anyone find it interesting the video of crash- you don’t hear the engines? Could he have mistakenly taken off with very little fuel and ran out of gas? Sure weather was an issue too but something else was going on.
Could be some filtering done by the camera, these doorbell cameras are designed to be used right next to roadways so they may be processing the audio to filter out engine noise to make the person at the door more audible. Just speculation. Maybe the pilot shut down the engines before the crash in an attempt to minimize the chance of a fire.
I am also an old night freight pilot with thousands of hours in the Beech 99, mostly C models with the big cargo pod. I flew up and down the Allegheny Mountains, ice capital of the world. The 99 is a great ice wagon but…I once hit ice on an approach into Elkins WV. It piled on so quickly that I couldn’t climb out of the valley for a missed approach. We touched down at the very edge of a stall with both engines pulling full power. If that runway had been a hundred feet further away I doubt we would have made it. One of the scariest moments of my 50 year career. It is a bit of human hubris to think that the sky can’t ever just overwhelm our flying machines. Another thought; one of our 99s lost the pilot’s cargo door during takeoff. The crew brought it back around, but it was a day, VFR, and warm. And it was a crew of two. Night freight in 99s was (is?) a single pilot operation. Night, heavy ice, door gone, single pilot? Nobody should be quick to fault this pilot. Nobody is a match for the sky when it turns mean. Something we tiny little humans often forget.
I have the highest respect for freight dogs. In my opinion they are the second best type of pilots in the world. After international ferry pilots of course. :) I'm sure this pilot had something other the normal day in the office going on here. Possibly losing the cargo door AND heavy icing. That would make things interesting!
@@KerryDMcCauley I went on to fly Air Ambulance, PIC 135 & 121, Corporate, was an active Flight instructor (Primary, instrument & Multi) and worked on an airshow team. As a Pilot / Mechanic I made some bucks doing ferry flights, moving out-of-airworthiness airplanes to maintenance or to be disassembled for parts. Often I was taking off in airplanes most people would be trying to get back on the ground ASAP. (Didn't say I was smart.) But I don't think I was ever as good as I was as a freight dog flying Navajos, 99s, and the EMB110.
I live in south Manchester, close to KMHT, and hear the parade of the Wiggins planes taking off every morning. This morning, the weather was terrible. Going from heavy rain to ice, and rain again. and this guy came over my neighborhood with the throttles absolutely firewalled... twice. This was during a short period of moderate sleet. Then nothing. No trail-off, just total silence. Fired up the ATC app, and confirmed my fear that he didn't make the airport. Very relieved to hear he survived.. Curious to why he was NORDO
Aviate, navigate, communicate. He had his hands more than full with the first two.
Great presentation/production! Thank you.
The radio transmission after his initial check in with departure from the pilot was extremely noisy and weak. At his altitude and close proximity to the airport it may be from ice on the antenna and/or the loss of a cabin door or widow. Normally the transmissions from there are excellent. I worked both the tower and approach there years ago.
Praying for a speedy and 100% recovery for this pilot. Good to find out soon what really happened. Very erractic flight path and spotty communication. Of course navigation comes before communication but I think he would at least give a quick word on his condition when he did break through. So glad that this ended up without loss of life. Thanks for wonderful coverage Kerry. I always enjoy your synopsis.
Yes, bugs me no communication at all for quite awhile.
This might be old news to this post. It was confirmed the pilot door dislodged and was found a short distance from the crash point. As confirmed as some speculated by the turbulent sound when the pilot was talking to ATC.
It wasn’t just “power lines” it was one of the New Englands most congested important transmission ROW, he got very lucky. He could have tripped 5-8 transmission lines.
Thanks for the update!!!
They found the pilot side door today covered in rime ice. 6 miles from the crash. He probably had it open because he couldn't see out the front because of ice. That would explain to comm issues.
Your straightforward explanation is one reason why I like your channel.
Worked for Beech Aerospace early in my career.
We were installing forward wing spars in these old workhorse’s.
This 99 was fully equipped with deicing equipment. Not sure which of two pilots were flying but both are very experienced and careful pilots. Always checking their weather and will cancel if there’s any question as to safety. This is a UPS contract flight. I hope he’s okay.
I did find out the pilot was a newer hire. Not the two pilots that usually fly this route from KRUT. One of their retired pilots thought there might have been some sort of instrument failure as his flown patterns looked like he was looking for the highway to relocate the airport. I think the biggest issue is that he’s alive and we’re all hoping he comes out of this okay and ready to get back in the cockpit. These planes usually have basic instrumentation like a Garmin 530 but are obviously equipped for icing conditions. That doesn’t mean they can’t build a significant accumulation on the belly area.
He clearly didn't c b eck the weather this time, or he ignored it. It was nasty out
@@micfail2what the heck is c b eck?
These cargo pilots fly in icing weather all the time. This was probably just worse than usual. @@micfail2
@@swiftadventurer learn to internet, boomer
What makes you think there were two pilots on board? I saw no mention of that in the video. Am I missing something?
The weather was terrible. I wouldn’t be surprised if icing played a role. It was a sheet of ice all over NH
The plane crash sound like thunderstorm and lighting
I see several comments about possible door malfunction.
Way back in ‘89 a light twin Aquila Air Piper Aztec with five onboard out of CYCD (Nanaimo) had an unlatched cargo door (I believe near the nose) fly open. It was just enough disruption shortly after takeoff, low altitude, max weight that control was lost and all 5 perished😢
He got it limped around to left traffic and base for 35. I can’t imagine fling a 99 with no pilot emergency exit door, IMC, no charts, and no communication.
Pilot side emergency exit door departed the aircraft in flight. That door was found in a back yard over where the deviations began.
Local news tonight (1/28) said that a door was found some distance from the wreck.
That would explain a lot.
I heard the door blew off
Two or more problems at one might be at play.
Ice, and could the weight and balance have been off? Just wondering out loud.
Might not have been off initially, but with fuel and cargo he might not have had much of a margin to add more weight from ice.
It sounds like the conditions were right for heavy, clear icing. Its one thing picking up rime ice, the boots can handle that clear Icing is really bad news. The 99 is a great airplane; nothing is known; I am making a swag here. Good that the pilot is alive. When you get temp inversions like this, you have to really be on your toes, the deicing equipment working and well, single pilot IFR, there is a bit of a workload, a lot of 99's don't have autopilots. With the pilot shortage, if you believe that one, a lot of lower-time guys are in the seat, and if it's his or her first winter, there could be a problem right there. Like I said, I am just making a swag here. It will be interesting to see what did occur here. I hear some freight haulers are putting pilots with the 135 IFR min is such aircraft. So there is a huge learning curve, and in the North East or Great Lakes region lots of heavy IFR this time of year and Ice. It's way better with temps down in the single digits or below zero. These wet, just barely freezing temps. Oh, I am a retired pilot; I stayed in GA for a whole career, such as it was. 45 years worth.
I have a friend who lives really close to where he crashed. My friend says he heard that the plane may have lost a window or door resulting in the high cockpit noise and the pilot's inability to hear calls. If this is true it hopefully will be determined in the investigation. Conditions where I am, slightly south, were low IFR.
that's what it sounded like to me. I wonder if he lost a door and it damaged some control surfaces on the way off?
Could be he lost the window/door AND had severe icing. That would make for a busy morning!@@joeg5414
@@KerryDMcCauley i'm looking forward to hearing what the pilot has to say. thankfully we'll have that opportunity!
Used the power lines as arresting cables
Iam Up north here in Canada and have spent some time in the front seat of a few type of aircraft . It seems there has been a bunch of crashes in the US due to icing this year . Is it a serious issue with pilots in the US to ignore or forget the dangers involved ?
The erratic track appears to indicate more than airframe ice being an issue. I'd combine that with a loss of pitot heat or the heat couldn't handle a severe icing condition. Leading to unreliable speed. I live 20 miles away, and the weather conditions were very dangerous all morning.
Agreed, I feel there’s more than that. Icing alone wouldn’t explain his flight path.
@Francois8011 it's clear that spatial disorientation is likely a big factor here brought about by a malfunction. Likely pitot static related.
@@GDViperWorks I agree with ya, I fly out of MHT often, due to the icy conditions this morning, and the type of aircraft flown is not surprising. Freezing weather with Freezing Rain is a recipe for a disaster. The Metar report was showing Broken clouds from 1,400 feet and overcast to 2,100 feet with rain at 2 degrees Celsius, since the Beech 99 does not have an actual "pitot" system, but instead a "boot" system, it could've easily malfunctioned. My buddy flew the BE99 and almost died due to the boots malfunctioning and his elevator was completely inoperative. I am glad I do not fly these Beeches but in these conditions it's a recipe for disaster, and the worst thing about it, is the rest of the Wiggins aircraft departed right after the accident.
Sounds like there's an open door or something on the ATC tapes. I wonder if he lost a door and it damaged something?
Like many here, been there done that back in my early days, though mostly on the old E110 Bandeirante.. Ice and Fog.. two of the scariest situations to encounter..watching the airspeed dropping as the ice builds up. Does anyone here know if Manchester has a precision approach on any other runway ? An ILS for 35 is a very long way around with calm winds..
Great coverage. Thanks! Hey, what’s the rig hanging on the chair behind you? Curious of main canopy :)
A fellow jumper who knows the right question to ask! I jump a Valkyrie 79.
@@KerryDMcCauley very nice! I’m a retired C license holder. Had to “retire” after a spinal injury and loads of titanium in last OEF deployment. I’m an old bastard that thoroughly enjoyed my ancient Pegasus 220. Lol. I miss flying that ram-air canopy everyday…
Blue skies brother! 🪂🫡
The track looks a lot more like a pilot experiencing loss of primary attitude instrumentation and either struggling with partial panel flying or having unreliable backup attitude information.
Sure is loud in the background when he responds to ATC. Sounds like he was flying a convertible. I admire your million years of experience you must have had some crazy scenery back then....🤣
Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the ice turns the minutes to hours...
Somewhere at the bottom Gitche Gumee aka Big Sea..
He was flying around for quite some time and could have returned to the airport. Disoriented? And the noise of the cockpit seems odd.
probably didn't have full control of the plane
sounds like an open door. the sound and inability to communicate sure make it seem that way. My theory for now is a door came off and damaged something 🤷♂i mean it seems like ice, but why would ice cause that sound and communication problems? Not seeing much on this yet other than this video and the news clip.
Yes! I noticed that too, very noisy and like he was having to yell into the mic.. immediately wondered about a windshield or door failure as well
@@rotorfib8719yup reporting now that the door was not with the aircraft. So he was flying with a missing door and whatever damage it caused as it departed.
Sounds like there's an open window or door to me. I wonder if he lost a door and it damaged some control surfaces on the way off?
He might have survived but the angle he went it at made for a really sudden stop.
I like how you didn't edit out take 1 & went forward with take 2. It may have been an editing mistake but i enjoyed it. I'm very familiar with screwing up the first take
Geeze, who's editing this mess? Oh, wait.
Broncholerio says pilot door detached
Yes, they found the door yesterday. That would make flying in icing even more fun!
Curious why upon check in with departure, he called his heading as 150? Looks like he was runway heading off 06.
Yeah and his track was very erratic. Like something was wrong with the pilot not just the plane. Stroke? Disoriented?
@@Catpanllikely disoriented. Falling behind the aircraft, focused on icing conditions, starting to lose his composure. Was probably running the boots like a madman and his mind was running 100mph processing everything.
Yes, he misstated his heading, it was assigned 050. I was surprised to see he did climb rapidly a few times and if he had a severe icing situation I doubt that could be done. Maybe he was preoccupied by a problem already. I worked both MHT ATCT and BOS approach.
He said he was 1.5 (1500’) to 150 which meant climbing to 15k’
@@manfredstrappen7491
"One Thousand, Five hundred" - 1,500
"One-Five Thousand" - 15,000
Those are the correct phraseology for altitudes. Above 180 they become Flight Levels then it would be stated
"One Nine Zero" for 19,000 (FL190).
is my toaster oven going to arrive late or damaged?
Your shipment is enroute but delayed.
What a tragic loss of such a beautiful aircraft
Instrument failure???
The facts will lead to the answer. Since the pilot is alive, the investigation should be successful. I'm guessing an avionics issue like an inverter or bus failure leading to the Nordo and seemingly random flight path. Possibly a medical issue... thankful he survived.
Just wasn't their time to depart to pilots heaven, and out of all the recent fatal crashes recently, its nice to hear some are getting back down alive, the video looks horrific the pilot must have some divine intervention looking out for them, prayers out they have a speedy recovery from this tragic event.
"They"? What makes you think there was more than one person on board? I didn't see any mention of other people in the video.
@@ChristLink-Channel I have no idea how many were on the plane, i didn't watch all of the video, most cargo planes have at least 2 pilots, you have a problem with that?
Awesome!
keep speed up 👍👍😎😎sub 👍👍
Gosh sounds like it’s a no-go if you can’t maintain the min icing operating speed during climb for any reason like mandatory climb gradients determined by a departure procedure or arc or terrain or whatever. Unless you’re flying a transport cat turbine w/ bleed air anti-ice there’s just no room for error or misfortune when flying in frozen precip. Boots scare the living sh!t outta me especially since watching this video I now know about min icing airspeed…activate those babies too soon while picking up rapidly accumulating clear ice & you can create a cute lil’ air pocket underneath the wing ice the exact size of the boot at max inflation ie. It’s not breaking up ANY ice. 😅
The flight path looks like spacial disorientation. Thinking blocked pitot and static sources. Would need to see altitude data. Either way I suspect a partial panel situation.
Anyone find it interesting the video of crash- you don’t hear the engines? Could he have mistakenly taken off with very little fuel and ran out of gas? Sure weather was an issue too but something else was going on.
Could be some filtering done by the camera, these doorbell cameras are designed to be used right next to roadways so they may be processing the audio to filter out engine noise to make the person at the door more audible. Just speculation. Maybe the pilot shut down the engines before the crash in an attempt to minimize the chance of a fire.
And no post crash fire which adds weight to the no fuel theory
another wiggins huh.