Finally....a correct account of what happened
Opening of small hatch in mid-air caused crash
Posted By LUKE HENDRY, SUN MEDIA
Posted 23 hours ago
The July 15 crash of a former military aircraft at CFB Trenton was caused by the mid-air opening of a small hatch, the Canadian Forces says.
A privately owned Canadair T-33 Silver Star nearly ended up on RCAF Road after an aborted takeoff around 12:12 p. m. The plane had left the base's Mountain View detachment in Prince Edward County earlier in the day and stopped at the base. It was headed for Ft. Worth, Texas, when a problem arose.
"The aircraft crash resulted from the left-side armament door in the nose area of the aircraft fully opening while airborne," Capt. Mark Peebles said yesterday in a news release.
"The pilot brought the aircraft back to the ground but was unable to stop the aircraft before leaving the end of the runway."
He said the pilot managed to avoid lights near the runway, but the plane sped off the tarmac, crashing through a fence and across a road before stopping just short of the base's western perimeter fence.
"We can't say for certain just what caused that hatch to go open. We haven't been able to verify (that)," he said. "We recommend vigilance and caution in this regard to those who fly T-33s."
Peebles said the base's 8 Wing Flight Safety unit gathered information for Canada's Transportation Safety Board in case the TSB launched an investigation.
The TSB, however, opted not to investigate, as did Transport Canada. Spokespeople for both agencies said the incident did not fall within their mandate.
Roslin-area resident Kevin Moore, a friend of both the pilot and owner, photographed the takeoff.
Reached yesterday by phone, he said he would not release the photos publicly because of the friendship.
Moore, though, posted his witness account of the incident online.
He identified the pilot as Col. David Graben.
"At approximately 20 feet (of ) altitude, the left armament bay door opened," wrote Moore. "The pilot made a split-second decision to abort the takeoff and aggresively put the airplane on the runway with a little less than 2,000 feet remaining.
"It appears the left tip tank, then the possibly the right (wing) tip tank contacted the runway. The left tip tank split approximately one-third the way down from the leading edge, spilling fuel as the airplane roll down the runway."
"The pilot exited from the cockpit with some assistance from a bystander who, apparently, hop -ped the fence," wrote Moore. "Fortunately, and most importantly, David was uninjured."
He said it wasn't known if the plane could be flown again.
Opening of small hatch in mid-air caused crash
Posted By LUKE HENDRY, SUN MEDIA
Posted 23 hours ago
The July 15 crash of a former military aircraft at CFB Trenton was caused by the mid-air opening of a small hatch, the Canadian Forces says.
A privately owned Canadair T-33 Silver Star nearly ended up on RCAF Road after an aborted takeoff around 12:12 p. m. The plane had left the base's Mountain View detachment in Prince Edward County earlier in the day and stopped at the base. It was headed for Ft. Worth, Texas, when a problem arose.
"The aircraft crash resulted from the left-side armament door in the nose area of the aircraft fully opening while airborne," Capt. Mark Peebles said yesterday in a news release.
"The pilot brought the aircraft back to the ground but was unable to stop the aircraft before leaving the end of the runway."
He said the pilot managed to avoid lights near the runway, but the plane sped off the tarmac, crashing through a fence and across a road before stopping just short of the base's western perimeter fence.
"We can't say for certain just what caused that hatch to go open. We haven't been able to verify (that)," he said. "We recommend vigilance and caution in this regard to those who fly T-33s."
Peebles said the base's 8 Wing Flight Safety unit gathered information for Canada's Transportation Safety Board in case the TSB launched an investigation.
The TSB, however, opted not to investigate, as did Transport Canada. Spokespeople for both agencies said the incident did not fall within their mandate.
Roslin-area resident Kevin Moore, a friend of both the pilot and owner, photographed the takeoff.
Reached yesterday by phone, he said he would not release the photos publicly because of the friendship.
Moore, though, posted his witness account of the incident online.
He identified the pilot as Col. David Graben.
"At approximately 20 feet (of ) altitude, the left armament bay door opened," wrote Moore. "The pilot made a split-second decision to abort the takeoff and aggresively put the airplane on the runway with a little less than 2,000 feet remaining.
"It appears the left tip tank, then the possibly the right (wing) tip tank contacted the runway. The left tip tank split approximately one-third the way down from the leading edge, spilling fuel as the airplane roll down the runway."
"The pilot exited from the cockpit with some assistance from a bystander who, apparently, hop -ped the fence," wrote Moore. "Fortunately, and most importantly, David was uninjured."
He said it wasn't known if the plane could be flown again.
