Crash and Death in Salmon Idaho

[larsenwv]

Has anyone heard details on the PPC crash and death that recently occured near Salmon Idaho? The pilot was a dentist named Mayberry who had recently moved to Idaho from Luray, Virginia. The initial news account only said that death was caused by blunt trauma and that the FAA doesn't investigtate PPC accidents so local authorities would handle the investigation. I am mostly interested in the cause of the accident, but wonder, too, if the news report was accurate on the FAA. I think this was a two seat PPC. If it was an N - numbered aircraft, wouldn't the FAA investigate? If they don't investigate, how will the ever develop expertise on the performance and risks of this new class of aircraft they regulate?

[mignazito]

It is my understanding that NTSB investigates these accidents and how FAA gets involved is not clear. Thye may be leaving PPCs to NTSB. A call to your FSDO might clear that up. If a death is involved it must be reported to NTSB. NTSB keeps the statistics from which we "learn".

There is probably a website where all eported accidents will show up. Not sure where that is. NTSB and/or FAA?

Keep us posted if you find out anything.

[lockdoc600]

After reading your post I did a search and found this....... http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=8540452&nav=menu554_2

[scottf]

I have not heard any details beyond what was reported in the news, which basically said that the cause of the crash is unknown. I do think the news is incorrect in stating there will not be an investigation. Our local news said that the "FAA does not investigate powered parachute crashes". Not sure if they just made that up or what. It did look to be an illegal ultralight, though, and since there were no passengers it is probably not high on the list to investigate.

There was a crash report on the FAA website

************************************************** ******************************
** Report created 7/3/2008 Record 1 **
************************************************** ******************************

IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: UNREG Make/Model: ULTR Description: UNREGISTERED ULTRALIGHT
Date: 06/21/2008 Time: 2154

Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Unknown

LOCATION
City: SALMON State: ID Country: US

DESCRIPTION
UNREGISTERED ULTRALIGHT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE ONE PERSON
ON BOARD WAS FATALLY INJURED, NEAR SALMON RIVER, SALMON, ID

INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 1
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:

WEATHER: NOT REPORTED

OTHER DATA
Activity: Pleasure Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER


FAA FSDO: BOISE, ID (NM11) Entry date: 06/23/2008


I don't think it was weather related as the weather was pretty calm that morning. (6/21/08)

[mignazito]

Unless it was suspected a an "illegal aircraft" the FAA and NTSB are under no obligation to investigate though they might. Interesting the FAA posted it.

Of course we would all like to know why.

Midair collision? With what?

[AirSportAdventures]

The media doesn't always get the story right on the first printing. They were not correct when they said that the "FAA doesn't investigate powered parachute accident." The FAA does in fact get involved in accident investigations so it would be interesting to know where they got their information. The FAA has an Office of Accident Investigation and at www.FAA.gov they summerize their accident responsibilites.

The Office of Accident Investigation is the principal organization within the FAA with respect to aircraft accident investigation and all activities related to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Our mission is to investigate aviation accidents and incidents to detect unsafe conditions and trends and to coordinate the corrective action process. We accomplish our responsibilities in a variety of ways including:

Investigating major or significant accidents and incidents to identify safety deficiencies and unsafe conditions which are then referred to the responsible FAA office for evaluation and corrective action.

Ensuring that the FAA fully addresses New NTSB Safety Recommendations. Utilizing the Accident Investigation Quality Assurance Program to improve the quality of all accident and incident investigations performed by the FAA.

Analyzing accident and incident data as well as other safety data to identify safety issues and trends.

The news article also stated that it was a two-seat powered parachute. If this is true and it's an N-numbered PPC, there should be an investigation, especially since there was a fatality. If it is unregistered, it will be interesting to see how this accident is handled.

[CJKRIT]

Condolences to the family.

Christo Kritzinger
South Africa

[Robert]

I crashed my PPC last year and both the FAA and the NTSB did an investigation. It is a 2 seat, n-numbered bird.