3rd fatal suburban plane crash in 9 days called coincidence
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the number of people killed in the three plane crashes.
Three small planes flown by experienced pilots have crashed in the suburbs in the past nine days, killing eight people.
Each crash involved different aircraft and circumstances, yet, the cluster of accidents raises suspicion about the safety of small planes.
Monday night, a twin-engine Piper PA-31 plane — a sturdy plane known as a “workhorse” among aviators — crashed next to a house in Riverwoods, killing the pilot and a Streamwood couple.
Saturday morning, a single-engine Cirrus SR20 aircraft — a state-of-the-art, technologically advanced plane equipped with a parachute — crashed into a field near Crystal Lake, killing all four passengers, including a 21-year-old Wheaton College student.
On Nov. 20, a 69-year-old Hampshire man was killed when his Experimental SkyKits single-engine plane crashed shortly after takeoff from an airstrip west of Elgin.
Suburban pilots call the rash of accidents a coincidence and feel strongly that small planes are still a very safe mode of travel.
“The airplanes they’re making today are safer than they’ve ever been, and the training is better than it’s ever been,” said E. Allan Englehardt of Lake Bluff, chairman of the board at Chicago Executive Airport and a lifelong small-plane pilot and passenger. “It’s simply a coincidence that this happened. It’s purely bad luck.”
Added Chicago Executive Airport Manager Dennis Rouleau: “There’s not one common denominator. Accidents happen.”
The National Transportation Safety Board didn’t have specific numbers available Tuesday, but suburban pilots say small planes do crash more often than commercial jets. Englehardt attributes this to higher safety and certification standards for commercial jets, which are flown by two pilots who have undergone more aeronautical decision-making and risk management training than small-plane pilots.
The weather at this time of year can pose a challenge for pilots of small aircraft, said Bob Wederich, owner of the Illinois Aviation Academy based at DuPage Airport in West Chicago.
He said in this transitional season, temperatures in the atmosphere move faster, the winds increase and visibility can fluctuate rapidly. That forces planes to work harder and burn more fuel in order to fight the elements.
“(Pilots) find themselves with less gas than anticipated,” Wederich said. “It absolutely catches pilots off guard every year.”
Local aviators say they’re satisfied with the safety and maintenance standards now in place for small aircraft — which include regular training updates and proficiency flying tests.
However, in the past few years, the Federal Aviation Administration has stepped up its training efforts for pilot decision-making. Englehardt said this training is critical because bad judgment calls by the pilot — rather than malfunctioning planes — are often the cause of accidents.
Wederich said the FAA focused its efforts on this training after technology in small planes improved, but the number of crashes didn’t drop.
Both DuPage and Chicago Executive airports offer complimentary FAA Safety Team seminars to help pilots with this training.
“What will help is more training, and awareness by pilots to see why people crash an airplane and learn from their mistakes,” Wederich said. “The lesson I’m hoping people get is they reassess their skill level and say, maybe I’ll go to a seminar or spend a little more time reviewing the weather and the maintenance situation.”
Rouleau said the NTSB reports are used to improve safety.
“If there’s something to be learned from this, they’ll certainly share it,” he said. “They’ll get to the cause of the accident so this never happens again.”
Crashes near Chicago Executive Airport
Ÿ Dec. 22, 2010: A single-engine Beechcraft Sierra crashed shortly after takeoff, killing passenger Benjamin VanHyning, 18, of Jacksonville, Ill., and critically injuring pilot Todd Cole, 36, also of Jacksonville.
Ÿ Jan. 5, 2010: A Learjet cargo plane bound for Chicago Executive Airport crashed into the Des Plaines River, killing pilot Stephen Ellis of Pontiac, Mich., and Ryan Daenzer, of Osceola County, Mich.
Ÿ Sept. 17, 2006: A Piper Cherokee crashed in a Prospect Heights backyard after takeoff. A flight instructor and student pilot walked away without major injuries.
Ÿ Jan. 30, 2006: Businessmen Mark Turek, 59, of Winnetka; Michael Waugh, 37, of Algonquin; Ken Knudson, 61, of Lake Zurich; and Scott Garland, 40, of Chicago were killed when a Cessna 421B piloted by Turek crashed near a Wheeling construction company just before landing.
Ÿ Aug. 5, 2005: A father and son from Skokie escaped serious injury after their twin-engine Cessna clipped a building and crashed shortly after takeoff.
Ÿ May 7, 2005: A Cessna 130 makes an emergency landing in a Buffalo Grove field, between an elementary school and a village pumping station, after reportedly running out of gas. Two men had minor injuries.
Ÿ Oct. 28, 2004: Pilot suffers a broken leg when he crash-lands on Deerfield Parkway in Buffalo Grove shortly after takeoff from Palwaukee.
Ÿ Oct. 30, 1996: Arthur F. Quern, 54, of Evanston; pilot Martin L. Koppie, 53, of Elgin; co-pilot Robert Whitener, 50, of St. Charles; and flight attendant Catherine Mio-Anderson, 33, of Wheeling were killed when their Gulfstream 4 plane crashed shortly after takeoff and burst into flames.
Ÿ Aug. 16, 1995: A pilot crash-lands his Cessna just north of the airport, across Hintz Road and surrounded by a parking lot full of cars, an apartment complex and an industrial building. He was not seriously injured.