2 Dead After Small Plane Crashes In West Goshen

West Goshen Township, PA – Two people were killed when the small plane they were flying in crashed in the 1000 block of Saunders Lane, near Andrews Drive, in West Goshen at 1:34 p.m. Sunday afternoon, county officials said.

Dispatchers said two people were found dead following the crash. An official said they were the only people on board.

The aircraft, a single-engine Piper PA28, had taken off from the Brandywine Airport and flown over Route 202, before it went out of control and crashed in a field about two miles away from the airport, officials said.

Emergency crews reported that the plane burst into flames following the crash.

Read more:

http://www.dailylocal.com/general-news/20150329/2-dead-after-small-plane-crashes-in-west-goshen/2

Lewis Katz, ‘The Most Unique Man I Ever Met’

Lewis Katz would tell you he was just a kid from Camden who grew up to walk with presidents.

He was consistent in his passions, blunt in his opinions, a man who adored his family, detested dishonesty, and was as comfortable in $1,100 hand-made Italian shirts as he was in loud green sneakers.

He made his own fortune, owned magnificent homes in New York, Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and never lost his affection for the gravelly streets of the city where he was raised.

Mr. Katz, 72, whose enormous wealth never obscured his devotion to the less fortunate or his love of the underdog, was killed on Saturday in a plane crash in Massachusetts.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/20140602_Lewis_Katz___The_most_unique_man_I_ever_met_.html#4qfCARKdFtudIIFL.99

Malaysia Says Missing Plane Crashed In Indian Ocean

Malaysia Airlines airplanes at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, in front a Boeing 777-200 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared over two weeks ago en route to Beijing, crashed thousands of miles away in the southern Indian Ocean, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Monday, citing new satellite data.

All 239 people on board were presumed dead, airline officials said.

Analysis of satellite information from British company Inmarsat had shown that the Boeing 777’s last position was in the Indian Ocean west of Perth, Australia, Najib said in a statement.

“This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites,” he said. “It is therefore, with deep sadness and regret, that I must inform you that, according to this new data, Flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.”

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/Malaysia_PM_tells_families_of_missing_jet_passengers_plane_is_lost.html#bvv0fUbgsMYoeFff.99

Malaysian Airplane Investigators Look At Suicide As Possible Motive

Boeing 777-2H6/ER der Malaysia Airlines am Kuala Lumpur International Airport (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The co-pilot of a missing Malaysian jetliner spoke the last words heard from the cockpit, the airline’s chief executive said on Monday, as investigators consider suicide by the captain or first officer as one possible explanation for the disappearance.

No trace of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has been found since it vanished on March 8 with 239 people aboard. Investigators are increasingly convinced it was diverted perhaps thousands of miles off course by someone with deep knowledge of the Boeing 777-200ER and commercial navigation.

A search unprecedented in its scale is now under way for the plane, covering an area stretching from the shores of the Caspian Sea in the north to deep in the southern Indian Ocean.

Airline chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya also told a news conference that it was unclear exactly when one of the plane’s automatic tracking systems had been disabled, appearing to contradict the weekend comments of government ministers.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/Malaysian_airplane_investigators_look_at_suicide_as_possible_motive.html#yFf2ptqAP5BZVoD6.99

Satellite Firm Says Its Data From Jet Could Offer Location

English: Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 (9M-MRD) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

SEPANG, Malaysia — As the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet expanded into the daunting vastness of the Indian Ocean, a satellite communications company confirmed on Friday that it had recorded electronic “keep alive” ping signals from the plane after it disappeared, and said those signals could be analyzed to help estimate its location.

The information from the company, Inmarsat, could prove to be the first big break in helping narrow the frustrating search for the plane with 239 people aboard that mysteriously disappeared from radar screens a week ago, now hunted by a multinational array of ships and planes that have fanned out for thousands of square miles.

Inmarsat, a Britain-based satellite communications provider of systems to ships and airplanes, had equipment aboard the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 jetliner, said David Coiley, the vice president of the company in charge of the aviation business. The equipment automatically communicates with satellites, much as a mobile phone would automatically connect to a network after passing through a mountain tunnel, he said.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/world/asia/missing-malaysia-airlines-flight-370.html?hpw&rref=world&_r=0

Pennsylvania Woman Was On Board Missing Malaysia Airlines Jet

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Washington County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

MONONGAHELA, PA — A company official says a woman based in western Pennsylvania was among the 239 people aboard a Malaysia Airlines jet that disappeared en route to Beijing over the weekend.

A spokeswoman said Mei Ling Chng, a senior process engineer for Flexsys America in Monongahela near Pittsburgh, “is confirmed to have been on the flight.”

Tracy Kilgore of Flexsys parent firm Eastman Chemical Co., which is based in Kingsport, Tenn., told reporters in an email that officials “are deeply shocked and saddened.”

She said Chng went to work for the chemical company Solutia in Malaysia in 2005 and transferred to Monongahela in 2010.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20140310/pa-woman-was-on-board-missing-malaysia-airlines-jet

Air Force Chief: Malaysia Jet May Have Turned Back

Boeing 777-2H6/ER der Malaysia Airlines am Kuala Lumpur International Airport (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – Military radar indicates that the missing Boeing 777 jet may have turned back before vanishing, Malaysia’s air force chief said Sunday as authorities were investigating up to four passengers with suspicious identifications.

The revelations add to the uncertainties surrounding the final minutes of flight MH370, which was carrying 239 people when it lost contact with ground controllers somewhere between Malaysia and Vietnam after leaving Kuala Lumpur early Saturday morning for Beijing.

A massive international sea search has so far turned up no trace of the plane, which lost contact with the ground when the weather was fine, the plane was already cruising and the pilots didn’t send a distress signal – unusual circumstance for a modern jetliner operated by a professional airline to crash.

Vietnamese air force jets spotted two large oil slicks Saturday, but it was unclear if they were linked to the missing plane, and no debris was found nearby.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20140309_ap_287ffc62db2748b8a3ccf0a7edf50244.html#kgpE0jJvF3MeOW54.99

Oil Slicks Found In Hunt For Missing Malaysia Jet

English: Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 flight MH138 docked at Adelaide Airport awaiting departure (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – Vietnamese air force planes on Saturday spotted two large oil slicks close to where a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 went missing earlier in the day, the first sign that the aircraft carrying 239 people had crashed.

The air force planes were part of a multinational search operation launched after Flight MH370 fell off radar screens less than an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing early Saturday morning.

The oil slicks were spotted late Saturday off the southern tip of Vietnam and were each between 10 kilometers (6 miles) and 15 kilometers (9 miles) long, the Vietnamese government said in a statement. There was no confirmation that the slicks were related to the missing plane, but the statement said they were consistent with the kinds that would be produced by the two fuel tanks of a crashed jetliner.

Two-thirds of the missing plane’s passengers were from China, while others were from elsewhere in Asia, North America and Europe.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20140308_ap_dbcb6cb957af47f2a9af43a6fcc9c652.html#jurFVE7mgOFHoq0K.99

Official: 10 Hurt As Landing Gear Collapses At LaGuardia Airport

An aerial view of LaGuardia Airport (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NEW YORK — The front landing gear of a flight arriving at New York’s LaGuardia Airport collapsed Monday right after the plane touched down on the runway, officials said, sending the aircraft skidding before it came to a halt.

Ten passengers were treated at the scene, with six being taken to a hospital with minor injuries, said Thomas Bosco, Acting Director of Aviation for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the area airports.  The six crew members were taken to another hospital for observation.

Dallas-based Southwest said there were 150 people on Flight 345 coming from Nashville, Tenn., while the Port Authority said the total was 149.

Bosco said the nose gear of the plane collapsed when it landed at 5:40 p.m., and “the aircraft skidded down the runway on its nose and then veered off and came to rest in the grass area.”

Read more:  http://www.timesleader.com/news/news/696742/Official:-10-hurt-as-landing-gear-collapses-at-NYC

San Francisco Plane Crash: Crew Tried To Abort Landing

The doomed Asiana Airlines jetliner had its throttles set to idle and was moving so slowly that it nearly stalled before it smashed into a seawall bordering a San Francisco International Airport runway, federal investigators said Sunday.

The crew tried to abort the landing and avert the disaster, which killed two teenage passengers and injured dozens of others, but it was too late, according to a preliminary review of flight data and cockpit communications by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The crew sought to accelerate 7 1/2 seconds before impact, investigators said.  Three seconds later, a vibrating “shaker stick” in the cockpit signaled an impending stall – a condition in which the wings lose lift and a plane can’t be controlled.

And with 1 1/2 seconds left, someone on board alerted an air traffic controller that the Boeing 777 jetliner would try to pull up and circle around.  It could not, and at 11:27 a.m. Saturday it bounced and skidded across the ground, losing its tail before it came to rest on the side of Runway 28L.

Read more:  http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SF-plane-crash-Crew-tried-to-abort-landing-4650990.php

2 Killed, 49 Badly Hurt In San Francisco International Airport Plane Crash

Map of California (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

SAN FRANCISCO — Two people were killed and 49 people were seriously injured Saturday when a Boeing 777 passenger jetliner arriving from Seoul crashed and caught fire while landing at San Francisco International Airport, officials said.

The plane, Asiana Airlines Flight 214 with 307 people onboard, slammed to earth at 11:27 a.m. and came to rest on the side of Runway 28L, one of four runways at SFO, said Lynn Lunsford, a spokeswoman with the Federal Aviation Administration.  The plane appeared to make impact short of the runway and then spin as it careened across the ground – losing its tail and leaving a trail of debris.

There were 291 passengers and 16 crew members aboard.  Two people were killed, 49 were seriously hurt, another 132 suffered lesser injuries and went to area hospitals, and one person was unaccounted for, SFO spokesman Doug Yakel said at an evening press conference at the airport.  The other 123 people onboard were not injured.

The injuries “are consistent with the types of injuries you would see in a plane crash or fire,” said Rachael Kagan, a spokeswoman at San Francisco General Hospital, where five people were in critical condition. “Many burns, fractures and internal injuries.”

Read more:  http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/2-killed-49-badly-hurt-in-SFO-plane-crash-4650259.php

Navy F/A-18 Jet Crashes Into Building In Virginia Beach

U.S. Navy F/A-18C from VFA-131 launches from French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle off the Virginia Capes. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

An F/A-18 jet crashed Friday into a cluster of apartment buildings in Virginia Beach, Va., eyewitnesses and authorities said.

A witness told MSNBC cable television that he arrived seconds after the crash at a building he described as a two-story apartment building that he said had been hit dead center. Aerial television coverage showed black smoke billowing from several buildings. The Virginian-Pilot reported that the buildings were in the Mayfair Mews Apartments.

Read more: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/06/11057385-navy-fa-18-jet-crashes-into-building-in-virginia-beach

More Details On Benton, PA Plane Crash

Image via Wikipedia

Here is some updated information on the plane crash story below.

The pilot of the crashed plane, James Caswell, 22 of Lake Ariel, PA, was airlifted to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown.  Mr. Caswell suffers from a broken leg and bruises.  There were no other passengers on board.

The rented plane took off from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport in Avoca and flew to Lancaster.  Caswell was returning to Avoca when the single-engine, fixed-wing Piper aircraft crashed near Benton, PA, Sunday evening around 9 p.m.  The plane was rented from FBO Air WB Leasing, Inc., located at Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport.

Fortunately, Caswell was able to reach help by using his cell phone after crashing.

Plane Crash Near Columbia/Sullivan County Border

A small plane crashed on top of a mountain in Jackson Township, Columbia County.  The crash occurred about 9 p.m. last night (Sunday).  Jackson Township is on the border of Columbia and Sullivan Counties.  The nearest town is Benton, PA.

The pilot was 22-year-old James Caswell of Lake Ariel, PA.  Fortunately, Caswell was rescued.  He maintained contact with rescue officials via his cell phone.  The area of the crash is very remote which was a challenge for rescuers.  The plane crashed on top of a mountain, which was described as “all boulders and laurel” by Benton Fire Chief, Ron Robbins.

Geisinger Medical Center‘s Life Flight helicopter found the crash site and was able to help rescue workers, coming a mile and a half up from the bottom of the mountain, find the plane.

Caswell sustained injuries.  The crash is under investigation.

Plane Crashes Into House On Final Approach Into Lock Haven Airport

A small Cessna aircraft crashed on the final approach into William T. Piper Memorial Airport in Lock Haven on Monday.  The single engine plane clipped a telephone pole, stuck a house and three parked vehicles on East Church Street before bursting into flames and killing all three people on board. 

No one on the ground was injured although the couple who own the home were in the house when the plane hit.  This neighborhood is full of young children who were home at the time.

Witnesses say they heard the plane’s engine cut out as the aircraft passed over the Lock Haven McDonald’s.  The plane didn’t have the altitude to safely glide to the airport and crashed one block short of the runway.  The pilot radioed the airport asking if fuel was available a few minutes before the crash.

Ironically, the airport had just hosted its 25th annual Sentimental Journey Fly-In that weekend, safely attracting 400 planes and 4,000 people.  This crash was not associated with the Fly-In. 

The City of Lock Haven is the former home of Piper Aircraft Corporation and for 70 years Piper aircraft were manufactured there.  The Fly-In brings Piper owners back to Lock Haven each year.  On the grounds of the airport is the Piper Aviation Museum.

What’s Wrong With This Picture???

A homebuilt airplane crashed while trying to land at the Wakefield Virginia Municipal Airport.  The plane, a Long-EZ, is a fuel-efficient, long-range plane.  The pilot was (sit down again) 80 years old!  WTH!!! 

Should this person even be driving a car, let alone flying an airplane by his lonesome?  Unfortunately, the Hollidaysburg, PA native was killed but this could have been worse if the plane would have struck a building etc…

Just sayin’….this seems rather dangerous letting an octogenarian zoom about the stratosphere, unsupervised.