Wreckage Path Over 1/4 Mile Long

The tragic and somewhat mysterious fate of the Canadian Ecoflyer demonstrator, returning home from a Florida aviation event appears to (still) leave a number of questions as to what happened to the aircraft to bring it down.

Explorer Aeronautique President Bernard LaFerriere, 56, of Quebec, Canada, perished when his Ecoflyer G-IOFL went down in New York, near the Lt. William Eaton Airport. Imagery from the heavily wooded impact site show that the crash [State Police accident photo below] was a devastating one, with no significant aspect of the airframe escaping destruction.

LaFerriere was on his way back from the Lakeland Fly-In and had stopped in Norwich, New York, enroute to Quebec's Trois-Rivieres airport -- its home base. NY State Troopers report that the aircraft departed the airport about 1630, local time Monday, and that an alert was sent out when he was discovered to be overdue. The wreckage was not located until Tuesday afternoon. LaFerriere appears to have perished on impact.

Prior to departure from Norwich, airport staffers report that LaFerriere refueled his aircraft and waited a considerable time on the ground for winds to stabilize before departing.

The NTSB report notes that, "Personnel at OIC reported that the pilot landed at the airport around 1400. He reported to them that he had encountered "rough air and wind gusts like he had never seen before." The personnel reported he was "very shook up" about the encounter. The pilot fueled the airplane adding 10 gallons of fuel, which "topped the tanks." He also called the Buffalo Flight Service Station (FSS) and requested information regarding restricted airspace along his route of flight into Canada. The pilot remained at the airport for several hours and departed at about 1630. Airport personnel watched the airplane depart and reported no anomalies with the departure."

The NTSB reports add that, the wreckage was examined on April 29, 2009, and all major components were accounted for at the scene with the exception of the right horizontal stabilizer.

The left wing was the first piece of wreckage found at the most southern end of the wreckage path. It came to rest perpendicular to the ground, with the inboard section of the wing at the base of the tree. The outboard section of the wing was partially separated from the inboard section, and remained attached by flight control cables. The outboard section with the aileron attached was observed suspended at the top of the tree.

The wreckage path continued about ¼ mile to the main wreckage, through heavily wooded terrain, oriented on a heading of 300 degrees. Located along the wreckage path were the left wing strut, an outboard section of left wing, and the right elevator.

The left wing strut was located about 578 feet from the left wing, to the right of centerline. The top end of the strut contained the attachment hardware for the wing.

The complete right elevator was located 920 feet from the left wing on the centerline of the wreckage path.

The main wreckage came to rest, at the base of a tree, oriented on a heading of approximately 080 degrees magnetic. Trees surrounding the airplane were virtually undisturbed and there was no forward wreckage path. Propeller slash marks were noted in the tree, at a height of approximately 7 feet. The bark of the tree was removed from that height to the ground.

The right wing and wing strut were separated from the fuselage, and was observed adjacent to the cockpit area of the fuselage, at the base of the tree. The right flap remained attached to the wing at all attachment points. The right wing strut was also located adjacent to the wing.

The empennage section was separated from the fuselage area and observed adjacent to it. The left horizontal stabilizer, with elevator attached, remained attached to the empennage; however the right horizontal stabilizer was separated and not located to date.

The vertical stabilizer was attached to the empennage, and the rudder was attached to the vertical stabilizer at its top attachment point.

The engine was observed intact in the cockpit area of the main wreckage. The propeller hub was separated from the engine and both blades were fractured at about their mid-span.

The weather reported at Syracuse International Airport (SYR), Syracuse, New York, at 1654, included winds from 340 degrees at 8 knots, 10 miles visibility, few clouds at 5,500 feet, scattered clouds at 21,000 feet, temperature 29 degrees C, dew point 12 degrees and altimeter setting 30.14 inches mercury.

Personnel at OIC kept a log of weather observations taken hourly from the Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) on the field. At 1345 the surface winds were recorded as 220 degrees at 8 knots, gusting to 18 knots. The winds remained relatively constant for the next several hours, and at 1645 the winds were from 240 degrees at 8 knots, gusting to 20 knots. At 1605, the winds were from 220 degrees at 8 knots, and at 1705, the winds were from 220 degrees at 8 knots.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20090428X71624&key=1