Lakeland, FL, FireFighters Take 10 Minutes to Get To Crash
A Cessna 337 Skymaster,
specifically reported to be a 1976 Cessna 337P, was involved in a
takeoff from LAL's Runway 27 when it aggressively pitched up,
achieving an altitude estimated at between 100 and 150 feet before
rolling left and impacting the ground. The aircraft slid off the
runway and into the grass where, after a minute or two, it caught
fire and burned for nearly 10 minutes before Lakeland Firefighters
arrived.
The accident occurred at approximately 1530 local time and
carried two people. The owner of the aircraft, Danny Ferrer, ID'ed
the PIC as an experienced local flight instructor, Don Palas, 53.
His passenger was reported in local media as Dr. Jose "Pepe"
Martinez, 48, an internist. The flight was to be headed to
Tallahassee and would have also been carrying Ferrer had he not
been occupied by other business.
Palas was a 15,000 hour commercial pilot and CFI.
The NTSB has been onsite and refused to overtly speculate on the
cause of the accident though local media has latched onto the
possibility of an unlatched seat rail as a possible contributor to
the accident. The accident did not appear to be survivable and both
occupants were so badly burned that ID's were to be conducted
through use of dental records.
According to the Lakeland Ledger, the LFD took their first call
on the crash at 1537, with a dispatch some 1 minute later and
arrival at 1547... by which time reports indicate that the aircraft
was pretty thoroughly consumed by fire. Six fire and/or rescue
vehicles responded.
Local print media reporting has been fairly accurate, especially
that of the Ledger's Rick Rousos, who obviously did a lot of
research -- without reaching for straws. The TV media, on the other
hand, was embarrassing. One local affiliate latched onto the
"Pull-Push" configuration of the 337 and tried to imply that this
airframe configuration was not as safe as the "standard"
wing-mounted design seen on most light twins.
ANN's note to the station's General Manager noted that, "When
your reporter tried to suggest, this evening, that a Lakeland
Cessna 337 crash was complicated by the trickier characteristics of
its center-line thrust (CLT) configuration, his ignorance was
apparent. A center-line thrust configuration is NOT harder or more
difficult to fly (than the standard configuration you compared it
to)… it tends to be easier since, in the event of a power
failure, there is no asymmetric thrust issue to have to counter
(making initial control of the stricken aircraft more difficult,
due to asymmetric drag and thrust)."
E-I-C Note: Mind you, we didn't get into the
double-edged sword about CLT failed-engine recognition issues and
the like, but the inference about CLT airframes being trickier
seemed to be begging for correction. If ANN readers see similar
errors in other aspects of local, national or international
aviation coverage, we'd appreciate seeing them... we're working on
a novel program right now that may help to counter some of these
issues in the future and all such references would be most helpful.
-- Jim Campbell, ANN E-I-C.