Thu, Feb 23, 2006
Pilot Reported Engine Failure Before
Impacting Water
A recording of communications between pilot Gary Tillman and a
Florida air traffic controller just before Tillman was forced to
ditch his plane in the Atlantic Ocean last December were made
public Wednesday, giving investigators some idea what brought the
Cessna 195 (file photo of type, below) down.
As Aero-News reported,
Tillman perished in the accident, as did his 16-year-daughter
Hannah. Two other passengers were rescued from the scene...
although one, Anna Kipp, later died en route to the hospital.
The surviving passenger, 16-year-old Rachel Hostetler, told
investigators she had been sleeping just before the crash, but
awakened as a conversation about adverse weather was going on
inside the plane.
A short time later, the plane impacted the water and Hostetler
was thrown back into the baggage compartment. She then escaped
through the baggage door and swam to shore.
Below is the transcript released by Atlanta's WSB-TV:
- TOWER: Nover 22 Lima your Mode C appears
to be intermittent.
- TILLMAN: OK, 22 Lima this moisture causes
strange things no doubt.
- TOWER: OK, I'm just letting you know. What
altitude are you leaving.
- TILLMAN: Climbing through four thousand four
hundred.
- TOWER: Thank you.
Moments later...
- TILLMAN: Two, two Lima, we just lost an engine
here. Two, Two Lima, we need a vector for the beach if
possible.
- TOWER: Say it again, sir.
- TILLMAN: Two, two lima, we, ah our engine just
started running rough, we need a vector if possible.
- TOWER: Yes sir. Are you able to maintain
altitude? If you're not, I'll vector you right in on the localizer
and nice little glide rate.
- TILLMAN: I'm unable to maintain altitude.
- TOWER: Number of souls on board?
- TILLMAN: Four souls.
- TOWER: Nover two, two lima, your position is
three miles east of the airport as you break out, turn right two
seven zero.
- TILLMAN: See, I'm heading to heading of two
seven zero. We're over the water, we're not going to make it.
- TILLMAN: Send some help, we're going in the
drink. (This was the last transmission from Tillman.)
- TOWER: Alright, we're coming out. We'll send
folks out to you.
- TOWER: Two, two lima just crashed, we believe,
in the ocean down in St. Augustine, so any new information you
might have starting putting it together.
According to its Preliminary Report, the NTSB says the
plane was in IMC when it went down. Tillman had filed an
instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan from Craig Municipal
Airport in Jacksonville, FL to St. Lucie County International
Airport in Fort Pierce.
Rescuers searched for the bodies of Tillman and his daughter in
high seas and rain, but were unable to locate them or any wreckage
from the aircraft. Two weeks after the accident, a shrimp boat crew
found the wreckage, with two bodies onboard.
The NTSB is still investigating what may have caused the vintage
Cessna's engine to fail.
More News
Airbus Racer Demonstrator Makes Inaugural Flight Airbus Helicopters' ambitious Racer demonstrator has achieved its inaugural flight as part of the Clean Sky 2 initiative, a corners>[...]
A little Bit Quieter, Said Testers, But in the End it's Still a DA40 Diamond Aircraft recently completed a little pilot project with Lufthansa Aviation Training, putting a pair of >[...]
Line Up And Wait (LUAW) Used by ATC to inform a pilot to taxi onto the departure runway to line up and wait. It is not authorization for takeoff. It is used when takeoff clearance >[...]
Contributing To The Accident Was The Pilot’s Use Of Methamphetamine... Analysis: The pilot departed on a local flight to perform low-altitude maneuvers in a nearby desert val>[...]
From 2015 (YouTube Version): Overcoming Obstacles To Achieve Their Dreams… At EAA AirVenture 2015, FedEx arrived with one of their Airbus freight-hauling aircraft and placed>[...]
Airbus Racer Helicopter Demonstrator First Flight Part of Clean Sky 2 Initiative
See All