26 August 2013

Crash at Merrill Field Claims Two

Saturday's plane crash at Merrill Field that killed a pilot and his girlfriend occurred after an aborted landing, not on takeoff, according to an investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.
NTSB aviation accident investigator Joshua Cawthra, right, continues his investigation Sunday, August 25, 2013, at the scene of a Cessna 150 crash that killed both the pilot Robert Lilly, 31, and Jessi Nelsen, 27, at the departure end of runway 25 at Merrill Field on Saturday.
BILL ROTH — Anchorage Daily News

Robert Lilly, 31, and Jessi Nelsen, 27, were killed in the crash, police said Sunday.

Lilly, a licensed commercial pilot flying his own plane, had been approaching Merrill Field for a landing on its main east-west runway Saturday afternoon when an air traffic controller told him to go around, said the NTSB investigator, Josh Cawthra.

Witnesses said they had seen Lilly's single-engine Cessna 150L climbing up from the runway heading west. It appeared to lose power as it tried to make a left turn, they said, and they assumed it was taking off.

I hate these stories. Read the rest here.

6 comments:

Jenny said...

Oh no... too familiar. :(

God be with them and their families.

Rev. Paul said...

I figured this would hit pretty close to home for you & Wing.

And to your benediction, may I add, "Amen!"

Old NFO said...

Those always hurt, and a 150, like a Cub goes just fast enough to kill you...

Rev. Paul said...

Sad but true, sir.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

My first instructor made me examine the way the airplane cabin was made. Designed to stay intact in a 6G crash. He drilled into me that a controlled crash with the nose up and wings level has a high survival rate. Hit nose first and you are dead.

Judging from the picture, this was a classic low altitude stall/spin.

None the less, prayers for the passenger and pilot.

Rev. Paul said...

Thanks, WSF.