Sunday, Feb. 20, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Crash cause still unclearBy LEE WILLIAMS Im losin. Im losin it again here. This is the last thing Jerry Ballard, a prominent south metro home builder, told an air controller, just four minutes before his airplane slammed into the roof of a home in Coconut Creek, Fla. on Jan. 15. Upon impact, the 57-year-old Coweta County natives Cirrus SR-22 broke into pieces and burst into flames shortly after he took off from the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. Ballard died instantly just two days before his birthday. As news of Ballards plane crash began to surface, so did rumors about what actually caused the accident. The questions are endless. Did cloudy conditions contribute to his demise? Was the corporate aircrafts primary flight display that had been replaced three times since the aircraft was purchased the main culprit? Did miscommunication between Ballard and the air controller contribute to the crash? Did the fact that Ballard had limited experience operating on an instrument flight rules flight plan play a large role? Was it simply pilot error or was it all of the above? Rick Charles, a flight instructor who heads up the aviation department at Georgia State University, rendered his opinion on the matter after reading the preliminary report Paul Cox of the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington, D.C. compiled. The accident was caused by a combination of different problems happening at the same time, he said. The first impression that I get is this is fairly a low-time instrument pilot and it appears to me that he was getting confused, Charles said. When you look at [the report] it reads that way. The controller told Ballard to turn left at 270 degrees, which is a heading of straight west, Charles said of the report featured on the www.ntsb.gov Web site. The controller spoke to another pilot of a plane numbered 785 and told him to turn right heading 90 degrees, which is a heading of east, Charles added. Later on, an unidentified voice similar to the pilot responded, Did you say a right turn to 270? Charles said. The pilot did not identify himself so the controller repeated the instruction to the other pilot and identified the other pilot by tail number. From that point, the confusion just got worse. Ballard and the controller appear to have a miscommunication problem when the controller shouts to Ballard, Youve turned the wrong way. Ballard responded, You told me to turn 90. Im turning back to 270 now. The controlled responded, Negative sir. That was for a 785. In a span of three minutes, Ballard appears to voice concern and panic. The pilot of the accident airplane seems to be getting more and more confused, Charles said. This is purely speculation and this airplane has a sophisticated flight instrument system. This is a personal opinion as a flight instructor. Students that learn to fly airplanes with conventional instruments seem to learn the basics better and then they kind of transition later on to these advanced systems. The aircrafts primary flight display had been replaced on June 4, 2004, Sept. 14, 2004, and Dec. 20, 2004, according to the NTSB report. Charles said Ballards confusion would be further complicated if there was a malfunction in the system at the same time he was disoriented. Charles said Ballards corporate airplane never went above 1900 feet. The ceiling was 600 feet due to the cloudy conditions. At 600 feet, he climbed into the clouds and at that point it appears that he started to become disoriented, Charles said. During the trip, Ballard tells the controller that he has avionic problems and he was trying to get the plane level, according to NTSB. He later tells the controller that the plane is level. Nine seconds later, he tells the controller, Im losin. Im losin it again here. Nothing more was heard from the pilot. The plane pierced the roof of the Coconut Creek, Fla. home at 12:23:30. A mother and her 2-year-old daughter who were inside narrowly escaped the crash, authorities said. Charles indicated Ballard should have been flying a less sophisticated airplane. According to NTSB, Ballard held a commercial pilot certificate. According to certificates found in his logbook, the pilot obtained his private certificate on June 1, 2003, his instrument rating on Oct. 6, 2003, and his commercial certificate on March 25, 2004. The pilot had also logged a total of 15 hours of actual instrument time and 61 hours of simulated instrument time. The problem I see, and this is pure speculation: This is a low-time instrument pilot flying a very sophisticated airplane, Charles said. The SR-22 is a single engine airplane, but its a very advanced, unforgiving airplane. According to NTSB, no evidence of any engine or airframe problems were found. All flight instruments were destroyed in either the ground impact or the post-impact fire. Witnesses on the ground reported the aircraft appeared to be out of control. An airline transport pilot who was at the park near the accident site reported that he heard the airplane flying southeast at a very low altitude, the report said. He looked up, but couldnt see it through the low overcast and mist. The airplane didnt sound like it had any engine problems, but as it flew farther away, it sounded as if it was maneuvering. Another witness said he heard the airplane above the clouds that sounded like it was conducting acrobatics, climbing and descending, according to the report. Suddenly it descended out of the clouds, then banked and headed back up into the clouds in northeasterly direction, the report continued. As it ascended, the witness heard an RPM change, like it was climbing. The witness then heard the engine get louder followed by the sound of an explosion. The witness did not see the airplane exit the clouds a second time due to trees in his line of sight. Ballards body was found outside of the airplane. A safety pin that activates a parachute inside of the airplane was found pulled out of its housing about 2 1/2 inches. However, officials could not determine if Ballard pulled it or if it had been displaced upon impact after the crash. A final determination about what caused the crash has yet to be determined. A representative at Ballards Fayetteville-based business declined to give a statement. She said she didnt know enough about it. Cox, who authored the report, said he could not give an official determination on what caused the crash. That would be left up to the NTSB Board, Cox indicated. My role is to gather the facts and circumstances, Cox said. In four to six months, I will come out with a factual report. The NTSB Board votes on a final determination. Cox said it could take up to a year before a final analysis is released. |
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