Nebraska Wing Find

[BrandonKea]

Lowering ceilings and MVFR or IFR conditions, possibly some icing, but overall a poor night to fly. That led to this...

http://www.ketv.com/news/25880797/detail.html

I'll keep it light on the details at this point, but, the mission was a good example of being prepared for anything, and always having a backup plan when your aircraft can't talk to your ground teams...

More as it becomes available.

[tsrup]

I was on this search as well.
got the news of a REDCAP this morning at about 0800, got the RTB around 1630.  Flight started at about 1700 the night before.

Make sure all of you who experience real winter make sure you're flying with appropriate clothing.  That's an awful lot of time to try and survive below freezing temperatures with only a nylon or aramid flight jacket.

NE wing, congrats on the find, wish it could have been a better outcome.  Sounds like it was a hard days work for all of us involved.

[BrandonKea]

We got lucky, honestly, we would not have found it without the Air Crew. Major kudos to all involved. We were lucky to have the Sheriff 2 minutes away when we made the call, he was very happy to have us on scene.

[BrandonKea]

Here's the preliminary report from the NTSB.

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20101123X80609&key=1

NTSB Identification: CEN11FA079
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, November 21, 2010 in Norfolk, NE
Aircraft: PIPER PA-24-260, registration: N8675P
Injuries: 2 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On November 21, 2010, at an undetermined time, a single-engine Piper PA-24-260, Comanche airplane, N8675P, was destroyed following impact with terrain near Norfolk, Nebraska. The pilot and passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by Four Wins LLC, Omaha, Nebraska. No flight plan had been filed for the night cross-country flight that reportedly originated from the Chamberlain Municipal airport (9V9), Chamberlain, South Dakota, and was destined for the Millard airport (MLE), Omaha, Nebraska.

The airplane was reported overdue, and an ALNOT (alert notification) for the aircraft was issued. The airplane wreckage was located about 1600 on November 22, 2010 in an open pasture.

An on-site examination by the NTSB, FAA, and a technical representative from the Piper Aircraft Company was conducted on November 24, 2010. The airplane impacted the top of a tree, located in a tree line adjacent to a rolling pasture. The initial impact point with terrain, contained several ground cuts and appeared consistent with prop strikes. Several ground impact scars and miscellaneous pieces of the aircraft were found along the wreckage path to the airplane wreckage. The airplane came to rest, on the back side of a knoll, about 800 feet from its initial impact point.

There was no reported witnesses to the accident; however, an individual located a few miles from the accident site, reported that she saw an airplane "flying really low", before the airplane disappeared out of site. She also added that the time was between 1830 and 1930 and the weather was misty and cold.

The wreckage was recovered and retained for further examination.