thedrifter
04-24-07, 07:13 AM
Blue Angels crash investigation continues
Authorities are delaying the reduction of the guarded perimeter around the crash site.
Published Tuesday April 24 2007
By LORI YOUNT
lyount@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
The investigation continued Monday into the jet crash that killed a Blue Angels pilot over the weekend, and authorities hoped to shrink the guarded mile-wide perimeter around the site today as more debris was cleared from the area.
Navy pilot Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Davis, 32, died Saturday when his F/A-18 Hornet crashed into a residential area near Pine Grove and Shanklin roads during the final maneuver of the Blue Angels' performance at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort Air Show.
Eight people on the ground reported injuries. Five were treated for minor injuries at the scene, and three were taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital, said William Winn, director of the Beaufort County Emergency Management Department. Those taken to the hospital were treated and released, according to hospital officials.
Winn said Monday night that he expected the guarded perimeter wouldn't reduce in size until at least this morning, though residents have been allowed in and out already.
"(The investigators) have to go through and identify everything," he said, adding that the debris field is one-quarter mile in length and in mostly wooded areas.
Since the stunt jet came down at a high speed and high angle, the debris field is widely scattered, which means it will take longer for investigators to comb through, said Marine Maj. Matthew Robinson, a Naval Safety Center crash site investigator. There are four other such investigators nationwide, and one of the civilian ones is assigned to the Blue Angels crash in Beaufort, he said.
"We need to get every little piece we can," Robinson said.
Investigators of the Blue Angels mishap are asking for the help of spectators who may have taped or photographed the last three to five minutes of Saturday's performance, specifically of Davis' jet, No. 6, rejoining the formation before or during the crash, according to an air station release. Anyone with footage or photos can call the base's command duty officer at 843-228-7121 and leave contact information.
For investigation purposes, Winn has asked that no one pick up debris. However, few health risks exist for those who may have touched debris, military officials said, adding that anyone with trouble breathing or who feels they may have been affected by exposure to the crash site should seek medical attention.
A crash site probe is headed up by the Naval Safety Center and a team of four people, including a flight surgeon, from the squadron -- in this case, the Blue Angels.
Robinson said the team spends the first few days scouring the field and recording the placement of debris. The F/A-18 Hornet has about six electronic instruments from which the team can recreate or look at flight profiles, including sensors in the glass of the jet's cockpit.
The Hornet's "black box" records information such as location, latitude, longitude, power setting and engine parameters, Robinson said. The data recorder is hardy, and most of the information usually survives a crash, and he said the analysis of it can take a week to 10 days, depending on how damaged it is.
"It's just one piece, though," Robinson said. "We don't rely on one single component."
The investigators probably won't have any video or audio from inside the cockpit unless the pilot had his gun camera on, which Robinson said he wouldn't expect a Blue Angels pilot to do.
No recordings of a pilot's vital signs or sense monitoring are made during flight, he said.
"We don't have that, but I wish we did," Robinson said.
To rule a pilot crashed because he became unconscious or any other medical condition, "it's a process of elimination," he said. However, investigators do look at the aviator's medical history and his activities before the crash.
The flight data recorder often will indicate whether there were mechanical failures or allow investigators to determine whether the pilot made a mistake in flying, Robinson said.
In some cases, investigators do reconstruct the plane, which could add at least a month to the process.
"It's always an option that is very time-consuming," Robinson said. "We take it to an isolated location, take a component, lay it on the ground and place it on relation where it should be."
Barring reconstruction, Robinson, who has worked 10 investigations in his year with the Naval Safety Center, said he's on a typical case about three weeks. It can take a few weeks more if he needs to turn in wreckage to be tested for mechanical weaknesses.
The squadron's investigation team writes up the full report, which takes about three months, and Robinson said it's up to the Navy whether to release a cause before the report is complete.
Ellie
Authorities are delaying the reduction of the guarded perimeter around the crash site.
Published Tuesday April 24 2007
By LORI YOUNT
lyount@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
The investigation continued Monday into the jet crash that killed a Blue Angels pilot over the weekend, and authorities hoped to shrink the guarded mile-wide perimeter around the site today as more debris was cleared from the area.
Navy pilot Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Davis, 32, died Saturday when his F/A-18 Hornet crashed into a residential area near Pine Grove and Shanklin roads during the final maneuver of the Blue Angels' performance at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort Air Show.
Eight people on the ground reported injuries. Five were treated for minor injuries at the scene, and three were taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital, said William Winn, director of the Beaufort County Emergency Management Department. Those taken to the hospital were treated and released, according to hospital officials.
Winn said Monday night that he expected the guarded perimeter wouldn't reduce in size until at least this morning, though residents have been allowed in and out already.
"(The investigators) have to go through and identify everything," he said, adding that the debris field is one-quarter mile in length and in mostly wooded areas.
Since the stunt jet came down at a high speed and high angle, the debris field is widely scattered, which means it will take longer for investigators to comb through, said Marine Maj. Matthew Robinson, a Naval Safety Center crash site investigator. There are four other such investigators nationwide, and one of the civilian ones is assigned to the Blue Angels crash in Beaufort, he said.
"We need to get every little piece we can," Robinson said.
Investigators of the Blue Angels mishap are asking for the help of spectators who may have taped or photographed the last three to five minutes of Saturday's performance, specifically of Davis' jet, No. 6, rejoining the formation before or during the crash, according to an air station release. Anyone with footage or photos can call the base's command duty officer at 843-228-7121 and leave contact information.
For investigation purposes, Winn has asked that no one pick up debris. However, few health risks exist for those who may have touched debris, military officials said, adding that anyone with trouble breathing or who feels they may have been affected by exposure to the crash site should seek medical attention.
A crash site probe is headed up by the Naval Safety Center and a team of four people, including a flight surgeon, from the squadron -- in this case, the Blue Angels.
Robinson said the team spends the first few days scouring the field and recording the placement of debris. The F/A-18 Hornet has about six electronic instruments from which the team can recreate or look at flight profiles, including sensors in the glass of the jet's cockpit.
The Hornet's "black box" records information such as location, latitude, longitude, power setting and engine parameters, Robinson said. The data recorder is hardy, and most of the information usually survives a crash, and he said the analysis of it can take a week to 10 days, depending on how damaged it is.
"It's just one piece, though," Robinson said. "We don't rely on one single component."
The investigators probably won't have any video or audio from inside the cockpit unless the pilot had his gun camera on, which Robinson said he wouldn't expect a Blue Angels pilot to do.
No recordings of a pilot's vital signs or sense monitoring are made during flight, he said.
"We don't have that, but I wish we did," Robinson said.
To rule a pilot crashed because he became unconscious or any other medical condition, "it's a process of elimination," he said. However, investigators do look at the aviator's medical history and his activities before the crash.
The flight data recorder often will indicate whether there were mechanical failures or allow investigators to determine whether the pilot made a mistake in flying, Robinson said.
In some cases, investigators do reconstruct the plane, which could add at least a month to the process.
"It's always an option that is very time-consuming," Robinson said. "We take it to an isolated location, take a component, lay it on the ground and place it on relation where it should be."
Barring reconstruction, Robinson, who has worked 10 investigations in his year with the Naval Safety Center, said he's on a typical case about three weeks. It can take a few weeks more if he needs to turn in wreckage to be tested for mechanical weaknesses.
The squadron's investigation team writes up the full report, which takes about three months, and Robinson said it's up to the Navy whether to release a cause before the report is complete.
Ellie