Report: No obvious cause for plane crash
Toolbox
By PATRICK McARDLE STAFF WRITER - Published: November 15, 2009
BENNINGTON – No obvious engine problems were found in the plane that crashed on Whipstock Hill on Oct. 25, but the pilot, who was killed, had only 14-1/2 hours of experience flying at night, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The report also found that according to the logbook of the pilot, Dr. Chaim Weiss, of Spring Valley, N.J., he had only about 11 hours of flight experience in the last 12 months, despite having had his pilot's license for more than four years, and had never flown into or out of William H. Morse State Airport in Bennington.
Peter Knudson, a public affairs officer with the safety board, the federal agency that investigates airplane crashes, said the information in a report released last week was only a collection of facts gathered to date.
"We don't do any analysis at this stage. … We don't know what's relevant at this point," he said.
The report said the Cessna 172's engine did not have any obvious problems.
While the engine was able to be examined, other pieces of the aircraft were damaged.
Around 7 p.m. Oct. 25, several people who live near the airport in Bennington called police to report that they had heard but not seen a crash. The wreckage and Weiss' body were found the next day.
Weiss had left the Greenwood Lake Airport in West Milford, N.J., around 5:30 p.m. in an airplane owned by Sky Training, LLC, a company based in West Milford.
There was no flight plan filed, and Bennington Police Chief Richard Gauthier said last week that police still don't know how Weiss ended up in Vermont.
Gauthier said the Bennington Police Department had already finished its investigation and concluded there was no foul play involved.
According to the preliminary accident report, several witnesses said that Weiss was in the traffic pattern for the Morse airport, but the runway he was approaching had a left-hand traffic pattern, because of the nearby mountain, and Weiss was using a right-hand pattern.
The witnesses said Weiss approached the runway three times. During the final approach, the plane seemed to be level and the engine seemed to be running normally, according to the report.
The wreckage was found at an elevation of about 1,100 feet on Whipstock Hill, about half a mile west of the approach to one of the airport's runways, and spread out over more than 140 feet.
The plane was found upside down with its left wing found in a tree about 35 feet off the ground.
The flight control cable from the cockpit controls to the aerodynamic surfaces was intact, but both fuel tanks were ruptured and empty.
Hicks did not comment on whether empty fuel tanks were unusual in a crash like this one.
Weiss had gotten his pilot's license in January 2005 and logged about 175 hours of flying time but only 14-1/2 hours of night flying and four nighttime landings.
Weiss was a clinical psychologist, according to a Web site that specializes in news for the Jewish community, matzav.com.
According to Hicks, the plane is being held in Maine while he completes his investigation with the assistance of the Federal Aviation Administration and a representative of the plane's manufacturer.
Hicks said he hopes to have a report on the likely cause of the crash by spring.
patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com
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