Excerpt:
Pilots
Blamed in Crashes of Musicians' Planes
Federal investigators blame the pilot and a Federal aviation employee for a crash that killed seven members of Reba McEntire's band in 1991 and cite pilot error in the crash that killed the blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan in 1990.
In a report Monday on the crash that killed Mr. Vaughan, the National Transportation Safety Board said "improper planning-decision" by the aircraft's pilot was the main probable cause of the crash outside East Troy, Wis., near a ski resort 75 miles northwest of Chicago. The four other people aboard also died in the crash.
Contributing to the helicopter's crash into the side of a manmade ski hill were "darkness, fog, haze and rising terrain," said Ted Lopatkiewicz, a spokesman for the board.
The 35-year-old Mr. Vaughan, a Grammy Award-winning musician, had just finished a show with Eric Clapton at an outdoor theater near the ski resort when he and the four other people boarded the Bell 206 helicopter. Charter Company Sued
In a report Monday on the crash that killed Mr. Vaughan, the National Transportation Safety Board said "improper planning-decision" by the aircraft's pilot was the main probable cause of the crash outside East Troy, Wis., near a ski resort 75 miles northwest of Chicago. The four other people aboard also died in the crash.
Contributing to the helicopter's crash into the side of a manmade ski hill were "darkness, fog, haze and rising terrain," said Ted Lopatkiewicz, a spokesman for the board.
The 35-year-old Mr. Vaughan, a Grammy Award-winning musician, had just finished a show with Eric Clapton at an outdoor theater near the ski resort when he and the four other people boarded the Bell 206 helicopter. Charter Company Sued
The Vaughan estate filed a lawsuit in July, contending that the helicopter charter company, Omniflight Helicopters Inc. of Dallas, should have known that the weather "precluded safe flying conditions."
John Neilson, Omniflight general manager, declined to comment on the safety board's report.
In a separate report on the crash of the plane carrying Ms. McEntire's band, the safety board said the probable causes were improper planning by the pilot, the pilot's failure to maintain proper altitude and clearance over mountainous terrain and the co-pilot's failure to adequately monitor the progress of the flight.
The agency's report also said insufficient information on terrain was provided by a Federal Aviation Administration flight service specialist before the crash on March 16, 1991, near San Diego.
All 10 people aboard the twin-engine Hawker Siddeley aircraft died in the crash atop Otay Mountain, including Ms. McEntire's tour manager, Jim Hammon. The victims included the pilot, Don Holms, and the co-pilot, Chris Hollinger. Ms. McEntire was not aboard because she was taking a commercial flight the next day.
An F.A.A. transcript of conversations between Mr. Holms and the flight service specialist, who has not been identified, shows that neither mentioned the mountain.
Published: September 16, 1992
John Neilson, Omniflight general manager, declined to comment on the safety board's report.
In a separate report on the crash of the plane carrying Ms. McEntire's band, the safety board said the probable causes were improper planning by the pilot, the pilot's failure to maintain proper altitude and clearance over mountainous terrain and the co-pilot's failure to adequately monitor the progress of the flight.
The agency's report also said insufficient information on terrain was provided by a Federal Aviation Administration flight service specialist before the crash on March 16, 1991, near San Diego.
All 10 people aboard the twin-engine Hawker Siddeley aircraft died in the crash atop Otay Mountain, including Ms. McEntire's tour manager, Jim Hammon. The victims included the pilot, Don Holms, and the co-pilot, Chris Hollinger. Ms. McEntire was not aboard because she was taking a commercial flight the next day.
An F.A.A. transcript of conversations between Mr. Holms and the flight service specialist, who has not been identified, shows that neither mentioned the mountain.
Published: September 16, 1992
(Page 2 of 2)
Shortly before takeoff, Mr. Holms asked if he could fly northeast below 3,000 feet. The flight service specialist, whose job is to pass routine information between pilots and air traffic controllers, responded, "That'll be fine." The safety board investigators have said F.A.A. regulations did not require the flight control specialist to inform Mr. Holms that he would be heading toward Otay Mountain because he took off under "visual flight rules," under which he was to be guided primarily by eyesight. --------------------
Excerpt: (Reba McEntire's Husband)
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