Business jet crashes into Ohio apartment building

[Jpmkam]

AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- A small business jet crashed into an apartment building on Tuesday, killing at least two people aboard, authorities said.

Investigators were trying to determine how many people were on the 10-seater Hawker H25 jet, but they confirmed two deaths, said Lt. Sierjie Lash, an Akron fire department spokeswoman.

No one was inside the small brick apartment building or a neighboring home that caught fire, she said.

The jet clipped a utility wire on the way down and burst into flames and disintegrated after impact, Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Bill Haymaker said.

The plane then hit an embankment beyond the apartment building, causing a nearby house to also burn, he said. There were no known injuries on the ground, he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/plane-crashes-ohio-apartment-building-injuries-unknown-205948960.html

[3WE]

I hate to always be 'media bashing', but the media is doing a crummy job in figuring out how many folks were on board...

I don't expect them to have THE answer, but they could certainly provide some CLEAR answers.

Today (~24 hours after the crash) and looking at various articles: it's "2 confirmed" "as many as 9" and "someone says 7"...

But woefully lacking is that reporters understand anything and could categorize anything.

I'm suspecting the "9" figure is a internet search on the plane's capacity.

The "7" may be a valid figure from a company representative.

Is the flight plan information "off-limits"? It should be a good source and you'd think it would be consulted and cited.

I do understand "2 confirmed", but I don't think that really belongs on the headline when there's reasonable evidence there's several more.

[Jpmkam]

I hate to always be 'media bashing', but the media is doing a crummy job in figuring out how many folks were on board...

I don't expect them to have THE answer, but they could certainly provide some CLEAR answers.

Today (~24 hours after the crash) it's "2 confirmed" "as many as 9" and "someone says 7"...

But woefully lacking is that reporters understand anything and could categorize anything.

I'm suspecting the "9" figure is a internet search on the plane's capacity.

The "7" may be a valid figure from a company representative.

Is the flight plan information "off-limits"? It should be a good source and you'd think it would be consulted and cited.

I do understand "2 confirmed", but I don't think that really belongs on the headline when there's reasonable evidence there's several more.

I think that's why the early media reports said "at least".

[elaw]

CNN is reporting that 7 pax and 2 crew members died: http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/11/us/akron-ohio-plane-crash/index.html

They also quote a witness as saying there was an "instant boom and flames and smoke."

So there you have it: when an airplane hits a building it makes a loud noise. I'm glad we've figured that much out.

[3WE]

Saw the security camera footage- the weather didn't look that significant.

Also missing from media reports is the classic radio contact stuff (distress call or nothing? Enroute? Cleared to land?)...and some analysis if this was the typical short final area or more of a random location.

[Jpmkam]

"The fuselage, the passenger compartment, is somewhat intact," Haymaker said. "... It is heavily burned, and that's (where) lies the problem."

Dinh-Zarr said the pilot was using instruments to land and didn't make a distress call. CNN affiliate WJW of Cleveland reported that there was rain and low clouds in the area.

NTSB investigators have interviewed a pilot who landed just ahead of the flight and might speak with him again about the conditions on approach.

The cockpit voice recorder from the crash was sent to an NTSB lab in Washington.

Hopefully the CVR wasn't too damaged.

[ErezS]

Another sad disaster... I wish no more disasters!

[Jpmkam]

The NTSB has security camera footage that shows the seconds leading up to the crash, Dinh-Zarr said.

It shows the jet was flying very low, descending and banked to the left. The left wing hit the ground, leaving a mark as the plane smashed into the apartments.

Source: CNN

[3WE]

...

They also quote a witness as saying there was an "instant boom and flames and smoke."

So there you have it: when an airplane hits a building it makes a loud noise. I'm glad we've figured that much out.

Media sentence of the day..."The CVR recorded the sound of impact"

Indeed. The primary cause of this crash is that the aircraft impacted the ground.

Contributing factors include the aircraft departing, the construction of the airport, and the invention of aircraft in the early 1900s.