APRIL 22, 2015
ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP)
Federal investigators say pilot error and a non-functioning
light atop a wind turbine are probable causes of a plane crash that killed four
South Dakota men a year ago.
The single-engine Piper PA 32R-300 crashed April 27, 2014,
when it struck a 330-foot-high wind turbine in fog 10 miles south of Highmore.
The crash killed the pilot and three cattlemen returning from a sale in Texas.
The American News reports (http://bit.ly/1Dd9bgf ) that a National Transportation
Safety Board report released this week says the pilot's decision to fly low in
deteriorating weather and the non-operating light on the turbine were likely
causes. No problem was found with the plane.
Killed were pilot Donald "D.J." Fischer, of
Gettysburg; and cattlemen Brent Beitelspacher, of Bowdle; Logan Rau, of Java;
and Nick Reimann, of Ree Heights.
Information from: Aberdeen American News, http://www.aberdeennews.com
//-------------------//
NTSB Identification: CEN14FA224
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, April 27, 2014 in Highmore, SD
Probable Cause Approval Date: 04/27/2015
Aircraft: PIPER PA 32R-300, registration: N8700E
Injuries: 4 Fatal.
NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this
investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without
any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this
aircraft accident report.
During a dark night cross-country flight, the
instrument-rated pilot was approaching the intended airport for landing when
the airplane collided with the blades of a wind turbine tower. The weather had
started to deteriorate and precipitation echoes were observed on radar.
Witnesses in the area described low clouds, windy
conditions, and precipitation. In addition, weather briefing records and
statements made to a witness indicate that the pilot was aware of the current
and forecast weather conditions for the route of flight. Investigators were
unable to determine why the airplane was operating at a low altitude; however,
the pilot was likely attempting to remain clear of the clouds even though both
the pilot and the airplane were capable of flying in instrument meteorological
conditions.
An examination of the airplane, systems, and engine revealed
no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Toxicology findings
revealed a small amount of ethanol in the pilot’s blood, which was unlikely due
to ingestion since no ethanol was found in liver or muscle tissue.
The investigation revealed that the wind turbine farm was not marked on either sectional chart covering the accident location; however, the pilot was familiar with the area and with the wind turbine farm. Investigators were not able to determine what the pilot was using for navigation just before the accident.
The investigation revealed that the wind turbine farm was not marked on either sectional chart covering the accident location; however, the pilot was familiar with the area and with the wind turbine farm. Investigators were not able to determine what the pilot was using for navigation just before the accident.
The light on the wind turbine tower that was struck was not
operational at the time of the accident, and the outage was not documented in a
notice to airmen.
The wind turbine that was struck was the 5th tower in a
string of towers oriented east to west, then the string continued south and
southwest with an additional 13 towers.
If the pilot observed the lights from the surrounding wind
turbines, it is possible that he perceived a break in the light string between
the wind turbines as an obstacle-free zone.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's decision to continue the flight into known
deteriorating weather conditions at a low altitude and his subsequent failure
to remain clear of an unlit wind turbine.
Contributing to the accident was the inoperative obstruction
light on the wind turbine, which prevented the pilot from visually identifying
the wind turbine.
//----------------------------------//
Tony Molinaro, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation
Administration, said the single-engine Piper PA-32 was reported missing on
Sunday and was later found 10 miles south of the central South Dakota town. The
plane was traveling from Hereford, Texas, to Gettysburg, according to the FAA.
An FAA team was sent to the crash site Monday. However,
since there were fatalities, the investigation is under the jurisdiction of the
National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB did not return calls seeking
comment by Monday evening.
A preliminary accident and incident report on the FAA’s
website Monday night said the aircraft struck a wind tower and lists the
plane’s condition as “destroyed.” The report also said the plane was the
subject of an alert notice, which was sent out at 2:40 a.m. on Monday.
The four victims have been identified as Nick Reimann of Ree
Heights, Logan Rau of Java, Brent Beitelspacher of Bowdle and Donald “DJ”
Fischer of Gettysburg.
According to FAA records the plane was registered to
Fischer.
A graduate of South Dakota State University, Fischer played
football for the school in the mid-2000s under current head coach John
Stiegelmeier.
“DJ was a picture of what you want out of a student
athlete,” Stiegelmeier said. “He was one of those guys who when you asked him
to do something there was no hesitation.”
Fischer had an unbelievable work ethic, he said, and stayed
connected to the football program even after graduating.
The 30-year-old, who, according to the South Dakota Aviation
Association, was a pilot for Air Kraft Spraying Inc., died in the vehicle he
made a living with, Stiegelmeier said.
Fischer was one of seven siblings. According to his brother,
Michael, he had three nieces and two nephews and was a loving family man.
Fischer married his wife, Megan, six weeks ago.
As a volunteer firefighter and EMT, Fischer was always there
to help other people, Michael said.
“He was a community man,” Michael said.
The wreckage was found at the South Dakota Wind Energy
Center, a group of wind turbines, all approximately 300-foot-tall, placed on
several parcels of private property. The crash site was in a pasture west of
South Dakota State Highway 47 and north of 207th Street.
Steve Stengel, a spokesman for Florida-based NextEra Engery
Inc, whose subsidiary operates the turbines, said the company was notified
early Monday morning about the missing plane. One of the wind turbine
technicians on the site is a volunteer fireman, and he was alerted to the
situation at 3 a.m., Stengel said.
Because of the weather – heavy fog and moderate rain for
most of the day – no one from NextEra had been out to inspect the turbines,
Stengel said. He could not confirm what damage had been done to the turbines.
“We are following the lead of the authorities who are
leading the investigation,” he said.
The Hyde County Sheriff’s Office had all access to the area
blocked off Monday and referred all questions to the Hyde County State’s
Attorney. The State’s Attorney’s office referred questions to the FAA.
The identities of Fischer and the other victims were
released by the families and the funeral homes making the burial arrangements.
Rau’s sister, TiAnn Poloncic, said her 25-year-old brother
could sell a ketchup Popsicle to someone wearing white gloves.
“He had the gift of gab and could make anyone laugh,” she
added.
Rau loved his family, hunting, ice fishing, the Kansas City
Chiefs and treated his three dogs like children, Poloncic said.
Rau married his wife, Natalie, a school teacher in Bowdle,
on July 27, 2013. He attended Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown and
was halfway done with a paramedic program before making the choice to head back
to the family farm and run the operation with his father Todd, Poloncic said.
“He was living the American dream,” she said. “He was a
tough farmer but he had a soft heart. He loved what he did.”
Beitelspacher, who turned 38 on Monday, was remembered by
friends and loved ones for his passion.
“He was very energetic,” said his mother Carla. “He was
ready to capture the world.”
He was a very loving husband and father and a hard worker
who almost always had a smile on his face, she said.
Carla Beitelspacher said her son loved hunting, fishing and
being outdoors. Beitelspacher had a sale barn in Gettysburg for 10 years before
he began working for Northern Plains, a diversified farmer-owned county
operation of Cenex Harvest States.
Cory Jueneman was one of the people that traveled around the
country, hunted and fished with Beitelspacher.
“We fished a lot of tournaments over the years,” he said,
“and hunted everything we could.”
The men had become so close they spoke every day while they
went to work. “I talked to him every day at 6:50 in the morning,” Jueneman
said, adding that counted the weekends also. He and Beitelspacher even
vacationed together, taking their wives with them. This year, the group went to
Costa Rica, Jueneman said.
“We were pretty big buddies,” he said.
Reimann, 33, operated Reimann Ranch along with his wife
Kyrstin according to the company’s website.
The four men traveled to Hereford to attend an annual cattle
sale hosted by Mike Mimms, a veterinarian, on Saturday.
“Nick Reimann had some of the best cows in the country,”
said Mimms. “He was an influential breeder in the industry.”
Mimms considered Reimann a long-time friend, who was well
respected among cattlemen.
Although he had been purchasing cattle from Beitelspacher
for more than a decade, Mimms hadn’t met his supplier until last weekend. Mimms
met Rau the same day.
Fog and low clouds combined for reduced visibility in the
Highmore area on Sunday night, and winds were out of the east at about 15 to 25
mph, said Renee Wise, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in
Aberdeen. There were also scattered showers across region Sunday night, and
some might have been heavy at times, she said.
The cattlemen, along with Fischer, tried to wait for extreme
winds to subside before making the flight back to South Dakota, Mimms said.
They even considered heading back with another cattleman who was driving back
to South Dakota early Sunday morning, he said, but the men didn’t want to
trouble him.
“The people that have lost family members need to know that
people in Texas realize that the parents and the families of those guys are
well respected here,” Mimms said. “The guys came down here to support us and
pay respects to customers they had.That’s a thing that weighs on my mind – if
it hadn’t been for this sale, they wouldn’t have been here.”
TiAnn Rau
Poloncic posted at 8:29 am on Wed, Apr 30, 2014.
The fighting about wind turbines ends NOW. I lost my
brother, my daughter lost her hero, my father lost his son and best friend, my
mother lost her baby boy and my sister-in-law lost her soul-mate; and that is
only one of four families affected. I will not allow you to trivialize his
death and make it into any thing more than it is: A tragedy for this entire
state and the cattle industry as a whole. So please end this now.'Logan's
Sister'
irene gilbert posted
at 1:08 am on Wed, Apr 30, 2014.
I just got back to this. Since it is late, and I need to
gather some of the data to respond to some of your comments, I will deal with
this tomorrow for the last time as you are right, it is a waste of my time. I
know you will not be convinced with facts. One fact that we should start with
is that I am not paid for my work. I do it as a volunteer as I care about the
kind of planet and bills we are leaving to my child and grandchildren as a result
of the misplaced emphasis and money being given to wind developers in order for
them to destroy our natural resources.
Anonymous
Commenter posted at 7:12 pm on Tue, Apr 29, 2014.
Irene, once again you have missed the point and the mark in
your response. Usually I would not spend so much time responding but sine you
have taken the time from your 15 hour weeks as a legal analyst and activist
blogger up in Portland Oregon to make these inflammatory claims in our local
paper I will offer one last thought. As I had said before and you ignored, the
time for hyperbole is over. Please state some facts and not your paid opinions.
Addressing your comments in your last post;1. Please list the forms of energy
generation that have a lower mortality rate than wind. You claim wind power
kills people. One link please that states this is this is true.2. Please post a
reference that shows the number of bird deaths from wind is greater than the
number of bird deaths from nuclear, coal, nat gas, take your pick, dealers
choice. One link please. Make sure to ask the people cleaning oil off birds in
the gulf. Google the causes of bird deaths as I just did. 33,000 from wind
turbines per year. Sounds like a lot but compare that to 976,000,000 from
flying into windows. Another 500 million from feral cats. Ten minutes on Google
can disprove every single thing you are saying and assuming people wont look up
for themselves.3. What is the 'gravy train' you are referring to? Please post a
link that shows wind receives greater subsidies than any other form of power
generation. One link please. Any link. Remember the PTC is a sliver of what the
oil companies receive.4. You call this my religion (probably a negative
connotation for you). Clearly it is not. I would say my 'religion' is slanted
more towards factual data and constructive debate not baseless accusations and
wild hysteria. 5. Your last sentence its the kicker. Millions of dollars (I
guess you would call them gravy train dollars) are spent by wind developers for
environmental assessments which independent bodies and local and federal
governments need to accept before the farm can be built. Despite all this they
are all baloney. And you know because you are a paid legal analyst for an anti
wind group up in Oregon and an activist blogger. The engineers and scientists
must be wrong. But I thank you for dropping by to comment in our local paper.
Perhaps you can garner up a few more signatures for your Oregon petition and
put a few more bucks in your pocket. Of course on the backs of these grieving
families.......-Jared
irene gilbert posted
at 5:09 pm on Tue, Apr 29, 2014.
Killing machines refers to birds, bats, people, and other
animals and people driven out of their homes as a result of these monsters. I
pride myself in providing a service to the citizens. These developments provide
more harm than good, and we have been fighting for developers to recognize and
take responsibility for the hazards and damage they inflict on the areas where
they have been developed. There are predictable consequences to these
developments and the people building them need to be held accountable for those
predictable impacts. It is time to stop the gravy train and provide
consequences for what wind developments do just as any other developer is held
accountable if they kill golden eagles, other endangered animals or people. I
do not expect to change your views as it appears to be a "religion"
to you. I too started out supporting "green" energy until I started
researching, working with the siting process and studying the research that is
being done absent the predictable decisions of the wind development purchased
studies that always seem to show "no significant impacts". Baloney!!!
Anonymous
Commenter posted at 4:54 pm on Tue, Apr 29, 2014.
As I said, this is not the place to promote your political
agenda and yet you persist. Class act.Since you wish to do it anyway, please be
specific as you have declared you are a legal analyst that is in no way
connected to this particular accident. At all.I think of the thousands of hours
spent is site studies, ecological and wildlife assessments and the process of
placing a windfarm in a particular region. I am sure that pales in comparison
to the 15 hours a week you spend blogging about it. Sounds like you have it
figured all out. So I will pull a quote from your post"The placement of
the machines and failure to take responsibility for the fact that there are
going to be inexperienced pilots"You want the wind companies to take
responsibility for untrained pilots now? Why do you call them killing machines?
Please list the number of wind turbine caused deaths in the last 10 years.
Please. Compare it to Nuclear, Coal, Nat gas, take your pick.Or better yet,
please show a little class and let it be. If that is within your
capacity.-Jared
irene gilbert posted
at 4:31 pm on Tue, Apr 29, 2014.
The point is that the developers have absolutely no concern
for how their actions in building towers that are often over 450 feet in the
air impact airplanes. They are fighting tooth and nail to not have to provide
safe setbacks from local airports, not to have to recognize training corridors
for military pilot training, not to have to recognize or avoid their impacts to
radar necessary for our national defense, and it goes on and on. Siting
decisions are based more on politics than public and wildlife safety and
politics dictate that taxpayers have to pay for these killing machines. I have
been the Legal Research Analyst for the Friends of the Grande Ronde Valley for
over 3 years. I spend a minimum of 15 hrs. a week doing research, attending
siting committee meetings, researching contested case issues, providing public
training on wind development impacts, etc. The placement of the machines and
failure to take responsibility for the fact that there are going to be
inexperienced pilots, pilots flying without radar, and others who would not be
at risk were it not for these developments. I hope the relatives of the people
killed sue the wind developers. Unfortunately, they set up all these wind
developments as limited liability companies, so you can't really get to the big
pockets.
Anonymous
Commenter posted at 4:10 pm on Tue, Apr 29, 2014.
Posts:
193
This is extremely tragic and the guys sounded awesome. It's
disgusting people will use this to push whatever agenda they want. What's next?
Blaming the beef industry?
Anonymous
Commenter posted at 3:52 pm on Tue, Apr 29, 2014.
I am sorry Irene but you are asking for common sense yet are
not displaying it in your post. These machines did not kill them. They were
just sitting there, doing their job creating energy so you can post your posts
on the internet. The problem is that a private plane was traveling at about 300
feet off the ground. No flight plan filed with the FAA would allow a private
plane to fly at 300 feet altitude outside of take offs or landings. You do
realize how low that is.It is a very unfortunate accident and condolences to
the families. Please do not use this as an excuse to promote an agenda one way
or the other. I could poke a hundred holes in your comment but as I said, this
is not the place. Please have respect for the families.-Jared
irene gilbert posted
at 11:52 am on Tue, Apr 29, 2014.
Four fine young men are dead, and taxpayers were forced to
help pay for the wind development that killed them. When will the people of tis
country be released from the mandates that force them to support these killing
monsters? These companies have no concern for the safety of our citizens, they
are only after the almighty $. In Oregon, the developers have ignored the
Department of Navy objections to the impacts Shepherd Flatts Wind Development
would have on the pilot training corridor. Saddle Butte Wind Development is now
in the middle of a contested case because they refuse to accommodate the
Department of Navy requests that they not build in the same flight training
corridor. They have also refused to address the Department of Defense objection
that the development will impact National Defense since it will interfere with
the radar station which provides protection for the west coast from Canada to
Northern California. All this is occurring at a time when these money hungry
companies are pushing for an extension of the production tax credit which would
require more taxpayer support for additional developments and the president is
pushing to allow wind developments in Natonal Forests. When does common sense
kick in?