From Storm King on Facebook:
My 16 y/o daughter, Chloe King, and her mother, Nancy Dellamaria, were survivors of a small plane crash today near Palo Alto. My daughter is almost perfectly fine, some bruising where the seatbelt was. My ex wife has some broken ribs and a neck injury, she is expected to make a full recovery. The pilot died. It was only the 3 of them in the plane. The pilot had offered my daughter to sit up front with him. For some reason, that only the spirit of the universe fully knows, she chose to sit in back with her mom. Here is an article about the crash. Please keep them in your thoughts tonight. Thanks.
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| Nancy Dellamaria, 49, with her latest husband, Dellamaria |
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| Nancy Dellamaria, 49, |
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By Sam Richards
Bay City News
September 4, 2018
Palo Alto, CA:
One man was killed and two women suffered serious injuries Tuesday morning when a single-engine airplane crashed offshore from Palo Alto Airport, according to the Palo Alto Fire Department.
The plane, a Mooney M20, went into a wetlands area called the Baylands Nature Preserve near the airport at about 11:10 a.m., Palo Alto Deputy Fire Chief Geo Blackshire said. The plane settled in a few feet of water, the wings above the water.
Early indications are that the pilot was coming in from Redding and was executing a “go-around” at the Palo Alto Airport, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said. That is an indication that an attempted landing was aborted and that the pilot was circling to try again to land.
Blackshire described one woman as “walking wounded.” The other had to be pulled from the aircraft, he said. Both women were taken to Stanford Hospital for treatment, fire officials said.
Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, Gregor said.
The plane is listed as owned by John W. Spencer of Placerville, California. He was in operation for Angel Flight West, a charity flight program, which means he was piloting his own plane. The FAA records show that he had just bought the plane in April 2018.
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By Mark Gomez | mgomez@bayareanewsgroup.com, Kevin Kelly | kkelly@bayareanewsgroup.com and Rick Hurd | rhurd@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
September 4, 2018
PALO ALTO, CA —
A pilot was killed and two passengers injured Tuesday morning when a small plane crashed near the Palo Alto Airport, authorities said.
The passengers were taken to the Stanford trauma center, according to the Palo Alto Fire Department.
The pilot was executing a go-around following an aborted landing about 11:10 a.m. when the crash occurred, according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor. The plane, a single-engine Mooney M20, came to rest in a pond about one-quarter of a mile off the departure end of Runway 13, Gregor said.
The pilot, a man in his 60s, was killed in the crash, Palo Alto fire officials told ABC7, this newspaper’s media partner. One of the passengers was able to get out of the plane on her own, and the second was rescued with a stretcher, according to ABC7. The station reported that the plane originated in Redding.
The Palo Alto Fire Department said initial reports indicated that the plane was down about 40 feet offshore of the airport.
Deputy Fire Chief Geo Blackshire said the plane was in operation for Angel Flight West, a charity flight program.
Josh Olson, executive director of Angel Flight West, said the pilot was transporting a mother and daughter to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, where the daughter was receiving treatment. He wouldn’t share their identities out of concern for the families, who are still being notified.
Omar Baser, a fellow Angel Flight West pilot who flew into the airport moments after the crash, said crosswinds were a problem and that pilots were being directed to a runway usually designated for tech companies such as Facebook and Google. He speculated that both factors may have contributed to the crash. Angel Flight West pilots use their own aircraft to transport patients to hospitals to receive care at no cost to the patient or hospital, according to its website.
Darrell Kalthof, who owns and operates Bay Area Flying Lessons at the airport and visited the crash site, said the combination of landing on an unfamiliar runway and attempting an uncommon maneuver after missing the landing on the first try could have caused the crash.
“My guess is, people don’t do go-arounds a lot, and when they don’t do something a lot, they tend to be rusty at it,” he said. “Just having to use a different runway is enough to throw somebody off their game — nothing looks the same — though a good pilot should be able to deal with it anyway.”
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
The plane is listed as owned by John W. Spencer of Placerville, California. He was in operation for Angel Flight West, a charity flight program, which means he was piloting his own plane. The FAA records show that he had just bought the plane in April 2018.
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One dead in plane crash near Palo Alto Airport
Pilot pronounced dead at the scene, two passengers transported to hospital
A Mooney M20J plane carrying two passengers crashed into the Palo Alto Baylands on Sept. 4, 2018, near the Duck Pond. The pilot died on impact but the two passengers survived and were transported to Stanford Trauma Center. Photo by Veronica Weber.
by Palo Alto Weekly staff / Palo Alto Weekly
Emergency responders from the Palo Alto police and fire departments respond to a plane crash in the Palo Alto Baylands on Sept. 4, 2018, in which the pilot died and two passengers survived. Photo by Veronica Weber.
A small plane on a mission of mercy crashed into the Palo Alto Baylands Tuesday morning, killing the pilot and injuring two passengers, who were taken by ambulance to Stanford Trauma Center.
As of late Tuesday afternoon, both passengers were in stable condition and hospitalized, Stanford Health Care spokeswoman Lisa Kim said. Anthony Dellamaria, a Redding resident, confirmed that his wife, Nancy Dellamaria, 49, and stepdaughter, Chloe King, 16, were on the aircraft. They were flying to Palo Alto so that Chloe could have surgery at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, he said.
"Nancy has broken ribs and a fractured neck. I haven't been able to talk to her yet. Chloe is wearing a cervical collar and is under observation," he said from his home.
His wife's mother flew in today. She had planned to arrive for Chloe's scheduled surgery, he said.
"It's just sad," he added of the death of the pilot, whose identity has not been released by the Santa Clara County Coroner Medical Examiner's Office.
The pilot was a volunteer for Angel Flight West, a nonprofit that provides free transportation to patients and family, Angel Flight West Executive Director Josh Olson said.
The pilot had aborted an initial landing at the airport and was attempting to regain altitude when the crash occurred, according to the Palo Alto Airport air-traffic control recording.
Minutes earlier, the tower operator and the pilot discussed landing the Mooney M20J aircraft. The pilot was coming in on a flight path near the Dumbarton Bridge. The tower operator cleared the Mooney for landing. Less than a minute later, the pilot said he was having trouble locating the field. The operator said the pilot would locate the field in the 11 o'clock position in about 2 1/2 miles.
About 40 seconds later, the pilot said, "I'm going to have to abort this and go around."
The operator replied: "Make left. Close traffic. Do you need any assistance?"
"Negative," the pilot said. "I just came in too fast."
Less than 50 seconds later, the operator issued an announcement: "Attention all aircraft. Due to a mishap we'll be shutting down pattern work and limiting operations in the vicinity."
Chris Ray, a fueler with Rossi Aircraft, which operates out of the municipal airport, said he saw the white plane approach the airstrip and bounce once on the tarmac before attempting a "go-around" maneuver. It looked to be going too low and slow to take off, however, and may have stalled, he told the Weekly.
Ray didn't see the crash, but he heard it and immediately went out in a truck with others to try to help. On the way, they picked up a nurse. She had tried to wade out to the plane to render aid but was unable to reach the aircraft because the mud was too thick, he said.
Upon arriving at the plane, which was in the Baylands northwest of the Palo Alto Duck Pond, they found Chloe in the back seat and Nancy Dellamaria injured in the front seat, he said. The pilot, who was in the mangled cockpit, was dead, he was told, which Palo Alto Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Geo Blackshire confirmed to the Weekly. Blackshire said the pilot was a man in his 60s.
Emergency responders used a 24-foot extension ladder as a bridge to gain access to the plane.
One passenger was able to walk to the ambulance and the other was placed on a gurney, Blackshire said.
The plane was coming in from Redding, Blackshire confirmed.
The aircraft is registered to Placerville, California, resident W. John Spencer, FAA records show. However, the Coroner Office investigator was still at the crash site as of 6 p.m. Tuesday and had not yet released the person's identity, staff said.
Spencer is listed as a volunteer for Angel Flight West, which serves the western United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.
The nonprofit named him No. 2 Pilot of the Year in southern California in 2015 for flying 47 missions. (Rankings were based on the number of missions flown.) He was named Pilot of the Year again in 2016 for flying 32 missions as wingman.
Olson, of Angel Flight, said he could not disclose the pilot's identity until his family is notified of his death.
"Our obvious main concern is for the welfare of the person on the aircraft and their loved ones. Our hope is that everyone is OK and that the families are comforted," he said.
Earlier this year, the 35-year-old nonprofit marked its 76,000th donated flight, Olson said.
Volunteer pilots are generous in giving their time and passion, he said, and "without them, none of this help would be possible."
Everyone associated with the nonprofit was trying to get over the shock of the incident, Olson said.
Carin Powers, an Angel Flight volunteer who had been waiting to pick up King and Dellamaria, said they didn't have a scheduled pick-up time, which was a bit unusual.
"It was a last-minute signup to pick them up. I called the pilot and the mother and asked them to let me know when they would be coming in. I never heard from them until about 15 minutes before they landed. Nancy texted that they were about to land at the airport in 15 to 20 minutes. She told me not to worry. They would be happy to wait at the airport," Powers said by phone on Tuesday evening.
Powers said she texted back that she couldn't arrive at the airport until about 11:45 a.m. If they didn't want to wait, they could pick up a lift.
"I didn't hear back. I tried to call her and I couldn't reach her. I just decided to go there. Just when I got there, I saw the fire engines and the news trucks, and I knew something had happened," she said.
She went looking for them at the terminal but they weren't there. Staff could only confirm that something had happened, but they could not say if it was the plane she was waiting for, she said.
Powers said she ran into another Angel Flight pilot, Orhan Baser, who confirmed the plane's tail number, and she then knew the incident involved the mother and daughter she had come to meet. She said she did not know the pilot.
"I've been doing this for a little over a year. The pilots are so awesome. It's so sad. It's a wonderful organization in all that they do," she said.
Powers added that she knows many people don't like the airport and that it has been controversial. "But that airport is extremely vital for these patients," she said, and she didn't think that most people knew just how much it is used for these medical cases.
Baser had been in the air when the crash occurred below. The winds had shifted at the time of the incident, he said, but he didn't know if that played a role in the incident.
An average of 525 planes take off and land from the airport a day, according to AirNav.com, based on FAA information for the 12 months ending May 22, 2018.
On Tuesday, nine departures and 17 arrivals had taken place prior to the crash.
Andrew Swanson, Palo Alto Municipal Airport manager, said Tuesday evening that he and Operations Manager James Wadleigh immediately went to the scene and had been there all day. The city will work closely with National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) staff, who will lead the investigation, he said.
"It's just a tragic accident. The investigation is a lengthy process. (NTSB) will tear the engine down to try to figure out what went wrong. They don't speculate, although it's human nature to do so," he said.
Out of concern that plane fuel may spill into the slough, city of Palo Alto staff is consulting with the U.S. Department of Fish and Game as well as other federal agencies prior to removing the plane from the slough, said Daren Anderson, the city's division manager for Open Space, Parks, and Golf. The work is legally required to be the least environmentally disruptive, he said.
Two engine companies, two ambulances and the fire department's battalion chief responded to the scene on Tuesday morning.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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Narrative:
A 1992 Mooney M20J has crashed with reports of three victims (1 deceased, a man, 2 transported, 2 women, injured, one serious, one minor) near Palo Alto Airport.
FAA said, "the plane was proceeding to a go-around on airport, that is an indicating that an attempted landing was aborted and that the pilot was circling to try again to land".
Sources:
Palo Alto Fire Department
https://sfbay.ca/2018/09/04/one-killed-in-palo-alto-plane-crash/
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/09/04/palo-alto-small-plane-down-near-airport/
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https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N701JM
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N701JM%20
Date: 04-SEP-2018
Time: 11:10 LT
Type:
Mooney M20J 201
Owner/operator: Angel Flight West
Registration: N701JM
C/n / msn: 24-3281
Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 3
Other fatalities: 0
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Location: SE of Palo Alto Airport (KPAO), Palo Alto, CA -
United States of America Phase: Landing
Nature: Passenger
Departure airport: Redding, CA
Destination airport: Palo Alto (KPAO)