Man Was Flying With An Expired Medical And Had Two Prior Mechanical Incidents

The pilot of a VariEze that went down in the Arizona desert this week was flying on an expired medical and had two previous accidents on his record.  According to FAA spokesperson Ian Gregor, pilot Charles T. Blanchette, 63, had already had his licence pulled twice in response to previous aircraft incidents.

NTSB reports show that Blanchette was found at fault for a Dec 16, 2003, incident in Glendale, CA, where he landed in an open field and inverted his Allison KR-2.  The loose carburetor jet needle that caused Blanchette to land would have been caught in a required annual inspection that was not completed.

In a 2006 incident, the propeller blade separated from the hub assembly on a Burkhart Grob Flugzeugbau G109 during takeoff.  An NTSB inspector found the engine had pulled away from the firewall, which was damaged.  Blanchette refused to produce the propeller for inspection and was cited, again, for improper maintenance.

FAA records show that Blanchette's medical certification had gone out of date in April of 2009.

File Photo of VariEze

On Wednesday, Blanchette radioed Glendale Municipal (GEU) around 9am reporting power failure in the VariEze and indicating he was going down about 25 miles southwest of Glendale, AZ.  Rescue crews finally located the downed plane around 5pm and worked to free Blanchette from the wreckage.

The Associated Press reports that Blanchette is still at Maricopa County Medical Center after being admitted in critical condition Wednesday night.

FMI: www.NTSB.gov, www.faa.gov