Three On Board The Aircraft Were Fatally Injured

Authorities say that the driver of a pickup truck which was struck by an airplane at Knox County Regional Airport (KRKD) in Maine on November 16 followed standard airport procedures for vehicles crossing runways. In its preliminary report, the NTSB indicates that the collision appears to have caused a portion of the airplane's tail assembly to separate from the aircraft.

NTSB Identification: ERA13FA059
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, November 16, 2012 in Rockland, ME
Aircraft: CESSNA 172N, registration: N6142F
Injuries: 3 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. 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.

On November 16, 2012, about 1645 EST, a Cessna 172N, N6142F, was substantially damaged when it impacted a non-airport vehicle and then subsequently impacted terrain during takeoff from Knox County Airport (RKD), Rockland, Maine. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The private pilot and two passengers were fatally injured and the occupant of the non-airport vehicle was not injured. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 with the intended destination of Bangor International Airport (BGR), Bangor, Maine.

According to an interview with the driver of the vehicle, he was driving his private vehicle on the taxiway and had followed another aircraft out to taxiway "alpha." The other airplane continued down taxiway "delta" and he proceeded with his vehicle to the hold short line of the runway. He announced his intentions on the common traffic advisory frequency using a radio in his vehicle, heard no response nor saw anything on the runway, and he proceeded to cross runway 31. He subsequently saw something grayish in color, continued to cross the runway, and then got out to inspect what he saw at which time he observed an airplane attempting to climb. He continued watching the airplane drift to the left of the runway and make a left turn as if attempting to return to the airport. Subsequently, the airplane was then observed in "slow flight" and then it began to "spin."

According to an eyewitness statement, the airplane was observed departing to the west and appeared to be doing a left climbing "chandelle" type maneuver. The airplane also had what appeared to be a high angle of attack. About 200 feet above ground level the navigation identification lights were observed rotating slowly counter clockwise. The airplane then appeared to pitch down and descended behind trees.

Examination of the airplane revealed that it impacted the ground in a nose down attitude, next to a tree, approximately 2,200 feet from the initial impact location with the vehicle, and subsequently caught fire. The right elevator was in the vicinity of the initial impact location on the runway. The airplane came to rest on a heading of 346 degrees.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov