The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Bradley crash survivors ID’d
Plane ‘was a bit right wing down’ before crash
WINDSOR LOCKS — Investigators are examining engines and evidence from the World War IIera plane that crashed at Bradley International Airport on Wednesday, killing seven and injuring six people.
The B17G, operated by the Collings Foundation on its Wings of Freedom tour, was one of 16 registered to fly in the U.S. It was captained by Ernest McCauley, 75, of Long Beach, Calif., who had more than 7,300 hours of experience in the aircraft. “He reportedly has the highest time in the United States in the B17,” National Transportation Security Board board member Jennifer Homendy said Thursday.
McCauley and copilot Michael Foster, 71, of Jacksonville, Fla., were
among the six people “presumed dead” by Connecticut State Police.
Passengers Robert Riddell, 59, of East Granby; Gary Mazzone, 66, of the Broad Brook section of East Windsor; James Roberts, 48, of Ludlow, Mass.; and Robert Rubner, 64, of Tolland also are presumed dead. David Broderick, 56, of West Springfield, Mass., has been positively identified and confirmed dead.
State police released the names of the six survivors injured in the crash: Mitchell Melton, 34, a flight engineer from Dalehart, Texas; and passengers Andy Barrett, 36, of South Hadley, Mass., Linda and Tom Schmidt, both 62, of Suffield, Joseph Huber, 48, of the Tariffville section of Simsbury, and James Traficante, 54, of Simsbury.
Traficante, a chief master sergeant for the 103rd Airlift Wing, Bradley Air National Guard Base, suffered “broken limbs and other injuries to his collarbone,” but was still able to open the plane’s hatch, Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner James Rovella said.
One airport employee was injured when the plane hit the deicing facility; he was identified Wednesday as Andrew Sullivan, 28, of Enfield.
Investigation
Investigators determined Thursday the plane hit about 30 approach lights on breakaway poles about 1,000 feet from the threshold of Runway 6, before hitting the deicing facility at the airport at 9:53 a.m., less than 10 minutes after takeoff, Homendy said.
They have not determined whether hitting the lights played a role in the crash, she said. They have determined, based on marks and video, that “the plane was, at one point, a bit right wing down.”
The NTSB has requested a transcript of the conversation between the pilot and the Air Traffic Control tower at about 9:50 a.m., Homendy said. The audio of the call indicated there was an issue with one of the plane’s four pistondriven engines; that engine has been recovered from the wreckage and secured for further investigation.
The agency also has received witness statements about work being done on one or two of the engines prior to takeoff, but has not confirmed those accounts, she said. “We’ve requested inspection and maintenance records of the propellers, the air frame and all four engines,” Homendy said. Based on preliminary information, the plane last had a “major inspection” in January.
After that “continuous airworthiness inspection,” the plane is required to have progressive inspections in 25hour increments, she said. The agency has received the inspection information but has not yet analyzed it to evaluate the quality of the inspections or whether there were any issues identified.
The NTSB also has requested training records for the flight crew and others who worked on the plane, she said. Investigators also are interviewing other pilots with the Collings Foundation.
They have determined that the plane was using 100 low lead aviation gas. The B17 was certified to run on 87octane fuel, but FAA documents indicate that fuel above 87, including 100, can be used, Homendy said.
Homendy said they do not yet know where the survivors were sitting in the plane. They are looking into whether there were sufficient seats and safety belts on the plane, and what safety briefings were given before and during the flight.
“There are significant pieces of the plane left,” Homendy said, including the tires, both wings, all four engines and the tail.
The plane that crashed Wednesday previously had been involved in one accident, in which it overran a runway in Pennsylvania in 1987. It also was involved in an “incident” in Nebraska in 1995, when landing gear failed to deploy; NTSB did not investigate that incident, Homendy said.
About the B17
The plane was one of 16 Boeing B17G planes registered in the United States.
It was powered by four pistondriven engines, which Bower said are reliable, “as long as they are maintained properly.”
NTSB has investigated 21 accidents involved World War IIera bombers since 1982, not including Wednesday’s crash. Three of those accidents involved B17Gs.
The 21 accidents resulted in 23 fatalities and one injury.
Patients
State police did not release information on the conditions of the injured passengers Thursday.
Kenneth Robinson, chairman of emergency medicine, said during a Thursday press conference that the hospital took in six patients after the
crash.
One person still is receiving care at the hospital, he said. He said he believed that two other victims of the crash had been released from the hospital.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the patients and the families of all of those that suffered in his horrible accident yesterday,” said Robinson.
A hospital spokesperson did not immediately confirm whether two patients had been released. The spokesperson noted one patient remained in care and three others had been transferred to the burn center at Bridgeport Hospital.
Robinson and Torrey Trzcienski, nurse manager of the emergency department at Hartford Hospital, praised the work of emergency responders in responding to the crash and noted that, as a level one trauma center, the hospital was prepared and equipped to help those injured in their time of need.
Environmental impact
About 700 to 800 gallons of aqueous filmforming foam were used to extinguish the fire from the crash, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes said. Other possible contaminants are the fuel from the airplane and the ethylene glycol deicing agent stored in the facility that was hit.
They are using vacuum trucks and booms to remove and contain the chemicals, she said.
DEEP does not believe any of the materials have contaminated the sanitary sewer system, but are using a boom as a precaution and are taking samples to test for the chemicals.
They do expect that there is “some impact” of the chemicals on Rainbow Brook, a tributary of the Farmington River. They are using booms and vacuums there, and are monitoring and recovering the foam that entered the waterway through a storm drain.
People should not touch or consume water or fish from the river.