Pilot who crashed near Sperryville warned not to fly
‘The airplane began a descending and rapidly accelerating, left spiral turn that became increasingly tighter in radius’
Rappahannock News sta
The adventurous cross-country pilot of a small plane that crashed August 31 near Sperryville was advised not to depart from a Maryland airport that evening because of bad weather along the ight route, yet while “waiting for the weather to clear” and eyeing “storms” on his iPad he took o anyway.
That according to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident
report surrounding the ill-fated ight of the green and white Piper PA-20-135 airplane (N7323K) that disintegrated upon crashing into thick trees along Buck Hollow Trail in Shenandoah National Park, killing 35-year-old Nicolas “Crazynick” Hellewell of San Luis Obispo, Calif.
“According to a xed-base operator (FBO) employee at Maryland Airport (2W5), Indian Head, Maryland who had discussions with the accident pilot, the pilot had arrived a day or two prior to the accident and stayed in the local [Washington, DC] area,” the NTSB states. “The pilot was reportedly on a ‘tour of the 48’ lower United States and several weeks ago he departed from California for the cross-country trip.
“On the afternoon of the accident, the pilot discussed with the FBO employee and other pilots at the airport, that he planned to depart for Eastern WV Regional Airport/Shepherd Field (MRB), Martinsburg, West Virginia. The FBO employee reported that the pilot had been ‘waiting for the weather to clear’ and he was looking at ‘storms’ on his iPad along the route.”
More telling: “The pilot was also reportedly concerned with the terrain and cloud ceilings along the route; his ‘biggest concern was [cloud] ceilings.’ The FBO employee reported that he and other pilots at the airport advised the pilot that he should not depart along the route, and when the FBO employee closed the FBO o ce and le the airport at 1800 [6 p.m.], the pilot had not departed.”
The initial crash investigation, led by FAA Senior Air Safety Investigator Adam M. Gerhardt, who was assisted by David Reese of FAA/FSDO (Flight Standards O ce) in Washington, determined “there was no record that the pilot received a weather briefing on the day of the accident.”
Furthermore, a so-called AIRMET Sierra — a concise description of weather phenomena that are occurring or may occur along an air route — “was in e ect at the time of the accident for the route of ight warning of instrument ight rule conditions, precipitation, mist, and mountain obscuration,” says the NTSB.
As it was, rain and fog shrouded Sperryville at the time of the crash, while Luray Caverns Airport (LUA) in Luray — 9 miles west of the accident site — recorded an overcast ceiling of 2,300 feet with “moderate rain.”
With darkness approaching, this newspaper suggested in earlier reporting that the pilot perhaps was trying to reach the Luray airport, which now makes more sense given Martinsburg is 71 miles north-northeast of Sperryville.
At 6:58 p.m. the airplane was ying westbound at an altitude of 4,500 feet over Shenandoah National Park, the mountainous terrain below ranging in elevation from about 3,000 to 4,000 feet. What happens next is not completely known.
“About 15 seconds later the airplane began a descending and rapidly accelerating, le spiral turn that became increasingly tighter in radius,” according to the NTSB report. Less than 30 seconds before 7 p.m., the nal recorded position indicated the airplane was ying at 3,400 feet at a speed of 134 knots [154 miles per hour] about a quarter mile east of where the main wreckage came to rest.
The wreckage was not stumbled upon until two days later — Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 11 a.m. — by hikers traversing the Buck Hollow Trail.
“According to a FAA inspector who traveled to the accident site, the main wreckage was located at the bottom of a steep ravine in heavily wooded terrain and scattered in a southerly direction. The elevation of the accident site was 2,300 feet,” says the NTSB report.
“The cockpit, wings, and fuselage were heavily fragmented and were not easily identi able to their original structures. The propeller had separated from its hub and was found in the debris eld; it displayed signi cant s-bending, leading edge gouging, and chordwise scratching. There was no evidence of re.
“The rudder remained attached to the vertical stabilizer and the le and right elevators remained attached to the horizontal stabilizer. The wreckage was retained for further examination.”
The NTSB further concluded that the pilot “was not in communication with air tra c control at the time of the accident and no emergency locator signal was received from the airplane.”
According to FAA airman records, Hellewell held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single- engine land. He did not hold an instrument rating. The gregarious pilot had posted to his Facebook page dozens of photos of his unique U.S. tour, greeting and making friends along the way, and was beginning the nal southern leg of his journey when the plane went down.
The NTSB says its preliminary summary is subject to change when its nal report is completed within two years.