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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 9, 2018)
24 Wednesday, May 9, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon PLANE CRASH: Pilot and occupants walked away Continued from page 1 and visit job sites across the country. Benson’s passengers at the time of the incident are both pilots. Benny’s wife, Julie Benson, provided detailed information to The Nugget on the incident. She reported that one of the passengers was sitting in front next to Benson, the other in the back seat of the 6-place airplane. The trio had been in California for two days meeting with clients and visiting prospective projects. “It was a great trip, up until the last five seconds,” Benny Benson said. As they neared their home base at Sisters, they listened to the AWOS (automated weather observation sys- tem), which told them the winds at the airport were 17 knots, with gusts to 28 knots. Although Benson normally prefers to land on the south end, the wind direction at the time dictated that he make his approach to the runway from the north, over the hill and trees, in order to avoid land- ing with a tailwind. Because the pressurized Baron is a fast and heavy air- plane, it requires more run- way length to land and stop than a lighter single-engine plane, Julie Benson notes. Benson is very cautious of a tailwind at the short Sisters airstrip, which would increase his landing roll-out even further. One of the most impor- tant techniques taught early in flight training is the “go around.” If everything isn’t in order to execute a good landing, pilots are taught to abort the landing and “go around” by continuing to fly another lap around the land- ing pattern, and try the land- ing again. Benson’s experience has ingrained a somewhat differ- ent philosophy. “I look at it the other way around. A landing is an aborted go around. I’ve had so many unexpected things happen that I approach every landing prepared for and expecting to go-around. And only if everything goes just right, then I land the plane,” he said. The readiness to go- around saved Benson and his passengers from disaster when things went awry. As they came over the hill and cleared the top of the trees making their final decent at 110 mph, the plane encoun- tered significant wind shear at 40 feet above the ground, Julie Benson reported. Wind shear is known to pilots as a sudden and signifi- cant change in wind direction. The passenger in the front, also an experienced instru- ment-rated pilot, recalled, “It was a strange sensation. It felt like the bottom just dropped out from under us.” Benson instantly initiated the go-around procedure, pushing both throttles all the way forward. But even full thrust of the two roaring 325-horsepower engines was not enough to stop the plane’s decent. There was neither enough time nor vertical dis- tance for the plane to defy gravity and climb, although the surge in forward momen- tum kept the plane from plunging into the ground. They hit the ground on the main wheels, then the nose wheel, about 150 feet short of the runway. The landing gear buckled under the impact, and the plane hit its belly. It then turned slightly sideways and skidded across the ground, coming to rest less than 300 feet from where the wheels first touched. After the plane stopped, the trio looked back and forth at each other, stunned at what had just happened. Each of them had been firmly secured into their seats when their seatbelts tightened on impact. The passenger in the back was the first to break the long silence. “We should probably get out,” he suggested. As they opened the doors, they heard the “hiss” of the still-pressur- ized fuselage release, indict- ing the integrity of the pas- senger cabin was still intact. Uninjured, the crew climbed out and saw the true extent of damage to the air- craft. The two main wheels had buckled up under the wings, the front nose wheel was broken off and laying in the dirt 100 feet away, the right wing was bent upward with the de-icing boots scraped off, and the nose and tail sections were crumpled. “I think I broke my air- plane,” was Benson’s first comment on the wreckage. Emergency responders arrived on the scene imme- diately. Although there were no fuel leaks, the Sisters Fire Department, headed by Roger Johnson, stood by with foam ready in case a fire was ignited. The medics in the ambulance examined each of the pilots for inju- ries. Officers from both the Deschutes County Sheriff Office and Oregon State Police responded to the call. Neighbors from adjacent homes, and other pilots and flight instructors from the air- port converged on the scene. “The wind was very erratic at the time they came in,” observed Outlaw Aviation See PLANE CRASH on page 31 The Nugget Newspaper Crossword By Jacqueline E. Mathews, Tribune News Service — Last Week’s Puzzle Solved — This Week’s Crossword Sponsors Radiance Revealed with Lactic Acid Complex Mangosteen Professional Peel Book girlfriend facials on a Tuesday or Wednesday for 10% DISCOUNT! Essentials Skincare Complimentary make-up follows treatment Mother’s Day Gift Certifi cates! Karen Keady Esthetician/Owner 541-480-1412 | 492 E. Main Ave. Mon-Sat Flexible Hours | SistersEssentials.com WELL PUMP SERVICE Pump & Electrical Contractor PRESSURE TANKS • CONSTANT-PRESSURE SYSTEMS FREQUENCY DRIVES • MOTOR CONTROLS • PUMPS A Division of 24-HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE Sisters Owned CCB#178543 Zach 541-420-8170 New! Aff ordable, quality bikes by Jamis! 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