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Report: Pilot Earlier Diverted Plane

Posted on: Wednesday, 23 November 2005, 18:01 CST

By M.K. Guetersloh

BLOOMINGTON -- A pilot whose plane crashed in a Bloomington field had to divert the flight earlier because a door came open, according to a preliminary report.

James Gross, 66, of Madison, Ala., died in the Nov. 9 plane crash just east of the Central Illinois Regional Airport. Gross told controllers he was diverting his flight to Bloomington because one of the plane's two engines was running rough.

Audio recordings of the conversation between air traffic controllers and the pilot will be analyzed as part of the investigation.

The analysis will focus on the background noise, said Mitchell Gallo, crash investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board.

Gallo's preliminary report, released Wednesday, said Gross had diverted his flight because a door came open after he left Greater Peoria Regional Airport at 8:21 p.m.

He took off again at 8:31 p.m., but planned to go back because of a rough engine.

Instead, he diverted to Bloomington, where controllers asked Gross if he wanted to declare an emergency, airport director Carl Olson said previously.

Gross declined and controllers gave him clearance to land.

The plane crashed at 8:59 p.m. in a field near the intersection of Towanda Barnes and Ireland Grove roads.

Gallo said a spectrum analysis of the background noise may help investigators determine the speed of each of the plane's engines.

"What we can get depends on the quality of the air traffic recordings," Gallo said.

However, Gallo said his investigation is looking at several pieces, not just the engines, on the 1959 Piper Apache.

"It is one area that's most evident because he reported it," Gallo said. "But everything is pretty open for investigation."

Among those pieces are the log books for the pilot and the plane.

A spokeswoman for the company that employed Gross said the pilot had 2,200 hours of flying experience. Federal Aviation Administration records show Gross also was a licensed flight instructor.

Gross worked for Blackstone Rotorcraft, Hartselle, Ala., and was flying backhoe parts from Peoria to Johnston County Airport in Smithfield, N.C. Caterpillar Inc. chartered the flight through Emery International. The parts were to go to the company's plant in Clayton, N.C.

Gross' flight plan indicated he would fly under rules that allow for flying by using only the plane's instruments. Gross had the advanced license that would allow him to use instruments in addition to visual navigation, according to FAA records.

As part of Gallo's report, weather conditions were clear enough that a pilot could operate a plane using visual navigation for night flying.

The investigation into the crash could take up to a year to complete, Gallo said.

Source: Pantagraph

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