Civil Air Patrol Flying

Conroe Texas Civil Air Patrol Cessna Crash
Conroe Texas Civil Air Patrol Cessna Crash

By Compiler Myst | AuxBeacon News Staff

[Editor’s Note: A wise human once said: “The evidence will have to be collected and presented all in one place for the Civil Air Patrol membership to fully appreciate just how horribly they have been deceived and abused. I don’t know where I’ll be then, [redacted], but I’ll know about it – and I’ll be happy.”]

Ghostly Waukesha Unit Pokes at CAP National Leaders
Waukesha’s Cullen Mayes gave me a great idea for a Civil Air Patrol meme that you can forward on to Mark Smith and all the members of the Board of Governors at the National Conference in Baltimore.

Civil Air Patrol Cadet Passes in Fiery Plane Crash
A federal investigative agency has released a preliminary report on the July 6th plane crash that killed an 18-year-old student pilot and Civil Air Cadet poster-child in Oxford, Mississippi.

Civil Air Patrol Mission Pilot Crashes Plane in Georgia
On May 25, 2019, about 0923 eastern daylight time, a Cessna TR182, N6123T, was destroyed when it impacted terrain during a visual approach to McKinnon St Simons Island Airport (SSI), St Simons Island, Georgia. The commercial pilot and member of Civil Air Patrol was fatally injured.

Final Report: Civil Air Patrol Pilot Error at Geneseo New York
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause(s) of this accident to be: The [Civil Air Patrol] pilot’s failure to properly set the elevator trim before takeoff, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during takeoff and a subsequent aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the [Civil Air Patrol] pilot’s failure to follow the Before Takeoff—Run Up checklist.

Civil Air Patrol Cessna T181T substantially damaged on takeoff from Silver Springs
On September 12th 2017 CAP2746, a CESSNA T182T with registration N946CA was substantially damaged during an aborted takeoff from Silver Springs Airport (KSPZ), Lyon County, Nevada.

NTSB Releases Accident Form on Deatsville Alabama Civil Air Patrol Crash
Civil Air Patrol’s “Chief of Safety” Retired Air Force Col George C. Vogt signed an NTSB form on July 31st 2017 that revealed the Civil Air Patrol cadet was to solo and rendezvous with his CAP instructor pilot in the air to practice thermalling techniques. The Civil Air Patrol maneuvered with local media to avoid having their corporate identity associated with the accident. Even the NTSB appears helpful in avoiding use of the Civil Air Patrol name in certain higher level presentations. Researchers at Kathyrn’s Report dug deeper to find details in the NTSB Investigation Docket.

Civil Air Patrol Tow Plane Cable Strikes Vehicle on Approach
August 26th 2017 N821CP, a Civil Air Patrol Cessna 182T Skylane glider tow plane had its tow cable strike a vehicle on approach to landing at Marion Municipal Airport (KMNN), Ohio.

District Court Rules Civil Air Patrol Negligent in 2014 LaGrange Airport Crash; $12M Judgment
On August 3rd 2017, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia Newnan Division ruled that Civil Air Patrol breached its duty in its glider operations at Lagrange-Callaway Airport. It neglected a risk of collision by failing to use a spotter despite the obstructed views between the runways. Such a duty to make its flight operations safe existed irrespective of the applicability of the local airport rule requiring a spotter during glider operations. CAP pilots and instructors Mitchell, Schulz and Seidband failed to yield the right-of-way to the Baron, as required by 14 C.F.R. § 91.113(g).

Former CAP Commander at Fault in Carrollton Crash
William Lewis Lindsey [former Commander of Fulton County Composite Squadron, Georgia Wing] was piloting his 1978 Beechcraft Bonanza alone on September 7th 2016 after taking off from Fulton County airport at 10:20 am, investigators said. Within 30 minutes, Lindsey’s plane collided with one piloted by Taylor Nicole Stone, a 24-year-old flight instructor and a 20-year-old student from China. All three were killed in the crash.

Elderly Civil Air Patrol Pilots Flip Cessna at Fallbrook
On August 24th 2016, a Civil Air Patrol Cessna 182Q landed on the runway at Fallbrook Airpark, but ran out of space. The pilot made a left at the end of the runway and the plane rolled over, fire officials said. The two occupants inside, a 77-year-old man and a 79-year-old man, suffered minor injuries.

Civil Air Patrol Pilot Intentionally Crashed Plane into Anchorage Building
On December 29th 2015 a Civil Air Patrol Cessna 172 slammed into the northwest corner of an Anchorage office building. A postcrash fire consumed the airplane wreckage. Both the FBI and the National Transportation Safety Board investigated the crash and found that Demarest “took a CAP plane without authorization from Merrill Field Airport and intentionally flew the plane into a building,” Feger-Pellessier wrote. The FBI’s assessment that this CAP event was not a national security threat misses an important learning opportunity: The Civil Air Patrol is a soft, incompetent underbelly that allows current threats access to higher levels.

Civil Air Patrol Flies Cadets On A Prop Strike & A Prayer
Upon landing, the Civil Air Patrol pilot became distracted with a female cadet who announced she was becoming airsick and struck a taxiway light with the aircraft’s moving propeller. Sources reported that inspected the aircraft for damage and then flew the aircraft back to base in Hollywood, FL. An unnamed mechanic who reviewed the damage done to the aircraft provided the following comment. “It is clearly evident the aircraft suffered substantial damage to the propeller. The pilot is quite lucky he didn’t lose that engine in flight or shake it off the motor mounts. It should have never flown again

Two Alabama Wing Members Die in Plane Crash
Civil Air Patrol Deputy Director of Public Affairs Julie DeBardelaben said the crash killed pilot Maj David R. Mauritson, 67 of Fairhope and mission scanner 2nd Lt Phil J. Dryden, 66 of Gulf Shores.

Civil Air Patrol’s Cessna U206G Stationair, N9420R, Departs Runway at Brackett Field
On November 15, 2014, about 1420 Pacific standard time, a Cessna U206G, N9420R, veered off the runway during landing at Brackett Field Airport (POC), La Verne, California. The airplane was registered to and operated by the Civil Air Patrol under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The private pilot and two passengers were not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing during the accident sequence. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed. The instructional flight departed from San Gabriel Valley Airport, El Monte, California, about 1350.

Civil Air Patrol Maule Flips at Rome Georgia Airport
On July 21 2008 a Maule MT-7-235, N142CP, nosed over during landing roll at Richard B. Russell Airport (RMG), Rome, Georgia. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airline transport pilot was not injured. Examination of the oleo strut by the National Transportation Safety Board materials laboratory revealed that all of the fractures were on a slant plane, and were consistent with over-stress fracture. The fractures occurred under bending over-stress. There was No Indication of any pre-existing fatigue cracking or corrosion. The cause was attributed to the pilot’s improper landing flare which resulted in a hard landing.

Misrigged Pennsylvania Wing Glider Crashes
On May 4, 2013 a Civil Air Patrol Schweizer SGS 2-33A glider, N2045T, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain, near Erwinna, Pennsylvania. The mechanic who conducted a flight control check after the annual inspection with assistance from another pilot seated in the cockpit stated that he confirmed movement of the rudder while at the rear of the glider; however, he did not see which pedal the pilot was pushing and did not verbally confirm the corresponding position of the rudder pedals. If the pilot had conducted a thorough pre-flight inspection, he should have been able to detect that the rudder control cables were rigged backward.

Civil Air Patrol Cadet Flight Instructor Crashes & Dies with Passenger
Civil Air Patrol commanders and public affairs officers made glowing reports of Matt Shope, while being careful to distance the Civil Air Patrol from the July 23rd 2011 accident if not Shope’s training, which appears to have been done by Civil Air Patrol. Civil Air Patrol commanders and PAO’s really talked him up, before the NTSB revealed the probable cause of the accident on November 7th 2012.

Civil Air Patrol Cessna N54872 Conroe, Texas
The airplane was at 1,600 feet mean sea level with the engine power set at 2,300 rpm. When the airplane was about 6 miles from the airport, the pilot heard a loud “boom” and the engine lost all power. The pilot did not have sufficient altitude to glide to the airport, so he landed the airplane on a street. When the airplane was on final approach to land, it collided with power lines. The pilot was able to land the airplane, but was forced to swerve to the right to avoid oncoming traffic. The right wing struck a utility pole, which resulted in substantial damage.

Civil Air Patrol Washington Wing Cessna 206 Crash
On March 19, 2011 a Civil Air Patrol Cessna TU 206G, N6169Z, sustained substantial damage to the forward portion of the fuselage and empennage during a forced landing following a loss of engine power while in the airport traffic pattern at the Pierce County Airport – Thun Field (PLU), Puyallup, Washington. A representative from the engine manufacturer reported that operating the auxiliary fuel boost pump at a low engine power setting would “flood” the engine and result in a loss of engine power. It is likely that when the pilots applied power, the engine was flooded, which resulted in the total loss of engine power. The cause was identified as the pilots’ activation of the fuel boost pump while preparing to land, which was contrary to checklist procedures and resulted in a loss of engine power.

Nevada Wing Plane Slams into Potosi Mountain
Ed Lewis was a hero and an inspiration. On November 8, 2007 the Civil Air Patrol glass cockpit Cessna T182T, N881CP, was destroyed after impacting mountainous terrain during climb to cruise near Potosi Mountain southwest of Las Vegas, NV. Former CAP National Vice Commander and Pacific Region Director of Operations, Col Edwin W. Lewis Jr was flying with Nevada Wing Commander, Col Dion E. DeCamp. Col Lewis had over 28,000 hours as a pilot while Col DeCamp had over 27,000 hours. This was the second fatal aircraft accident for the CAP in the last three months.

Civil Air Patrol Pilot Crashes Kentucky Wing Cessna 182
The flight originated from Godman Army Airfield, Fort Knox, Kentucky on August 23, 2001. The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows: “The [Civil Air Patrol] pilot’s improper decision to fly the airplane with a known deficiency, and his inflight decision to land with a quartering tailwind. A factor was the wing maintenance officer’s concurrence to fly the airplane with the known deficiency.

Morphine CAP Pilot Lies, Crashes & Dies
Toxicological tests, after the accident, revealed that the PIC had a toxic level of morphine in his blood. By examining the rate at which the morphine was metabolized, one can conclude that the drug was probably taken in flight, apparently for emergency relief from a migraine headache. The pilot in command (PIC) had been treated for migraine headaches since 1988 by his personal physician. The PIC was routinely taking about 100 tablets of Tylenol #3 (acetaminophen and codeine) per month. The pilot’s personal physician had later changed the prescription to a barbiturate named Fiorinal (butalbital, aspirin and caffeine). A review of past applications for medical certificates revealed that under question 18a, “Medical History, Frequent or severe headaches”, the pilot had checked the NO block. In addition, question 19, “Visits to Health Professionals Within Last 3 Years”, showed only visits to the Aviation Medical Examiner (AME). The visits to the doctor who prescribed the Fiorinal were not listed.

Four Florida Civil Air Patrol Members Killed in Crash of Overloaded Cessna 172
On September 5th 1990, the NTSB exposed the inaccuracy of Capt Sportell’s statement: A CHECK OF THE WEIGHT & BALANCE INFO SHOWED THE ACFT HAD BEEN LOADED APRX 114 LBS OVER ITS MAX WT LIMIT. RADAR DATA SHOWED THAT JUST BEFORE THE LOSS OF RADAR CONTACT, THE PLT HAD MADE TWO RAPID 180 DEG TURNS.

3 Comments on "Civil Air Patrol Flying"

  1. I agree with the critic who wrote:

    “Recently, CAP was trying to convince FAA that it could investigate their own incidents and save the FAA the trouble of all of the reporting that the public can review.”

    I agree with first commenter that something needs to be done [about Civil Air Patrol]. Cut off funding and use private contractors, and Air Guard, Coast Guard, for search and rescue. They also could using some of the funds to expand EAA Young Eagles program to promote aviation to youths.

  2. Not sure if you will resume posting or releasing comments BUT…

    there are many CAP crash, burn and die stories on your site that don’t appear in this listing. I tell you this because [redacted] like Jonathan Holder will suggest that the crashes aren’t that many.

  3. There is definitely an issue with the CAP wings in Georgia. I’ve worked around three of them (including the one involved with the LaGrange crash) and they all have an unsafe attitude towards their operations. From landing against traffic (actual simultaneous opposite direction traffic landings), multiple surface incidents at a controlled airport, to not following ATC instructions in airspace. One of them used to park the aircraft, grab a beer, and drive to the FBO to pay for the fuel, which is against the open container law. A real bad image.

    It seems that they are an organization of has-beens or wanna-bes that operate like the Air Force shouldn’t. An Air Force opposite, so to speak. In my opinion, CAP is a government-funded flying club with an outdated mission. One of their members even said that they should take the money that they use to acquire aircraft and purchase vans to seek out the ELTs. Why? Because the majority that they find are in hangars anyway.

    -“CAP Flight 41, gear down, full stop”
    -“Aren’t you a Cessna 182?”

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