Three Tesla execs killed in GA plane crash

[VFR800]

Sad story. Weather at the time was winds calm 1/8-1/4 SM vis and VV001. They hit high tension power lines estimated to be ~100' AGL. Parts of the a/c crashed into a daycare and some other things...no one on the ground injured fortunately. Knocked out power for the entire city pretty much all day.

No idea what would possess someone to t/o with that weather in a Cessna 310. Are civilian pilots even required to meet IFR climb gradients OEI?

Three Die; Plane Crashes In East Palo Alto Neighborhood

EAST PALO ALTO, Calif. -- A twin-engine Cessna struck transmission lines shortly after take-off from a small airport early Wednesday, exploding in midair and then crashing down on a residential street, killing all three people onboard and igniting two homes and three vehicles on fire, authorities said.

The plane, authorities said, was bound for Hawthorne Municipal Airport in Southern California and took off in foggy conditions and crashed about 7:50 a.m. near Garden and Beech streets northwest of the Palo Alto airport.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said all three who were on the plane were killed, but there had been no injuries on the ground. The bodies were located inside the burned out portion of the fuselage.

Daniel Morales, who told KTVU he had previously flown with the pilot and was at the airport when the plane departed, identiifed him as a high-ranking official at Tesla Motors with two other of the firm's employees onboard. Authorities, however, have not released the names of the victims.

The plane was registered to Douglas Bourn, a resident of Santa Clara.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk released a statement this afternoon confirming the victims were all Tesla employees.

"We are withholding their identities as we work with the relevant authorities to notify the families," Musk said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them. Tesla is a small, tightly knit company, and this is a tragic day for us."

The plane hit transmission lines that are draped 100 feet above the ground near Highway 101. It exploded on impact with the wires, splitting into several pieces, landing on a street. The flaming wreckage skidded down the street, striking structures, homes and cars. A portion of a wing crashed into one of the homes.

One of the damaged homes housed a daycare center for 15-20 children. Fortunately, there were no children there at the time of the crash, said Menlo Park Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman.

A portion of the engine and landing gear hit another garage, Schapelhouman said. Flaming pieces of wreckage slided down the street, setting three vehicles on fire, he added.

“Upon arrival, we had multiple fires – two structure fires, three vehicles on fire and the aircraft and vegetation on fire,” said Schapelhouman at an afternoon news conference. “Miraculously, and this is the fortunate part of this event (landing in the street)… this could have been a far worse event. Had it landed inside the residential part of the neighborhood, it could have killed multiple people on the ground.”

Schapelhouman said there were no reports of missing people, but a neighborhood search would be contacted again once investigators were on the scene and wreckage could be moved.

Heather Starnes , who lives in the neighborhood, was leaving her home to take her daughter to school when she saw the crash.

“We heard something and it blew up in the air,” she told KTVU. “There was this big explosion. Part of it hit my neighbor’s house who has a daycare and part of it hit my neighbor’s other house. They are burning.”

Starnes said fortunately there were no children at the daycare at the time of the crash.

“Praise God there were no kids in the daycare, it hit where they would have been in the daycare,” she said.

Starnes said the plane slammed into a power line.

“It hit a power line,” she said. “Then it exploded -- then half hit the next door neighbor’s house and the other half hit across the street. We were right in the road.”

Starnes said neighbors immediately flocked to the crash scene to help.

“There was one house, we couldn’t save it,” she said. “(Plane parts) It hit cars, there were a lot of explosions. There weren’t any injuries in the houses.”

Neighbors said that the area was draped in fog at the time of the crash. The National Weather Service had issued a dense fog advisory for the Bay Area a few hours earlier that was in effect until 10 a.m. The advisory meant that widespread visibility of less than one-quarter mile was expected, especially in areas adjacent to the Bay.

Gregor said it would have been up to the pilot to decide how safe it would have been to take off.

"That decision would have been up to the pilot," the FAA spokesman said.

Patricia Armistead, who lived in the neighborhood, heard the explosion and raced outside.

"You couldn't really see anything because the fog was so thick," she said, although she did see a few flames.

The crash also caused a massive power outage in both East Palo Alto and Palo Alto.

The majority of traffic signals in Palo Alto were still not working at mid-morning. The power outage alos caused Stanford Hospital and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital to operate on backup power generators.

Palo Alto city officials said there was no estimate for when power will be restored.

[StoleIt]

Runway is just under 5,000 feet long.

They must have been way over weight to not be able to clear a 100ft obstacle. 363' per NM to 500 for RWY 7. I haven't flown a Cessna 310 but I'd imagine it should be able to exceed that.

OR they were single engine...

Anywho, my condolences to the family.

[VFR800]

They must have been way over weight to not be able to clear a 100ft obstacle. 363' per NM to 500 for RWY 7. I haven't flown a Cessna 310 but I'd imagine it should be able to exceed that.

Actually happened at KPAO. One runway, 2500 ft long. No precision approaches.

[brabus]

No idea what would possess someone to t/o with that weather in a Cessna 310. Are civilian pilots even required to meet IFR climb gradients OEI?

2

Edited February 18, 2010 by brabus

[iFlyTexans]

The departing runway has an ODP...even if they were single engine the 310 can fly single engine at ~500'/min no prob w/ only 3 pax...something tells me they were just stupid or had bad luck. Short field take off anyone?

[Dupe]

Here's some random thoughts-

-There are no part 91 IFR take-off mins for GA pilots.

-KPAO has an ODP that calls for a turn to the East (over the bay)

-The mishap power lines are West of the field.

[contraildash]

Lucky no one on the ground was injured!

Based on some GoogleEarth skills, and looking at the news video, I came up with this:

Disclaimer: bad math ahead

To clear 60 power lines (if the news is correct) that are approximately 2400 ft from the runway, you'd need climb at about 155 ft/nm. For reference, I think that around 100 knots ground speed 155ft/nm equals about 240 ft/min. Of course I have no idea how fast they were going...or if my late night math skills are any good.

[LJ Driver]

Are you saying that they should not have taken off in a Cessna 310 because the airplane cannot climb out IMC? Or are you saying that the weather was simply too poor to takeoff? Ultimately why would the aircraft type matter in whether it was IMC? This airplane seems to have executed the takeoff portion just fine because it crashed 1/2 mile away from the departure end. I think once they were airborne some spatial disorientation may have been a factor. Just because the weather is 1/4 mile doesn't mean a crash is soley weather related.

Edited February 19, 2010 by LJ Driver

[VFR800]

Are you saying that they should not have taken off in a Cessna 310 because the airplane cannot climb out IMC? Or are you saying that the weather was simply too poor to takeoff? Ultimately why would the aircraft type matter in whether it was IMC? This airplane seems to have executed the takeoff portion just fine because it crashed 1/2 mile away from the departure end. I think once they were airborne some spatial disorientation may have been a factor. Just because the weather is 1/4 mile doesn't mean a crash is soley weather related.

I'd say a little bit of both. Aircraft type would definitely matter...I'd be a lot more comfortable taking off in Cat II conditions with 4 jet engines and actual Cat II capability than I would in a twin recip with vacuum powered instruments. Single-engine in a twin recip is a pretty shitty situation...much more shitty than a similar malfunction in a 2 or 4 engine jet.

Gunshot detectors in the city recorded the audio from the crash and you can hear at least one engine was operating. If it was a left engine failure, then they probably had to work overtime just to maintain directional control...not to mention that the dead prop probably had to be feathered to have any chance of continuing the climb. A lot of work to do in 1/2 a mile, and could explain why they were found at 1/2 mile and 100 AGL well left of the field when the ODP and typical ATC procedure calls for a right turn.

NTSB will only be able to figure out so much, but people will always question his decision to take off in that weather...rightfully so. I don't see why GA pilots should be allowed to take off below landing mins when AF (and maybe airline?) pilots can't do it without a departure alternate and a host of other considerations.

[Jughead]

If you'll permit me a slight thread derailment...:

Gunshot detectors in the city recorded the audio from the crash and ...

WTFO?!? "Gunshot dectectors"??? Guess I'm not sorry I've never lived in Palo Alto!!

[Rocker]

Gunshot detectors in the city recorded the audio from the crash and you can hear at least one engine was operating.

That's some pretty crazy stuff right there. I've heard of gunshot detectors, but hearing the actual crash is nuts.

[HuggyU2]

Guess I'm not sorry I've never lived in Palo Alto!!

East Palo Alto, actually. Palo Alto itself is actually very nice, and is where Stanford University is located.

[Guest Hueypilot812]

Seems the operating engine(s) were operating at a high power setting...either lost one and couldn't maintain wings level, or simply got spatial d and packed it in. Either example is fairly common for light twin mishaps.