Karenna Groff, NCAA Woman of the Year, Dead at 25 in Plane Crash
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Boston Globe
12-08-2025
- Boston Globe
Plane crashes into parked aircraft while landing at Montana airport, sparking fire
The small, city-owned airport is just south of Kalispell, a city of about 30,000 people in northwest Montana. Witnesses said a plane crash-landed at the end of the runway and careened into another aircraft, Kalispell Fire Chief Jay Hagen said. Advertisement The passengers were able to get out on their own after it came to a stop, Hagen said. Two were slightly hurt and treated at the airport, he said. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Ron Danielson manages a nearby inn and said he heard and saw the crash before plumes of dark smoke filled the area. 'It sounded like if you were to stick your head in a bass drum and somebody smacked it as hard as they could,' he said. The flight originated in Pullman, Washington, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The plane was identified by the FAA as a Socata TBM 700 turboprop. It was built in 2011 and owned by Meter Sky LLC of Pullman, FAA records show. Company representatives did not immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment. Advertisement Aviation safety consultant Jeff Guzzetti, who used to investigate crashes for both the FAA and NTSB, said incidents where planes crash into parked aircrafts happen a few times a year in general aviation. In one high-profile incident in February, a Learjet owned by Motley Crue singer Vince Neil veered off a runway in Scottsdale, Arizona, and crashed into a parked Gulfstream, killing one person. The NTSB said that crash may have been related to prior damage to the landing gear, but investigators haven't determined the cause.
New York Times
08-08-2025
- New York Times
F.A.A. Plans to Hire Almost 9,000 Air Traffic Controllers, but Shortage Will Persist
The Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday that it expects to hire at least 8,900 air traffic controllers by late 2028, but according to the agency's own numbers, this would not solve a nationwide staffing shortage. In a work force plan for air traffic controllers between now and the end of fiscal year 2028, which runs through September, the F.A.A. detailed the ways in which it intends to 'supercharge' hiring and training to address a shortfall of nearly 3,000 controllers. But the report also revealed that because of projected losses from its current pool of controllers and washouts among its recruits, the F.A.A. expects to have only about 1,000 additional certified controllers by the end of fiscal 2028. The report illustrates the difficulties confronting the F.A.A. as it scrambles to address a national staffing crisis among air traffic controllers, a focal point of its efforts to improve aviation safety after a midair collision near Ronald Reagan National Airport in January killed 67 people. Last week, during a three-day investigative hearing into that crash before the National Transportation Safety Board, F.A.A. officials said the local controller on duty had been working two jobs on the night of the crash, overseeing both plane and helicopter traffic. Despite going against official guidelines, the practice was common at the tower, the officials testified, an example of the staffing shortages that have become endemic at busy towers across the country. A recent study commissioned by Congress found that the F.A.A. has been relying too heavily on controllers working overtime to keep its towers staffed, which increases the likelihood of them experiencing fatigue in a job that involves life-or-death decisions. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Yahoo
Night vision goggles may have hindered helicopter pilots before DC jet collision that killed 67, experts say
Night vision goggles may have hindered the U.S. Army helicopter pilots in the moments before the deadly crash with a jet in Washington D.C., that claimed the lives of 67 people, experts have said. The technology, worn by the pilots, would have made it difficult to see the color of the lights on the passenger plane, which could have helped determine the direction in which it was traveling, as well as limiting peripheral vision. Friday saw the final day of public testimony to the National Transportation Safety Board over the fatal midair crash – which occurred almost exactly six months ago in February. Flight 5342 from Kansas was on the final approach to D.C.'s Ronald Reagan National Airport when it collided with the Black Hawk helicopter before exploding. There were 67 people aboard the two flights when they crashed, and none survived. At Friday's hearing, experts said that, in addition to the possible hindrance caused by the use of night vision goggles, pilots also may not have been able to distinguish the aircraft from lights on the ground while the two aircraft were on a collision course. The helicopter pilots may not have known where to look for a plane that was landing on a secondary runway that most planes didn't use, experts said. 'Knowing where to look. That's key,' said Stephen Casner, an expert in human factors who used to work at NASA. Though it is still too early to identify what exactly caused the crash, with a final report from the board expected next year, a number of factors that may have contributed to the tragedy have been unearthed over the past two days of testimony. Major issues to emerge included the fact that the Black Hawk helicopter had been above prescribed levels near the airport as well as the warnings to FAA officials for years about the hazards related to the heavy chopper traffic there. Mary Schiavo, a former U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General, told The Associated Press that both the Army and the FAA appear to share significant blame for the deadly incident. The Black Hawks' altimeters could be off by as much as 100 feet and were still considered acceptable, she told the outlet. The crew was flying an outdated model that struggled to maintain altitude, while the helicopter pilots' flying was 'loose' and under 'loose' supervision. 'It's on the individuals, God rest their souls, but it's also on the military,' Schiavo said. 'I mean, they just seem to have no urgency of anything.' Questions were also raised during the hearings by the FAA's lack of alcohol testing for air traffic controllers after the crash. Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy urged the Federal Aviation Administration to 'do better" as she pointed to warnings the agency had ignored years earlier. The D.C. collision was the first in a string of crashes and near misses this year that have alarmed officials and the traveling public, despite statistics that still show flying remains the safest form of transportation.
