Warbird Information Exchange

Only that it was recently sold via Courtesy (asking price was $295K,
dunno what it sold for). Looks like a nice one.

Bela P. Havasreti

http://www.courtesyaircraft.com/N45CK%20NAA%20SNJ-6.htm

So can someone answer the question then what happen to the pilot of crew and who is this "Well Know B-25 Pilot"

RER

SEA06CA111

On June 3, 2006, about 1830 mountain daylight time, a North American SNJ-6, N45CK, sustained substantial damage when it struck a power line during cruise flight near American Falls, Idaho. Following the collision, the flight continued to its destination and landed without further incident. The commercial pilot and the passenger aboard were not injured. The airplane was registered to Rudy & Sylvia Airways LLC of San Diego, California, and operated by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the 14 CFR Part 91 cross country flight from Afton, Wyoming, to Jerome, Idaho. The flight departed Afton about 1734 and arrived in Jerome about 1855.

The pilot reported that it was cold at a cruise altitude of 8,500 feet msl, and he decided to descend to warmer altitudes. He descended to follow the Snake River. He checked his aeronautical chart and "didn't observe any charted power lines crossing on the segment of the river" that he was flying. He descended to "about 100 feet above the river" and followed the river. He saw three wooden poles and a crossbeam located along the edge of the river, did not see wires, but "made the immediate assumption that there were wires." He pulled up and heard a loud bang as the airplane struck the wires. He also saw a blue flash. After determining that the airplane was "able to continue safe flight," he made a decision to proceed to Jerome, where he was able to make a normal landing. The pilot examined the airplane and reported that the pitot mast was torn from the right wing tip, the leading edges of both outer wing panels were damaged, and there were two puncture holes in the fabric of the left aileron. The pilot stated that "there may have been many contributing factors to this accident but I simply should have had more altitude in order to avoid any possibility of a wire strike."

will learn a lesson from this and always take a jacket with me.

The weather at the accident site was 500 foot overcast, 5 miles visibility and mist. Several motorists observed the airplane flying at an altitude of about 100 feet west bound along I-40 prior to colliding with power lines. There were no mechanical problems reported by the pilot or discovered during the post-accident examination of the airplane.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and inadequate evaluation of the weather, inadequate visual lookout, and his failure to maintain clearance, resulted in the in-flight collision with power lines.

Several motorists observed the airplane flying at an altitude of about 100 feet west bound along I-40 prior to colliding with power lines.

I help recover wrecked / crashed aircraft (mostly GA), and
I always get a kick out of what pilots say on those prelim
interviews....

"I heard a noise so I decided to make a precautionary landing"
(A/C ran off the end of a closed mountain service strip and flipped over)

"The right main tire failed, so the aircraft groundlooped"
(might the tire have failed 'cause the tailwheel airplane was
going 40mph sideways down the runway....?).

"The engine wouldn't make sufficient power to clear the trees at
the end of the runway" (Cessna 150 loaded to the gills with camping
gear trying to get out of a 1900 foot long strip on a 98 degree day)

I suppose at least these folks were around to tell *some* kind
of story....

Bela P. Havasreti