Plane stuck in transmission tower - photos

[Altair]

Plane stuck in transmission tower after it crashed into the structure in Maryland. Pilot and passenger survived.






Previously:

Stearman biplane crash in Texas - GIF
Tiger Moth biplane hits cow on landing
Tree-assisted plane landing - GIF
Pilot survives plane crash thanks to parachute - GIF
Plane crashes into hangar after aborted landing - video

[tlnixon]

It is amazing with the amount of power carried on those transmission lines that anyone survived. I'll bet there were some very expensive equipment needed to extract the airplane, and all kinds of structural analysis needed following the crash. Just wndering how you hit something that big with an airplane....

[IntheGroove]

Bill Graham got killed by the Tower of Power...

[Jon]

I had a look at the preliminary NTSB report for this accident (the full report can take up to two years to be published).

It looks like the pilot was "scud running": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scud_running . This means that he was lowering his altitude in an attempt to gain visibility by flying beneath cloud coverage to use the ground as a visual reference.

When I learned to fly, scud running was repeatedly drilled into my head as a notoriously dangerous hotshot maneuver. See the pilot's statement below, that corroborates this practice. Details:

• N201RF 1977 Mooney M20J
• NTSB Accident #ERA23LA071
• Private pilot with single engine land and IFR certificates, and 1,432 logged flight hours
• Overcast ceiling at 200 feet above ground level; visibility 0.25 miles
• Pilot repeatedly ignored ATC directions
• Both pilot and passenger sustained serious injuries
• Pilot stated: "I got down a little lower than I should have… I thought I was closer to the airport than I was…We could see the ground, but we couldn't see in front."
• Pilot expressed concern about the functionality of his altimeter, but an NTSB inspection confirmed that it was working correctly:
  

  A calibrated altimeter test instrument was installed by an airframe and powerplant mechanic
  with inspection authority under the supervision of an NTSB investigator. Functionality testing
  was performed at the as-found setting of 29.40 in the altimeter’s Kollsman window, then 29.92,
  and finally a Barometric Scale Error Test was performed through a range of 28.10 and 30.99.
  According to the test report, the altimeter was "well within the test allowable error at all
  ranges."

Analysis:

Mainstream media report with 911 call details:

ATC audio overlaid with flight path:

Full rescue: