Early Crash Reports Suggest Pilot Error

By ALEXIS TONTI

Pennsylvania residents Michael Untermeyer and Phillip McFillin were
released from the Martha's Vineyard Hospital Friday after being
treated for minor injures sustained when their single-engine airplane
crashed at the edge of the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest the previous
evening.

The two men later were interviewed at the Martha's Vineyard
Airport by officials from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and
Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission, who spent the day Friday
conducting an investigation of the accident.

The reason for the crash is still unknown.

"On the surface, no apparent cause has been discovered to
date. Nothing immediately revealed itself, no weather problems or fuel
or engine problems. Realistically, it will probably be six months before
a final report may be offered by the FAA," Vineyard airport
manager William Weibrecht said yesterday.

Mr. Untermeyer, 53, of Philadelphia, Pa., was the pilot of the
four-seater Mooney 231 aircraft, which crashed while approaching runway
15 at the Vineyard airport last Thursday.

The aircraft was leased through Hortman Aviation Services, a flight
school and aircraft rental company located at Northeast Philadelphia
Airport.

It is understood that airport officials are speculating the airplane
stalled and rolled off to the pilot's side on its final approach
before hitting the ground.

Mr. Untermeyer broke one of his legs and Mr. McFillin, 61, also of
Philadelphia, sustained injuries to his left knee and multiple leg
lacerations, according to emergency officials.

Mr. Weibrecht praised the quick response of emergency personnel
Islandwide to the accident.

"This could have been a real tragedy, and it wasn't and
we are very thankful for that," he said.

On Friday state and federal accident investigators spent the day at
the Vineyard airport combing over the crash site, reviewing airport
records and interviewing airport managers and staff. The plane is now
being stored at the Vineyard airport and will be transported off-Island
shortly.

Mr. Weibrecht yesterday described the circumstances leading up to
the crash from the time the plane departed from Northeast Philadelphia
Airport around 4 p.m.

The airport manager, who said he is familiar with the type of Mooney
aircraft flown by Mr. Untermeyer, described it as "a
high-performance, single-engine plane with retractable gear -
fairly small but very efficient."

He said that the two men were flying on instrument rules, meaning
they were following a specific route - laid out in advance in a
flight plan - and remained in contact with air traffic control the
entire time.

"It's like flying on a highway, with a prescribed route
and knowing exactly where you are going to exit," he said.
"There was nothing out of the ordinary throughout the
flight."

The weather conditions were generally fair, with variable winds from
the south-southeast at 16 knots.

According to the FAA's preliminary report, Mr. Untermeyer
radioed the airport shortly before the crash, saying he intended to land
from the west-southwest on runway 24. The tower advised Mr. Untermeyer
of wind conditions, and offered him runway 15 instead; he agreed and was
clear to land. This exchange was apparently the last between tower and
pilot before the crash. Concludes the FAA report: "The aircraft
was later observed on the deck just short of the airport."

Runway 15, at 3,300 feet, is the shorter of the airport's two
runways. Runway 24 is 5,500 feet long.

On its final approach, the plane was coming from the northwest, and
set to land southeast into a light wind, said Mr. Weibrecht.

"No one in the control tower saw it go into the ground. They
were starting to look for it to come in, going back and forth between
[searching for the plane visually] and the monitor. At that point they
rang the crash bell. They could see at least a piece of the aircraft
from the tower," said Mr. Weibrecht.

The plane crashed around 6:12 p.m.

"They came up about 900 feet short of the runway. There was
nothing eventful about the approach, no distress calls, no indication of
any problem," he added.

The plane hit the ground at the border of the state forest near an
intersection of two fire lanes. Mr. Untermeyer and Mr. McFillin had
extricated themselves from the plane by the time the first emergency
personnel reached them.

Airport staff, fire and police personnel from across the Island
responded to the scene, along with the state police and Tri-Town
Ambulance. There was no fire, but firefighters sprayed the wreckage with
foam as a preventive measure.

"The response was excellent. The resources that were needed
were immediately available - both those provided by the airport
and those from the towns. We've done a lot of practicing in the
past few years, working on emergency plans, and that paid off,"
said Mr. Weibrecht.

The incident Thursday impacted other operations at the Vineyard
airport only minimally, said Mr. Weibrecht.

Several aircraft that had been scheduled to land after the Mooney
aircraft had to circle for awhile; the airport itself closed for almost
an hour.