Plane with two crew members crashes off Cape Cod

By Matt Pitta, Associated Press, 8/27/2003

YARMOUTH, Mass. -- Witnesses say they knew something was wrong as they watched a doomed commuter plane attempt to return to Barnstable Municipal Airport soon after takeoff.

Bystanders on land and boaters who feared the aircraft would hit them watched helplessly as the commuter plane plunged into Lewis Bay Tuesday afternoon, killing Capt. Scott Knabe, 39, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and First Officer Steven Dean, 38, of Euless, Texas.

The Colgan Air "repositioning" flight was headed from the Hyannis airport to Albany, N.Y. There were no passengers on board.

"It's our understanding that the bodies were recovered after 9 p.m. (Tuesday) evening, and have been transported" to the state medical examiner's office in Boston, Mary Finnigan, spokeswoman for Manassas, Va.-based Colgan Air, said Wednesday morning.

Investigators located the plane's flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder Wednesday and planned to send it to the National Transportation Safety Board headquarters in Washington, said Paul Schlamm, a spokesman for NTSB, which has taken over the investigation.

Efforts were continuing to recover the wreckage itself, which is scattered in 10 to 20 feet of water. Investigators also planned to review maintenance records and the plane's service history, Schlamm said.

A preliminary report will be released in about 10 days, he said, but it's unlikely that investigators will pinpoint a probable cause before the final report is released in six months to a year.

"I can't really speculate on what caused the crash," Finnigan said. "We're cooperating fully (in the investigation). We're devastated by the loss of our friends and crewmembers."

She said the airline will help the families cope with the tragedy.

Knabe, an accountant by trade who took up flying in his early 30s, had worked for Colgan Air since 2001 and became a captain in January. His mother, Alice Knabe of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., told the Cape Cod Times that he also worked on an Indy car pit crew.

Based in Hyannis, Knabe was not married but had a longtime girlfriend in Cincinnati.

Dean, who was married and had an 8-year-old daughter, had worked for Colgan since 2002, Finnigan said. Before that, he was a flight instructor on single-engine aircraft, a pilot for a Dallas company and a flight simulator instructor.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the pilot declared an emergency shortly after takeoff and was returning to land when the crash occurred about 250 yards from shore in 14 to 23 feet of water. The plane was a Beech 1900D, a 19-seater, the FAA said.

The FAA said it lost radio contact with the plane at 3:38 p.m.

"It went behind the tree line and the next thing we saw was a huge plume of water twice as high as the trees. Then it was silent, no smoke, no fire, no crashing sounds. We knew that the plane hit the water," said witness Peter Joselow, an Ossining, N.Y., resident who summers in Yarmouth.

The plane was on its way from Hyannis to Albany as part of a "repositioning" flight to get it to a different airport, Finnigan said.

Officials closed all beaches on Yarmouth's south shore, including some of the Cape's top tourist beaches, but reopened several of them late Wednesday morning. Shellfish beds were not closed, but environmental officials were continuing to monitor the impact of the crash on the local shellfish population, a spokesman for the Division of Marine Fisheries said.

There were no unusual weather conditions at the time of the crash, the Coast Guard said.

Joel Finley, 30, of Sandwich, was in a plane scheduled to take off directly after the Beechcraft, and said he saw the plane's tail flutter shortly after takeoff. He said he heard the pilot say in radio transmissions with the control tower that he had lost "trim."

The trim on the plane's tail helps it stay level, he said.

"He banked left and we lost sight of him. We were listening to the whole thing on the radio. We heard the tower say he fell off the radar screen," Finley said.

State police interviewed a couple boating in the area who said the plane appeared headed straight for them before it veered away at the last second.

Colgan Air provides service to 31 cities and 11 states on the East Coast. It has hubs in Boston, New York, Pittsburgh and Washington.

According to FAA data, there have been three fatal crashes involving Beech 1900D aircraft since 1998, including the one that killed 21 people in Charlotte, N.C., in January. That aircraft was also operating under the US Airways Express name.

The twin-engine turboprop plane crashed shortly after takeoff from the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. Investigators have focused on the maintenance procedures of an outside contractor.


Home > News > Local Plane with two crew members crashes off Cape Cod By Matt Pitta, Associated Press, 8/27/2003 YARMOUTH, Mass. -- Witnesses say they knew something was wrong as they watched a doomed commuter plane attempt to return to Barnstable Municipal Airport soon after takeoff. Bystanders on land and boaters who feared the aircraft would hit them watched helplessly as the commuter plane plunged into Lewis Bay Tuesday afternoon, killing Capt. Scott Knabe, 39, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and First Officer Steven Dean, 38, of Euless, Texas. The Colgan Air "repositioning" flight was headed from the Hyannis airport to Albany, N.Y. There were no passengers on board. "It's our understanding that the bodies were recovered after 9 p.m. (Tuesday) evening, and have been transported" to the state medical examiner's office in Boston, Mary Finnigan, spokeswoman for Manassas, Va.-based Colgan Air, said Wednesday morning. Investigators located the plane's flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder Wednesday and planned to send it to the National Transportation Safety Board headquarters in Washington, said Paul Schlamm, a spokesman for NTSB, which has taken over the investigation. Efforts were continuing to recover the wreckage itself, which is scattered in 10 to 20 feet of water. Investigators also planned to review maintenance records and the plane's service history, Schlamm said. A preliminary report will be released in about 10 days, he said, but it's unlikely that investigators will pinpoint a probable cause before the final report is released in six months to a year. "I can't really speculate on what caused the crash," Finnigan said. "We're cooperating fully (in the investigation). We're devastated by the loss of our friends and crewmembers." She said the airline will help the families cope with the tragedy. Knabe, an accountant by trade who took up flying in his early 30s, had worked for Colgan Air since 2001 and became a captain in January. His mother, Alice Knabe of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., told the Cape Cod Times that he also worked on an Indy car pit crew. Based in Hyannis, Knabe was not married but had a longtime girlfriend in Cincinnati. Dean, who was married and had an 8-year-old daughter, had worked for Colgan since 2002, Finnigan said. Before that, he was a flight instructor on single-engine aircraft, a pilot for a Dallas company and a flight simulator instructor. The Federal Aviation Administration said the pilot declared an emergency shortly after takeoff and was returning to land when the crash occurred about 250 yards from shore in 14 to 23 feet of water. The plane was a Beech 1900D, a 19-seater, the FAA said. The FAA said it lost radio contact with the plane at 3:38 p.m. "It went behind the tree line and the next thing we saw was a huge plume of water twice as high as the trees. Then it was silent, no smoke, no fire, no crashing sounds. We knew that the plane hit the water," said witness Peter Joselow, an Ossining, N.Y., resident who summers in Yarmouth. The plane was on its way from Hyannis to Albany as part of a "repositioning" flight to get it to a different airport, Finnigan said. Officials closed all beaches on Yarmouth's south shore, including some of the Cape's top tourist beaches, but reopened several of them late Wednesday morning. Shellfish beds were not closed, but environmental officials were continuing to monitor the impact of the crash on the local shellfish population, a spokesman for the Division of Marine Fisheries said. There were no unusual weather conditions at the time of the crash, the Coast Guard said. Joel Finley, 30, of Sandwich, was in a plane scheduled to take off directly after the Beechcraft, and said he saw the plane's tail flutter shortly after takeoff. He said he heard the pilot say in radio transmissions with the control tower that he had lost "trim." The trim on the plane's tail helps it stay level, he said. "He banked left and we lost sight of him. We were listening to the whole thing on the radio. We heard the tower say he fell off the radar screen," Finley said. State police interviewed a couple boating in the area who said the plane appeared headed straight for them before it veered away at the last second. Colgan Air provides service to 31 cities and 11 states on the East Coast. It has hubs in Boston, New York, Pittsburgh and Washington. According to FAA data, there have been three fatal crashes involving Beech 1900D aircraft since 1998, including the one that killed 21 people in Charlotte, N.C., in January. That aircraft was also operating under the US Airways Express name. The twin-engine turboprop plane crashed shortly after takeoff from the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. Investigators have focused on the maintenance procedures of an outside contractor.