The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Local firefighter dies in plane crash
Investigators eyeing mechanical problems as possible cause
By Kathleen Conat, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: June 7, 2007
Ypsilanti firefighter Richard "Rick" LaPensee was among six people killed in the Monday afternoon crash of a University of Michigan Survival Flight that was headed for Willow Run Airport.
Advertisement
The 48-year-old Belleville resident was acting in his capacity as a transplant donation specialist with the U-M Transplant Program on the organ procurement flight, which went down in Lake Michigan shortly after takeoff from General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee.
Besides LaPensee, the transplant team was made up of:
n David Ashburn, 36, a fellow (physician-in-training) in pediatric cardiothoracic surgery who specialized in adult cardiac surgery, pediatric cardiac surgery and general thoracic surgery. He was a Dexter resident.
n Dr. Martinus "Martin" Spoor, a cardiac surgeon on the U of M faculty since 2003. Spoor received his medical degree from the University of Calgary and postdoctoral training from the University of Alberta at Edmonton and U of M.
n Richard Chenault II, 45, a transplant donation specialist with the U of M Transplant Program. Chenault also coached the girls track and cross-country teams at Gabriel Richard High school, which had placed second in the state less than 48 hours before his death. He was to have received two awards from the Detroit Catholic League honoring his division championship teams on Monday evening.
n Dennis Hoyes, a Marlin Air pilot and a member of Jackson Community College's Aviation Advisory Committee. He was from the Jackson area.
n Bill Serra, a Marlin Air pilot who lived with his wife, Deborah, in Macomb Township.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration's Web site, the plane was a Cessna Citation, a fixed-wing turbo jet multi-engine C550. Its most recent FAA certificate was issued in May of 2003 and was reported valid.
It was owned by Bob Page of Toy Air in Southfield. The pilots were from Marlin Air, which works with Toy Air to pilot all Survival Flight missions. The flight was attempting to return to Willow Run Airport.
NTSB Senior Air Safety Investigator John Brannen, who was on the scene in Milwaukee Tuesday, said the pilot had asked for emergency status to return to Mitchell Airport, which was immediately granted.
The pilot reported trim runaway as the problem. Brannen described trim runaway as a mechanical problem with the controls that determine the direction and/or up or down pitch of an airplane. One control is stuck in full throttle, not responding to or caused by the pilot's actions.
While Brannen cautioned that officials had not yet been able to examine any debris from the crash, he said trim runaway would be considered a mechanical malfunction and not the fault of the pilots. He said the trim problem had previously caused accidents.
U. S. Coast Guard Capt. Bruce Jones said the efforts at the crash scene changed from search and rescue to recovery of remains early Tuesday morning. Human remains that officials described as "fragmented" were recovered Monday night.
Over 50 divers from the Milwaukee city police and fire departments and the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department were working an underwater grid to locate debris and remains. The divers are aided by sonar readings from a Coast Guard vessel.
Hindering the recovery were large underwater boulders that sonar picked up as possible debris, weather and diver fatigue. Visibility underwater was gauged at 15 feet.
Milwaukee County Medical Examiner Jeffrey Jentzen said remains might have to be identified by dental records and DNA.
"A high-speed impact in water causes explosion-type injuries," he said.
Brannen said the plane hit the water at an estimated speed of 185 to 190 knots (213 to 219 mph). He added that the pilot's report of the problem would provide a focus for the investigation.
"We're trying to retrieve as much as we can of the airplane," he said. He also said the plane was equipped with a cockpit voice recorder that had not yet been recovered Tuesday. It was not known if the plane was equipped with a mechanical monitor, known as a "black box."
"We will piece together what we can of the wreckage," Brannen said.
He said the plane's maintenance records would be reviewed over the next few days, as well.
Kathleen Conat is a longtime Ypsilanti resident and freelance writer for The Courier. She can be reached through editor@ypsilanticourier.com.
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
TOP JOBS
