During a sudden “hard right turn” before the fatal crash of a Cessna Cardinal 177RG on October 1, the pilot-rated passenger, AOPA senior executive Richard McSpadden, was quoted to have transmitted, “We have a problem and we’re returning to the airport,” according to the NTSB preliminary report. Also killed in the accident near New York’s Lake Placid Airport was former NFL player Russ Francis, president of Lake Placid Airways and referred to in the report as the aircraft pilot/owner.
The purpose of the flight was to take air to air photographs of the Cardinal. A Beech Bonanza A36 with a photographer onboard, took off first, followed by the Cardinal. “The pilot/owner was to fly the airplane during the takeoff and climb out,” said the report. “After joining up in formation, the pilot-rated passenger would have taken over the controls and flown the airplane during the photo shoot.”
During taxi out, witnesses heard the engine of the Cardinal, but then it shut down. About 10 seconds later, the engine restarted. During the takeoff roll, a witness said the engine sounded as if the propeller was set for “climb” and not takeoff, then he heard the engine surge.
On the initial climb, the witness further said the engine did not sound as if it was running at full power. The Cardinal then made a gentle left turn while it was level at 300 to 400 feet agl to join with the Bonanza. As the Cardinal closed to within about 1,000 feet of the Bonanza, “it suddenly made a hard right turn back toward the airport” before falling and hitting the ground in a right-wing, nose-low attitude.
A post-accident examination of the wreckage showed the mixture control in the full rich position, the propeller control in the high rpm/fine pitch setting, and the throttle out about two inches. The engine, fuel system and other components did not show any abnormalities. Electrical switches were damaged beyond the ability to determine their positions.
This story has been updated to reflect the correct identification of the pilot-owner and pilot-rated passenger.