![]() However, the narrative indicated Vopat had performed a “barrel roll.” Nothing conclusive was provided in the report. NTSB investigators reached the crash site the following day, and a preliminary report summarizing events followed 10 days later. “If it were not for the heroics of these two individuals, CRC would have lost numerous lives,” she said. They burn pretty quickly.”ĬRC Warden Cynthia Tampkins credited both Dickson and Vopat with actions intended for the preservation of life. Those dorms are World War II-era structures. ![]() “If the pilot would have hit 25 feet in any direction, the impact would have probably killed people, and then the burning fuel would have killed more. “The plane went down, literally, right beside a dorm,” Morales said. The consensus among the witnesses was that Vopat had desperately fought to keep the plane from going into the fully occupied structures within the prison perimeter. Morales said one of the men who dove for cover inside the box suffered superficial cuts, but was otherwise fine. Several Riverside County Fire Department engine crews reached the scene five minutes later and assisted with containment. “They had to let the fire burn itself out.” Throwing water on that makes it worse,” CDCR Lt. “The remains were composed of (wood) and magnesium. There were none.Ī prison fire crew comprised of inmate-trustees reached the location two minutes later and contained but did not immediately knock down the flames. The officer said he checked for signs of life in the remnants of the destroyed N9M. Fearing the flames would enter the enclosure, he again led the men out of harm’s way, jumping over the flaming debris to open space. Thankfully, no one was hit.”Īccording to Dickson, a “wall of flame” faced the men as they emerged from the box. “I didn’t see it, but I felt it, and there was large fiery debris going through the air. “Two to three seconds later, there was an impact,” the officer said. One of the engines was turning on and off, and the other was humming along nicely.”ĭickson estimated that the single-seat twin-engine plane, with both propellers mounted behind the cockpit, was 150 feet above the prison when “the pilot kind of did a loopy, flip-flop maneuver,” possibly trying to regain control of the ill-fated N9M. “I heard the airplane, and the sound caught my attention, so I looked up,” California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation Officer Robert Dickson told City News Service. The National Transportation & Safety Board has not released its conclusions about what might have brought down the historic aircraft, but eyewitness accounts may provide insights. The Northrop N9M flying wing was on a post-maintenance flight and had just departed Chino Municipal Airport, piloted by 51-year-old David Michael Vopat of Chino, when it crashed within the fenced grounds of the California Rehabilitation Center on Fifth Street, just west of Interstate 15, on the afternoon of April 22, 2019. Many of the airframes associated with these projects, including the first three N-9Ms, ended up being scrapped.RIVERSIDE - An airplane that was the last of its kind went down a year ago Wednesday, taking the life of the pilot and nearly injuring inmates and staff at a Norco prison, under circumstances that federal aviation investigators are continuing to probe. Air Force canceled the XB/YB-35 program, as well as the development of the improved YB-49. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the U.S. ![]() Northrop built four N-9Ms, designating them N-9M-1, -2, A, and B. The N-9M was also an evolution of Jack Northrop’s earlier N-1M, which also supported the company’s flying wing work. This smaller surrogate design was made of both wood and metal and had a pair of engines driving pusher propellers, compared to the all-metal XB/YB-35 and its four pusher props. The N-9Ms had a 60-foot wing that was effectively a third-scale replica of the full-size bombers. First flown in 1942, Northrop’s N-9M, with the “M” standing for “model,” was a test aircraft to support the development of the XB-35 and YB-35 prototype flying wing bombers. The crash is a major loss for aviation history. Neither the pilot’s name nor the cause of the crash has been released. Riverside County Sheriff PIO-West April 22, 2019 No other details available to release at this time. ![]() Unknown number of occupants on the plane. #Norco Update: RSO can confirm that the Coroner’s Bureau is at the scene and assisting with the fatal plane crash. Unless there are larger parts we are not seeing, the plane appears to be a total loss.ĭebris field of a plane crash at the Norco State prison #Skyfox /uAiguIwRwZ ![]() Video footage from news helicopters flying over the crash site an hour after the mishap shows little of the aircraft remaining intact. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |