This story by Patricia LeBoeuf was published in the Bennington Banner on June 17.
[W]OODFORD — An experienced pilot who died in the crash of a twin-engine Piper aircraft on Bald Mountain last month had received his certificate to fly multi-engine craft just the day before, and disregarded his examiner’s suggestion to postpone his flight home because of weather, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Ramsey Samson Kalani Ah Nee, 31, of Manchester, Connecticut, took off from Burlington International Airport at about 1:45 p.m., heading to his home airport, Waterbury-Oxford Airport in Oxford, Connecticut, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the crash.
According to the report, a designated pilot examiner of the Federal Aviation Administration had advised Ah Nee to return home a day later on May 21, due to weather.
On the flight to Oxford that Sunday, May 20, Albany Approach Control advised Ah Nee of nearby mountainous terrain and the location of precipitation.
The weather that day was overcast with low clouds.
Control suggested he turn west for lower terrain and continued radar coverage.
Ah Nee briefly turned westbound, but then turned back to the Southeast. Soon, he turned westbound again.
During that turn, radar and radio contact was lost.
His last radar target was recorded about 1,000 feet from the accident site at 2:23 p.m., at an altitude of 3,500 feet above sea level.
But when control spoke with the pilot shortly before losing contact, he was flying between 3,200 and 4,000 feet in an area that required 5,000 feet to stay clear of the terrain.
Ah Nee, the sole occupant of the Piper PA-34 Seneca, crashed in wooded terrain on Bald Mountain.
He was found dead at the crash site just after 1 a.m. Monday, May 21.
He had obtained a commercial pilot certificate on May 17 and a certified flight instructor certificate with a multi-engine land rating on May 19, according to the preliminary report.
Ah Nee was an experienced pilot with more than five years of aviation experience, according to information from the state police.
According to the report, a designated pilot examiner of the Federal Aviation Administration had advised [Ramsey Samson Kalani] Ah Nee to return home a day later on May 21, due to weather.
The Piper PA-34 Seneca Ah Nee was flying crashed at about 2,625 feet above sea level, cutting a path through the trees, according to the preliminary report.
The cockpit was consumed by fire, and no readable instruments were recovered.
The emergency locator transmitter’s switch was found in the off position, and the gyroscope exhibited damage.
A plane’s gyroscope — a kind of “spinning top,” is part of its attitude indicator, which acts as an artificial horizon showing the orientation of the plane, said Alex Kelly, owner of Taconic Aviation, based in Bennington.
Pilots can fly under visual flight rules or under instrument flight rules, Kelly said.
Instrument flight rules apply when visibility is below a certain level.
It requires “constantly practice” to maintain one’s proficiency with instrument flight rules, Kelly said. Pilots without proper instrument training who fly under instrument flight rules can lose track of where they are extremely quickly, in a phenomenon known as “spatial disorientation.”
“It’s incredibly dangerous,” Kelly said. Ah Nee’s application for a commercial pilot certificate dated May 17 showed a total flight experience of 256 hours, of which 45 were instrument experience.
The application did not specify simulated instrument experience, actual instrument experience or recent instrument experience, according to the preliminary report.
According to FAA information, 5 to 10 percent of all general aviation accidents can be attributed to spatial disorientation, 90 percent of which are fatal.
A final report on the probable cause of Ah Nee’s crash is not expected for months, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
