Plane crashes into Bigelow Mountain; pilot and passenger walk out on Appalachian Trai [Archive]

View Full Version : Plane crashes into Bigelow Mountain; pilot and passenger walk out on Appalachian Trai

WhiteBlaze

09-06-2018, 20:50

<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="7" style="vertical-align:top;"><tr><td width="80" align="center" valign="top"><a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNFAswdr2HgEFIrCyVbEjJPqiETC5A&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&ei=RsuRW9DxCYa-qQKtrbf4Aw&url=https://www.penbaypilot.com/article/plane-crashes-bigelow-mountain-pilot-and-passenger-walk-out-appalachian-trail/107239"><img src="//t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQC0v7CwhSdfJyMTvRP2gulsYJ6A_rje sNWh4ewrXmN_sFwvjgjWvPnUV1Y2LgcYx42VQw5a00R" alt="" border="1" width="80" height="80"> PenBayPilot.com</a></td><td valign="top" class="j"> <div style="padding-top:0.8em;"><img alt="" height="1" width="1"></div><div class="lh"><a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNFAswdr2HgEFIrCyVbEjJPqiETC5A&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&ei=RsuRW9DxCYa-qQKtrbf4Aw&url=https://www.penbaypilot.com/article/plane-crashes-bigelow-mountain-pilot-and-passenger-walk-out-appalachian-trail/107239">Plane crashes into Bigelow Mountain; pilot and passenger walk out on Appalachian Trail</a> PenBayPilot.com Both escaped injury, hiked up the mountain approximately one-half mile and then walked out of the woods along the Appalachian Trail. A team of games wardens, forest rangers, state troopers, and first responders from Eustis, Kingfield and Carrabassett ... <a class="p" href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dt-pSWDcwR9mV2M&authuser=0&ned=us"></a></div></td></tr></table>

More... (http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNFAswdr2HgEFIrCyVbEjJPqiETC5A&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&ei=RsuRW9DxCYa-qQKtrbf4Aw&url=https://www.penbaypilot.com/article/plane-crashes-bigelow-mountain-pilot-and-passenger-walk-out-appalachian-trail/107239)

illabelle

09-06-2018, 22:29

you don't see that everyday! imagine being on the trail at the time.

A couple from Vermont flying in a small float plane crashed into the side of the Bigelow Mountain Range this morning, just north of Carrabassett Valley. Both escaped injury, hiked up the mountain approximately one-half mile and then walked out of the woods along the Appalachian Trail. A team of games wardens, forest rangers, state troopers, and first responders from Eustis, Kingfield and Carrabassett Valley responded to the crash site, located in Wyman Township.
The float plane was owned and piloted from Frank Gibney of Colchester, Vermont. His passenger was Diane Muhr, also from the same town, according to the news release from the Maine Dept. of Public Safety. Both are in their mid-60s. Gibney told troopers he was flying alongside another plane, which was piloted by a friend, when he lost visibility because of weather, and his float plane crashed into trees. The friend notified the Maine Warden Service Office in Greenville. The crash took place about 10:30 a.m.
A Maine Forest Service helicopter helped transport first responders closer to the crash site.
The couple was flying into the Greenville Seaplane Fly-In, which attacks hundreds of planes to the area. The crash will be investigated by the FAA, which will send an investigator to the site.

RuthN

09-07-2018, 01:04

"The couple was flying into the Greenville Seaplane Fly-In, which attacks hundreds of planes to the area." :eek:

illabelle

09-07-2018, 05:47

"The couple was flying into the Greenville Seaplane Fly-In, which attacks hundreds of planes to the area." :eek:
Haha! I saw that too. I picture it like a swarm of bees.

garlic08

09-07-2018, 08:28

I didn't read the article, but it reminds me of a local story here. My friend is on the Gilpin County (CO) rescue team and they had a call in to a small plane crash, one winter years ago, in the area near the Moffat Tunnel TH, a very popular area near Boulder. She was first on scene, after snowshoeing in with her medical pack. She found the pilot and two passengers okay and in good spirits, vectored in snowmobile rescue, and then helped the pilot walk out on an extra pair of snowshoes. He'd always wanted to try snowshoeing. He was pretty sanguine about the crash, saying any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. And the insurance company cleaned up the wreckage.

MuddyWaters

09-07-2018, 10:34

He was pretty sanguine about the crash, saying any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. And the insurance company cleaned up the wreckage.

All landings....are controlled crashes

Only difference is the amt of control excercised

blw2

09-08-2018, 07:30

did anyone notice the type of aicraft (make/model)? I did a little bit of searching and didn't see it published....

anyway, as a hiker and a pilot I'm very happy to read about that outcome!

How far did they have to walk to get out...close to a trailhead?
Any reports of through hikers being first responders?

Traveler

09-08-2018, 08:01

Its a little too soon for the NTSB preliminary report and photos don't show enough to identify make or show tail numbers. By the description it looks like continued flight into IMC and CFIT, but the NTSB will make that call.

No article mentions other hikers responding to the crash, only that the pilot and passenger walked about a half mile and ran across the AT, hiking out to the trail head.

egilbe

09-08-2018, 19:32

There was a hiker in a Facebook group I'm a part of who was hiking Cranberry mountain and heard the planes and the crash and met the pilot and passenger on the trail. Never read anything more after that.

Funkmeister

09-09-2018, 15:04

Plane is an Avid Magnum. Homebuilt. Tail

Funkmeister

09-09-2018, 15:10

Whoops. Not sure what just happened.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=215169

Been to this fly in several times. Fun place.