A federal report is providing more details about how a UNC Air Operations medical airplane crashed last month at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
A National Transportation Safety Board report stated the Socata TBM 850, N228CH plane was cleared to land on April 24 and bounced on the runway. According to the report, the plane “began a missed approach and started a left turn … then appeared to have stalled and hit the ground.”
Review of surveillance videos and photographs revealed that the airplane hit the ground with its left wingtip and nose almost simultaneously.
The pilot was seriously injured and a passenger had minor injuries in the crash, the NTSB stated.
According to the report, the passenger said the airplane was “rolling” and “tobogganing … as if we were descending a hill on the snow” during the final approach.
The passenger said the airplane touched down twice, after which the pilot appeared to “turn and roll the airplane left as if to take off again,” according to the report.
Also, the report says the passenger added that the pilot made no announcements, and that there was no communication between them from runway contact to the accident site.
The plane was carrying Dr. Paul Chelminski, an internal medicine physician with UNC Health. Chelminski was taken to the hospital and released the afternoon of April 24. The pilot, Art Johnson, was taken to Duke University Medical Center in Durham.
The report states the airplane rotated an additional 45 degrees, coming to rest upright.
According to the report, the propeller was separated from the engine and the leading edges of each of the four blades displayed gouging and scratching near the tips. The report states the engine and engine compartment had significant impact damage.
