Investigators haven’t determined what caused Steve Appleton’s single-engine plane to crash Friday morning, but they do know he asked for permission to return to the runway just moments after takeoff.
“I’d like to turn back in and, uh, land. Coming back in,” Appleton said, according to a recording of Boise’s air traffic control chatter at liveatc.net.
That was the last thing anyone heard from the CEO of Micron Inc. before his plane — an amateur-built Lancair IV P-T — crashed into the ground next to a runway at Boise Airport.
An investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board said it will take several days to sift through the wreckage and do engine tests. Officials also will examine surveillance footage shot from the airport for clues before issuing a preliminary report sometime next week.
A full-fledged report likely will take at least six months, said Zoe Keliher, an NTSB air safety investigator working on the case.
Based on interviews with witnesses at Gowen Field, video from security cameras and a review of audio transmissions, investigators have been able to piece together some details of what happened Friday.
Officials say Appleton first took the Lancair out of a hangar at Boise Airport and taxied onto a runway at 8:46 a.m. Friday. He took off and got the plane about 5 to 10 feet above the ground before calling the tower to say he was “going to land here and stop.”
Appleton did not tell tower officials why he didn’t take off, Keliher said. The tower did ask if he needed assistance.
“Negative. I’m going to taxi back and see if I can figure it out,” he said.
Appleton took the plane back to the runway and took off for a second time at 8:54 a.m. Witnesses say the plane climbed to between 100 and 200 feet off the ground, abruptly banked, appeared to stall and then rolled as it crashed to the ground.
DEMANDING PLANES
Lancair aircraft are considered high-performance planes, designed for high speeds and highly experienced pilots. Experts say they stall at higher speeds than many other planes.
“The problem with executing a turn back to the runway like that is sometimes you end up in a very steep angle and at low speed, and you stall the aircraft and the wing stops flying,” said Jeff Edwards of St. Louis, who is a flight instructor and crash investigator who is president of the Lancair Owners and Builders Organization.
At less than 200 feet, a stall can’t be stopped in any airplane, he said.
“It’s just not enough altitude to recover the aircraft,” Edwards said.
NO FIRE BEFORE CRASH
None of the witnesses reported seeing smoke or flames until after the plane hit the ground, Keliher said.
Boise fire crews arrived to find the wreckage on fire. They put out the flames.
Appleton was found near the wreckage and appears to have been ejected from the plane, Keliher said. Emergency crews found Appleton’s wallet and other personal items, which helped make a tentative identification, she said.
Later Friday, the Ada County coroner’s office definitively identified Appleton from his fingerprints.
Edwards said the plane should have a flight-data recorder, but the fire could have damaged it. Keliher said she said the engine likely would be sent out for analysis.
Investigators also will review audio and video as they gather information.
Patrick Orr: 377-6219Chadd Cripe contributed to this report.
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