‘Rolling’ and ‘tobogganing.’ Passenger describes moments before RDU plane crash
The pilot of a single-engine plane that crashed at Raleigh-Durham International Airport last month was apparently attempting to take off after an aborted landing when the aircraft stalled about 100 feet in the air and hit the ground, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The pilot, Art Johnson, and his sole passenger, UNC Health physician Paul Chelminski, were injured. Chelminski was treated and released from a hospital the day of the crash, April 24, but Johnson’s injuries were serious enough that he was not available to speak with NTSB investigators.
Investigators based their report on the plane’s condition, airport surveillance video, reports from the air traffic control tower and interviews with Chelminski. The Socata TBM-700 is owned by Medical Air Inc. and used by UNC Air Operations, which was bringing Chelminski to RDU from Wilmington, where he had met with staff at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center that morning.
Chelminski told investigators that the plane was “rolling” and “tobogganing … as if we were descending a hill on the snow” as it approached the runway. He said the airplane touched down twice, before the the pilot appeared to “turn and roll the airplane left as if to take off again.”
Chelminski said the plane seemed to lose power as Johnson attempted to climb but that he couldn’t tell if the engine had stopped. He said Johnson did not say anything to him between the initial touchdown and the crash.
The plane’s nose and the tip of the left wing hit the ground almost simultaneously, causing significant damage to the wing and engine, according to the report. But the plane remained upright on the ground, and the windshield, instrument panel and the cockpit area were intact.
The three-page report describes information the NTSB has gathered about the crash but does not draw any conclusions about the cause. A final report could take a year or more.
Johnson has flown for UNC Air Operations since 2013, according to UNC Health. Medical Air Inc., which owns the 18-year-old plane, told the NTSB that Johnson has 16,000 hours of flight experience, including 2,500 hours on the Socata TBM-700.
The crash took place next to RDU’s secondary runway, 5R-23L, on the east side of the passenger terminals. It happened at about 10:10 a.m. on a Wednesday and prompted airport officials to halt all flights in an out of RDU for 1.5 hours as emergency crews responded.
