Report: Pilot of ill-fated flight was disoriented before departure
3-9-17 Update – Report: Pilot of ill-fated flight disoriented before departure
The 83-year-old pilot of the twin-engine airplane that crashed into two homes after departing Riverside Municipal Airport, ultimately resulting in four fatalities, appeared to be disoriented and having difficulty communicating before takeoff, according to a report released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The agency released preliminary findings on the Feb. 27 crash, indicating that pilot Nouri Hijazi required verbal guidance from air traffic controllers to get his Cessna 310Q to the appropriate runway, and then had
trouble understanding his instrument departure directions.
“A review of ATC audio revealed that the controller issued an IFR clearance to the pilot multiple times before he repeated the instructions back to the controller correctly,” according to the preliminary NTSB report.
“Witnesses who were listening to the pilot’s communications with ATC reported that the pilot required progressive taxi instructions to Runway 9, the departure runway.”
The NTSB confirmed earlier reports that Hijazi had trouble starting the 42-year-old plane’s left engine, but there was no specific mention of engine failure as a possible contributing factor in the fiery crash. According to federal investigators, the plane was bound for San Jose International Airport and got airborne uneventfully about 4:40 p.m. Witnesses observed the Cessna initiate a left turn as it climbed eastbound into a cloud
bank. It was drizzling, but winds were calm and visibility was about two miles at the time.
“A portion of the airplane’s final moments of flight were captured by a surveillance video, which showed the airplane descend towards the ground in a slight left wing low attitude,” according to the report.
The Cessna clipped a chimney and bounced off the roof of one house, then dove into another residence 50 feet away on Rhonda Road, roughly a mile east of the airport, with most of the plane crumpling inside a bedroom on the southwest corner, investigators said, adding that parts of the airframe were strewn onto the lawns of surrounding homes.
Hijazi, his 67-year-old wife, Dana Hijazi, and family friend, 22-year-old Adine Farelas, were killed on impact. Farelas’ mother, Silvia Farales, suffered major injuries, but is in recovery. Another passenger, 46-year-old
Stacey Joanne Pierce, suffered burns to more than 90 percent of her body. She died Tuesday night at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton.
No one on the ground was hurt. However, as the NTSB noted in its report, a post-crash fire erupted that consumed one residence belonging to a family of five, who were permanently displaced.
Another home was also seriously damaged, while two residences had minor impacts.
The NTSB did not disclose Hijazi’s flight hours. However, FAA records showed that he was an airline transport pilot and a certified flight instructor, who had passed a medical exam in October. The victims had traveled to Southern California to attend a weekend cheerleading conference at Disneyland in which Adine Farelas’ younger sister participated.
A detailed report on the accident, with conclusions about the likely cause, will be released later this year, or in early 2018.
3-8-17 Update: Fourth victim of firery plane crash dies
A mother of four who was severely burned in the crash of a twin-engine airplane in Riverside that claimed three lives succumbed to her injuries, family members confirmed Wednesday.
Stacey Joanne Pierce, 46, died overnight at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. She had suffered burns to more than 90 percent of her body in the Feb. 27 accident.
“It’s a sad day today,” wrote Sheryll Van Gelder, a family spokesperson, in a post on Pierce’s GoFundMe page. “God needed another angel. Stacey Joanne Pierce is now at peace with her parents. Her injuries were severe and nothing but a miracle could’ve saved her. Please pray for her family.”
Pierce was pulled out of a bedroom in the Rhonda Road home struck by the Cessna 310Q she was flying in, triggering a blaze fueled by hundreds of pounds of aviation gasoline.
Killed in the crash were the pilot, 83-year-old Nouri Hijazi, his wife, 67-year-old Dana Hijazi, and another passenger, 22-year-old Adine Farelas — all of San Jose. The lone survivor, Silvia Farelas, Adine’s mother, is
recovering at Riverside Community Hospital.
Both of Pierce’s legs were amputated in an attempt to save her life, according to published reports. It’s unclear whether she died as a result of post-surgical complications or the burns. According to the National Institutes
of Health, the mortality rate for individuals with burns to over 70 percent of their body is about 69 percent.
Pierce had traveled to Southern California with the other victims to attend a weekend cheerleading conference at Disneyland, in which Adine Farelas’ younger sister took part.
The victims piled into Hijazi’s 42-year-old Cessna on the afternoon of Feb. 27 and were reportedly delayed by both the weather and trouble with one of the aircraft’s two engines. Witnesses at Riverside Municipal Airport stated that Nouri Hijazi, a certified flight instructor, had repeated difficulty engaging one engine.
When the plane finally got airborne about 4:40 p.m., light rain was falling and overcast conditions prevailed, though visibility was about three miles. The Cessna, en route to San Jose, plunged into the home in the 6400
block of Rhonda Road, near Beatty Drive, a half-mile east of the airport.
Two homes were destroyed in the post-crash fire. Two other properties were impacted but left intact. No one on the ground was injured, but a family of five was permanently displaced, along with another homeowner.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident. A spokesman told City News Service that a preliminary report on the crash should be published within a few days.
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February 27 – Small plane crashes into Riverside County homes
A twin-engine airplane went down about a half-mile northeast of Riverside Municipal Airport today, destroying two homes in a fiery crash that left three people dead.
Two women, estimated to be in their late 30s to early 40s, were ejected from the plane into one of the homes and rescued by firefighters before being taken to hospitals in critical condition.
All the victims were on the plane and everyone on the ground was accounted for, according to the Riverside Fire Department.
The crash was reported about 4:40 p.m. in the 6400 block of Rhonda Road, near Dewey Avenue, according to the Riverside Fire Department.
The Cessna 310 was carrying a married couple and three others from the San Jose area, Riverside Fire Department Chief Michael Moore told reporters at a late-night news conference.
One survivor was taken to the burn unit at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton and was in surgery Monday night, Moore said. The less critically injured survivor was taken to the Riverside Community Hospital for treatment, he added.
FAA spokesman Ian Gregor told City News Service the aircraft was en route to San Jose and had just departed Riverside. Those on the plane had come from San Jose for a cheer conference at Disneyland, Moore said.
The plane clipped power lines as it went down. Light rain was falling at the time of the crash, and overcast conditions prevailed, though visibility was about three miles, according to Riverside Municipal Airport.
People who live in the neighborhood tell News Channel 3 & CBS Local 2 reporter Joe Galli that the explosion on impact was enormous.
“My wife and I were sitting in the house and all our windows just shook bad like a 7.0 earthquake,” said Melvin Martinez who was home at the time of the crash.
The plane had a fairly full fuel tank and the crash caused a fire that continued to burn into the evening, Moore said. Adjacent homes sustained moderate damage, he said.
An entire block of about 40 homes was evacuated, Moore said. A shelter was set up for displaced residents and the American Red Cross confirmed they were assisting five displaced families but were anticipating a sixth.
A secondary search for victims will be conducted Tuesday morning, Moore said, even though officials believe everyone has been accounted for.
People who live in this neighborhood told KESQ that it was only a matter of time before one of the planes taking off or landing at the Riverside Municipal Airport crashed.
“It is scary now because we always have to be looking up and we don’t know when another one is going to hit or what is going to happen,” said Darlene Ayala who lives close to the crash site.
