Jack Gambino Plane Crash is Ruled Pilot Error
Scott M. Kozel
perhaps Gambino was part of the mob family in New York City, and that
perhaps this was a mob hit.
Well, the National Transportation Safety Board finished their accident
report, and here is what they said, at least according to the _Richmond
Times-Dispatch_.
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http://www.timesdispatch.com/vametro/MGBQYEL91RC.html
"FAA: Pilot error caused crash"
_Richmond Times-Dispatch_ - Aug 31, 2001
Federal investigators have determined that pilot error caused the plane
crash near downtown Lexington [Virginia] last year that killed two
people flying from New York to Florida.
The National Transportation Safety Board issued a final report on the
crash yesterday. The report said the pilot, 43-year-old Jack Gambino,
was not trained to fly in the cloudy, low-visibility conditions that
prevailed in the western Virginia skies at the time of the crash.
On Aug. 30, 2000, Gambino's 1959 Piper-built single-engine plane came
spiraling out of the clouds above Lexington, apparently falling apart as
the engine whirred and sputtered. The plane crashed on a street near a
college fraternity house just east of downtown.
Also killed in the crash was John Kabelka, 42, of Boca Raton, Fla., the
only passenger on the aircraft. No one on the ground was hurt.
Gambino, of Old Westbury, N.Y., planned to visit family members in Boca
Raton. He also planned to get an overdue annual inspection for his
plane, the report said.
Around the time of the crash, clouds and light rain called for
instrument flight rules, in which fliers must navigate using only the
read-outs on the cockpit panel. Gambino was not instrument rated, the
report said. His last training session for instrument flying was 10
years before the crash, the agency said.
The day of the crash, Gambino and Kabelka left an airport in
Farmingdale, N.Y., at about 2 p.m., the report said. He flew about six
times a year and had flown to Florida several times, the report said.
His last radio transmission was at 5:22 p.m. with the Roanoke Airport
Air Traffic Control Tower. Radar data from the Federal Aviation
Administration shows that minutes later, the plane descended 3,000 feet
within 60 seconds before falling out of radar contact. The plane
crashed at about 5:30.
There was no record that Gambino had obtained a pre-flight weather
briefing or that he had received any weather advisories during the
flight, the report stated.
[end article]
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Scott M. Kozel Highway and Transportation History Websites
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Alive N. Kickin
Scott M. Kozel
>
> Just like John-John et al. Disorientation, then the spiral of DEATH!
Looks that way according to NTSB. He didn't have training to fly by
instrument flight rules, suddenly found himself in IFR conditions, lost
control of the plane, and then at some point attempted recovery
maneuvers that exceeded the structural limits of the aircraft, and it
broke up and came down in pieces.
