• 31
  • August
    2011

A small plane that crashed near Burley, Idaho, on August 15, burned so completely that authorities only recovered a wingtip and the engine. The small plane crash killed all four members of a California family.

The plane went down near the runway at the Burley airport in south-central Idaho. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the plane crashed after taking off and clearing the 4,000-foot runway.

Based on the type of engine and number of propellers, the plane is believed to have been a Cessna 210, said Jeff Rich, chief of the western pacific region for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

"It's burned down to ash. Even identification of the aircraft was based on some circumstantial evidence," Rich told The Associated Press. "There's nothing left but a wingtip and the engine."

Idaho Plane Crashes

As airplane crash lawyers in Idaho will tell you, flying in Idaho is dangerous; the mountains can make take-offs and landings a challenge, and the rapid changes in weather can make a routine flight life-threatening. Furthermore, private planes crash more often than commercial flights.

Dangers of Private Planes

Small, one- and two-engine aircraft are dangerous. They usually have reciprocating propeller engines, as opposed to jet engines found on commercial aircraft, and are less reliable.

The planes may not receive the rigorous maintenance and other inspections that commercial aircraft are subject to. Additionally, the pilots of small aircraft often have less experience (fewer flight hours) and may be more easily confused or overwhelmed by circumstances during a flight.

Cessna 210s -- the type of airplane involved in the Iowa plane crash -- have historically had problems with vapor lock causing fuel starvation and leading to crashes. Yet, it may be difficult for the NTSB to arrive at a cause for this airplane accident, as the lack of physical evidence due to the intense fire has hampered the investigation.

The NTSB reports that general aviation (noncommercial flights) has a rate of fatalities over five times the rate of commercial aviation. As this unfortunate Idaho plane crash shows, takeoffs tend to be the most dangerous aspect of flying, accounting for 30 percent of all fatalities.

If you are involved in a small airplane accident, do not hesitate to contact an aviation accident attorney in Boise, Idaho, or near you. You may be able to recover compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, wrongful death and more.

Source: Associated Press, "NTSB Investigates Idaho Plane Crash, 4 Dead," August 15, 2011