KONESKY, James

KONESKY, James (1947-2002), 54-yeasr-old pilot from Cave Creek, AZ, was killed with Jeannie Hansel, 48, after their aircraft ran off the runway at Airport in the Sky and caught fire on August 2, 2002.

• LASD file #002-00604-1878-494
• Coroner case #2002-05787 (Konesky) and 2002-05788 (Hansel)

Aviation Safety Network Narrative:

• N2102L
• Beechcraft 58TC Baron

On August 2, 2002, at 1415 Pacific daylight time, a Beech 58TC, N2102L, impacted a berm and fell down a cliff during a landing overrun on runway 4 at Catalina Airport (AVX), Avalon, California. The pilot/owner operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The airplane was destroyed in the post impact fire. The multiengine-instrumented rated private pilot and one passenger were fatally injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight departed Phoenix Deer Valley Airport (DVT), Phoenix, Arizona, at 1100 the morning of the accident, with an intended destination of AVX. The wreckage was located at global positioning system (GPS) of 33 degrees 24.55 minutes north latitude and 118 degrees 24.56 minutes west latitude

The pilot landed the airplane long and fast, and overran the departure end of the 3,000-foot runway, where it hit a berm and descended 600 feet down a cliff and erupted into flames. The runway is situated on a mesa with a 3-foot berm at the airport boundary about 50 feet from the departure end of the runway. Reported weather at the time was 100-feet indefinite ceiling, with 3/4 statute mile visibility with haze. The airport operations supervisor described the weather as clear over the airport, but with a "donut style" overcast layer that circled the circumference of the airport. He also reported that one minute it was clear for pilot's to land, then the next minute the sky would become overcast again. Witnesses observed the airplane touchdown about 1,800 feet down the runway, and then saw blue smoke emanating from the brake area for an additional 300 feet before going out of view. One witness indicated that after the airplane struck the berm he heard the engines power up. Airport personnel and a relative radioed the pilot in the air to tell him to go around. When the airplane touched down, the witnesses again radioed the pilot to go around. The airplane and its engines sustained significant impact and fire damage. However, flight control continuity was established from the cockpit to the flight control surfaces. Examination of both propellers revealed signatures consistent with powered rotation. Teardowns of both engines were conducted with no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded their normal operation.

Probable Cause: The pilot's misjudged distance and speed during the landing approach, which resulted in an overrun of the runway. Also causal was the pilot's failure to conduct a go-around during the approach, or abort the landing when an overrun became obvious.

In the News~

August 9, 2002 [TI/Avalon]: “The Catalina Island Airport in the Sky was the scene of a tragic crash of an incoming plane last Friday afternoon. Fog contributed to the pilot’s difficulty in putting his Beechcraft Baron twin engine plane down on the runway. According to Station Commander Gary Olson, the pilot was approaching the airport from the ocean side, trying for runway 44, at high speed. He misjudged the length of the runway, was unable to stop before plunging off into the hillside brush, about 100 yards from the end of the runway. The plane disintegrated on impact, burst into flames, starting a brush fire in the surrounding area. Both the pilot and his female passenger were killed instantly. The couple were coming from Cave Creek, Arizona, outside Scottsdale, to meet up with a brother, also flying in from Concord. The brother landed successfully shortly before the ill-fated Beechcraft. The brush fire burned about one quarter acre before it was extinguished by both county and city fire personnel, Search & Rescue, both the east and west teams, Sheriff’s deputies from both Avalon and the Isthmus, plus volunteer firemen from Avalon. The crash occurred at 2:15 P.M. Friday afternoon. By 5:30 P.M. a helicopter carrying the coroner and crash investigation representatives had arrived on the scene. The bodies were retrieved and removed to the mainland by 9:30 P.M. The pilot was a 54 year old man, accompanied by his longtime companion, a 48 year old woman. This was the second airplane crash with fatalities, and brush fire resulting from it in several years. The preceding crash was responsible for causing the fire at Goat Harbor.”