Report on Wellstone crash finds no mechanical failure

Updated: 12-18-2002 12:04:08 AM

By LESLIE MILLER
Associated Press Writer

Wellstone's plane crashed near Eveleth on October 25.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal investigators will continue looking at icing as a potential cause of the plane crash that killed Sen. Paul Wellstone and seven others after determining the engines and propellers were working properly, authorities said Tuesday.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued a progress report as part of its investigation into why the chartered King Air A100 plane crashed and burned about 21/2 miles from the Eveleth-Virginia Municipal Airport in Minnesota on Oct. 25.

The two Pratt and Whitney engines and propellers made by Hartzell were thoroughly examined and "no evidence of pre-impact engine or propeller failure was found," the report said.

Wellstone, a Minnesota Democrat; his wife, Sheila; their 33-year-old daughter, Marcia Wellstone Markuson; and five others were killed. They were headed to the funeral of a state representative's father when the plane crashed in freezing rain and light snow.

The NTSB said specialists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., are working with the safety board to define the icing conditions that existed along the flight's route.
Paul Czysz, professor emeritus of aerospace engineering at St. Louis University, said it only takes an eighth of an inch of ice on the wing's leading edge to disrupt the flow of air, which can cause the wing to lose its lift and the plane to dive.

Ice can cover half a wing in 2 seconds when a plane flies through very cold, damp air like the kind Wellstone's plane encountered, Czysz said.

Investigators say Wellstone's plane made an abrupt right turn as it made its runway approach. Czysz said that indicates one wing probably had ice on it, causing the sudden movement.
The weather may have contributed to the accident, causing the pilot to fly at a slow speed that wasn't safe, Czysz said.

"It was a gray, misty day," Czysz said. "When you fly in visually degraded conditions, it's really tough to know how fast you're going and how you're oriented."

Safety investigators said that next week they will try to simulate the flight and weather conditions at a facility in Wichita, Kan.

Toxicological reports revealed no evidence of drug or alcohol abuse by pilot Richard Conry or the first officer, Michael Guess. The NTSB said based on radio transmissions it believes Conry was at the controls at the time of the crash.

The report said investigators have documented the crew's activities for three days before the flight through interviews with Conry's wife and Guess's fiancee. They still are reviewing employment, pilot and medical records.

Conry, 55, had worked long hours the day before the crash, flying roundtrip between St. Paul, Minn., and Bismarck, N.D., from 3 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and then working a four-hour shift at his second job as a nurse. That shift ended around 9:30 p.m., roughly 12 hours before Wellstone's plane took off.

That was within federal regulations that require a 10-hour off-duty period between scheduled flights.

Bill Waldock, professor of safety science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz., said the pilot's fatigue may have contributed to the crash. The accident could also have been caused by other factors, he said, including pilot disorientation, icing, a tricky approach to the runway and a slightly inaccurate navigation aid at the airport.

"It's a combination of things," Waldock said. "You put them together, you end up with an accident."