911...is part 2 on the way? Plane crash "not and accident"

The survivor of a small plane crash that killed a Jordanian national in Connecticut claimed it was not an accident, the mayor of East Hartford announced Wednesday, as police said they asked the FBI to assist with the investigation.

The crash of the twin-engine Piper PA-34 Seneca Tuesday afternoon killed the passenger. The pilot was in critical condition at Bridgeport Hospital but was able to speak to detectives, officials said.

The New York Times and The Hartford Courant identified the plane's passenger -- the man who died -- as 28-year-old Feras Freitekh. He entered the U.S. in 2012 on an M1 visa for flight school and at some point he also aquired an F1 visa for language school, CBS News reported. Freitekh was issued a pilot's license in May 2015 and was certified to fly a single-engine plane.

Source

So here we have the Pilot/Trainer with another passenger/student named Feras Freitekh involved in a fatal crash for Feras. The pilot survived and is now telling officials it was no accident. I wonder if this student/pilot was part of another round of terrorists involved with flying planes into buildings. If this was not an accident, what was the intended target? There is a suggestion in the article that it was the Pratt Whitney HQ:

The crash occurred close to jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney's corporate headquarters. Police Chief Scott Sansom called the company "critical infrastructure."

Anyone know anything about that company in regards to any connections at all?

Anywho...I am looking for more on this as I would like to know what happened on the plane and if the pilot that survived knows what/if there was an actual target or something else was discussed.

I would think that if this guy already had his license, he could have just flown the plane by himself and done the deed...something seems a bit off.

a reply to: Vasa Croe

P&W is a defense contractor.

www.pw.utc.com...

a reply to: Vasa Croe

Never mind, it seems I got it backwards.

Still interesting either way.

a reply to: Vasa Croe

Something must have gone wrong? Why would the passenger take out a small plane with just himself and the pilot in it - unless he thought he could have it crash somewhere for increased damage.

Curious story here.. thanks for sharing VC

originally posted by: grey580
a reply to: Vasa Croe

P&W is a defense contractor.

www.pw.utc.com...

If that was indeed the target it would be a pretty long time plan he's worked on....came in 2012 to the US. wonder if anyone can dig up a family name connection between the dead guy and P&W...

a reply to: Vasa Croe

He was licensed for single engine aircraft. The Seneca is a twin. He needed an instructor to fly it.

Pratt is primarily an engine manufacturer. They make civil and military engines. Even if this was intentional and he was aiming at the plant, the worst that would have happened would be to delay engine deliveries while they did minor repairs to the building.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: Vasa Croe

He was licensed for single engine aircraft. The Seneca is a twin. He needed an instructor to fly it.

Pratt is primarily an engine manufacturer. They make civil and military engines. Even if this was intentional and he was aiming at the plant, the worst that would have happened would be to delay engine deliveries while they did minor repairs to the building.

The story said it was the HQ...is there anyone there that would have been worth targeting?

a reply to: FamCore

The source states the plane was on final approach to land at Brainard Airport, it might be jumping the gun but it's possible he was a suicidal passenger and tried to control the plane from the other controls.

Another scenario is he learned to fly and kept his cover up well enough to "upgrade" his licence and fly bigger planes. He then booked lessons for a vehicle that was big enough for the job at hand, kept up the charade long enough till the plane was in optimal range of his target and then tried to hijack the plane.

He failed because the pilot fought back. Just a stab in the dark here.

Maybe someone can chime in here on what exactly happens when two pilots try to fly one plane, it had two sets of controls.

originally posted by: Vasa Croe

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: Vasa Croe

He was licensed for single engine aircraft. The Seneca is a twin. He needed an instructor to fly it.

Pratt is primarily an engine manufacturer. They make civil and military engines. Even if this was intentional and he was aiming at the plant, the worst that would have happened would be to delay engine deliveries while they did minor repairs to the building.

The story said it was the HQ...is there anyone there that would have been worth targeting?

Their headquarters is right next to where UCONN plays their football games at. Maybe he hates huskies? Football? Football playing huskies?

a reply to: Vasa Croe

It wouldn't matter. He'd have to put it through the exact window to have a shot at hitting a specific person. He might get lucky and hurt a few people, but a Seneca is barely going to scratch that building.

a reply to: RAY1990

It depends on the plane and how the controls are set up, but usually you could end up with split controls, and reduced response by the aircraft.

The pilot screwed up, wrecked the plane and the passenger died. He knew the passenger is Muslim so say the passenger made a terrorist move and the pilot is free and clear... Just a theory...

a reply to: Orionx2

That's actually what I'm thinking too. Planes this size may not have a CVR on board, so with him being the only one that knows what happened in the cockpit, he can say anything and they may not be able to confirm it.

a reply to: Zaphod58

So it's entirely possible the passenger tried to hijack the plane and the ensuing struggle caused the plane to crash where it did?

It just seems off, it seems to be a silly way to target anything bigger than a house considering the plane involved. Let's say it was some form of terrorism, wouldn't it be easier to learn how to make bombs large or small and use them as a weapon of choice?

A small aircraft although shocking, doesn't make a good weapon except fear factor. You'd have to be an expert in architectural engineering to use a small plane to devastating effect. The plane was on final approach also, granted it's probably the best time to do something stupid but it's also the best time for everything to go horribly wrong.

I don't know it all just seems off to me.

originally posted by: Orionx2
The pilot screwed up, wrecked the plane and the passenger died. He knew the passenger is Muslim so say the passenger made a terrorist move and the pilot is free and clear... Just a theory...

I thought along those lines also, entirely plausible.

a reply to: RAY1990

It's possible, but with them being on final and clipping power lines, simple pilot error seems a lot more likely to me. He got distracted, or just didn't notice they were below the glideslope, and they hit the power lines.

a reply to: Zaphod58

So I fly out of Brainard airport. I used to work at PW and my wife currently does. There is no way that they accidentally clipped the power lines on approach. The airport is on the opposite side of the river. The pattern will take you over the PW facility, but it's about 1000' AGL in the pattern.

The news is reporting that the pilot has described and argument the cockpit regarding the student NOT wanting to fly the airplane anymore. Not sure what that means. I can attest that of the 2 flight training academies at Brainard, that the one from this company tended to be less professional and more 'fly by the seat of your pants' relative to planning, safety, thoroughness, etc. I stopped flying with them and did more flying with Premier, the other flight trainers.

It's still not clear what phase of flight they were in, but there really is no good reason for the aircraft to be at 100' about 1/2 mile abeam of your touchdown location. I'm sure we'll find out more later, but the Instructor who crashed also happens to be the owner of the flight school. I'm sure a little CYA is in order.

First link desribes the IPs tale of an argument. Second link is to his Flight academy website.

www.nydailynews.com...

www.american-pilot.com...

a reply to: cosmania

An argument in the cockpit is exactly the kind of distraction I was talking about. If the IP was more worried about that and they were going back and forth, he wouldn't have been concentrating on flying the aircraft, and they could have dropped down without him realizing it. Then he tried to recover and clipped the wires.

Eastern, years ago, lost an aircraft in the Everglades because the crew was so worried about what was happening in the cockpit none of them were flying the aircraft and they failed to notice they had gone into a gradual descent. By the time they realized it they were about to hit the water.

It may come out that he's telling the truth, but any time the only surviving flight crew immediately says, "it wasn't my fault" my immediate reaction is that they screwed up. I've seen it too many times, where they go from not their fault to admitting they screwed up.

While they haven't ruled out an accident, the NTSB has turned it over to the FBI.

The FBI is investigating an aircraft crash across from the main entrance of a Pratt & Whitney engine factory in East Hartford, Connecticut.

An initial investigation of the 11 October crash by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) “indicates the crash is the result of an intentional act”, the board says in a statement.

“In light of that information and in accordance with established procedures the NTSB is in the process of transferring the lead for the investigation from NTSB to the FBI,” the NTSB says.

www.flightglobal.com...

a reply to: cosmania
a reply to: Zaphod58

I agree with Zaphod and cosmania... it sort of sounds like the argument in the cockpit caused the student and instructor to lose attention, and put the plane into an accelerated stall. They were low and slow coming in for final approach, not a good time to lose concentration. Definitely leaning more towards pilot error. I think they are using the word "intentional" a little openly...

A witness told the local news that they saw it dive to the side and then drop straight down.

Sounds like the instructor is trying to cover his a$$ or something.

Jonathan Rucker said he was sitting at a picnic table behind a house on Colt Street when he heard the airplane suddenly go silent.

"I hear planes every day," he said. "I heard a plane, then I didn't hear anything. I looked up and the plane was just tipping over. It tipped to the left and dropped straight down. There was a loud bang, smoke and flame. It tipped to the left and just dropped like a rock."

www.courant.com... ory.html

I've flown into Brainard a few times but can't say I know anything about the flight schools. They do have a beautiful Avenger outside on display though