In southeastern
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
on April 4, 1991, a
Piper Aerostar
The Piper Aerostar (formerly Ted Smith Aerostar) is an American twin-engined propeller-driven executive or light transport aircraft, designed by Ted R. Smith. It was originally built by Ted Smith Aircraft Company, which after 1978 became part o ...
propeller-driven aircraft
collided in mid-air with a
Bell 412
The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter of the Huey family manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212, with the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor.
Design and development
Development began in the ...
helicopter over Merion Elementary School in
Lower Merion Township
Lower Merion Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Philadelphia Main Line. The township's name originates with the county of Merioneth in north Wales. Merioneth is an English-language transcription of the W ...
, a suburb northwest of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. All five people in both aircraft were killed, including
United States Senator
The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
John Heinz
Henry John Heinz III (October 23, 1938 – April 4, 1991) was an American businessman and Republican politician from Pennsylvania. Heinz represented the Pittsburgh suburbs in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977 and ...
, the sole passenger of the Piper.
Two school children on the ground were also killed by falling debris.
In addition to the seven total fatalities, five more people on the ground were injured.
An investigation discovered the cause of the accident to be poor judgment and
pilot error
Pilot error generally refers to an Aviation accidents and incidents, accident in which an action or decision made by the Aircraft pilot#Airline, pilot was the cause or a contributing factor that led to the accident, but also includes the pi ...
of the crews from both aircraft.
Background
Heinz's Piper departed from
Williamsport Regional Airport
Williamsport Regional Airport serves Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding area with a population of about 200,000. The airport serves about 40,000 passengers annually.
The airport is five miles east of Williamsport, in Lycoming Coun ...
in central Pennsylvania at about 11:25 a.m.
EST. Heinz was in
Williamsport for a press conference pertaining to funding of
U.S. Route 15
U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Caro ...
. His press conference lasted about two and a half hours the morning of Thursday, April 4. Heinz rented the twin-engine
Piper Aerostar
The Piper Aerostar (formerly Ted Smith Aerostar) is an American twin-engined propeller-driven executive or light transport aircraft, designed by Ted R. Smith. It was originally built by Ted Smith Aircraft Company, which after 1978 became part o ...
from Lycoming Air, based at the Williamsport airport. Heinz and his two pilots, both from
Lycoming County
Lycoming County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 114,188. Its county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. ...
, departed for Philadelphia just before 11:30 a.m.
Crash
As Heinz's aircraft neared Philadelphia, on final approach to
Philadelphia International Airport
Philadelphia International Airport is the primary airport serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The airport served 19.6 million passengers annually in 2021, making it the 21st busiest airport in the United States. The airport is located from t ...
, pilot Richard Shreck noticed that the nose landing gear locked indicator was not illuminated. Shreck executed a missed approach and entered a holding pattern north of the airport. The two pilots began troubleshooting the problem and alerted
air traffic control
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...
. They executed a low pass over the tower whose personnel all agreed the gear was extended. A passing Sun Oil Company
Bell 412
The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter of the Huey family manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212, with the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor.
Design and development
Development began in the ...
helicopter, headed to the company's headquarters, was enlisted to identify if the gear was indeed down and locked.
The crew of the Bell 412 couldn't identify the condition of the landing gear from a safe distance so moved closer for a better look. At 12:10 p.m., the two aircraft collided over Merion Elementary in Lower Merion, with the helicopter's rotor clipping the left wing and fin of the Aerostar from underneath. The helicopter spun out of control and the Aerostar dived to the ground, disintegrating on impact in the elementary school grounds. All 5 people on board both aircraft were killed, including
John Heinz
Henry John Heinz III (October 23, 1938 – April 4, 1991) was an American businessman and Republican politician from Pennsylvania. Heinz represented the Pittsburgh suburbs in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977 and ...
. Two schoolgirls were killed and five others injured by the debris, which fell in a radius around the school and surrounding area.
Investigation
An
NTSB
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...
and
FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
Investigation was opened almost immediately. In 1992, the National Transportation Safety Board's finding were announced. It was determined that the "appallingly poor judgment" of both flight crews caused the accident.
The report later claimed that visual checks of the aircraft from the helicopter were pointless because it is impossible to see into the nose-wheel well of an Aerostar from a helicopter to check whether the nose-gear is locked.
The board's investigators recited a long litany of the mistakes and wrong decisions that led to the deaths and injuries. "This was a senseless accident that didn’t have to happen," said James L. Kolstad, chairman of the five-member National Transportation Safety Board at the time.
The official description of the accident as released by both the NTSB and FAA conclude that the incident was caused by poor judgment and pilot error of crews on the Aerostar and Bell helicopter. The helicopter crew's actions were pointless as the crew would have been unable to appropriately determine the condition of the nose-wheel of the Aerostar from a helicopter. And the Aerostar should have made an emergency landing attempt at Northeast Airport.
The accident caused a change in procedure at many airports as helicopters were not to be used to determine landing gear failure. Aircraft should just fly a low pass or buzz the airport for visual confirmation from services on the ground.
Aftermath
Reactions
News of Heinz's death at age 52 shocked fellow lawmakers. Senator
Tim Wirth
Timothy Endicott "Tim" Wirth (born September 22, 1939) is an American politician from Colorado who served as a Democrat in both the United States Senate (1987-1993) and the United States House of Representatives (1975–1987). He also served in ...
of
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, saying that he and his wife, Wren, considered Heinz and his wife, Teresa, "our dearest friends in the Senate," paid tribute to his "intense intelligence, sparkling charm, and broad vision."
* Senate Minority Leader
Bob Dole
Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Republican Leader of the Senate during the final 11 years of his te ...
of
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
called Heinz "a dynamic and dedicated public servant, a tireless champion for Pennsylvania and a good and decent family man."
*
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Dan Quayle
James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republic ...
, in Los Angeles for a speech, said that "we are going to miss John Heinz tremendously. He made a tremendous contribution to the U.S. Senate."
Word of Heinz's death came from his Washington office. At midafternoon, sobbing members of his staff began walking out of his office in the
Russell Senate Office Building
The Russell Senate Office Building is the oldest of the United States Senate office buildings. Designed in the Beaux-Arts architectural style, it was built from 1903 to 1908 and opened in 1909. It was named for former Senator Richard Russell ...
. A few minutes later, the senator's legislative director, Richard Bryers, announced Heinz's death to reporters.
Media attention
The crash received multi-national attention making papers and news channels stories in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
No fly zone
A
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
operation out of
Fort Dix
Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Force A ...
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, was caught filming a commercial with aircraft near Merion Elementary shortly after the accident. Complaints followed. An informal ban on flights in Lower Merion during school hours lasted for a while. Even the media agreed not to fly traffic or news helicopters above the school.
References
External links
NTSB report
{{Aviation incidents and accidents in 1991
Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1991
1991 in Pennsylvania
Accidents and incidents involving helicopters
April 1991 events in the United States
Aviation accidents and incidents caused by pilot error