1991 — March 16, Reba McEntire band charter plane crash, Otay Mt. San Diego, CA– 10

— 10  NTSB. Aircraft Accident Brief.  Location: San Diego, California.

— 10  Notable California Aviation Disasters. “The 1990s.” Oct 23, 2008 update.

— 10  Stromblad, Cory. “Reba Remembers Plane Crash Tragedy 20 Years Later.” 3-16-2011.

 

Narrative Information

 

NTSB: “…on March 16, 1991, at 0143 Pacific standard time, a Hawker Siddeley DH125-1A/522 transport-category turbojet airplane crashed into mountainous terrain about 8 nm northeast of SDM,[1] killing 10 people…. The Hawker accident site was at the 3,300-foot level of Otay Mountain and about 172 feet below the mountain’s top.

 

“The flight crew of the Hawker filed an IFR flight plan with the San Diego FSS,[2] and the FSS briefer suggested that the pilot depart under VFR[3] and pick up his IFR[4] clearance in the air.  The pilot stated that he was not familiar with SDM’s departure procedures. The pilot later telephoned the FSS again and informed the briefer that he could not find information regarding a

standard instrument departure procedure for SDM, and the FSS briefer then read to the pilot the departure procedures for runways 8 and 26. The pilot later telephoned the FSS a third time and informed the same briefer that, if he followed the procedures, he would enter the terminal control

area (now class B airspace) without a clearance. The pilot stated that it would be better if he headed northeast and stayed below 3,000 feet, and the briefer responded, ‘yeah, sure that’ll be fine.’

 

“The flight crew of the Hawker departed runway 8L under VFR, contacted terminal radar approach control, and informed the controller that the flight was waiting for its IFR clearance. When the controller asked the flight crew about the flight’s position, no response was received.

 

“The Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the Hawker accident was the pilot’s improper planning/decision, the pilot’s failure to maintain proper altitude clearance over mountainous terrain, and the copilot’s failure to adequately monitor the progress of the flight. Contributing to the accident were the insufficient terrain information provided by the FSS specialist during the preflight briefing after the pilot inquired about a low-altitude departure, both

pilots’ lack of familiarity with the geographical area, and the dark night conditions….” (NTSB. Aircraft Accident Brief. 2006, pp. 16-17.)[5]

 

Notable California Aviation Disasters:

“Date / Time: Saturday, March 16, 1991 / 1:42 a.m.

“Operator / Flight No.: Duncan Aircraft Sales / Private Charter

“Location: OtayMountain, east of San Ysidro, Calif.

 

“Details and Probable Cause:   Popular Country singing star Reba McEntire lost seven members of her band and her road manager in an early-morning chartered jet crash near San Diego, following the entertainer’s performance at a private concert for IBM executives the night before.

 

“Earlier in the day, after the performers had disembarked at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field, the twin-jet Hawker-Siddeley DH-125-1A/522 aircraft (N831LC), chartered by Prestige Touring of Dallas, Texas, and owned by Duncan Aircraft Sales of Venice, Florida, was flown to Brown Field, a former Naval air station southeast of San Diego, since a late, post-concert departure was planned and a noise curfew would be in effect at Lindbergh Field at that hour.

 

“McEntire’s next scheduled performance was set for the following evening in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and after the San Diego show her band members boarded the aircraft at Brown Field for its flight to Fort Wayne, with a planned refueling stop in Amarillo, Texas.

 

“Approximately two minutes after taking off at 1:40 a.m., the aircraft, flying at an altitude of about 3,400 feet, crashed near the top of Otay Mountain approximately 10 miles northeast of the airfield.

 

“Killed in the crash were bandleader Kirk Cappello and members Paula Kaye Evans, Michael Thomas, Terry Jackson, Joey Cigainero, Anthony Saputo and Chris Austin.   Also killed were McEntire’s road manager, Jim Hammon; the pilot, Donald Holms; and co-pilot Chris Hollinger.

 

“Additional members of the McEntire entourage had boarded a second aircraft that departed Brown Field about three minutes after the ill-fated jet and did not witness the crash.   They learned of the tragedy when their plane made a refueling stop in Memphis, Tennessee.

 

“McEntire and her husband/manager, Narvel Blackstock, who had elected to remain overnight in San Diego before flying to the Fort Wayne concert engagement the next day, were notified of the tragedy not long after it occurred.

 

“A number of factors were behind the cause of the crash, including improper planning/decision by the pilot; failure of the flight crew to maintain proper altitude and clearance over mountainous terrain; and the failure of the co-pilot to adequately monitor the progress of the flight.

 

“Fatalities: 10.”  (Notable California Aviation Disasters.  “The 1990s.” Oct 23, 2008 update.)

 

Stromblad: “Reba McEntire has posted a video on her official Facebook page[6] to commemorate the 20-year anniversary of the tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of her eight band members.

On March 16, 1991, Chris Austin, Kirk Cappello, Joey Cigainero, Paula Kay Evans, Jim Hammon, Terry Jackson, Anthony Saputo and Michael Thomas, as well as pilot Donald Holms and co-pilot Chris Hollinger, lost their lives as their charter plane crashed on the side of Otay Mountain, just outside San Diego, Calif. The band members were returning from a private event where Reba performed for IBM executives.  In addition to the touching video, Reba has planted eight Dogwood trees at the McEntire’s Ranch House Walk in memory of the crash victims.  The singer’s 1991 ‘For My Broken Heart’ album was dedicated to her fallen musical family members.” (Stromblad.  “Reba Remembers Plane Crash Tragedy 20 Years Later.”  3-16-2011.)

 

Sources

 

National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident Brief. Accident number: LAX05FA015. Operator: Med Flight Air Ambulance, Inc…Location: San Diego, California…Adopted on: May 23, 2006. Accessed 4-28-2016 at: http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAB0605.pdf

 

Notable California Aviation Disasters. “The 1990s.” Oct 23, 2008 update.  Accessed 10-20-2009 at: http://www.jaydeebee1.com/crash90s.html [Note: site inoperable when checked 4-28-2016.]

 

Stromblad, Cory. “Reba Remembers Plane Crash Tragedy 20 Years Later.”  3-16-2011. Accessed 4-28-2016 at: http://www.theboot.com/2011/03/16/reba-mcentire-band-plane-crash-20-year-video/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Brown Field Municipal Airport, near San Diego, CA.

[2] Flight Service Station.

[3] Visual Flight Rules.

[4] Instrument Flight Rules.

[5] The Brief is for an October 24, 2004 Med Flight Air Ambulance crash near the same area as the 3-16-1991 crash.

[6] http://www.facebook.com/Reba