lornajarrettblanchard

–9 AP. “Authorities: 9 killed, 3 injured in South Dakota plane crash.” Yuma Sun, AZ, 12-1-2019.
–9 National Transportation Safety Board. Aviation Accident Preliminary Report (CEN20FA022).
–9 National Transportation Safety Board. Crash of Pilatus PC-12. 12-17-2019.

Narrative Information

National Transportation Safety Board. Aviation Accident Preliminary Report:
“Location Chamberlain, SD
“Date & Time: 11/30/2019, 1233 CST
“Aircraft: Pilatus PC12
“Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation – Personal
“Accident Number: CEN20FA022
“Registration: N56KJ
“Injuries: 9 Fatal, 3 Serious.

“On November 30, 2019, at 1233 central standard time, a Pilatus PC-12/47E airplane, N56KJ, was destroyed during an impact with terrain near the Chamberlain Municipal Airport, (9V9), Chamberlain South Dakota. The pilot and 8 passengers were fatally injured, and three passengers were seriously injured. The airplane was registered to Conrad & Bischoff, Inc. and operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and the flight was operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The flight originated from 9V9 shortly before the accident and was destined for Idaho Falls Regional Airport (IDA), Idaho Falls, Idaho….”

National Transportation Safety Board Final Report: Crash of Pilatus PC-12. 12-17-2019.

“Investigation No CED20FA022
“Event Date 11/30/2019
“Location Chamberlain, SD

“Investigation Details What Happened

“The pilot and passengers flew in the day before the accident and the airplane remained parked outside on the airport ramp overnight. Light to moderate snow and freezing drizzle persisted during the 12 to 24-hour period preceding the accident. In addition, low instrument meteorological conditions existed at the time of the accident takeoff.

“Before the flight, the pilot removed snow and ice from the airplane wings. However, the horizontal stabilizer was not accessible to the pilot and was not cleared of accumulated snow. In addition, the airplane was loaded over the maximum certificated gross weight and beyond the aft center-of-gravity limit. A total of 12 occupants were on board the airplane, though only 10 seats were available. None of the occupants qualified as lap children under regulations.

“The takeoff rotation was initiated about 88 kts which was about 4 kts slower than specified with the airplane configured for icing conditions. After takeoff, the airplane entered a left turn. Airspeed varied between 89 and 97 kts during the initial climb; however, it decayed to about 80 kts as the airplane altitude and bank angle peaked. The airplane ultimately reached a left bank angle of 64° at the peak altitude of about 380 ft above ground level. The airplane then entered a descent that continued until impact. The stall warning and stick shaker activated about 1 second after liftoff. The stick pusher became active about 15 seconds after liftoff. All three continued intermittently for the duration of the flight.

“A witness located about 1/2-mile northwest of the airport reported hearing the airplane takeoff. It was cloudy and snowing at the time. He was not able to see the airplane but noted that it entered a left turn based on the sound. He heard the airplane for about 4 or 5 seconds and the engine seemed to be “running good” until the sound stopped. The airplane impacted a dormant corn field about 3/4-mile west of the airport. A post-accident airframe examination did not reveal any anomalies consistent with a preimpact failure or malfunction. On board recorder data indicated that the engine was operating normally at the time of the accident.

“An airplane performance analysis indicated that the accumulated snow and ice on the empennage did not significantly degrade the airplane performance after takeoff. However, the effect of the snow and ice on the airplane center-of-gravity and the pitch (elevator) control forces could not be determined. Simulations indicated that the pitch oscillations recorded on the flight could be duplicated with control inputs, and that the flight control authority available to the pilot would have been sufficient to maintain control until the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall about 22 seconds after lifting off (the maximum bank angle of 64° occurred after the critical angle-of-attack was exceeded). In addition, similar but less extreme pitch oscillations recorded on the previous flight (during which the airplane was not contaminated with snow but was loaded to a similar center-of-gravity position) suggest that the pitch oscillations on both flights were the result of the improper loading and not the effects of accumulated snow and ice.

“Flight recorder data revealed that the accident pilot tended to rotate more rapidly and to a higher pitch angle during takeoff than a second pilot who flew the airplane regularly. Piloted simulations suggested that the accident pilot’s rotation technique, which involved a relatively abrupt and heavy pull on the control column, when combined with the extreme aft CG, heavy weight, and early rotation on the accident takeoff, contributed to the airplane’s high angle-of attack immediately after rotation, the triggering of the stick shaker and stick pusher, and the pilot’s pitch control difficulties after liftoff. The resulting pitch oscillations eventually resulted in a deep penetration into the aerodynamic stall region and subsequent loss of control. Although conditions were conducive to the development of spatial disorientation, the circumstances of this accident are more consistent with the pilot’s efforts to respond to the activation of the airplane stall protection system upon takeoff. These efforts were hindered by the heightened airplane pitch sensitivity resulting from the aft-CG condition. As a result, spatial disorientation is not considered to be a factor in this accident.

“What We Found

“We determined the probable cause(s) of this accident to be: the pilot’s loss of control shortly after takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent, low-altitude aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s improper loading of the airplane, which resulted in reduced static longitudinal stability and his decision to depart into low instrument meteorological conditions.”

Newspaper

Dec 1, Associated Press: “Chamberlain, S.D. – Authorities say nine people have been killed after a plane crashed in South Dakota. Peter Knudson with the National Transportation Safety Board tells The Associated Press 12 people were aboard the Pilatus PC-12 when it crashed about 12:30 p.m. Saturday, shortly after taking off from Chamberlain, about 140 miles…west of Sioux Falls. Knudson says nine people were killed and three were injured. The single-engine plane was bound for Idaho Falls, Idaho.

“Media reports say Chamberlain and central south-central South Dakota were under a winter storm warning at the time of the crash. Knudson says weather will be among several factors NTSB investigators will review, but no cause has yet been determined. He says inclement weather is making travel to the site difficult….” (Associated Press. “Authorities: 9 killed, 3 injured in South Dakota plane crash.” Yuma Sun, AZ, 12-1-2019.)

Sources

Associated Press. “Authorities: 9 killed, 3 injured in South Dakota plane crash.” Yuma Sun, AZ, 12-1-2019. Accessed 8-2-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/yuma-sun-dec-01-2019-p-6/

National Transportation Safety Board. Aviation Accident Preliminary Report (CEN20FA022). Washington, DC: NTSB. Accessed 8-2-2023 at: https://s3-assets.eastidahonews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/17144309/ReportGeneratorFile.pdf

National Transportation Safety Board. Crash of Pilatus PC-12 (Investigation CEN20FA022). Washington, DC: NTSB, 12-17-2019. Accessed 8-2-2023 at: https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Pages/CEN20FA022.aspx

–7 AP. “Historic B-17 Crashes, Killing Seven Aboard.” Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, IL, 10-3-2019.
–7 Aviation Safety Network. Collings Fdn. B-17 approach/runway crash, Windsor Locks IAP 10-2-2019.
–7 National Transportation Safety Board. Aviation Investigation Final Report ERA20MA001.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 2019:
“Date: 2 October 2019 Time: 09:53
“Type: Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress
“Operator: The Collings Foundation
“Registration: N93012 MSN: 32216
“First flight: 1944 Total airframe hrs.: 11388
“Engines: 4 Wright R-1820-97
“Crew: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3
“Passengers: Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 10
“Total: Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 13
….
“Location: Windsor Locks-Bradley International Airport, CT
“Phase: Landing (LDG)
“Nature: Domestic Non Scheduled Passenger
“Departure airport: Windsor Locks-Bradley International Airport, CT
“Destination airport: Windsor Locks-Bradley International Airport, CT.”

National Transportation Safety Board. Aviation Investigation Final Report ERA20MA001:

“The vintage, former US military bomber airplane was on a tour that allowed members of the public to purchase an excursion aboard the airplane for an LHFE [living flight history experience] flight. The accident flight was the airplane’s first flight of the day. During the initial climb, one of the pilots retracted the landing gear, and the crew chief/flight engineer (referred to as the loadmaster) left the cockpit to inform the passengers that they could leave their seats and walk around the airplane.

“One of the pilots reported to air traffic control that the airplane needed to return to the airport because of a rough magneto. At that time, the airplane was at an altitude of about 600 ft above ground level (agl) on the right crosswind leg of the airport traffic pattern for runway 6. The approach controller asked the pilot if he needed any assistance, to which the pilot replied, ‘negative.’

“When the loadmaster returned to the cockpit, he realized that the airplane was no longer climbing, and the pilot, realizing the same, instructed the copilot to extend the landing gear, which he did. The loadmaster left the cockpit to instruct the passengers to return to their seats and fasten their seat belts. When the loadmaster returned again to the cockpit, the pilot stated that the No. 4 engine was losing power; the pilot then shut down that engine and feathered the propeller without any further coordination or discussion.

“When the airplane was at an altitude of about 400 ft agl, it was on a midfield right downwind leg for runway 6. Witness video showed that the landing gear had already been extended by that time, even though the airplane still had about 2.7 nautical miles to fly in the traffic pattern before reaching the runway 6 threshold.

“During final approach, the airplane struck the runway 6 approach lights in a right-wind-down attitude about 1,000 ft before the runway and then contacted the ground about 500 ft before the runway. After landing short of the runway, the airplane traveled onto the right edge of the runway threshold and continued to veer to the right. The airplane collided with vehicles and a deicing fluid tank before coming to rest upright about 940 ft to the right of the runway. A postcrash fire ensued.

“….Teardown examination of the No. 4 engine revealed that the left magneto’s P-lead was partially
pulled out of the magneto housing and that a single strand of safety wire was around the retaining nut. Although the No. 4 engine’s left magneto produced a strong spark on the ignition leads for all nine cylinders, the grounding tab contacted the housing and caused the magneto to short and not function during a post-accident test. The No. 4 engine’s right magneto produced no spark on one of the nine ignition leads and a weak and intermittent spark on the other eight ignition leads because of wear to the compensator cam. The shorted-out left magneto would have caused rough engine operation and a partial loss of engine power that would have been exacerbated by the weak right magneto, which is likely what prompted the pilot to shut down the No. 4 engine and return to the airport.

“With the No. 4 engine shut down, the pilot would have had to use a higher power setting for the No. 3 engine to compensate for the loss of power from the No. 4 engine. Teardown examination of the No. 3 engine revealed evidence of detonation on four of the nine cylinders. In addition, the teardown examination revealed that the spark plugs were worn and had gaps between the electrodes that were beyond the manufacturer’s specifications. The condition of the spark plugs likely resulted in detonation and a partial loss of engine power that further reduced the total thrust available and exacerbated the thrust asymmetry. The pilot likely did not recognize, or recognized too late, the extent of the loss of engine power on the airplane’s right side.

“The pilot had performed a preflight run-up check of the magnetos at an engine speed of 1,700 rpm, which was higher than the 1,600-rpm speed in the Collings Foundation’s run-up checklist; after the check, the magnetos appeared to perform normally. However, a B-17 engine ground test checklist included instructions to check the magnetos at an engine speed between 1,900 and 2,000 rpm. If the pilots had been required to perform the magneto check at the higher rpm, they might have detected the detonation on the No. 3 engine and/or the magneto anomalies on the No. 4 engine (if either resulted in an rpm drop that exceeded 100 rpm, which would have been inconsistent with the B-17’s acceptable limits) and taken action before the flight to resolve the issues.

“During the return to the airport, the pilot flew the traffic pattern at an airspeed of 100 mph and below, and he allowed the airspeed to decay far below that required to minimize the loss of altitude over a given distance flown (about 120 mph). It is likely that the airplane was unable to maintain altitude at the lower airspeeds because the pilot could apply only a limited amount of power to the left-wing engines while simultaneously trimming the asymmetric thrust with the available rudder authority. Extending the landing gear created additional drag that exacerbated this situation; the landing gear should not have been extended until it became evident that the airplane could reach the runway. If the pilot had lowered the airplane’s nose to maintain the airspeed that was initially achieved during the climb and kept the landing gear retracted until landing on the runway was assured, the NTSB’s airplane performance study showed that the airplane could likely have overflown the approach lights and touched down beyond the runway threshold. Thus, the pilot did not appropriately manage the airplane’s configuration and airspeed after he shut down the No. 4 engine.

“The accident pilot was also the Collings Foundation’s director of maintenance and was responsible for performing the airplane’s maintenance while it was on tour. However, the teardown examinations of the Nos. 3 and 4 engines revealed maintenance issues that were not addressed during the airplane’s current tour. For example, the No. 3 engine’s 25-hour inspection occurred less than 1 month before the accident. As part of that inspection, the spark plugs should either have been cleaned, inspected, and tested or replaced with new plugs, and the gap between the electrodes should have been checked. The teardown examination found worn spark plugs with gaps between the electrodes that were beyond the manufacturer’s specifications, which should have been identified and corrected during the inspection of the No. 3 engine. As previously stated, the worn spark plugs would have contributed to the partial loss of power on the No. 3 engine and the asymmetric thrust.

“The 25-hour inspection also includes a check of the point gap for each magneto. The No. 4 engine had its 25-hour inspection 9 days before the accident, but the teardown examination found that the gap between the points on the right magneto was less than the minimum gap that the manufacturer required, indicating that this check was either not performed or was improperly performed. As a result of the point gap, most of the ignition leads produced sparks that were weak or intermittent, adding to the loss of engine power caused by the short in the left magneto….

“At the time of the accident, the Collings Foundation was operating with an LHFE exemption that provided the operator with relief from specific FAA regulations. The FAA’s most recent letter granting the Collings Foundation’s exemption stated that the foundation “must maintain and apply on a continuous basis its safety and risk management program that meets or exceeds the criteria specified in the FAA [LHFE] Policy.” The FAA’s policy stated that LHFE operators, including the Collings Foundation, were required to have a plan to mitigate risks that followed safety risk management principles.

“The Collings Foundation implemented an SMS about 2 1/2 years before the accident, which could have met the requirements of the FAA’s LHFE policy and the FAA’s letter that granted the foundation’s LHFE exemption. However, the SMS was not an effective safety risk management program. The SMS safety officer, who was responsible for managing the SMS, was a part-time, volunteer pilot and, as such, interacted with the foundation’s management and personnel on a sporadic basis only. Further, the SMS did not detect and appropriately manage the risks associated with safety issues related to the pilot’s inadequate maintenance of the airplane while it was on tour.

“The SMS also did not detect that the Collings Foundation’s engine run-up checklist was inconsistent with the B-17 engine ground test checklist or that the pilot and copilot did not wear their shoulder harnesses during flights (as reported by the loadmaster). In addition, the SMS did not detect that the loadmaster’s passenger briefings might have been insufficient (as indicated by statements from multiple surviving passengers that the briefing did not include information about seat belts, exits, or emergency equipment) or that he would stand unrestrained between the pilot and copilot during takeoff and landing, even though the foundation indicated that the seat to the left of the ball turret was available for him. The pilots’ failure to use their shoulder harnesses and the loadmaster’s failure to be restrained during takeoff and landing were inconsistent with federal regulations addressing the use of safety belts and shoulder harnesses….

“Probable Cause and Findings

“The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:

“The pilot’s failure to properly manage the airplane’s configuration and airspeed after he shut down the No. 4 engine following its partial loss of power during the initial climb. Contributing to the accident was the pilot/maintenance director’s inadequate maintenance while the airplane was on tour, which resulted in the partial loss of power to the Nos. 3 and 4 engines; the Collings Foundation’s ineffective safety management system (SMS), which failed to identify and mitigate safety risks; and the Federal Aviation Administration’s inadequate oversight of the Collings Foundation’s SMS.”

Newspaper

Oct 3, AP: “A World War-II era B-17 bomber that has toured the U.S. crashed and burned after an aborted takeoff Wednesday in Connecticut, killing seven of the 13 people aboard.

“The historic plane frequently had been at Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling, most recently at the end of July, as part of the annual Wings of Freedom tour run by the Collings Foundation.

“The passengers and three crew members were on board Wednesday as the four-engine, propeller-driven plane struggled to get into the air and slammed into a maintenance shed at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, when the pilots circled back for a landing, officials and witnesses said.

“Connecticut Public Safety Commissioner James Rovella said hours after the crash that some of those on board were burned, and ‘the victims are very difficult to identify.’….No children were on the plane….” (AP. “Historic B-17 Crashes, Killing Seven Aboard.” Lake County Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, IL, 10-3-2019.)

Sources

Associated Press (Chris Ehrmann and Dave Collins). “Historic B-17 Crashes, Killing Seven Aboard.” Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, IL, 10-3-2019. Accessed 8-2-2023 at:
https://newspaperarchive.com/arlington-heights-daily-herald-suburban-chicago-oct-03-2019-p-44/

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 2019. Collings Foundation B-17G Flying Fortress approach/runway crash, Windsor Locks-Bradley International Airport, CT. 10-2-2019. Accessed 8-2-2023 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20191002-0

National Transportation Safety Board. Aviation Investigation Final Report ERA20MA001. Washington, DC: NTSB, 24 pages. Accessed 8-2-2023 at: file:///C:/Users/Wayne/Downloads/Report_ERA20MA001_100356_8_2_2023%204%2032%2029%20PM.pdf

–34  Nat. Transportation Safety Board. Preliminary Report: Marine DCA19MM047. 9-12-2019.

 

Victims:

 

1. Carol Diana Adamic, 60, Santa Cruz.[1] Wife of Steve Salika and mother of Tia Salika).[2]
2. Juha Pekka Ahopelto, 50. Sunnyvale.[3]

Bernice Felipe Alvarez, 16. (See Bernice Felipe below).

3. Neal Gustav Baltz, 42, Phoenix, Engineer.[4]
4. Patricia Ann Beitzinger, 48, Chandler, AZ (companion of Neal Baltz).[5]
5. Veidehi Campbell (Williams?),[6] 41, Felton, CA;[7] Soquel Creek Water District employee.[8]
6. Kendra Chan, 26. Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ventura; daughter of Scot.[9]
7. Raymond Scott Chan, 59, Oxnard. Physics teacher at American High School, Fremont, CA.[10]
8. Sanjeeri Deopujari (Nirmal), 31,[11] Stamford, CT;[12] married to Kaustubh; a dentist.[13]
9. Justin Carroll Dignam, 58. Founder of Big Fish Employer Services, Placentia, CA.[14]
10. Berenice Felipe,[15] 16, Santa Cruz. Student at Pacific Collegiate School (charter middle and high school).[16]
11. Lisa Fiedler, 52. Mill Valley hairdresser and nature photographer.[17]
12. Kristina “Kristy” Finstad, 41, Santa Cruz. Owner of Worldwide Diving Adventures.[18]
13. Adrian Dahood-Fritz, 40. Sacramento; research scientist; wife of Andrew.[19]
14. Andrew Fritz, 40. Sacramento photography teacher; husband of Adrian.[20]
15. Daniel Garcia, 46; of Berkeley. Apple employee.[21]
16. Marybeth Guiney, 51, Santa Monica. Sales director and ocean enthusiast.[22]
17. Yuko Hatano, 39, San Jose.[23]

Mike Kohls, galley cook and deckhand on Conception.[24] (Not named on Sep 13 lists of 34.)[25]

18. Yulia Krashennaya, 40, of Berkeley; product manager at Spiralinks.[26]
19. Alexandra “Allie” Kurtz, 26, Santa Barbara. Dive instructor.[27] Crew member?[28]
20. Xiang Lin, 45, Fremont.[29] Beijing native; moved to US for college; worked at Acorn Summit Ventures.[30]
21. Charles McIlvain, 44, Santa Monica.[31] Visual effects designer, Walt Disney Imagineering.[32]
22. Caroline (Carrie) McLaughlin, 35, Oakland. Senior software engineer, Brilliant company.[33]
23. Kaustubh Nirmal, 33, Stamford, CT;[34] married to Sanjeeri Deopujari; worked in finance.[35]
24. Angela Rose Quitasol, 28, of Stockton (sister of Evan Michael and Nicole).[36]
25. Evan Michel Quitasol, 37, Stockton. Sister of Nicole & Angela);[37] celebrating her birthday.[38]
26. Michael Quitasol, 62, of Stockton (father of the Quitasol sisters).[39]
27. Nicole Storm Quitasol, 31, of Imperial Beach (sister of Evan Michael and Angela).[40]
28. Steven Salika, 55, of Santa Cruz. Senior manager at Apple; father of Tia.[41]
29. Tia Salika (or Salika-Adamic), 17, Santa Cruz. College student; celebrating 17^th[42]
30. Sunil Singh Sandhu, 45, Half Moon Bay, CA;[43] Pointcloud, Inc. silicon photonics senior scientist.[44]
31. Fernisa Sison, 57, Stockton (wife of Michael Quitasol, stepmother of three Quitasol sisters).[45]
32. Ted Strom, 62, of Germantown, TN;[46] Associate Professor of TN Health Science Ctr.[47]
33. Kristian Takvam. 34, San Francisco. Vice President of engineering, Brilliant company.[48]
34. Wei Tan, 26, of Goleta, CA;[49] data scientist with Evidation Health, Santa Barbara.[50]

 

Narrative Information

 

NTSB: “On Monday, September 2, 2019, about 3:14 a.m. Pacific daylight time, US Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach received a distress call from the 75-foot commercial diving vessel Conception, with 39 persons on board. The Conception was owned and operated by Truth Aquatics, Inc., based in Santa Barbara, California. The Conception was classified by the Coast Guard as a small passenger vessel that took passengers on dive excursions in the waters around the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara. The accident voyage was a three-day diving trip to the Channel Islands. On the last night of the voyage, the vessel was anchored in Platts Harbor off Santa Cruz Island, 21.5 nautical miles south-southwest of Santa Barbara, when it caught fire. Weather conditions were reported as slight to no winds with patchy fog, 2–3-foot seas, and air and water temperature about 65°F. The Conception was carrying 39 persons, 6 of which were crew. Thirty-three passengers and one crewmember died.

 

“The wood and fiberglass vessel was built in 1981. The vessel had three levels: the uppermost sun deck, containing the wheelhouse and crew rooms; the main deck, which included the salon and galley; and the lower deck within the hull, which housed the passenger berthing(bunkroom) and shower room, as well as the engine room and tanks.

 

“Initial interviews of three crewmembers revealed that no mechanical or electrical issues were reported. At the time of the fire, five crewmembers were asleep in berths behind the wheelhouse, and one crewmember was asleep in the bunkroom, which was accessed from the salon down a ladderwell in the forward, starboard corner of the compartment. The bunkroom had an emergency escape hatch located on the aft end, which also exited to the salon. There were two, locally-sounding smoke detectors in the overhead of the bunkroom.

 

“A crewmember sleeping in the wheelhouse berths was awakened by a noise and got up to investigate. He saw a fire at the aft end of the sun deck, rising up from the salon compartment below. The crewmember alerted the crew behind the wheelhouse. As crewmembers awoke, the captain radioed a distress message to the Coast Guard.

 

“The crewmembers attempted to access the salon and passengers below. Unable to use the aft ladder, which was on fire, the crewmembers jumped down to the main deck (one crewmember broke his leg in the process) and tried to access the salon and galley compartment, which was fully engulfed by fire at the aft end and by thick smoke in the forward end, through a forward window. Unable to open the window and overwhelmed by smoke, the crew jumped overboard.

 

“Two crewmembers and the captain swam to the stern, reboarded the vessel, opened the hatch to the engine room, and saw no fire. Access to the salon through the aft doors was blocked by fire, so they launched a small skiff and picked up the remaining two crewmembers in the water. They transferred to a recreational vessel anchored nearby (Grape Escape) where the captain continued to radio for help, while two crewmembers returned to the Conception to search for survivors around the burning hull. Local Coast Guard and fire departments arrived on scene to extinguish the fire and conduct search and rescue. The vessel burned to the waterline by morning and subsequently sank in about 60 feet of water.

 

“Later that day, the Coast Guard declared the accident a major marine casualty. The NTSB was named as the lead federal agency for the safety investigation and launched a full team to Santa Barbara, arriving on scene the following morning. The Coast Guard, Truth Aquatics, Inc., Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, and Santa Barbara County Fire Department were named aas parties to the NTSB investigation.

 

“Investigators have collected documents from recent Coast Guard inspections and visited another Truth Aquatics vessel, Vision, a vessel similar to the Conception. Salvage operations to bring the wreckage to the surface for examination and documentation have begun. Investigators plan to examine current regulations regarding vessels of this type, year of build, and operation; early-warning and smoke-detection and alarm systems; evacuation routes; training; and current company policies and procedures. Efforts continue to determine the source of the fire.” (National Transportation Safety Board. Preliminary Report: Marine DCA19MM047. 9-12-2019.)

 

Media Reporting (Chronological)

 

Sep 2: “Coast Guard officials said eight people are dead and 26 are missing after a 75-foot commercial diving boat erupted in flames near the shoreline of Santa Cruz Island, Calif., early Monday.

 

“Many aboard the vessel Conception[51] were thought to be sleeping below deck when the fire broke out in the predawn hours. Authorities continued their search Monday for possible survivors as the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s coroner office prepared for a mass casualty incident….

 

“Authorities identified four of the victims as two men and two women and said they will need to be identified through DNA. Four additional victims were found on the ocean floor 64 feet down, near where the boat sank. Dive teams are working to recover those bodies, but what’s left of the boat remains unstable, said Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown.

 

“Five crew members were already awake when the fire erupted and jumped off the boat, which was 20 yards off shore of the north side of Santa Cruz Island near the Ventura County coast, Rochester said. One crew member remains unaccounted for….

 

“Around 3:15 a.m., Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach watch-standers overheard a mayday call of the boat on fire, according to the agency. In the garbled emergency call, a man says there are 39 people aboard. ‘I can’t breathe,’ the man frantically says.

 

“The five crew members, two with leg injuries, were rescued by a good Samaritan boat, the Grape Escape, according to the agency….

 

“Shirley Hansen and her husband, Bob, were jarred awake about 3:30 a.m. by the sound of pounding on the side of their 60-foot fishing boat. The crew had escaped the Conception by jumping into the ocean, retrieving a dinghy and paddling 200 yards to the Hansens’ boat, the Grape Escape, Shirley Hansen said in an interview. The crew was distraught, some wearing only underwear, she said. One man told the Hansens that his girlfriend was still below deck on the Conception. Another man cried, describing how they had celebrated three passengers’ birthdays hours earlier, including that of a 17-year-old girl who was on the diving trip with her parents. Shirley Hansen said she could see the Conception ablaze from her boat and said there was so much smoke that she had to use an inhaler.

 

“As the Hansens handed out blankets and clothes to the crew, two of the men got back into the dinghy to see if anyone else had jumped overboard. ‘But they came back and there was no one that they found,’ Shirley Hansen said.

 

“As the fog lifted Monday at 2 p.m., at least three rescue vessels were at sea near the sunken dive boat, located in a remote cove at the northernmost end of Santa Cruz Island….

 

“Kristy Finstad, 41, was helping to lead the Labor Day excursion on the Conception. Hours after the disaster, Finstad’s family had not heard from their daughter, a marine biologist who worked for the family company, Worldwide Diving Adventures….

 

“Finstad’s mother founded Worldwide Diving Adventures in 1972, and Finstad grew up with a love of the ocean and of marine life. She studied marine biology at UC Santa Cruz and held multiple jobs related to marine life and the ocean, including performing research dives for the Australian Institute of Marine Science and writing a restoration guidebook for the California Coastal Commission….

 

“The boat departed from its base in Santa Barbara Harbor on Saturday morning and was scheduled for a three-day trip.

 

“Truth Aquatics, the company that owns Conception, is a respected name in the diving world, running several boats off the Channel Islands. Owner Glen Fritzler won the California Scuba Service Award earlier this year for his pioneering work in the industry. According to California Diving News, Fritzler built the Conception in 1981 and it was a major part of his life and business. “Conception was California’s crown jewel of live-aboard dive boats….” Diving News reported.

 

“Fritzler told the paper his firm’s boats have hosted more than 450,000 divers and more than 1 million dives….

 

“Before any guest begins a dive, Rausch said, the ship’s first captain completes an extensive safety briefing that covers the location of life jackets, deploying life boats, and the location of two bunk room exits, a ladder at the bow end and an escape hatch toward the stern. The briefing also discusses the alarms on board, as well as underwater alarms and notes the location of fire extinguishers. The safety briefing, Rausch said, is done within the galley at the site of the escape hatch, a roughly two-feet by two-feet square plank of wood with no lock or latch on it. Below, the rows of bunks hold a maximum of 46 people, some in single or double beds stacked in threes….” (Los Angeles Times (Dakota Smith, Brittny Mejia, Louis Sahagun, Laura J. Nelson). “California boat fire: 8 dead, at least 26 missing as officials prepare for the worst.” 9-2-2019.)

 

Sep 2: “….Dive teams were working to recover those bodies, as well as others that may be inside the boat, which was upside down at the bottom of the sea, in about 62 feet of water, authorities said. Those on board were thought to be sleeping below deck when the fire broke out in the predawn hours.

 

“‘Mayday, mayday, mayday! Conception … north side of Santa Cruz,’ a man called in at about 3:15 a.m., his words broken up by static.

 

“A Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach dispatcher asked the vessel’s position and the number of people on board…‘I can’t breathe!’ the man said, his words cutting in and out.

 

“‘You have 29 persons on board and you can’t breathe? What is your current GPS position?’ the dispatcher asked.

 

“There is a cacophony of noise and static. The man goes silent, and the dispatcher tries getting him to speak again and nearby boats rush toward the area. Then, a man can be heard: ‘Vessel Conception! Vessel Conception! Vessel Conception! … Reporting a vessel on fire.’

 

“Dispatch: ‘…Your vessel is on fire? Is that correct? … Are you on board the Conception?’

 

“Man: ‘Roger, there’s 33 people on board the vessel that’s on fire. They can’t get off.’

 

“Dispatch: ‘Roger, are they locked inside the boat? Roger, can you get back on board and unlock the boat, unlock the door so they can get off? Roger, you don’t have any firefighting gear at all, no fire extinguishers or anything? …’

 

“Dispatch: ‘Is this the captain of the Conception?’ Man: ‘Roger.’

 

“Dispatch: ‘Was that all the crew that jumped off?’ Man: ‘Roger.’

 

“Dispatch: ‘Is the vessel fully engulfed now?’ Man: ‘Roger, and there’s no escape hatch for any of the people on board.’

 

“Five crew members already were awake and jumped off the boat, which was 20 yards offshore of the north side of Santa Cruz Island, according to Coast Guard Capt. Monica Rochester….

 

“The dispatcher put out a request: ‘Platts Harbor. The Coast Guard has received a report of the vessel Conception on fire. … All mariners are requested to keep a sharp lookout. Assist if possible. Report any signs to the U.S. Coast Guard.’” (Los Angeles Times/Hailey Branson-Potts. “ ‘I can’t breathe…there’s no escape hatch’: Dramatic mayday call from California boat on fire.” 9-2-2019.)

 

Sep 2: “According to US Coast Guard Lt. Commander Stephen Brickey, these are the latest numbers on the boat fire investigation:

 

• 39 total people were on board, 33 were passengers and 6 were crew members
• 5 of the 6 crew members were rescued
• 4 bodies have been recovered
• An additional 4 bodies are visible on the ocean floor near the sunken vessel
• 26 people are still unaccounted for

 

“USCG confirms search and rescue efforts will continue through the night and at least into Tuesday morning.

 

“Sheriff Brown says it is unclear whether there was a black box on the vessel. The boat has sank and is inverted on the ocean floor in approximately 60 feet of water, according to USCG officials.” (CNN/Alexandra Meeks. “26 people are still missing from the Conception.” 9-2-2019.)

 

Sep 3: “Thirty-nine avid divers, families and crew members on board the Conception were resting after a day of diving and gourmet meals when flames engulfed the vessel in the predawn hours of Labor Day.

 

“The majority of the passengers had come from several towns in the San Francisco Bay area to dive among colorful underwater sea life for three days, said Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown.

 

“Only five people — all crew members — were found alive and the bodies of 20 people have been recovered off the coast of Santa Cruz Island. The search for survivors has been suspended after crews searched on the sea for close than 24 hours….” (CNN. “Here are the passengers, crew members on board Calif. Dive boat.” KTVZ, Bend, OR, 9-3-2019.)

 

Sep 4: “The bodies of 33 people who died in a diving boat fire off the coast of Southern California have been recovered, leaving only one still missing. The bodies of 13 additional victims were recovered Tuesday from the waters off the coast of Santa Cruz Island, where the 75-foot commercial vessel the Conception went up in flames early Monday morning, Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office Lt. Brian Olmstead said. On Monday [Sep 3] the remains of 20 people — 11 women and nine men — were found. Crews on Wednesday were searching for one more body in the 65-foot-deep waters….

 

“Five crew members, including the captain, were on the third deck of the boat when it erupted into flames, and were able to jump off the boat. They were rescued by a recreational vessel.

 

“The Conception, operated by Truth Aquatics out of Santa Barbara, was on a $665 per person Labor Day weekend diving excursion, according to a Truth Aquatics schedule. It departed Saturday morning and was due back Monday evening.

 

“The vessel was required to be inspected by the Coast Guard annually and was in full compliance with regulatory requirements…

 

“Inge Courtois, the general manager of Truth Aquatics, said the company’s diving operations were postponed until further notice. She said the five crew members who survived had no choice but to jump off the ship or else they would have died. She said the crew member who died was 26 years old and died doing what she loved.’ She said the woman, who she did not want to name, was originally hired to work in the Truth Aquatics office, but she wanted ‘badly’ to be on the water ‘so we put her on the boat.’….

 

“A team with the National Transportation Safety Board also began investigating Tuesday [Sep 3].” (NBC News. “Bodies of 33 victims of California diving boat fire recovered, one still missing.” 9-4-2019.)

 

Sep 6: “Victims in the tragic dive boat fire likely died of smoke inhalation, not burns, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said Friday. All the passengers and one crew member had been sleeping in tight quarters beneath the deck, and all had signs of smoke inhalation. A preliminary examination shows they died before being burned….” (USA Today. “California boat fire: Authorities say victims likely died of smoke inhalation, not burns.” 9-6-2019.)

 

Sep 6: “The owners of the California diving boat that burned during a Labor Day weekend charter… have turned to a 19th century maritime law to argue they should not have to pay any money to the families of victims. In their petition filed Thursday, attorneys for the owners Truth Aquatics Inc., Glen Fritzler and his wife, Dana, cite an 1851 statute in asking a judge to eliminate their financial liability or lower it to an amount equal to the post-fire value of the boat, or $0. The Conception…is now worthless, according to the Fritzlers’ federal court filing in the Central District of California….

 

“Robert J. Mongeluzzi, a Philadelphia-based maritime attorney who often represents families of people who died in duck boat incidents, said the petition by Conception’s owners was a predictable, if callous tactic for a vessel operator facing crippling legal payouts. ‘It is pretty heartless when not all the bodies have been recovered to file something saying their lives are worthless,’ Mongeluzzi said….

 

“None of the victims’ relatives have sued the Fritzlers or Truth Aquatics, but in court filings, the owners say they’ve received notice for legal claims….

 

“Legal experts said the owners of the Conception effectively won their first victory in the post-fire litigation by filing the petition before victims initiated court actions. Daniel Rose, a veteran New York-based maritime attorney, said if victims had filed lawsuits first in state courts, they could be eligible for significant damages. By filing the petition, Conception owners could be able to direct any future lawsuit to federal court and prevent substantial payouts. ‘It brings all the claims into one court,’ added Michael Karcher, a professor of maritime law at the University of Miami. He emphasized that the petition still faced hurdles and that it was not absolute.

 

“To win, the Fritzlers will have to show in court that their company was not to blame for the inferno. Lawyers for the victims’ families will presumably challenge the effort but will be required to show that the owners knew or should have known of the risk of harm.

 

“The law, the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851, has been used routinely by ship operators, including the owner of the Titanic. In recent years, it has been invoked by the owners in the Deep Water Horizon oil rig disaster, the sinking of the El Faro cargo ship in 2015 and duck boat deaths such as the 2018 sinking in Missouri that killed 17.

 

“Rose called it a ‘distasteful old law’ that traces to the days when the shipping industry could not obtain insurance. Now, it is those insurers — not the boat owner or operator — who push for such a strategy, since they may bankroll the defense. ‘It is certainly a tactic, but shipping owners aren’t bluffing; it is the law,’ he added.” (Los Angeles Times. “California dive boat owner asks judge to limit payouts to victims’ families.” 9-6-2019.)

 

Sep 8: “In a significant expansion of the investigation into the Labor Day boat fire that killed 34 people, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Coast Guard served warrants Sunday at the Santa Barbara headquarters of Truth Aquatics seeking training, safety and maintenance records. Agents also searched two other boats belonging to the company, including one similar to Conception, the 75-foot vessel that burned and sank early Monday morning as it was anchored off the coast of Santa Cruz Island. Truth Aquatics is a dive boat operator that offers water and scuba outings. Investigators took photos and boxes during the search, which is part of the ongoing investigation into the incident, said Lt. Eric Raney with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. No arrests were made. ‘I see it as par for the course,’ Raney said. ‘You can only do so much with your basic investigative efforts, and at some point you have to use a search warrant as the means to collect information.’….

 

“Law enforcement sources told The Times last week that a preliminary investigation into the Conception boat fire had suggested serious safety deficiencies aboard the vessel, including the lack of a “roaming night watchman” who is required to be awake and alert passengers in the event of a fire or other dangers. The probe also has raised questions about whether the crew was adequately trained and whether passengers received a complete safety briefing, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not have approval to comment publicly about the case.

 

“Salvage efforts to recover the dive boat are expected to resume Monday [Sep 9]. Operations were suspended Friday afternoon because of weather and safety concerns….

 

“Authorities have not suggested the fire and fatalities were the result of any criminal wrongdoing, but prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles were at the scene on Thursday preparing to assist investigators and keeping tabs on the unfolding inquiry….” (Los Angeles Times (Richard Winton, Matt Stiles, Mark Puente). “California boat fire probe widens as FBI and Coast Guard serve search warrants on Conception Owner.” 9-8-2019.

 

Sep 10: “….The remains of the 34th person who died in the Conception tragedy have yet to be located. The search for that person resumed on Tuesday [10^th] after being suspended due to weather and safety concerns. Boat salvage operations are expected to resume on Wednesday.” (KEYT, Santa Barbara (Travis Schlepp). “Sheriff’s office names five more victims of dive boat Conception fire.” 9-10-2019.)

 

Sep 11: “Authorities say divers have found the body of the last missing victim in a fatal boat fire that killed 34 people off the Southern California coast. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office also said Wednesday on Twitter that authorities are still doing DNA testing to confirm the identities of seven of the victims….

 

“The Coast Guard has issued safety recommendations in the wake of a fatal boat fire off the Southern California coast that killed 34 people.[52] A Coast Guard bulletin says the owners and operators of vessels should immediately reduce potential fire hazards and consider limiting unsupervised charging of lithium-ion batteries and extensive use of power strips and extension cords. The bulletin also says vessels should review emergency duties with the crew, identify emergency escapes, check all firefighting and lifesaving equipment onboard, and look at the condition of passenger accommodation spaces for ‘unsafe practices or other hazardous arrangements.’ The Coast Guard is among several agencies investigating the Sept. 2 fire. A cause has yet to be determined.” (Associated Press. “Divers Find Body of Final Victim in Boat Fire That Killed 34 People.” KTLA, Los Angeles, 9-11-2019.)

 

Sep 13: “The surfacing of Conception comes 10 days after the massive fire broke out, killing nearly everyone on board….The Coast guard and a salvage crew worked together on Thursday to lift what was left of the 75-foot Conception boat out of the deep waters off Santa Cruz Island, where the deadly fire broke out nearly two weeks ago.

 

“The Los Angeles Times reported that the Conception will be transported to a naval facility, where its power, fuel, and electrical systems will be examined by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigators….

 

“During the press conference, Brown also confirmed that all 34 victims from the deadly fire have been identified and their family members have been notified….The sheriff said 33 of those victims were identified through DNA comparisons while the final victim was identified through fingerprints, with DNA confirmation pending arrival of a familial DNA sample from overseas.

 

“In addition to the boat surfacing and victim confirmation on Thursday, the National Transportation Safety Board released a report confirming that the five surviving crew members were asleep behind the wheelhouse on the boat’s uppermost sun deck, while one crew member slept alongside the 33 passengers in the bunk room on the lower deck….

 

“The National Transportation Safety Board said investigators are looking at documents from recent inspections and have also visited a boat similar in shape and size to the Conception to potentially determine a cause of the fire. The report confirmed that there were two smoke detectors in the bunkroom where the passengers were sleeping.” (People. “Charred Wreckage of Dive Boat Raised to the Surface as Authorities Officially Identify All Victims.” 9-13-2019.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Divers Find Body of Final Victim in Boat Fire That Killed 34 People.” KTLA, Los Angeles, 9-11-2019. Accessed 9-11-2019 at: https://ktla.com/2019/09/11/divers-resume-search-for-final-missing-victim-of-boat-fire-that-killed-34-people-off-santa-cruz-island/

 

BuzzFeed.News (Briana Sacks). “A Family of Five Are Among Those Presumed Dead in the California Diving Boat Fire.” 9-3-2019. Accessed 9-3-2019 at: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/briannasacks/a-family-of-five-are-among-those-presumed-dead-in-the

 

Cain, Josh (Los Angeles Daily News). “Placentia business owner, former water polo coach among Conception dive boat fire victims.” Pasadena Star-News, 9-5-2019. Accessed 9-5-2019 at: https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2019/09/05/placentia-business-owner-former-water-polo-coach-among-conception-victims/

 

CNN (Alexandra Meeks). “26 people are still missing from the Conception.” 9-2-2019. Accessed 9-2-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/california-boat-fire/index.html

 

CNN (Mike Hayes, Fernando Alfonso III and Amanda Wills). “At least 8 dead in boat fire off California coast.” 9-2-2019. Accessed 9-2-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/california-boat-fire/index.html

 

CNN (Nicole Chavez, Stephanie Elam and Jason Kravarik). “Here are the passengers, crew members on board Calif. Dive boat.” KTVZ, Bend, OR, 9-3-2019. Accessed 9-3-2019 at: https://www.ktvz.com/news/national-world/here-are-the-passengers-crew-members-on-board-calif-dive-boat/1116716402

 

Gofundme. “Memorial Fund for Berenice Felipe.” 9-5-2019. Accessed 9-14-2019 at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/assistance-for-yadira-alvarez

 

Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “Body of Jewish victim of Santa Barbara boat fire returned to New Jersey for burial.” 9-9-2019. Accessed 9-9-2019 at: https://www.jta.org/quick-reads

 

KEYT, Santa Barbara (Travis Schlepp). “Sheriff’s office names five more victims of dive boat Conception fire.” 9-10-2019. Accessed 9-10-2019 at: https://www.keyt.com/news/santa-barbara-s-county/sheriff-s-office-names-five-more-victims-of-dive-boat-conception-fire/1119242089

 

LAist.com. “Conception Boat Fire: Here’s What We Know About The 34 Victims.” 9-4-2019. Accessed 9-4-2019 at: https://laist.com/2019/09/04/victims_conception_dive_boat_fire_santa_cruz_island.php

 

Los Angeles Times (Dakota Smith, Brittny Mejia, Louis Sahagun, Laura J. Nelson). “California boat fire: 8 dead, at least 26 missing as officials prepare for the worst.” 9-2-2019. Accessed 9-2-2019 at: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-02/massive-rescue-operation-after-dozens-trapped-in-boat-fire-off-santa-barbara

 

Los Angeles Times (Richard Winton, Matt Stiles, Mark Puente). “California boat fire probe widens as FBI and Coast Guard serve search warrants on Conception Owner.” 9-8-2019. Accessed 9-8-2019 at: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-08/california-boat-fire-investigators-search-warrants-conception-owner-truth-aquatics

 

Los Angeles Times (Laura J. Nelson and Colleen Shalby). “California boat five victims: United by a love for ocean, taken in tragedy. These are their stories.” 9-8-2019. Accessed 9-8-2019 at: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-04/california-conception-dive-boat-fire-victims

 

Los Angeles Times (Richard Winton, Matt Hamilton, Leila Miller, Mark Puente). “California dive boat owner asks judge to limit payouts to victims’ families.” 9-6-2019. Accessed 9-6-2019 at: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-05/california-boat-fire-lawsuit-damages-court-filing

 

Los Angeles Times (Hailey Branson-Potts). “ ‘I can’t breathe…there’s no escape hatch’: Dramatic mayday call from California boat on fire.” 9-2-2019. Accessed 9-2-2019 at: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-02/i-cant-breathe-mayday-call-california-boat-fire

 

Los Angeles Times (Laura J. Nelson). “Victims of the California boat fire: Who they were.” 9-4-2019. Accessed 9-4-2019 at: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-04/california-conception-dive-boat-fire-victims

 

National Transportation Safety Board. Preliminary Report: Marine DCA19MM047. 9-12-2019. Accessed 9-14-2019 at: https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/accidentreports/pages/DCA19MM047-preliminary-report.aspx

 

NBC News (Elisha Fieldstadt). “Bodies of 33 victims of California diving boat fire recovered, one still missing.” 9-4-2019. Accessed 9-4-2019 at: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/bodies-33-victims-california-diving-boat-fire-recovered-one-still-n1049571

 

Patch.com, Santa Cruz (Toni McAllister). “With ‘Heavy Heart,’ All Victims of California Boat Fire Named.” 9-13-2019. Accessed 9-14-2019 at: https://patch.com/california/santacruz/heavy-heart-all-victims-california-boat-fire-named

 

People (Joelle Goldstein). “Charred Wreckage of Dive Boat Raised to the Surface as Authorities Officially Identify All Victims.” 9-13-2019. Accessed 9-14-2019 at: https://people.com/human-interest/charred-california-dive-boat-brought-to-surface-all-victims-identified/

 

People (Caitlin Keating, Susan Young, Joelle Goldstein, Johnny Dodd, Maria Pasquini, Susan Keating). “Here Are All 34 Victims of the Calif. Boat Fire.” 9-13-2019. Accessed 9-14-2019 at: https://people.com/human-interest/california-boat-fire-victims/

 

People (Caitlin Keating, Susan Young, Joelle Goldstein, Johnny Dodd, Maria Pasquini, Susan Keating). “Nationwide Heartbreak: Remembering the 34 Victims of the California Boat Fire.” 9-8-2019. Accessed 9-8-2019 at: https://people.com/human-interest/california-boat-fire-victims/

 

People (Rachel DeSantis). “NTSB Preliminary Report Says All Crew Members Were Sleeping When California Boat Fire Broke Out.” 9-12-2019. Accessed 9-14-2019 at: https://people.com/human-interest/crew-members-sleeping-california-boat-fire-preliminary-report/

 

Santa Monica Observer, CA. “Santa Monica Residents Charles McIlvain, 44, and Marybeth Guiney, 32, Among Diving Boat Fire Deaths.” 9-4-2019. Accessed 9-4-2019 at: https://www.smobserved.com/story/2019/09/04/news/santa-monica-residents-charles-mcilvain-34-and-marybeth-guiney-32-among-diving-boat-fire-deaths/4183.html

 

SFGate (Amy Graff). “Apple confirms two employees among dead in dive boat fire.” 9-4-2019. Accessed 9-4-2019 at: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Apple-employees-boat-fire-Steve-Salika-14413320.php

 

SFGate (Amy Graff). “Four more Northern Californians named as victims in Conception dive boat fire.” 9-5-2019. Accessed 9-5-2019 at: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/dive-boat-victims-Northern-California-Bay-Area-14416686.php

 

Truth Aquatics, Santa Barbara, CA. Conception. Accessed 9-5-2019. Accessed 9-5-2019 at: https://www.truthaquatics.com/conception/

 

USA Today (Grace Hauck and Olivia Sanchez). “California boat fire: Authorities say victims likely died of smoke inhalation, not burns.” 9-6-2019. Accessed 9-6-2019 at: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/09/06/california-dive-boat-fire-conception-victims-identified/2233466001/

 

U.S. Coast Guard. Marine Safety Information Bulletin 008-19, “Passenger vessel compliance and operational readiness,” 9-10-2019. Accessed 9-11-2019 at: https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/MSIB/2019/MSIB_008_19.pdf?ver=2019-09-10-115632-287

[1] Patch.com, Santa Cruz. “With ‘Heavy Heart,’ All Victims of California Boat Fire Named.” 9-13-2019.

[2] SFGate (Amy Graff). “Apple confirms two employees among dead in dive boat fire.” 9-4-2019; USA Today. “California boat fire: Authorities say victims likely died of smoke inhalation, not burns.” 9-6-2019.

[3] People. “Here Are All 34 Victims of the Calif. Boat Fire.” 9-13-2019.

[4] Los Angeles Times (Laura J. Nelson). “Victims of the California boat fire: Who they were.” 9-4-2019; USA Today. “California boat fire: Authorities say victims likely died of smoke inhalation, not burns.” 9-6-2019.

[5] Los Angeles Times (Laura J. Nelson). “Victims of the California boat fire: Who they were.” 9-4-2019; USA Today. “California boat fire: Authorities say victims likely died of smoke inhalation, not burns.” 9-6-2019.

[6] Los Angeles Times has name as Vaidehi Williams. (Los Angeles Times, Laura J. Nelson and Colleen Shalby. “California boat five victims: United by a love for ocean, taken in tragedy. These are their stories.” 9-8-2019.)

[7] USA Today. “California boat fire: Authorities say victims likely died of smoke inhalation, not burns.” 9-6-2019.

[8] People. “Nationwide Heartbreak: Remembering the 34 Victims of the California Boat Fire.” 9-8-2019.

[9] Los Angeles Times (Laura J. Nelson). “Victims of the California boat fire: Who they were.” 9-4-2019.

[10] BuzzFeed. “A Family of Five Are Among Those Presumed Dead in the California Diving Boat Fire.” 9-3-2019.

[11] Age from: People. “Here Are All 34 Victims of the Calif. Boat Fire.” 9-13-2019.

[12] Patch.com, Santa Cruz. “With ‘Heavy Heart,’ All Victims of California Boat Fire Named.” 9-13-2019.

[13] People. “Nationwide Heartbreak: Remembering the 34 Victims of the California Boat Fire.” 9-8-2019.

[14] Josh Cain (Los Angeles Daily News). “Placentia business owner, former water polo coach among Conception dive boat fire victims.” Pasadena Star-News, 9-5-2019. Notes information in article was from BFES.

[15] One source has name as Berenice Felipe Alvarez. (People. “Nationwide Heartbreak: Remembering the 34 Victims of the California Boat Fire.” 9-8-2019.)

[16] Los Angeles Times (Laura J. Nelson). “Victims of the California boat fire: Who they were.” 9-4-2019; Gofundme. “Memorial Fund for Berenice Felipe.” 9-5-2019.

[17] Los Angeles Times (Laura J. Nelson). “Victims of the California boat fire: Who they were.” 9-4-2019.

[18] “A marine biologist who grew up swimming off the state’s Channel Islands and the owner of a Santa Cruz-based diving company was on board the Conception…[she] was leading a dive trip on the vessel…[was] the owner of Worldwide Diving Adventures, a local company that chartered the Conception dive boat from Truth Aquatics, business records show.” (CNN. “Here are the passengers, crew members on board Calif. Dive boat.” 9-3-2019.)

[19] SFGate/Amy Graff. “Four more Northern Californians named as victims in Conception dive boat fire.” 9-5-2019.

[20] SFGate/Amy Graff. “Four more Northern Californians named as victims in Conception dive boat fire.” 9-5-2019.

[21] Los Angeles Times (Laura J. Nelson). “Victims of the California boat fire: Who they were.” 9-4-2019.

[22] Santa Monica Observer, CA. “Santa Monica Residents Charles McIlvain, 44, and Marybeth Guiney, 32, Among Diving Boat Fire Deaths.” 9-4-2019.

[23] People. “Here Are All 34 Victims of the Calif. Boat Fire.” 9-13-2019.

[24] “….the galley cook and deckhand on the Conception…The…father of a daughter was typically making breakfast for the passengers on the ship around 4 am, James Kohls told reporters Monday as he waited for news of his brother. (CNN. “Here are the passengers, crew members on board Calif. Dive boat.” 9-3-2019.)

[25] See, for example: Patch.com, Santa Cruz (Toni McAllister). “With ‘Heavy Heart,’ All Victims of California Boat Fire Named.” 9-13-2019.

[26] Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “Body of Jewish victim of…boat fire returned to New Jersey for burial.” 9-9-2019.

[27] BuzzFeed. “A Family of Five Are Among Those Presumed Dead in the California Diving Boat Fire.” 9-3-2019.

[28] Los Angeles Times (Laura J. Nelson). “Victims of the California boat fire: Who they were.” 9-4-2019; NBC Los Angeles (J. Lloyd). “Only Conception Crew Member Killed in Fire Dreamed of Working on the Water.” 9-5-2019; Patch.com, Santa Cruz. “With ‘Heavy Heart,’ All Victims of California Boat Fire Named.” 9-13-2019.

[29] Patch.com, Santa Cruz. “With ‘Heavy Heart,’ All Victims of California Boat Fire Named.” 9-13-2019.

[30] People. “Here Are All 34 Victims of the Calif. Boat Fire.” 9-13-2019.

[31] Patch.com, Santa Cruz. “With ‘Heavy Heart,’ All Victims of California Boat Fire Named.” 9-13-2019.

[32] Santa Monica Observer, CA. “Santa Monica Residents Charles McIlvain, 44, and Marybeth Guiney, 32, Among Diving Boat Fire Deaths.” 9-4-2019.

[33] SFGate/Amy Graff. “Four more Northern Californians named as victims in Conception dive boat fire.” 9-5-2019.

[34] Patch.com, Santa Cruz. “With ‘Heavy Heart,’ All Victims of California Boat Fire Named.” 9-13-2019.

[35] People. “Nationwide Heartbreak: Remembering the 34 Victims of the California Boat Fire.” 9-8-2019; People. “Here Are All 34 Victims of the Calif. Boat Fire.” 9-13-2019.

[36] Taught seventh-grade science at Sierra Middle School in Stockton, CA. (BuzzFeed. “A Family of Five Are Among Those Presumed Dead in the California Diving Boat Fire.” 9-3-2019.) Also: USA Today. “California boat fire: Authorities say victims likely died of smoke inhalation, not burns.” 9-6-2019.

[37] A nurse at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton. (BuzzFeed. “A Family of Five Are Among Those Presumed Dead in the California Diving Boat Fire.” 9-3-2019.)

[38] Los Angeles Times (Laura J. Nelson). “Victims of the California boat fire: Who they were.” 9-4-2019; People. “Here Are All 34 Victims of the Calif. Boat Fire.” 9-13-2019; Patch.com, Santa Cruz. “With ‘Heavy Heart,’ All Victims of California Boat Fire Named.” 9-13-2019.

[39] Worked at Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Central Valley. (BuzzFeed. “A Family of Five Are Among Those Presumed Dead in the California Diving Boat Fire.” 9-3-2019.) Also: USA Today. “California boat fire: Authorities say victims likely died of smoke inhalation, not burns.” 9-6-2019.

[40] Sports bar employee in Coronado. (BuzzFeed. “A Family of Five Are Among Those Presumed Dead in the California Diving Boat Fire.” 9-3-2019.) Also: USA Today. “California boat fire: Authorities say victims likely died of smoke inhalation, not burns.” 9-6-2019.

[41] SFGate (Amy Graff). “Apple confirms two employees among dead in dive boat fire.” 9-4-2019; USA Today. “California boat fire: Authorities say victims likely died of smoke inhalation, not burns.” 9-6-2019.

[42] Los Angeles Times (Laura J. Nelson). “Victims of the California boat fire: Who they were.” 9-4-2019; USA Today. “California boat fire: Authorities say victims likely died of smoke inhalation, not burns.” 9-6-2019.

[43] Patch.com, Santa Cruz. “With ‘Heavy Heart,’ All Victims of California Boat Fire Named.” 9-13-2019.

[44] People. “Nationwide Heartbreak: Remembering the 34 Victims of the California Boat Fire.” 9-8-2019.

[45] Worked at Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Central Valley. (BuzzFeed. “A Family of Five Are Among Those Presumed Dead in the California Diving Boat Fire.” 9-3-2019.) Source for age is: KEYT, Santa Barbara (Travis Schlepp). “Sheriff’s office names five more victims of dive boat Conception fire.” 9-10-2019.

[46] USA Today. “California boat fire: Authorities say victims likely died of smoke inhalation, not burns.” 9-6-2019.

[47] People. “Nationwide Heartbreak: Remembering the 34 Victims of the California Boat Fire.” 9-8-2019.

[48] SFGate/Amy Graff. “Four more Northern Californians named as victims in Conception dive boat fire.” 9-5-2019. Age and city from: KEYT, Santa Barbara (Travis Schlepp). “Sheriff’s office names five more victims of dive boat Conception fire.” 9-10-2019.

[49] USA Today. “California boat fire: Authorities say victims likely died of smoke inhalation, not burns.” 9-6-2019.

[50] People. “Nationwide Heartbreak: Remembering the 34 Victims of the California Boat Fire.” 9-8-2019.

[51] Seventy-five feet long. (CNN. “At least 8 dead in boat fire off California coast.” 9-2-2019.) Built in 1981 in Long Beach with a bunk capacity of 46 people (13 double bunks, 20 single). (Truth Aquatics, Santa Barbara, CA. Conception. Accessed 9-5-2019.)

[52] U.S. Coast Guard. Marine Safety Information Bulletin 008-19, “Passenger vessel compliance and operational readiness,” 9-10-2019. (See Sources section below for URL.)

–8  CNN. “Gunman in West Texas shooting identified as Seth Ator.” 9-1-2019.

–7  NBC News. “Death toll in Odessa shooting rises to 7…” 9-1-2019.

 

Narrative Information

 

Sep 1: “Odessa, Texas (CNN) — Law enforcement officials on Sunday identified the man who killed seven people and wounded 22 others in a shooting spree in West Texas as Seth Ator, 36.

 

“Ator was arrested in 2001 for criminal trespass and evading arrest, both misdemeanors, according to public records. Adjudication was deferred, though the details of the case were not immediately available. His record also includes a 2018 traffic citation for a federal motor carrier safety violation, according to Ector County court records.

 

“Ator was pulled over by Texas troopers in Midland on Saturday afternoon for failing to use his signal, police said. He then shot at them with what police described as an AR-type weapon and sped away. Driving on streets and the highway, he sprayed bullets randomly at residents and motorists, police said. The man then hijacked a postal truck and ditched his gold Honda, shooting at people as he made his way into Odessa about 20 miles away. There, police confronted him in a movie theater parking lot and killed him in a shootout….

 

“FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs said his agency responds to Texas frequently. He said the FBI is ‘here now almost every other week supporting our local and state partners on active shooters. We’re almost every two weeks an active shooter in this country.’

 

“The death toll rose to seven Sunday morning. Those fatally shot were between 15 and 57 years old, Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said.

 

“Police have not named most of the victims. One of them was Mary Granados, 29, who was working as a mail carrier for the US Postal Service, according to her twin sister, Rosie, and a spokeswoman for the USPS Inspection Service. Granados was at the end of her shift when she was shot and killed, her sister said, adding she was on the phone with Granados when she heard her scream….

 

“The incident began about 3:15 p.m. (4:15 p.m. ET), when two troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety stopped a lone driver westbound on Interstate 20 in Midland, authorities said. The shooter then drove west into Odessa and continued firing through the city and around shopping centers, the police chief said. He abandoned his vehicle, stole the mail truck and shot at more people as he headed toward the Cinergy movie theater, where he exchanged fire with officers in the parking lot and was killed.

 

“A witness describes shootout with officers. Alex Woods said he drove up to the movie theater about five minutes before the shootout and saw several police vehicles with flashing lights. ‘There was just police everywhere and there was a bunch of people behind the theater in the field walking and next thing you know this gunfire is going off,’ he said. ‘I hear a pop, so, I flip the camera to where the theater’s at and I just see a bunch of gunfire going off.’ Woods said he saw the officer walk up to the mail van and fire into it, describing the incident as surreal. ‘I believe that is when the shooter was killed,’ he added. ‘It just all happened so quickly.’….

 

“The shooting happened hours before a series of firearm laws go into effect in Texas, where four of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern US history have happened. The new measures will loosen gun restrictions and allow weapons on school grounds, apartments and places of worship. After the shooting Saturday, Democratic presidential candidates issued statements calling for gun reform….” (CNN. “Gunman in West Texas shooting identified as Seth Ator.” 9-1-2019.)

 

Sep 1: “….The rampage began after the suspect, in a gold Honda, was the subject of a 3:17 p.m. traffic stop between Midland and Odessa, officials said Saturday. The gunman shot the trooper who initially stopped him and continued west to Odessa, where he shot multiple others, according to Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke. The gunman at some point abandoned his vehicle, stole a U.S. Postal Service van and was eventually killed in a shootout with police near a Cinergy movie theater….

 

“Three law enforcement sources familiar with the Midland-Odessa mass shooting investigation tell NBC News that the identity of the shooting suspect is Seth Ator, 36. Law enforcement sources also said the shooter had recently been fired from his job. There is no known motive at this point in the investigation, officials said Sunday….

 

“An Odessa High School student was among the seven who were killed, the Ector County Independent School District confirmed Sunday. Before the vehicle came to a complete stop, the man grabbed a rifle, pointed it out of his rear window and fired toward the troopers’ patrol unit, wounding one of the troopers, said Lt. Elizabeth Carter of the Department of Public Safety.

 

“A senior law enforcement official briefed on the case and a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety said the shooter had a rifle that may have been a .223 AR-15 style weapon. Police confirmed Sunday that the shooter had an “AR-style” weapon….

 

“A witness, Shauna Sexton, told MSNBC’s Alex Witt that the shooter fired repeatedly at her car while she, her husband and their two-year-old grandson were running errands. While pulling away from a traffic light, Sexton, who was behind the wheel, heard three shots that she thought might have been a car backfiring. She glanced over her left shoulder and saw a man pointing a ‘very large gun’ at her window. ‘I didn’t really understand the situation,’ she said. ‘I thought it was just somebody that I maybe made mad.’ She said the shooter appeared ‘crazed.’ His hair was disheveled, she said, and seemed ‘amped up.’ Sexton punched her horn, she said, and when the cars in front of her moved, she floored the gas. That’s when she heard three more shots, she said. Each of them missed her car. A roughly one-mile chase followed, Sexton said, with the shooter pulling up beside her car. ‘When I saw him do that in the mirror, I sped, I floored it hard,’ she recalled. ‘I was a danger to society at that moment.’ At a traffic light, Sexton hung a quick right into a neighborhood, a place she thought he might avoid if this was road rage….” (NBC News. “Death toll in Odessa shooting rises to 7, a 17-month-old child among those injured.” 9-1-2019.)

 

Sep 1, CBS News: “….The suspect died in a hospital in Midland…

 

“At least 10 victims remained in critical condition at two local hospitals….

 

“A law enforcement source told CBS News the deceased shooting suspect was pulled over by police because he apparently had been driving erratically. A number of calls came into the Texas Department of public safety from people reporting his erratic driving, leading to the dispatch of officers….” (CBS News. “Mass shooting in Texas leaves at least 7 dead, 24 wounded in Odessa and Midland.” 9-1-2019.)

 

Sep 1, CNN: “A neighbor of the west Texas shooter says the 36-year-old came up to her house last month with a big rifle and yelled at her for leaving trash in a nearby dumpster.

 

“Veronica Alonzo also described how her neighbor would frequently shoot out of a structure on top of his house at night into his yard, often going to retrieve dead animals afterwards….

 

“Alonzo said she called police after the incident last month, but that they had never responded because the location of the property does not show up on GPS and is difficult to find.

 

“Alonzo said that the shooter’s home had no running water or electricity. She said she saw him sitting in his gold Toyota Camry with the heat on when the weather was cold.” (CNN/David Shortell). “Odessa shooter’s neighbor says he threatened her with a rifle.” 9-1-2019.)

 

Sep 1, CNN: “Dustin Fawcett told CNN he was with his 3-week-old daughter at Starbucks on Saturday, about 40-50 yards away from 42nd Street, when chaos erupted. ‘We were in the parking lot and out of nowhere we begin to hear loud noises,’ he told CNN’s Brooke Baldwin on Sunday. Fawcett said his first thought was that the sound was a truck backfiring. ‘But it was repetitive and very loud,’ he said.

 

“He said 42nd Street is the town’s busiest intersection. The light was red before the shooting so cars were waiting there. ‘Sitting ducks,’ Fawcett said. He then saw all the cars speed in different directions to get out of the way of gunfire. Fawcett saw one of the vehicles’ windows were shattered. ‘That was the first confirmation that this was a shooting,’ he said. Fawcett said he saw the mother getting out of the car with baby Anderson [Davis], the 17-month-old wounded in the shooting. ‘It was surreal seeing the blood coming from her mouth and hands,’ he said.” (CNN. “Witness says cars were ‘sitting ducks’ at busy intersection where shooting took place.” 9-1-2019.)

 

Sep 1, CNN: “With an active shooter on the move and an ever-expanding crime scene where police at times lost track of the gunman who had switched vehicles, authorities were able to stop the gunman’s shooting spree by engineering a crash outside the Cinergy movie theater, according to Midland County District Attorney Laura Nodolf. Police slammed a vehicle into the hijacked mail van the gunman was driving. The van was sent spinning into a group of cars and was then encircled by authorities in the parking lot, according to bystander video and Nodolf. ‘Law enforcement at that point in time had collectively taken efforts to surround him, and he was not going to go anywhere, and he was not going to hurt anybody else,’

 

“Nodolf said in an interview. Odessa and Midland police, as well as officers from the University of Texas Permian Basin, exchanged gunfire with the gunman, and were able to take him into custody after wounding him in the parking lot, Nodolf said.” (CNN (Allison Flexner). “Authorities engineered a crash with the West Texas shooter, bringing him to a standstill.” 9-1-2019.)

 

Sep 1: “Anderson Davis, the 17-month-old girl injured in the West Texas shooting, will be undergoing surgery Monday, according to her mother. Anderson’s mother says she has shrapnel in her chest, her front teeth have been knocked out and she has hole through her bottom lip and tongue….” (CNN. “Injured 17-month-old girl’s family issues statement to CNN.” 9-1-2019.)

 

Sep 2: “Odessa, Texas – More than half a dozen people died Saturday after a man opened fire, apparently at random, shooting several people in Odessa and Midland, Texas, after a trooper tried to pull him over for a routine traffic stop, according to authorities.

 

“Officials said seven people were killed in the shooting, including a man slain outside his parents’ home and a teenager fatally shot as she left a car dealership with her family. Officials said 22 other people were injured….

 

“Update 6:30 p.m. EDT Sept. 2: The City of Odessa released a list of those injured and those who died in the shooting.

 

“The injured [fatalities] include:

 

Leilah Hernandez, 15, Odessa, Texas[1]
Joe Griffith, 40, Odessa, Texas[2]
Mary Granados, 29, Odessa, Texas [US Postal Service worker.]
Edwin Peregrino, 25, Odessa, Texas[3]
Rodolfo Julio Arco, 57, Odessa, Texas[4]
Kameron Karltess Brown, 30, Brownwood, Texas[5]
Raul Garcia, 35, El Paso, Texas[6]

 

 

(Cox Media Group National Content Desk. “Texas shooting: Names of victims released by City of Odessa.” WSOC-TV, Charlotte, NC, 9-2-2019.)

 

Sep 2: “Odessa, Texas — The gunman who killed seven people and injured roughly 20 others during a 20-mile trail of carnage across West Texas previously failed a background check to purchase a gun, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said.

 

“Not only did the Odessa gunman have a criminal history…

 

“…he also previously failed a gun purchase background check in Texas…

 

“…& he didn’t go thru a background check for the gun he used in Odessa….

 

“Ator, who was killed in a shootout with police, has an arrest record that includes a 2001 bust on misdemeanor charges of trespassing and resisting arrest and a 2014 charge of public intoxication. The disposition of those cases was not immediately clear.

 

“Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said Ator was fired Saturday from Journey Oilfield Services. FBI special agent Christopher Combs told reporters Ator went to work that day ‘in trouble.’ Officials said they do not believe Ator’s firing was the direct cause of the shooting spree, as he had been on a ‘long spiral down,’ Combs said. The company called 911 after firing Ator, but he was gone by the time police arrived.

 

“Officials said Ator also called authorities, making “rambling statements” about the ‘atrocities he felt he had gone through’ about 15 minutes before being stopped by state troopers when he opened fire.

 

“The FBI said they were executing a federal search warrant at a home linked to Ator. Agents were later seen searching Ator’s house, located about 20 minutes west of Odessa. The home, set half a mile back from the main road, more closely resembles a shack, with what appears to be a makeshift tower placed on top. The area is surrounded by oil wells that easily outnumber the nearby trailers….

 

“Few other details have emerged about Ator’s life. Relatives could not be reached for comment and it appeared the suspect had virtually no online footprint. Public records indicated he was originally from the small town of Lorena, where he graduated from high school in 2001. He also took classes at McLennan Community College in Waco the fall of 2000, a school spokesperson told The Daily Beast….

 

“Odessa officials said Ator used an assault rifle-type weapon, but said how the gun was obtained is still under investigation….” (Daily Beast. “Seth Ator, Odessa Gunman, Didn’t Pass Gun Background Check: Texas Governor.” 9-2-2019.)

 

Sep 3, AP: “Odessa, Texas — The gunman in a West Texas rampage that left seven dead obtained his AR-style rifle through a private sale, allowing him to evade a federal background check that blocked him from getting a gun in 2014 due to a ‘mental health issue,’ a law enforcement official told the Associated Press….The person did not say when and where the private sale took place….

 

“Ator had tried purchasing a firearm in January 2014 but was denied, the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement Tuesday. The agency said it was precluded by law from disclosing why, but the law enforcement official told the AP it was due to a ‘mental health issue.’

 

“Private sales, which some estimates suggest account for 25 to 40 percent of all gun sales, are not subject to a federal background check in the United States. If the person selling the firearm knows the buyer cannot legally purchase or possess a firearm, they would be violating the law. But they are not required to find out if the person can possess a firearm and are not required to conduct a background check.

 

“The so-called ‘gun show’ loophole means that Americans can buy a gun from an individual, get one bequeathed from a relative, obtain one through an online marketplace as well as from some dealers at gun shows – all without needing to go through a federal background check.

 

“FBI special agent Christopher Combs said Ator ‘was on a long spiral of going down’ and had been fired from his oil services job the morning of the shooting, and that he called 911 both before and after the rampage began. Online court records show Ator was arrested in 2001 for a misdemeanor offense that would not have prevented him from legally purchasing firearms in Texas.

 

“Combs said Monday that Ator called the agency’s tip line as well as local police dispatch on Saturday after being fired from Journey Oilfield Services, making ‘rambling statements about some of the atrocities that he felt that he had gone through.’ Fifteen minutes after the call to the FBI, Combs said, a Texas state trooper unaware of the calls to authorities tried pulling over Ator for failing to signal a lane change.

 

“Ator fired on the trooper and fled, setting in motion a rampage that didn’t end until the gunman was killed at 4:17 p.m., according to Odessa police spokesman Steve LeSueur. That was one hour and four minutes after DPS said the trooper pulled over Ator.

 

“In 2018, more than 26 million background checks were conducted. Of those, fewer than 100,000 were denied with the vast majority of those rejected because the person was found to have a criminal past that made them ineligible. Far fewer just over 6,000 were because the person had been involuntarily committed.

 

“Gun-rights advocates have pushed back against efforts to include private sales, contending it would risk unwittingly turning someone into a felon for a private transaction with a friend or relative. They also argue that criminals will still get their hands on a firearm, regardless of what laws are on the books. ‘In the guise of basically regulating private sales it creates a mechanism that is so labyrinthian that basically gun owners won’t be able to comply with it,’ Michael Hammond, the legislative counsel for Gun Owners of America, told the Associated Press.

 

“Gun-control advocates argue that the lack of a background check is making it too easy for the wrong people to skirt the background check system and get a gun. For example, on one well-known internet site for firearms sales, there were classified listings in recent days for about 1,700 long guns in Texas alone.

 

“Combs said Ator ‘showed up to work enraged’ but did not point to any specific source of his anger. Ator’s home on the outskirts of Odessa was a corrugated metal shack along a dirt road surrounded by trailers, mobile homes and oil pump jacks. Combs described it as a ‘strange residence’ that reflected ‘what his mental state was going into this.’

 

“Ator fired at random as he drove in the area of Odessa and Midland, cities more than 300 miles west of Dallas. Police used a marked SUV to ram the mail truck outside the Cinergy Movie Theater in Odessa, disabling the vehicle. The gunman then fired at police, wounding two officers before he was killed.

 

“The number of mass killings so far this year has already eclipsed the total for all of last year. A teenager suspected of killing five family members in Alabama brought the total to 26 mass killings in 2019, claiming the lives of 147 people, compared with 25 mass killings and 142 deaths in 2018, according to a database by the Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University. The database tracks homicides where four or more people are killed, not including the offender.” (Associated Press. “Texas shooter got gun at private sale; denied in 2014 check.” Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA, 9-3-2019.)

 

Sep 4: “(CNN) — The West Texas man who killed seven people and wounded 25 in a shooting rampage failed a background check during an attempted firearm purchase in 2014 because he had earlier been adjudicated “a mental defective” and temporarily committed to an institution, three law enforcement sources told CNN on Wednesday. Seth Ator, 36, had been committed to an unidentified institution in McLennan County in 2006 because he was deemed a danger to himself and/or others, according to one source….

 

“Still, Ator managed to buy the firearm used in Saturday’s mass shooting within the last couple of years, according to a third source. Police said Ator used an AR-15-style rifle in the killing spree in and around Odessa.

 

“‘A mental defective’ is a term used in federal law to describe one category of people prohibited from purchasing or owning a firearm….

 

“In July 2001, Ator was charged with criminal mischief after breaking a window at the DePaul Center, a psychiatric and drug abuse facility in McLennan County, according to Tom Needham, the county’s executive assistant district attorney. The DePaul Center requested that the charge not be prosecuted, the prosecutor said. ‘He paid for the window and apparently they asked that it be dropped,,’ said Needham….

 

“Needham said Ator also was charged with criminal trespass and evading arrest in August 2001. He said Ator received 24 months deferred adjudication probation, drug and alcohol testing as well mandatory attendance at Narcotics Anonymous….

 

“In June 2012, Ator was arrested and charged him with public intoxication after he got in a fight, said Larry Adams, assistant chief of police for the city of Woodway, Texas. Adams said witnesses told police Ator had been ‘drinking all night’ and that one person head-butted him, leaving cuts on his face and nose. The charge is a Class C misdemeanor, which Adams said may not show up in court record searches.

 

“The ATF, the FBI and the Texas Department of Public Safety are ‘aggressively following up on’ the source that supplied the firearm that Ator used in the rampage, according to the ATF….”

(CNN. “West Texas shooter failed background check after being adjudicated ‘a mental defective,’ sources say.” 9-4-2019.)

 

Sep 4: “Lubbock, Texas (CBSDFW.com) — CBS 11 has confirmed a raid took place in Lubbock on Wednesday on the home of the person suspected of illegally building and selling the AR-style rifle to the Midland-Odessa shooter. The identity of the suspect hasn’t been disclosed by authorities because this is an ongoing investigation. Charges are pending based on the outcome of the investigation into this transaction. ATF is conducting the operation and investigation in the 3400 block of Mesa Road in North Lubbock….” (CBS, Dallas/Fort Worth. “Authorities Raid Lubbock Home of Person Believed to Have Built, Sold Rifle to Midland-Odessa Shooter.” 9-4-2019.)

 

Sep 5, Governor Abbott Executive Orders: “WHEREAS, on August 3, 2019, a gunman killed twenty-two people in El Paso and injured dozens more in a despicable act of domestic terrorism; and

 

WHEREAS, the mother of the El Paso gunman had previously expressed concern to police about her son and the weapon with which he would later commit his cowardly attack; and

 

WHEREAS, on August 31, 2019, another gunman heinously killed seven people in Odessa and injured dozens more; and

 

WHEREAS, the Odessa gunman had called both the police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation prior to his shooting spree, had previously failed a background check, and was recently reported to law enforcement for confronting a neighbor while brandishing a semiautomatic rifle; and

 

WHEREAS, these tragic events come in the wake of other mass shootings in Texas, including one in which a gunman in Santa Fe opened fire in his high school with a shotgun and a revolver, another in which a gunman murdered worshippers at their church in Sutherland Springs, and another in which a gunman fatally ambushed police officers in Dallas; and

 

WHEREAS, mental instability, racial hatred, extremist ideology, a desire to sow domestic terror, and other factors have contributed to these horrific mass shootings in varying degrees; and

 

WHEREAS, legislative action has been and will be taken to safeguard against these dangers; and

 

WHEREAS, in addition to further legislative action, executive action can be taken immediately to help prevent more mass shootings and keep Texans safe; and

 

WHEREAS, revised and readily available standards for gathering and processing information about potential criminal or terrorist acts can lead to swifter action by law enforcement to prevent such acts, including mass shootings;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GREG ABBOTT, Governor of the State of Texas, by virtue of the power and authority vested in me by the Constitution and Statutes of the State of Texas, do hereby order the following:

 

Order No. 1      Within thirty days of this order, the Texas Department of Public Safety shall develop standardized intake questions that can be used by all Texas law-enforcement agencies to better identify whether a person calling the agency has information that should be reported to the Texas Suspicious Activity Reporting Network.

 

Order No. 2      Within thirty days of this order, the Department of Public Safety shall develop clear guidance, based on the appropriate legal standard, for when and how Texas law-enforcement agencies should submit Suspicious Activity Reports.

 

Order No. 3      Within sixty days of this order, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement shall make training available to educate all law-enforcement officers regarding the standards that will be developed pursuant to Order No. 1 and Order No. 2.

 

Order No. 4      The Department of Public Safety shall create and conduct an initiative to raise public awareness and understanding of how Suspicious Activity Reports are used by law-enforcement agencies to identify potential mass shooters or terroristic threats, so that the general public and friends, family members, coworkers, neighbors, and classmates will be more likely to report information about potential gunmen.

 

Order No. 5      The Department of Public Safety shall work with the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board on ways to better inform schools, students, staff, and families about the importance of Suspicious Activity Reports and how to initiate that process.

 

Order No. 6      The Department of Public Safety shall work with local law enforcement, mental-health professionals, school districts, and others to create multidisciplinary threat assessment teams for each of its regions, and when appropriate shall coordinate with federal partners.

 

Order No. 7      The Department of Public Safety, as well as the Office of the Governor, shall use all available resources to increase staff at all fusion centers in Texas for the purpose of better collecting and responding to Suspicious Activity Reports, and better monitoring and analyzing social media and other online forums, for potential threats.

 

Order No. 8      Beginning January 1, 2020, all future grant awards from the Office of the Governor to counties shall require a commitment that the county will report at least 90 percent of convictions within seven business days to the Criminal Justice Information System at the Department of Public Safety.  By January 1, 2021, such reporting must take place within five business days.

 

“This executive order supersedes all previous orders on this matter that are in conflict or inconsistent with its terms, and this order shall remain in effect and in full force until modified, amended, rescinded, or superseded by me or by a succeeding governor.

 

“Given under my hand this the 5th day of September, 2019.

GREG ABBOTT
Governor

 

(Office of the Texas Governor. “Governor Greg Abbott Issues Eight Executive Orders in Response to El Paso and Odessa Shootings.” 9-5-2019.)

 

Sep 5: “Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued eight executive orders Thursday [Sep 5] that aim to stop potential mass shooters by strengthening reporting techniques, although he conceded in a release that ‘legislative action’ is still needed….The new orders are aimed at closing what Abbott called the “information gap” when there is suspicion of a mass shooter.

 

“Abbott has been fending off calls for gun control by Democrats in the Texas House in the wake of the shootings. On Wednesday, 63 of the 66 Texas House Democrats signed a letter calling for a special legislative session. The proposals include “closing the background check loopholes” and “banning the sale of high-capacity magazines,” according to CBS Austin.

 

“The Legislature does not reconvene until 2021,[7] but Abbott tweeted Wednesday that he will announce “legislative considerations next week.”

 

Texas’ Republican-controlled Legislature earlier this year approved a series of loosened gun laws that went into effect one day after the Midland-Odessa shooting, which left seven people dead and injured dozens more.

 

“The laws that took effect Sunday will:

 

• Allow licensed handgun owners to carry weapons in places of worship, including churches and synagogues.
• Ban landlords and homeowners from prohibiting tenants to own, carry and transport guns on their property.
• Prevent school districts from prohibiting licensed gun owners — including school employees — from storing guns and ammunition in school parking lots as long as it is not in plain view.
• Allow foster homes to store firearms.
• Prevent citizens for being charged for carrying a handgun without a license while evacuating or returning to a declared disaster zone.
• Allow disaster shelters to take in evacuees who have guns.
• Allow schools to have more armed marshals on campus.
• Defend licensed gun owners who unknowingly enter designated gun-free zones as long as they leave after being told about the policy.”

 

(CBS News, Caroline Linton. “Texas governor issues 8 executive orders after double mass shootings in August.” 9-5-2019.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Texas mass shooting: Mail carrier, high school student among the dead.” Los Angeles Times, 9-2-2019. Accessed 9-2-2019 at: https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-09-01/texas-mass-shootings-victims-identified

 

Associated Press. “Texas shooter got gun at private sale; denied in 2014 check.” Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA, 9-3-2019. Accessed 9-3-2019 at: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/sep/03/texas-shooter-got-gun-at-private-sale-denied-in-20/

 

CBS, Dallas/Fort Worth. “Authorities Raid Lubbock Home of Person Believed to Have Built, Sold Rifle to Midland-Odessa Shooter.” 9-4-2019. Accessed 9-5-2019 at: https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2019/09/04/authorities-raid-lubbock-home-built-sold-rifle-midland-odessa-shooter/

 

CBS News. “Mass shooting in Texas leaves at least 7 dead, 24 wounded in Odessa and Midland.” 9-1-2019. Accessed 9-1-2019 at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shooting-in-texas-odessa-midland-at-least-6-dead-3-police-injured-mass-shooting-latest-news-2019-09-01/

 

CBS News, Caroline Linton. “Texas governor issues 8 executive orders after double mass shootings in August.” 9-5-2019. Accessed 9-6-2019 at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-gun-laws-governor-greg-abbott-issues-8-executive-orders-after-el-paso-odessa-midland-shootings/

 

CNN (Fernando Alfonso III and Meg Wagner). “7 killed in West Texas shooting.” 9-1-2019 at: Accessed 9-1-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/west-texas-shooting-odessa-midland/index.html

 

CNN (Amanda Jackson, Jason Morris and Darran Simon). “A US mail carrier and an Army vet were among those killed in the West Texas shooting.” 9-2-2019. Accessed 9-2-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/01/us/west-texas-mass-shooting-victims/index.html

 

CNN (Allison Flexner). “Authorities engineered a crash with the West Texas shooter, bringing him to a standstill.” 9-1-2019. Accessed 9-1-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/west-texas-shooting-odessa-midland/index.html

 

CNN (Faith Karimi and Ed Lavandera). “Gunman in West Texas shooting identified as Seth Ator.” 9-1-2019. Accessed 9-1-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/01/us/odessa-texas-shooting-sunday/index.html

 

CNN (David Shortell). “Odessa shooter’s neighbor says he threatened her with a rifle.” 9-1-2019. Accessed 9-1-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/west-texas-shooting-odessa-midland/index.html

 

CNN. “Witness says cars were ‘sitting ducks’ at busy intersection where shooting took place.” 9-1-2019. Accessed 9-1-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/west-texas-shooting-odessa-midland/index.html

 

CNN (Scott Glover, Evan Perez, Curt Divine, Ray Sanchez). “West Texas shooter failed background check after being adjudicated ‘a mental defective,’ sources say.” 9-4-2019. Accessed 9-4-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/04/us/west-texas-odessa-shooter/

 

Cox Media Group National Content Desk. “Texas shooting: Names of victims released by City of Odessa.” WSOC-TV, Charlotte, NC, 9-2-2019. Accessed 9-2-2019 at: https://www.wsoctv.com/news/trending-now/active-shooter-reported-in-texas/981324449

 

Daily Beast (Audrey McNamara, Pervaiz Shallwani, Justin Hamel, Julia Arciga). “Seth Ator, Odessa Gunman, Didn’t Pass Gun Background Check: Texas Governor.” 9-2-2019. Accessed 9-2-2019 at: https://www.thedailybeast.com/odessa-texas-shooting-sources-identify-gunman-as-seth-ator

 

KTSM.com, El Paso (Andra Litton). “Odessa shooting victims include El Pasoan, mail carrier, high school student.” 9-2-2019. Accessed 9-2-2019 at: https://www.ktsm.com/news/odessa-shooting-victims-names-emerge-as-gofundme-accounts-are-established/

 

NBC News (Doha Madani, Andrew Blankstein and Tim Stelloh). “Death toll in Odessa shooting rises to 7, a 17-month-old child among those injured.” 9-1-2019.  Accessed 9-1-2019 at: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/death-toll-odessa-shooting-rises-7-17-month-old-child-n1048711

 

New York Post/Tamar Lapin. “Father of two killed in front of wife and kids in Texas mass shooting.” 9-1-2019. Accessed 9-2-2019 at: https://nypost.com/2019/09/01/father-of-two-killed-in-front-of-wife-and-kids-in-texas-mass-shooting/

 

New York Post/Anabel Sosa and Tamar Lapin). “Texas mass shooting victim Leilah Hernandez mourned by best friends.” 9-1-2019. Accessed 9-2-2019 at: https://nypost.com/2019/09/01/texas-mass-shooting-victim-leilah-hernandez-mourned-by-best-friends/

 

Office of the Texas Governor. “Governor Greg Abbott Issues Eight Executive Orders in Response to El Paso and Odessa Shootings.” 9-5-2019. Accessed 9-6-2019 at: https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-greg-abbott-issues-eight-executive-orders-in-response-to-el-paso-and-odessa-shootings

[1] “…Leilah and her 18-year-old brother, Nathan Hernandez, were picking up a truck he’d just bought from a dealership in the Odessa-Midland area when a gunman began shooting from a car.” (New York Post/Anabel Sosa and Tamar Lapin). “Texas mass shooting victim Leilah Hernandez mourned by best friends.” 9-1-2019.)

[2] “A dad of two was identified on Sunday [Sep 1] as one of the Texas mass shooting victims by his sister — who said he was killed in front of his wife an children as the family sat at a traffic light. Former math teacher Joseph Griffith, 40, was one of the seven people killed…” (New York Post/Tamar Lapin. “Father of two killed in front of wife and kids in Texas mass shooting.” 9-1-2019.)

[3] “Peregrino, 25, ran into the yard of his parents’ Odessa home to investigate after hearing gunshots…The gunman speeding by the home opened fire, killing him.” (Associated Press. “Texas mass shooting: Mail carrier, high school student among the dead.” Los Angeles Times, 9-2-2019.)

[4] Shot and killed while driving home from work. (CNN. “A US mail carrier and an Army vet were among those killed in the West Texas shooting.” 9-2-2019.)

[5] Army veteran who served in Afghanistan and had been working for Standard Safety & Supply for over a year. (CNN. “A US mail carrier and an Army vet were among those killed in the West Texas shooting.” 9-2-2019.)

[6] “Garcia was among the truck drivers shot along I-20 as the shooter traveled toward Odessa from the initial traffic stop in Midland. He leaves behind four children.” (KTSM.com, El Paso. “Odessa shooting victims include El Pasoan, mail carrier, high school student.” 9-2-2019.)

[7] “The Legislature of the State of Texas, operating under the biennial system, convenes its regular sessions at noon on the second Tuesday in January of odd-numbered years.” (Texas House of Representatives. “Frequently Asked Questions.”

–10  Blanchard tally of nine victims of the shooter and the shooter who was killed by the police.

—  9  CNN/Croft. “Shooter’s sister among 9 dead in Dayton, Ohio; 27 others injured.” 8-4-2019.

—  9  CNN (Ivana Kottasová). “Mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio. 8-4-2019.

 

Narrative Information

 

Aug 4: “(CNN) — The gunman’s sister was one of nine people killed in a shooting early Sunday in downtown Dayton, Ohio, police said. At least 27 others were injured when Connor Betts, 24, fired an assault rifle in a popular nightlife district about 1 a.m., authorities said.

 

“Betts fired for less than a minute from a “.223 high-capacity” gun, and he had additional magazines with him, Mayor Nan Whaley said. The .223 caliber is used in rifles like the AR-15 assault rifle used in previous mass shootings. Deb Decker, public information officer for Montgomery County, said the shooter used an assault rifle….[1]

 

“The Dayton shooting took place on East Fifth Street in the city’s Oregon District, Dayton Deputy Director and Assistant Chief of Police Lt. Col. Matt Carper said early Sunday morning…. Betts began shooting as he made his way toward a bar called Ned Peppers, Decker said. Carper said Betts fired multiple rounds from “a very large gun, in technical terms.” Someone from Ned Peppers grabbed the barrel of the rifle, and the shooter “picked up a handgun and was willing to continue shooting,” Decker said, when police arrived and killed the shooter. The shooter wore body armor, she said….”In less than one minute, Dayton first responders neutralized the shooter,” Whaley said. “I really want to — think about that minute. The shooter was able to kill nine people and injure 26 in less than a minute. And if we did not have police in the Oregon District and the thousands of people in the Oregon District enjoying their Saturday evening, what we could have had in this city,” she said….

 

“The gunman’s victims. The city identified the nine people killed in the shooting:

 

Lois L. Oglesby, 27                                        [Black][2]

Megan K. Betts, 22, the shooter’s sister        [White]

Saeed Saleh, 38                                              [Black]

Derrick R. Fudge, 57                                      [Black]

Logan M. Turner, 30                                      [White]

Nicholas P. Cumer, 25                                    [White]

Thomas J. McNichols, 25                               [Black]

Beatrice N. Warren-Curtis, 36                        [Black]

Monica E. Brickhouse, 39.                             [Black]

 

Aug 5: “Dayton, Ohio (CNN) — The Ohio gunman who ripped apart nine families in almost an instant managed to fire 41 shots in less than 30 seconds, police said Monday [Aug 5]. He did so by wielding a .223-caliber high-capacity rifle with 100-round drum magazines. “It is fundamentally problematic,” Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl said. “To have that level of weaponry in a civilian environment, unregulated, is problematic.”

 

“Nearby patrol officers quickly gunned down suspect Connor Betts within 30 seconds after his first shot early Sunday morning, Biehl said….

 

“Surveillance video shows the shooter targeting people enjoying a Saturday night out in Dayton’s Oregon District. As gunshots rang out, people ran into nearby bars and clubs. Just before Betts was able to enter a nightclub, police gunned down the shooter. “The officers immediately advanced toward the gunfire and within approximately 20 seconds, they engaged the suspect, who was actively firing and attempting to enter a crowded liquor establishment,” Biehl said….

 

“Biehl said if all the magazines were full and at full capacity, the shooter may have had up to 250 rounds in his possession at the time….

 

“Nine states, plus the District of Columbia, ban large-capacity ammunition magazines. Ohio isn’t one of them. The nine states are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Vermont, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Among the states that ban high-capacity magazines, some prohibit magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, and others ban magazines that hold more than 15 rounds….

 

“While the motive remains a mystery, more disturbing details about the shooter are emerging. Authorities searched the Betts’ family home in Bellbrook, a suburb southeast of Dayton, and uncovered writings that expressed an interest in killing people, two law enforcement sources told CNN. But the writings did not indicate any racial or political motive, sources said.

 

“Former schoolmates said they were on a “hit list” Betts created back in high school. One described Betts as “dark and depressive.” One former classmate, who was told by a school official that he was on the alleged hit list, said the list was separated into two columns: a ‘kill list’ for boys and a ‘rape list’ for girls.

 

“….Police did not detail the Betts siblings’ relationship. But they did say that the two arrived together but separated at some point. Biehl said the shooter killed his sister and wounded his male companion.

 

“Authorities said they don’t think the male companion, who had driven to the scene with the shooter and his sister, had advance knowledge of the attack, two law enforcement sources told CNN.” (CNN. “The Dayton gunman killed 9 people by firing 41 shots in 30 seconds. A high-capacity rifle helped enable that speed.” 8-5-2019.)

 

Aug 4: “….At a Sunday afternoon press conference, police said they are going looking for any indication of a motive. “There is far too much information to review” before that can be determined, Biehl said [Dayton Chief of Police]. During the execution of a search warrant, authorities found writings linked to Betts that show he had an interest in killing people, two federal law enforcement sources told CNN. A preliminary assessment of the writings did not indicate any racial or political motive, the sources said….

 

“The weapon used in the shooting was ordered online from Texas and transferred to the suspect at a local firearms dealer near Dayton, Biehl said….” (CNN. “What we know about the shooting in Dayton, Ohio.” 8-4-2019.)

 

Aug 5, WKRC-TV, Cincinnati: “DAYTON, Ohio (WKRC) During a news conference on Sunday, Dayton’s Police Chief Richard Biehl showed for the first time the weapon that Conner Betts used during his deadly rampage. In the photo, a clear stamp at the center of the gun reads that the section is an AM-15 made by Anderson Manufacturing in Hebron, Kentucky.

 

“Anderson Manufacturing operates a large facility near CVG Airport, where it makes and sells guns to licensed dealers and customers across the country. I found the co-owner of Anderson Manufacturing, Carl Anderson in the parking lot of the facility, who told me his company made only a portion of the gun that Betts used. “It’s just the lower receiver,” Anderson told me, describing the lower receiver as the key part of the body of the gun, where the ammunition magazine attaches. But Anderson says his company didn’t make, nor assemble the rest of the gun Betts used. “We make whole guns, but that was sent out as a lower receiver,” Anderson told me, referring to the main section that was on full display in Dayton. According to Anderson, the rest of the gun parts were assembled somewhere else. “And then somebody made it in to a whole gun,” Anderson stated, adding, “The ATF is tracking all that down….” (WKRC-TV Local 12/Duane Pohlman, Cincinnati, OH. “Key section of weapon used in Dayton mass shooting manufactured in Tri-State.” 8-5-2019.)

 

Aug 5, Cincinnati Enquirer: “Even though it looked like a rifle, the gun used to kill nine people and wound at least 14 more was likely classified as a pistol, skirting around laws restricting short-barreled rifles. Will the device on Connor Betts’ weapon, called a “pistol brace,” become the next bump stock in nation’s gun control debate? Here’s what we know about the AR-15 style .223 caliber firearm used in the Dayton shooting Sunday:

 

• It was legally purchased by Betts’ from an online retailer in Texas. It then was transferred to him by a local firearms dealer who would be required to perform a background check, police said.
• Nothing on Betts’ criminal record would have prevented him from buying a gun.
• He used legal-to-own 100-round drum magazines.
• The lower receiver, which houses the trigger, was made by Anderson Manufacturing in Hebron, Kentucky. Under federal law, the lower receiver is the gun. Purchasing a lower receiver requires a background check. All other parts of guns, such as barrels and stocks, can be bought legally off the shelf or online.
• Betts could have had as many as 250 rounds in his possession; he fired at least 41 rounds in about 30 seconds.

 

“On Monday, Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl said Betts’ gun was “modified in essence to function like a rifle” and “to avoid any legal prohibitions.” He did not specifically cite a pistol brace, but photos of the weapon released by police show one.

 

“The federal restrictions on short-barreled rifles were enacted to stop people from making rifles, guns fired from the shoulder, more concealable. Rifles typically can fire more powerful cartridges than pistols and shoulder stocks allow the rifles to be fired more accurately.

 

“It is illegal to own a rifle with a barrel shorter than 16 inches without paying $200 for a National Firearms Act tax stamp and completing all the related paperwork and background checks. The process is similar to legally owning a fully-automatic rifle. It is unclear if Betts’ went through this process, but the firearm he used did have a barrel shorter than 16 inches.

 

“AR-15 style firearms can be rifles or pistols. A pistol can have a short barrel, but no shoulder stock. A rifle can have a shoulder stock, but the barrel must be 16 inches or longer. Enter the pistol brace, also known as a stabilizing brace. For all practical purposes, this device allows pistols with short barrels to have something resembling a shoulder stock.”

 

“Companies began marketing pistol braces in the early 2010s after getting approval letters from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The braces are designed to be strapped to the arm, allowing AR-15 style pistols to be more easily fired with one hand.

 

“Many of these devices closely resemble shoulder stocks and can be used in that fashion, which raises another question for the ATF. If you put a pistol brace to your shoulder, does that turn your gun into something illegal? The ATF has gone back and forth on its answer. The agency has issued several open letters, which are not law but indications of how the agency plans to interpret the law. In 2012, the ATF issued a letter saying braces could be attached to a pistol without turning the weapon into a short-barreled rifle. In 2015, the agency said firing a pistol from the shoulder with a brace would not constitute a “redesign” and would require all the necessary paperwork and taxes.

 

“When brace manufacturers sought more clarification, the ATF again appeared to change its stance in 2017. The ATF said “incidental, sporadic, or situation ‘use’ of an arm-brace” from the shoulder did not constitute a redesign, but taking “affirmative steps to configure the device” as a shoulder stock would, such as removing straps intended to wrap around the arm.

 

“Dean Rieck, the executive director of the Buckeye Firearm Association, said trying to ban firearm components will not prevent the next mass shooting. “After every shooting, we see the same pattern,” Rieck said. “People have certain pet laws they want to see passed. You’ll probably see various laws proposed.” In terms of pistol braces, Rieck said: “Things like that don’t really make a difference. If your purpose is to harm people, that configuration is not ideal anyway.”

 

“After the Las Vegas mass shooting, Cincinnati and Columbus attempted to ban bump stocks, which can increase the rate of fire of a rifle. Rieck’s association successfully blocked the bans by invoking Ohio’s preemption rule,  which stops cities from overriding state gun laws….” (Cincinnati Enquirer/Cameron Knight. “Dayton shooter used a gun that may have exploited an ATF loophole.” 8-5-2019.)

 

Aug 5, NYT: “In Texas and Ohio, it’s legal to buy military-style firearms, use them with large-capacity magazines and carry them in public with a permit.

 

“Gun laws vary from state to state, but more often than not, states do not restrict the type of military-style weapons and large-capacity magazines that were used in two mass shootings over the weekend.

 

“In Ohio and Texas, there is no ban on the type of military-style rifles that are often used in mass shootings. These types of semi-automatic weapons let gunmen fire rapidly, as quickly as they can pull the trigger, allowing an active shooter to kill a lot of people quickly.

 

“‘A normal individual seeing that type of weapon might be alarmed, but technically it was in the realm of the law,” Greg Allen, the El Paso police chief, told reporters.

 

“Only six states and the District of Columbia have enacted bans on military-style weapons. Many cities, including Dayton, ban these types of weapons.

 

“The Dayton gunman bought his AR-style weapon online and had it shipped from Texas to a gun store in Ohio, where he picked it up, according to the Dayton Police Department. The weapon was modified with a brace to improve stability, which means that it functioned identically to a short-barreled AR-style rifle. The modification was legal, according to the Police Department.

 

“Mass shooters have also circumvented state law by traveling to neighboring states with fewer gun restrictions to purchase weapons, or by making small modifications to other legal weapons.

 

“In both states [OH and TX], large-capacity magazines are allowed.  Both gunmen appeared to use magazines that can hold at least 30 rounds of ammunition, the standard capacity for assault rifles used by military personnel as well as many semi-automatic military-style rifles used by civilians. These magazines allow for shooters to fire a large number of bullets without having to reload. ‘This type of high-volume fire is really originally contemplated for a battlefield,’ said Laura Cutilletta, managing director at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. ‘They can kill huge numbers of people in such a short time.’ In states like Texas and Ohio, these weapons can be legally configured to quickly swap out magazines — allowing someone to continue firing another 30 (or 100) rounds in short order.

 

“Only eight states and the District of Columbia have laws that restrict the capacity of magazines, most limiting them to 10 to 15 rounds, depending on the state….

 

“After the mass shooting in Parkland, Fla., in 2018, the number of new state gun laws rose sharply, including new restrictions on concealed-carry and magazine capacity. But even if you live in a state with strict gun laws, the current patchwork of state regulations means that military-style weapons with large-capacity magazines can still be purchased in a neighboring state.” (New York Times (Larry Buchanan and K.K. Rebecca Lai). “How State Laws Allowed Military-Style Guns Used in Dayton and El Paso Shootings.” 8-5-2019.)

 

Sources

 

Cincinnati Enquirer (Cameron Knight). “Dayton shooter used a gun that may have exploited an ATF loophole.” 8-5-2019. Accessed 8-6-2019 at: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/crime/crime-and-courts/2019/08/05/dayton-shooter-used-gun-may-have-exploited-atf-loophole/1920506001/

 

CNN (Ivana Kottasová). “Mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio. 8-4-2019. Accessed 8-4-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/ohio-shooting/index.html

 

CNN (Jay Croft). “Shooter’s sister among 9 dead in Dayton, Ohio; 27 others injured.” 8-4-2019. Accessed 8-4-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/04/us/dayton-ohio-active-shooter/index.html

 

CNN Holly Yan, Chuck Johnston and Polo Sandoval). “The Dayton gunman killed 9 people by firing 41 shots in 30 seconds. A high-capacity rifle helped enable that speed.” 8-5-2019. Accessed 8-5-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/05/us/dayton-monday-shooter-stopped-in-seconds/index.html

 

CNN (Sarah Aarthun and Emanuella Grinberg). “What we know about the shooting in Dayton, Ohio.” 8-4-2019. Accessed 8-6-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/04/us/dayton-ohio-shooting-what-we-know/index.html

 

Daytonohio.gov. “City of Dayton Releases List of Victims from Oregon Shooting.” 8-4-2019. Accessed 8-4-2019 at: https://www.daytonohio.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=332

 

National Public Radio. “‘Do Something!’: Calls For Action After Mass Shootings in El Paso And Dayton.” 8-5-2019. Accessed 8-6-2019 at: https://www.npr.org/2019/08/05/748239149/do-something-calls-ring-out-after-mass-shootings-in-el-paso-and-dayton

 

New York Times (Larry Buchanan and K.K. Rebecca Lai). “How State Laws Allowed Military-Style Guns Used in Dayton and El Paso Shootings.” 8-5-2019. Accessed 8-6-2019 at: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/05/us/gun-laws-el-paso-dayton-shootings.html?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimes

 

Wall Street Journal/Ben Kesling and Zusha Elinson. “Dayton Shooter Used AR-15 Pistol, Smaller Version of Popular Rifle. This appears to be first time the gun has been used in a mass shooting, according to law enforcement.” 8-5-2019. Accessed 8-6-2019 at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/dayton-shooter-used-ar-15-pistol-smaller-version-of-popular-rifle-11565045046

 

WKRC-TV Local 12 (Duane Pohlman), Cincinnati, OH. “Key section of weapon used in Dayton mass shooting manufactured in Tri-State.” 8-5-2019. Accessed 8-6-2019 at: https://local12.com/news/duane-is-that-right/key-section-of-weapon-used-in-dayton-mass-shooting-manufactured-in-tri-state

 

 

[1] A Wall Street Journal article writes that Betts used an “AR-15 style pistol…a smaller variation on the popular gun that has been used in many of the deadliest mass shooting. The pistol…has a shorter barrel than an AR-style rifle, but it fires the same types of bullets and uses the same magazines.” (Wall Street Journal/Ben Kesling and Zusha Elinson. “Dayton Shooter Used AR-15 Pistol, Smaller Version of Popular Rifle.” 8-5-2019.)

[2] Racial identification from: Daytonohio.gov. “City of Dayton Releases List of Victims from Oregon Shooting.” 8-4-2019.

–22  CBS News. “El Paso shooting: Prosecutors to seek death penalty…” 8-5-2019.

Narrative Information

Aug 3, NBC News: “At least 19 people are dead and 40 injured after a shooting Saturday near a shopping mall in El Paso, Texas, law enforcement officials said. One suspect, a 21-year-old man from the Dallas area,[1] is in custody, law enforcement sources said. Multiple law-enforcement sources say police have identified the suspected as Patrick Crusius.

“A second person was also taken into custody by authorities, but it is not immediately known what role, if any, the person played in the shooting, sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News.

“What we know so far:

The shooting took place in a Walmart and around the nearby Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso.

Police received their first calls on the incident slightly past 10 a.m. local time.

At least 19 people were killed and 40 injured.

One male suspect is in custody, along with a second person whose suspected role in the shooting was not immediately known.

“El Paso police said the initial calls about the incident came at about 10 a.m. local time. By about 1 p.m. police said there was no imminent threat at that point. Earlier, in several tweets, police urged people to stay away from the area near the Cielo Vista Mall due to an ‘active shooter.’….” (NBC News/Minyvonne Burke and Andrew Blankstein. “El Paso mall shooting: At least 19 people dead, 40 injured, suspect in custody, police say.” 8-3-2019.)

Aug 3: “20 people were killed and another 26 injured when a lone, possibly racism-motivated gunman opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas on Saturday morning. City and state officials have only confirmed a limited amount of information as of Saturday evening, but below is everything we know so far.

“The Attack. Around 11 a.m. local time in El Paso, a 21-year-old white male gunman began opening fire at the Walmart next to Cielo Vista Mall on the east side of the border city. According to witnesses and surveillance footage, the gunman, Patrick Crusius, was armed with an AK-47-style assault rifle and wearing dark clothing and earmuff-style hearing protection. He began firing on victims in the Walmart parking lot, then continued his rampage inside. By the time he was apprehended by police, the gunman had murdered at least 20 people and injured another 26, according to Texas and U.S. law-enforcement officials. The victims included small children.

“The El Paso Times reported that roughly 1,000 shoppers were inside the store at the time of the shooting, in addition to about 100 Walmart employees. Stores in the surrounding area went on lockdown after learning of the attack….” (New York Intelligencer. “Everything We Know About the El Paso Walmart Massacre.” 8-3-2019.)

 

Aug 4: “….US Attorney John Bash said he is working with authorities in bringing federal hate crimes charges and federal firearms charges, which would carry the death penalty against the suspect. “We are treating it as a domestic terrorism case, and we’re gonna do what we do to terrorists in this country, which is deliver swift and certain justice,” Bash said.

“On Saturday, police said a document they believe was written by the 21-year-old white male suspect has a “nexus to a potential hate crime.” The four-page document posted online espouses white nationalist and racist views. It rails against immigrants and Hispanics, blaming immigrants and first-generation Americans for taking away jobs and for the blending of cultures in the US. The document has not yet been officially linked to the suspect.

“CNN reported the suspect is Patrick Crusius of Allen, Texas, according to three sources.” (CNN (Harmeet Kaur). “Deadly shooting in El Paso, Texas).” 8-4-2019.)

 

Aug 5: “….In a racist screed allegedly written by the suspect, he expressed support for the Christchurch, New Zealand shooter, and denounced the increasing Hispanic population in Texas….” (CBS/AP. “3 children are now orphans after parents killed in El Paso shooting.” 8-5-2019.)

Aug 5: “The death toll has risen to at least 22 people and more than two dozen were injured when a gunman opened fire Saturday afternoon at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. The police department said on Twitter that one victim died early Monday morning [Aug 5] at a hospital and another died just after 10 a.m….” (CBS/AP. “El Paso mass shooting: What we know about the victims.” 8-5-2019.)

Aug 5: “What we know about the El Paso shooting

22 people were killed and dozens injured in a shooting in a Walmart and parking lot near an El Paso, Texas shopping mall Saturday….

At least 22 people were hospitalized, including one who died; nine were in critical but stable condition; one patient is 4 months old….

“El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said Crusius purchased his weapon legally. He said Crusius was being cooperative and “forthcoming with information” to investigators. The Associated Press reports Crusius is from Allen, Texas, which is a nearly 10-hour drive from El Paso.

“The attack targeted a Walmart and did not spread to other nearby shopping areas, El Paso police Sgt. Robert Gomez said, adding that most victims were inside the store. The shopping area is about 5 miles from the main border checkpoint with Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.” (CBS News. “El Paso shooting: Prosecutors to seek death penalty for ‘domestic terrorism.’” 8-5-2019.)

Aug 5: “The suspect in the killing rampage at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, allegedly cased the store, looking for Mexicans to kill before he came back and unleashed a barrage of gunfire that left 22 people dead and more than two dozens injured, law enforcement officials told ABC News…. The suspect, identified as Patrick Crusius, 21, told investigators following his arrest that he allegedly set out to kill as many Mexicans as he could, according to authorities.

“On Monday, law enforcement officials told ABC News that Crusius cased the Walmart, going inside on Saturday without any weapons, apparently to size up the clientele inside the store, which is about 5 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. Satisfied with what he saw among the 1,000 to 3,000 people that police estimate were inside at the time, Crusius exited the store and allegedly armed himself. He returned wearing protective ear muffs, safety glasses and wielding a high-powered assault-style rifle, according to video surveillance of him inside the store. Police officials said he allegedly started firing indiscriminately at victims before he even walked through the front door….” (ABC News. “Alleged shooter cased El Paso Walmart before rampage that killed 22: Law Enforcement officials.” 8-5-2019.)

Aug 6: “Police on Monday said that Patrick Crusius, the man suspected of killing 22 people in El Paso last weekend, stopped at the Walmart where he allegedly carried out the mass shooting because he was hungry and randomly chose the store to carry out his attack. Authorities added that Crusius got lost in a neighborhood before visiting the Walmart — but not long after he arrived, the shooting began. Crusius…has been unemployed for five months and used food stamps, authorities said — but he bought his high-powered rifle legally….”

Fatalities

1. Andre Anchondo, 24 (US)    com. “Heroes, Grandparents and…” 8-5-2019.
2. Jordan Anchondo, 25 (US)    CBS/AP. “El Paso mass shooting…victims.” 8-5-2019.
3. Arturo Benavides, 60[2] (US)    CBS/AP. “El Paso mass shooting…victims.” 8-5-2019.
4. Leonardo Campus, 41[3] (US)    CBS/AP. “El Paso mass shooting…victims.” 8-5-2019.
5. Juan de Dios Velasquez Chairez,[4] (MX). CNN. “These are the victims…” 8-5-2019.
6. Angie Englisbee, 86 (US)    CBS/AP. “El Paso mass shooting…victims.” 8-5-2019.
7. Maria Flores, 77 ABC News. “Alleged shooter cased…Walmart…” 8-5-2019
8. Raul Flores, 77 ABC News. “Alleged shooter cased…Walmart…” 8-5-2019
9. Jorge Calvillo García (MX)   CBS/AP. “El Paso mass shooting…victims.” 8-5-2019.
10. Adolfo Cerros Hernández (MX) CBS/AP. “El Paso mass shooting…victims.” 8-5-2019.
11. Maribel Hernandez, 56[5] (US)    ABC News. “Alleged shooter cased…Walmart…” 8-5-2019
12. Alexander Gerhard Hoffman, 66. ABC News. “Alleged shooter cased…Walmart…” 8-5-2019
13. David Johnson, 63 (US)    CBS/AP. “El Paso mass shooting…victims.” 8-5-2019.
14. Luis Alfonzo Juarez, 90 ABC News. “Alleged shooter cased…Walmart…” 8-5-2019
15. Ivan Filiberto Manzano[6] (MX)   CBS/AP. “El Paso mass shooting…victims.” 8-5-2019.
16. Gloria Irma Márquez (MX)    com. “Heroes, Grandparents and…” 8-5-2019.
17. Elsa Mendoza de la Mora[7] (MX) CBS/AP. “El Paso mass shooting…victims.” 8-5-2019.
18. Margie Reckard, 63 (US)    ABC News. “Alleged shooter cased…Walmart…” 8-5-2019
19. Sara Esther Regalado[8] (MX)   CBS/AP. “El Paso mass shooting…victims.” 8-5-2019.
20. Javier Amir Rodriquez, 15 (US) CBS/AP. “El Paso mass shooting…victims.” 8-5-2019.
21. María Eugenia Lagarreta Rothe, 58 (MX) CBS/AP. “El Paso…shooting…victims.” 8-5-2019.[9]
22. Teresa Sanchez El Paso Times. “El Paso shooting victims identified…” 8-6-2019

Sources

ABC News (Bill Hutchinson, Aaron Katersky and Josh Margolin). “Alleged shooter cased El Paso Walmart before rampage that killed 22: Law Enforcement officials.” 8-5-2019. Accessed 8-6-2019 at: https://abcnews.go.com/US/death-toll-rises-22-el-paso-shooting-victims/story?id=64780680

CBS/Associated Press. “3 children are now orphans after parents killed in El Paso shooting.” 8-5-2019. Accessed 8-5-2019 at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/el-paso-walmart-shooting-jordan-anchondo-killed-protecting-baby-husband-andre-anchondo-confirmed-dead/

CBS/Associated Press. “El Paso mass shooting: What we know about the victims.” 8-5-2019. Accessed 8-5-2019 at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/el-paso-shooting-victims-what-we-know-about-the-victims-at-texas-walmart-mass-shooting-2019-08-05/

CBS News. “El Paso shooting: Prosecutors to seek death penalty for ‘domestic terrorism.’” 8-5-2019. Accessed 8-5-2019 at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/el-paso-shooting-victim-death-toll-rises-22-today-death-penalty-for-domestic-terrorism-in-walmart-shooting-2019-08-05/

CNN (Harmeet Kaur). “Deadly shooting in El Paso, Texas).” 8-4-2019. Accessed 8-4-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/el-paso-tx-shooting-live-updates/index.html

CNN (Amanda Jackson, Emanuella Grinberg and Amir Vera. “These are the victims who have been identified in the El Paso shooting.” 8-5-2019. Accessed 8-5-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/04/us/el-paso-shooting-victims/index.html

El Paso Times (Nick Siano). “El Paso shooting victims identified…” 8-6-2019. Accessed 8-6-2019 at: https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2019/08/05/el-paso-shooting-victims-identified-see-the-names-walmart-texas-tx/1927961001/

Los Angeles Times (Adam Elmahrek, Melissa Etehad, Matthew Ormseth). “‘Very much a loner’: What we know about Patrick Crusius, the suspect in the El Paso massacre.” 8-3-2019.

NBC News (Minyvonne Burke and Andrew Blankstein). “El Paso mall shooting: At least 19 people dead, 40 injured, suspect in custody, police say.” 8-3-2019. Accessesd 8-3-2019 at:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/active-shooter-near-el-paso-mall-police-responding-n1039001

New York Intelligencer. “Everything We Know About the El Paso Walmart Massacre.” 8-3-2019. Accessed 8-4-2019 at: http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/08/everything-we-know-about-the-el-paso-walmart-shooting.html

New York Post. “Police identify all 22 victims of the El Paso Walmart massacre.” 8-26-2019. Accessed 8-6-2019 at: https://nypost.com/2019/08/06/police-identify-all-22-victims-of-the-el-paso-walmart-massacre/

People.com (Chris Harris). “Heroes, Grandparents and Role Models: Remembering the Victims of the El Paso Mass Shooting.” 8-5-2019. Accessed 8-6-2019 at: https://people.com/crime/el-paso-mass-shooting-remembering-victims/

[1] Allen Texas, northeast of Dallas. (Los Angeles Times. “‘Very much a loner’: What we know about Patrick Crusius, the suspect in the El Paso massacre.” 8-3-2019.)

[2] Name listed as Arturo Benavidez in: El Paso Times. “El Paso shooting victims identified…” 8-6-2019.

[3] Age is from: New York Post. “Police identify all 22 victims of the El Paso Walmart massacre.” 8-26-2019. Campus was the husband of Maribel Hernandez, who was also killed. El Paso Times, 8-6-2019, has name as Leonardo Campos Jr.

[4] Another source has name as: Juan Valazquez. (ABC News. “Alleged shooter cased…Walmart…” 8-5-2019.)

[5] Wife of Leonardo Campus. Another source has name as Maribel Loya. (People.com. “Heroes, Grandparents and…” 8-5-2019.) Yet another has name as Maribel Campos (Loya). (El Paso Times. “El Paso shooting victims identified…” 8-6-2019.)

[6] Another sources has name as Ivan Hilierto Manzano. ABC News. “Alleged shooter cased…Walmart…” 8-5-2019.

[7] Another source has name as Elsa Mendoza Marquez, 57, of Juarez, Mexico, who was visiting family in El Paso. (People.com. “Heroes, Grandparents and…” 8-5-2019.)

[8] Another source has name as Sara Esther Regalado Moriel. (El Paso Times. “El Paso shooting victims identified…” 8-6-2019.)

[9] Age is from: New York Post. “Police identify all 22 victims of the El Paso Walmart massacre.” 8-26-2019.

–10  Associated Press. “The Latest: Witnesses say plane struggled to take off.” 6-30-2019.

–10  CNN. “Ten dead in private plane crash at airport north of Dallas.: 6-30-2019.

–10  NTSB. Aviation Accident Preliminary Report. Accident Number: CEN19MA190.

 

Narrative Information

 

NTSB: “On June 30, 2019, about 0911 central daylight time, a Beech BE-300, N534FF, collided with a hangar and terrain after takeoff from Addison Airport (KADS), Addison, Texas. The airline transport pilot, the commercial co-pilot, and eight passengers sustained fatal injuries. A postimpact fire ensued and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to EE Operations LLC and operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), instrument flight rules flight plan, had been filed for the flight. The cross-country flight was originating at the time of the accident and was en route to Albert Whitted Airport (KSPG), St. Petersburg, Florida.

 

“According to information provided by EE Operations and Flyte Aero (an aviation services provider), the flight crew, and passengers arrived at the airport to prepare for the personal flight, about an hour and a half prior to the accident. The airplane fuel tanks were “topped off” and luggage was loaded in the aft baggage compartment of the airplane.

 

“According to FAA air traffic control data, the pilot contacted ground control stating he was ready to taxi and about 0905 was provided taxi instructions to runway 15. About 0910 the pilot was given departure instructions to turn left heading 050 and was cleared for takeoff from runway 15.

 

“The takeoff and departure of the airplane was captured by radar and multiple security cameras and was observed by several witnesses located in various locations at the airport. One witness stated that as the airplane went down the runway, it seemed more quiet than normal and sounded like it did not have sufficient power to takeoff. After the airplane lifted off, witnesses observed the airplane drift to the left, and then roll to the left before colliding with the hangar. Several security cameras captured the drift to the left immediately after takeoff and then a roll to the left. One camera showed the airplane roll completely inverted before it collided with the hangar.

 

“Witness marks and wreckage distribution were consistent with the airplane impacting the top of the hangar in a right wing low, nose down, and inverted attitude. The empennage, right engine, and both propeller assemblies separated from the airplane during the impact sequence and were located inside of the hangar. Fragmented pieces of both wings were located on top of the hangar, inside of the hangar, and immediately to the north of the hangar. The main wreckage, which included the left engine and the fuselage, was located outside of the hangar and it came to rest adjacent to a brick wall. The main wreckage came to rest on its right side and was destroyed by the impact forces and postimpact fire.

 

“The airplane was equipped with an L3 FA2100 cockpit voice recorder (CVR). The CVR recorded 2 hours of high-quality audio including the accident flight. A crew comment regarding a problem with the left engine occurred about 8 seconds before the end of the recording. Three automated “bank angle” aural alerts began about 3 seconds before the end of the recording. A CVR group comprised of technical experts will convene at NTSB headquarters in Washington, DC, to review the entire accident recording, and produce a written transcript.

 

“Several avionics components and personal electronic devices were recovered from the wreckage. These components and devices were secured for further examination. Both engine assemblies were recovered from the wreckage and were secured for further examination.” (National Transportation Safety Board. Aviation Accident Preliminary Report. Accident Number: CEN19MA190.)

 

Media

 

June 30: “Dallas (AP)….9:15 p.m. [local time].  Witnesses who saw a small plane crash say it struggled on takeoff and appeared to lose power….[A witness said] the plane ‘got onto the runway, went down the runway, started taking off. He got to about 200 feet, and I saw him starting to lose power and his altitude, and then I see him just roll over and came straight down right into the building.’ Ten people were killed when the [twin engine] plane crashed into a hangar at Addison Metropolitan Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration says a Beechcraft BE-350 King Air was destroyed in the fiery crash after it struck an unoccupied hangar soon after 9 a.m….” (AP. “The Latest: Witnesses say plane struggled to take off.” 6-30-2019.)

 

July 2: “A cockpit recording from the plane that crashed Sunday at Addison Airport, killing all 10 people aboard, captures the moments when the crew recognized a problem with the left engine, officials said Tuesday [July 2]. The audio reveals a mood “consistent with confusion” just after the Beechcraft Super King Air 350 took off and about 12 seconds before the recording ends, said Bruce Landsberg, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. The two crew members received three alerts warning they were in danger of hitting the ground three seconds before the recording broke off abruptly, presumably when the plane crashed into a hangar.

 

“Eight passengers and two crew members were on the 2-year-old, twin-engine aircraft that was destroyed by flames after it crashed into the hangar at 9:11 a.m. Sunday as it departed for St. Petersburg, Fla. No one on the ground was hurt. The cause of the crash remains unknown.

 

“The victims included pilots Howard Cassady and Matthew Palmer; Brian and Ornella Ellard and their teenage children, Alice Maritato and Dylan Maritato; Steve and Gina Thelen; and John and Mary Titus. All eight passengers were members of Bent Tree Country Club in Dallas, according to an email the club sent to members….

 

“NTSB officials said a preliminary examination of the cockpit voice recording yielded two hours of high-quality audio, giving investigators a glimpse into the terrifying moments before the aircraft hit the hangar and burst into flames. About eight seconds before the audio cut off, crew members said there was a problem with the left engine. Three seconds before the recording ended, a series of automated alerts warned the crew about the plane’s bank angle. NTSB investigator-in-charge Jennifer Rodi said the fire destroyed most of the plane’s fuselage, complicating the investigation and making surveillance video of the crash even more important. Four cameras captured the takeoff and crash, officials said. Two of them sat at the end of the runway, giving slightly different angles on the aircraft’s liftoff and impact. They show that the plane began to veer left before it hit the hangar. A camera near the start of the runway showed the plane lifted off and began to veer. A dashboard camera in a parked fire-truck captured the crash itself.

 

“Officials said microchips from cockpit control monitors were recovered and could allow investigators to understand how the crew was operating the craft before the crash.

 

“Experts are pulling apart the plane’s engines and propellers to learn more about what caused the crash. They’ll also review the flight records and experience of the crew and interview air traffic controllers who were on duty Sunday.

 

“Officials said Tuesday’s briefing would be the last official update locally as NTSB employees prepared to return to Washington, D.C. Rodi and her team said they probably will be in Addison until Thursday. The agency expects to have a preliminary cause for the crash in less than two weeks. A full report on the crash could take 18 months.

 

“The NTSB did not release audio of the cockpit recording and said more information will be available later as the cockpit voice recorder is analyzed. The agency will release a written report after the investigation is complete, including a transcript of the cockpit recording. The plane did not carry a flight data recorder.

 

“Howard Cassady, 71, was the last of the 10 victims to be publicly named. He and fellow pilot Matthew Palmer, 28, made up the plane’s crew. The Dallas County medical examiner confirmed Tuesday that it had positively identified everyone who died….

 

“Also added to the medical examiner’s list Tuesday were Mary Titus, 60, and her husband, John Titus, 59. Both were members of Tennis Competitors of Dallas, according to an email from the group. Mary Titus served as the mixed league director, the group said.

 

“Brian and Ornella Ellard were headed to St. Petersburg for summer vacation with Ornella’s two children, 13-year-old Dylan Maritato and 15-year-old Alice Maritato… Brian Ellard, 52, owned an upscale Italian restaurant in Dallas, as well as an art gallery. Ornella Ellard, 45, worked as an interior designer.

 

“Public records show that the Ellard family is connected to the business that bought the 2017 plane this year. EE Operations shares the same mailing address in Addison as Ellard Family Holdings LLC. Attempts to reach EE Operations have been unsuccessful.

 

“Steve Thelen, 58, and his wife, Gina Thelen, 57 [identified as two other victims]/…

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “The Latest: Witnesses say plane struggled to take off.” 6-30-2019. Accessed 6-30-2019 at: https://www.apnews.com/09c7f94d1ae3494c8a4264a6e2479f14

 

CNN (Hollie Silverman and Dakin Androne). “Ten dead in private plane crash at airport north of Dallas.: 6-30-2019. Accessed 6-30-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/30/us/texas-private-plane-crash/index.html

 

DallasNews.com (Sarah Sarder, Jennifer Emily and Sara Coello). “Cockpit thrown into ‘confusion’ seconds before 10 died in Addison plane crash.” 7-2-2019, 4:45 p.m. update. Accessed 7-3-2019 at: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/addison/2019/07/02/cockpit-thrown-confusion-seconds-before-10-died-addison-plane-crash

 

National Transportation Safety Board. Aviation Accident Preliminary Report. Accident Number: CEN19MA190. Accessed 7-13-2019 at: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20190630X33829&AKey=1&RType=Prelim&IType=MA

–7  AP. “Officials seek help in deadly motorcycle crash probe…” KKTV 11, 6-22-2019.

–7  BostonHerald.com. “Truck driver in…motorcycle crash had drunken driving history.” 6-24-2019.

–7  CBS/AP. “7 killed after motorcycles and pickup truck collide in New Hampshire.” 6-22-2019.

 

Narrative Information

 

June 22, CBS/AP: “At least seven people were killed and three others injured when a pickup truck crashed with 10 motorcycles, authorities said. State police said the pickup truck was on fire when emergency crews arrived….New Hampshire State Police said a 2016 Dodge 2500 pickup truck collided with the riders on U.S. 2 in Randolph on Friday evening. The cause of the deadly collision is not yet known.

 

“Along with the seven dead, state police said two additional people were transported to the Androscoggin Valley Hospital and one was airlifted to Maine Medical….Authorities said Saturday afternoon that two of the three had been released from hospitals.

 

“The pickup driver was a 23-year-old man working for a transportation company based in Springfield, Massachusetts, authorities said. He was the truck’s sole occupant….” (CBS/AP. “7 killed after motorcycles and pickup truck collide in New Hampshire.” 6-22-2019.)

 

June 22, CNN: “Seven motorcyclists were killed and three others injured when they collided with a pickup truck that was going the opposite direction in New Hampshire, police said. Authorities received a call around 6:30 p.m. Friday about a motor vehicle crash on Route 2 in Randolph, New Hampshire State Police Capt. Chris Vetter said. The pickup truck…was traveling west on Route 2 while the motorcyclists were traveling east, police said.

 

“The driver of the pickup truck has been identified as Volodoymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, Coos County Attorney John McCormick said at a news conference Saturday….” (CNN. “7 motorcyclists are dead after colliding with a pickup truck in New Hampshire.” 6-22-2019.)

 

June 22, AP: “Randolph, N.H. (AP)…. Authorities identified the pickup driver as Volodoymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, an employee of a Springfield, Massachusetts, company called Westfield Transport. Zhukovskyy survived the accident and has not been charged, authorities said, but they didn’t release details on his condition or his whereabouts….

 

“The National Transportation Safety Board is among the agencies investigating….

 

“A 2016 Dodge 2500 pickup truck towing a flatbed trailer of the kind used to haul cars collided with the bikers around 6:30 p.m. Friday on U.S. 2, a two-lane highway in Randolph, police said….” (Associated Press/Michael Casey and Patrick Whittle. ‘‘We all feel it’: Motorcyclists mourn death of 7 in crash.” BostonHerald.com. 6-22-2019.)

 

June 24: “Springfield — The 23-year-old West Springfield truck driver charged with killing[1] seven bikers Friday in New Hampshire had two drunken driving arrests — one just last month — along with a drug conviction on his extensive record and is now facing the prospect of deportation proceedings, court records show.[2]

 

“Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, a Ukrainian national with a U.S. green card, is due to be arraigned Tuesday in New Hampshire on seven counts of negligent homicide in the weekend motorcycle disaster — a crash his father said occurred on his son’s third day on the job….

 

“The father said they are from the Ukraine and his son recently got permanent resident status in the United States. The younger Zhukovskyy’s court file includes a newly filed June 23 letter from an ICE deportation officer requesting details of his 2017 heroin and cocaine convictions.

 

“The younger Zhukovskyy also has a lengthy driving record, including a drunken driving conviction in 2013 and an arrest after failing a field sobriety test last month in a Walmart parking lot in East Windsor, Conn.[3] He was due back in court for that case Wednesday.

 

“When asked why Zhukovskyy still had an active Massachusetts driver’s license before the crash, MassDOT spokeswoman Jacquelyn Goddard said in a statement: “The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles is looking into this matter.”[4] His Massachusetts license was only suspended Monday because he was deemed an “immediate threat,” records show, despite his second OUI arrest on May 11.

 

“Massachusetts State Police arrested Zhukovskyy Monday morning [June 24] on a fugitive from justice charge out of New Hampshire. He was turned over to N.H. law enforcement officials. State police also confiscated “wax packets containing a residue suspected of being heroin,” when they arrested Zhukovskyy Monday. State police said additional charges may be filed if they test positive for heroin….

 

“The Friday crash killed seven bikers from a Massachusetts veterans group called the Jarheads Motorcycle Club. Killed were Jo-Ann and Edward Corr, both 58, of Lakeville; Michael Ferazzi, 62, of Contoocook, N.H.; Albert Mazza, 59, of Lee, N.H.; Desma Oakes, 42, of Concord, N.H.; Aaron Perry, 45, of Farmington, N.H.; and Daniel Pereira, 58, of Riverside, R.I.

 

“….Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles records show that Zhukovskyy’s license had been temporarily suspended shortly after a 2013 arrest in Westfield because he was deemed an “immediate threat.” The Westfield News reported in 2014 that Zhukovskyy was placed on probation for one year and had his license suspended for 210 days in that case.” (BostonHerald.com/Andrew Martinez and Rick Sobey. “Truck driver in fatal N.H. motorcycle crash had drunken driving history.” 6-24-2019.)

 

June 25: “Concord, N.H. — A pickup truck driver accused of colliding with a group of motorcyclists, killing seven of them, pleaded not guilty through his lawyer Tuesday to negligent homicide. Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, was ordered to remain in prevention detention, with a judge citing his past driving record, saying it poses a potential danger to the public and himself. Zhukovskyy earlier waived his right to arraignment, authorities said. The plea was entered by his attorney Melissa Davis in Coos County Court in Lancaster, New Hampshire. Zhukovskyy remains behind bars there.

 

“The truck Zhukovskyy was driving was towing a flatbed trailer and collided with the motorcycles in Randolph, investigators say. He was driving erratically and crossed the center line, according to criminal complaints released Tuesday….

 

“Records from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration indicate that the company Zhukovskyy was driving for at the time of the motorcycle crash, Westfield Transport, has been cited for various violations in the past two years, MassLive.com reported….

 

“Relatives of Zhukovskyy said…he was on his way back to Massachusetts from dropping of a shipment of cars and appeared happy to be heading home.” (Associated Press. “Driver pleads not guilty in motorcycle crash that killed 7.” NBC News, 6-25-2019.)

 

June 26: “Concord, New Hampshire — The head of the Massachusetts motor vehicle division has resigned after her agency failed to terminate the commercial driving license of a man whose collision with a group of motorcyclists on a rural New Hampshire road left seven bikers dead…. Massachusetts Department of Transportation Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack said in a statement that the state Registry of Motor Vehicles failed to act on information provided by the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles about a drunken driving arrest involving Zhukovskyy. Pollack said the arrest should have cost him his commercial driving license. As a result, she accepted the resignation of Erin Deveney.

 

“Manny Ribeiro, who survived the crash, said the resignation was just one of many revelations about the driver that indicated the crash could have been prevented. But Ribeiro said it also felt ‘like someone was running around from the problem. We just get to quit and walk away and that’s it,” Ribeiro said. “Story over. See you later until the next time it happens and then the next person steps down. This is what happens every single time.’

 

“….A survivor of the crash said the trailer wiped out most of the bikers behind him….” (Associated Press. Michael Casey. “Head of Massachusetts motor vehicle division resigns amid fallout from deadly NH motorcycle crash.” Bangor Daily News, ME. 6-26-2019.)

 

June 27: “Baytown, Texas (KTRK) — A young truck driver charged in a deadly accident that killed seven people in New Hampshire had two run-ins with Baytown police in the months leading up to the tragedy. Portions of the Texas confrontation were captured on police body-worn cameras.

 

“…. Zhukovskyy was arrested by Baytown Police in February. The department tells ABC13 Eyewitness News that officers responded to a possible drunk person causing a disturbance in the Denny’s on I-10 East. “We got dispatched to an intoxicated person call,” said Lt. Steve Dorris with Baytown Police. “When they got there, they found him at the counter, rambling to himself, kind of incoherent.”…. Officers on the scene found a crack pipe and arrested him on a Class C misdemeanor. He was issued a fine and released. Records indicate that he paid that fine in March.

 

“The second interaction with police came on June 3, when Zhukovskyy, driving a car hauler, flipped his truck in the same area along I-10 East.[5] He told officers then that he was swerving to avoid hitting another car. No injuries were reported and he was not cited in the accident….” (Shay, Miya.. “Man accused of killing 7 bikers in New Hampshire arrested in Baytown.” ABC 13 Eyewitness News, Houston, TX.  6-27-2019.)

 

June 27: “Concord, New Hampshire — The company that employed a Ukrainian-born truck driver whose collision with motorcyclists in New Hampshire left seven dead has a history of violations including mechanical problems and drug-related infractions….According to an Associated Press analysis of federal data, Westfield Transport, based in Massachusetts, has faced more than 60 violations over the last 24 months, according to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data updated Tuesday. About one in five inspections of its vehicles ended with federal investigators issuing temporary orders saying the carrier was not authorized to operate. The company’s out-of-service rate is 20.8 percent — a figure nearly four times greater than the national average of 5.5 percent.

 

“Federal records show the company has faced seven violations for unsafe driving, which includes speeding in March 2018. That same month, the company faced two violations reported in Massachusetts and Vermont of drivers who were in possession of a narcotic drug or amphetamine.

 

“The company also received 11 other violations related to the fitness of its drivers, including an April violation for driving without a commercial driver’s license. Vehicle violations included inoperable head lamps in April and defective brakes in March….

 

“…in a brief interview with NECN-TV on Monday, the company owner, Dartanyan Gasanov, called the crash a “horrible accident.” He refused to address questions about Zhukovskyy, who had been on the job only three days. He said the company is cooperating with investigators.

 

“Prosecutors in Connecticut said Zhukovskyy was arrested last month after failing a sobriety test. His lawyer in that case said Zhukovskyy denies being intoxicated. Zhukovskyy also has a history of traffic arrests….” (AP. “Company that employed truck driver accused of colliding with motorcycles in deadly crash has history of violations.” Bangor Daily News, ME. 6-27-2019.)

 

June 28: “Boston, MA (WBZ) — The driver charged in a tragic crash that killed seven people last week in northern New Hampshire has been arrested in at least six states, records show. Two more incidents in Volodymyr Zhukovskyy‘s past were uncovered by WBZ-TV [Boston] Friday in Iowa and Ohio. He’s also been involved in incidents in Massachusetts, Texas and Connecticut.

 

“Here is a timeline of his incidents: [We have reordered events chronologically and added 2012.]

 

2012. Charged with speeding, driving without a license and negligent operation of a

motor vehicle in West Springfield, MA, when Zhukovskyy was 16.[6]

 

2013, June 16. Arrested for drunk driving in Westfield, Massachusetts. Driver’s license

suspended for 210 days.

 

2014, June 24. Arrested for a drug offense in Macedonia, Ohio. [Pled guilty in Ohio to

driving with a suspended license, speeding, providing false information and

possession of drug paraphernalia (while he was suspended from is 2013 for

operating a vehicle under the influence (OUI).][7]

 

[2015, Nov 30 burglary. Arrested in Connecticut for third-degree burglary related to the

theft of ladders and windows from a Home Depot.][8]

 

[2017, Jan. Charged with drug possession in West Springfield after heroin and cocaine found inside wallet found by station employee. Ordered to pay $200 fine.][9]

 

2018, Aug 3. Issued a commercial driver’s license in Massachusetts.

 

2019, Feb 11. Arrested in Baytown, Texas for possession of drug paraphernalia.

 

2019, Feb 18. Arrested for improper use of lanes and failure to comply with safety

regulations in Iowa.

 

2019, May 11. Failed a sobriety test in a Walmart parking lot in East Windsor, CT.

 

2019, May 29. Connecticut notified Massachusetts RMV of the May 11 incident.

 

2019, June 3. Lost control of an 18-wheeler and rolled over in Baytown, Texas. No

charges at this point in the investigation.

 

June 21, 2019. Randolph, New Hampshire crash. Seven people killed.

 

“Zhukovskyy is being held in a jail in Lancaster, New Hampshire on the negligent homicide charges in the Randolph crash. The Department of Homeland Security issued an immigration detainer on Zhukovskyy June 23, which means he could be deported back to the Ukraine if he’s released from police custody.” (FoxCarolina.com. “Driver in Deadly Randolph, NH Crash Has Been Arrested in 6 States.” 6-28-2019.)

 

July 12: “Boston (AP) — More than 1,600 Massachusetts drivers have had their licenses suspended following a Registry of Motor Vehicles review prompted by a deadly crash that killed seven motorcyclists in New Hampshire. The unprocessed out-of-state violations were discovered in bins at registry headquarters and during a search of the agency’s archives dating back to 2011….” (Associated Press/Steve LeBlanc “Probe Prompts More Than 1,600 Mass. Driver License Suspensions.” 7-12-2019.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press (Michael Casey and Marina Villeneuve). “Company that employed truck driver accused of colliding with motorcycles in deadly crash has history of violations.” Bangor Daily News, ME. 6-27-2019. Accessed 6-27-2019 at: https://bangordailynews.com/2019/06/27/news/new-england/company-that-employed-truck-driver-accused-of-colliding-with-motorcycles-in-deadly-crash-has-history-of-violations/

 

Associated Press. “Driver pleads not guilty in motorcycle crash that killed 7.” NBC News, 6-25-2019. Accessed 6-25-2019 at: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/driver-pleads-not-guilty-motorcycle-crash-killed-7-n1021521

 

Associated Press. Michael Casey. “Head of Massachusetts motor vehicle division resigns amid fallout from deadly NH motorcycle crash.” Bangor Daily News, ME. 6-26-2019. Accessed 6-27-2019 at: https://bangordailynews.com/2019/06/26/news/new-england/head-of-massachusetts-motor-vehicle-division-resigns-amid-fallout-from-deadly-nh-motorcycle-crash/

 

Associated Press. “Officials seek help in deadly motorcycle crash probe involving members of Marine JarHeads MC.” KKTV 11, Colorado Springs, CO, 6-22-2019. Accessed 6-22-2019 at: https://www.kktv.com/content/news/Officials-seek-help-in-deadly-motorcycle-crash-probe-511682731.html

 

Associated Press/Steve LeBlanc “Probe Prompts More Than 1,600 Mass. Driver License Suspensions.” 7-12-2019. Accessed 7-13-2019 at: https://boston.cbslocal.com/2019/07/12/mass-rmv-investigation-license-suspensions-fatal-crash/

 

Associated Press/Michael Casey and Patrick Whittle. ‘‘We all feel it’: Motorcyclists mourn death of 7 in crash.” BostonHerald.com. 6-22-2019. Accessed 6-22-2019 at: https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/06/22/7-dead-3-hurt-in-fiery-crash-between-truck-motorcycles/

 

BostonHerald.com/Andrew Martinez and Rick Sobey. “Truck driver in fatal N.H. motorcycle crash had drunken driving history.” 6-24-2019. Accessed 6-24-2019 at: https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/06/24/truck-driver-in-fatal-n-h-motorcycle-crash-had-drunken-driving-history/

 

CBS/AP. “7 killed after motorcycles and pickup truck collide in New Hampshire.” 6-22-2019. Accessed 6-22-2019 at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-hampshire-motorcycle-crash-pickup-truck-several-dead-2019-06-22/

 

CNN. “7 motorcyclists are dead after colliding with a pickup truck in New Hampshire.” 6-22-2019. Accessed 6-22-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/22/us/new-hampshire-accident-motorcyclists-pickup-truck/index.html

 

FoxCarolina.com. “Driver in Deadly Randolph, NH Crash Has Been Arrested in 6 States.” 6-28-2019. Accessed 6-29-2018 at: https://www.foxcarolina.com/driver-in-deadly-randolph-nh-crash-has-been-arrested-in/article_284c6c01-7744-5b8e-b331-a3d5aae27f13.html

 

Journal Inquirer (Tim Leininger), Manchester, CT. “West Springfield man charged with stealing ladders, windows from Enfield warehouse.” 7-13-2017. Accessed 6-29-2019 at: https://www.journalinquirer.com/towns/enfield/west-springfield-man-charged-with-stealing-ladders-windows-from-enfield/article_48aa113e-67e5-11e7-ab81-738041d98466.html

 

Shay, Miya.. “Man accused of killing 7 bikers in New Hampshire arrested in Baytown.” ABC 13 Eyewitness News, Houston, TX.  6-27-2019. Accessed 6-27-2019 at: https://abc13.com/man-accused-of-killing-7-bikers-in-crash-arrested-in-baytown/5366532/

 

USA Today/Joey Garrison. “Driver charged in 7 motorcycle deaths has arrest records in 6 states.” 6-29-2019. Accessed 6-29-2019 at: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/06/28/more-arrests-emerge-what-we-know-truck-driver-who-killed-7-motorcyclists-new-hampshire/1593675001/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=amp&utm_campaign=speakable

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Seven counts of negligent homicide.

[2] “His criminal history puts him in violation of his resident status, opening the door for ICE to have him removed to his home country.” (USA Today. “Driver charged in 7 motorcycle deaths has arrest records in 6 states.” 6-29-2019.)

[3] According to USA Today report “Police had been dispatched after he was seen ‘revving his truck engine and jumping around outside the vehicle.’ During that arrest, Zhukovskyy made ‘suicidal comments’ and exhibited ‘extreme behavior,’ according to a report filed by East Windsor police, prompting them to send him to a Hartford hospital for treatment. He was released on a $2,500 non-surety bond.” (USA Today/Joey Garrison. “Driver charged in 7 motorcycle deaths has arrest records in 6 states.” 6-29-2019.)

[4] According to June 29 USA Today article: “Massachusetts state officials say Connecticut failed to provide sufficient information about the May 11 arrest through the proper channels outlined in the federal commercial driver’s license system. Doing so, they say, would have automatically applied the charges to his Massachusetts driving record and result in the immediate termination of his commercial driver’s license, according to MassDOT. Connecticut instead notified Massachusetts on May 29 through the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators messaging system. That generated a notification for RMV personnel to conduct a manual review of Zhukovskyy’s record. They had not conducted it by the time of the crash, allowing him to still be licensed to drive.” (USA Today/Joey Garrison. “Driver charged in 7 motorcycle deaths has arrest records in 6 states.” 6-29-2019.)

[5] Truck that was hauling five cars. (USA Today/Joey Garrison. “Driver charged in 7 motorcycle deaths has arrest records in 6 states.” 6-29-2019.)

[6] USA Today/Joey Garrison. “Driver charged in 7 motorcycle deaths has arrest records in 6 states.” 6-29-2019.

[7] USA Today/Joey Garrison. “Driver charged in 7 motorcycle deaths has arrest records in 6 states.” 6-29-2019.

[8] Journal Inquirer (Tim Leininger), Manchester, CT. “West Springfield man charged with stealing ladders, windows from Enfield warehouse.” 7-13-2017. (Cited by USA Today, 6-29-2019.)

[9] USA Today/Joey Garrison. “Driver charged in 7 motorcycle deaths has arrest records in 6 states.” 6-29-2019.

–11  Fox News. “Hawaii skydiving place accident investigation…” 6-24-2019.

–11  NTSB. Aviation Accident Preliminary Report. “Accident Number: WPR19MA177.”

 

Narrative Information

 

NTSB Preliminary Report: “On June 21, 2019, at 1822 Hawaii-Aleutian standard time, a Beech 65-A90, N256TA, collided  with terrain after takeoff from Dillingham Airfield (HDH), Mokuleia, Hawaii. The commercial pilot and ten passengers sustained fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane  was owned by N80896 LLC, and was being operated by Oahu Parachute Center (OPC) under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations  Part 91 as a local sky-diving flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.

 

“According to the owner of OPC, the accident flight was the fourth of five parachute jump flights scheduled for that day. Two flights took place between 0900 and 0930 and the third departed about 1730 on the first of what OPC called, “sunset” flights. The occupants on the accident flight included the pilot, three tandem parachute instructors and their three customers, and two camera operators; two solo jumpers decided to join the accident flight at the last minute.

 

“The passengers were loaded onto the airplane while it was on the taxiway next to the OPC facility on the southeast side of the airport. A parachute instructor at OPC observed the  boarding process and watched as the airplane taxied west to the departure end of runway 8. He could hear the engines during the initial ground roll and stated that the sound was normal, consistent with the engines operating at high power. When the airplane came into his view as it headed toward him, it was at an altitude of between 150 and 200 ft above ground level and appeared to be turning. He could see its belly, with the top of the cabin facing the ocean to the north. The airplane then struck the ground in a nose-down attitude, and a fireball erupted

 

“The final second of the accident sequence was captured in the top left frame of a surveillance  video camera located at the southeast corner of the airport. Preliminary review of the video data revealed that just before impact the airplane was in an inverted 45° nose-down attitude.

 

“Runway 8/26 at Dillingham Airfield is a 9,007-ft-long by 75-ft-wide asphalt runway, with displaced thresholds of 1,993 ft and 1,995 ft, respectively. A parachute landing area was located  beyond the departure end of runway 8, and the standard takeoff procedure required a left turn over the adjacent beach to avoid that landing zone. The displaced threshold areas had been designated for sailplane and tow-plane use, with powered aircraft advised to maintain close  base leg turns to assure separation.

 

“The airplane came to rest inverted on a heading of about 011° magnetic, 500 ft north of the runway centerline, and 5,550 ft beyond the runway 8 numbers, where the takeoff roll began. The debris field was confined to a 75-ft-wide area just inside the airport perimeter fence. The cabin, tail section, and inboard wings were largely consumed by fire, and both wings outboard of the engine nacelle sustained leading edge crush damage and thermal exposure. Both engines came to rest in the center of the debris field, and fragments of the vertical and both horizontal stabilizers were located within the surrounding area.” (National Transportation Safety Board. Aviation Accident Preliminary Report. “Accident Number: WPR19MA177.”)

 

Media:

 

June 23: “A skydiving plane that went down in Hawaii, killing all 11 people aboard, crashed in a fiery heap shortly after it took off, authorities said. The incident involving the twin-engine plane happened Friday evening at Dillingham Airfield on Oahu’s North Shore, leaving mangled metal scattered across the area….

 

“The airfield is about 35 miles northwest of Honolulu, and is a general aviation airport operated by the state Department of Transportation under a 25-year lease from the US Army. The state leases 272 acres of the 650-acre Dillingham Military Reservation and operates the single 5,000-foot runway primarily for commercial glider and skydiving operations.” (CNN. “A plane full of skydivers crashed in a fiery heap shortly after it took off, officials say.” 6-23-2019 update.

 

June 24: “A National Transportation Safety Board team tasked with investigating the skydiving charter plane that crashed in Hawaii Friday — killing 11 people in the deadliest U.S. civil aviation accident since 2011 — says they are going to focus on the quality of repairs that had been made on the aircraft in the years leading up to the disaster.

 

“It has emerged that the plane involved in the accident had crashed in 2016 in California and sustained significant damage to its tail. It was repaired and then returned to service before crashing again last week in a flight operated by the Oahu Parachute Center skydiving company….‘We will be looking at the quality of those repairs and whether it was inspected and whether it was airworthy,’ the NTSB’s Jennifer Homendy said, adding that the 1967 Beechcraft King Air twin-engine turboprop plane was equipped to carry 13 people….

 

“Friday’s crash was the most deadly civil aviation accident in the United States since a 2011 Reno Air Show wreck killed a pilot and 10 spectators in Nevada, the Associated Press reported.

 

“Witnesses say the plane crashed 20 or 30 seconds after it took off.

 

“‘It’s now confirmed that 11 people died in the terrible crash at Dillingham Airfield,’ Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell tweeted over the weekend.

 

“Some family members who did not go on the skydiving trip were present at the crash site. Hawaii News Now reported the plane was fully engulfed in flames when first responders arrived and that smoke was visible for miles….

 

“Police told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the victims included two women and nine men and that five of the victims were in their late 20s.

 

“The family of one skydiver, 29-year-old Casey Williamson, is sharing its grief with the world before names are officially released. They say he loved adventure and would spend summer skydiving in Moab, Utah and the winter snowboarding in Vail, Colo. He moved to Hawaii a year-and-a-half ago to skydive year-round….” (Fox News. “Hawaii skydiving place accident investigation shifts focus to ‘quality’ of repairs made following 2016 crash.” 6-24-2019.

 

June 24: “A federal safety official put aircraft regulators on notice Monday [24^th], calling for further regulations on parachute operations after a skydiving plane crash in Hawaii killed 11 people. The National Transportation Safety Board identified safety concerns more than a decade ago, but board member Jennifer Homendy said the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t acted. ‘Are we trying to put the FAA on notice for this? Yes,’ Homendy said at a news conference. ‘Accidents continue to happen. There have been fatalities since that time.’

 

“The FAA disputed those claims, saying it responded to the recommendations by revising safety guidance for parachute operators and increasing safety outreach. It also required safety inspectors to monitor parachute operations, the FAA said in a statement.

 

“Monday’s exchange came three days after a skydiving plane crashed shortly after takeoff on the north shore of Oahu, killing all 11 aboard. It marked the deadliest civil aviation accident in the United States since 2011. The Hawaii medical examiner is still confirming the identities of the victims. Officials released the names of seven victims on Monday:

 

• Joshua Drablos, 27, of Virginia, and stationed in Hawaii with the U.S. Navy
• Nikolas Glenov, 28, of St. Paul, Minnesota
• Ashley Weikel, 26, of Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Bryan Weikel, 27, of Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Daniel Herndon, 35, of Hawaii
• Michael Martin, 32, of Hawaii
• Jordan Tehero, 23, of Kauai…..”

(USA Today (Kristin Lam). “Fatal Hawaii skydiving plane crash renews NTSB’s call for stricter rules: ‘Accidents continue to happen’.” 6-24-2019, updated 6-25-2019.)

 

Sources

 

CNN (Faith Karimi and Ray Sanchez). “A plane full of skydivers crashed in a fiery heap shortly after it took off, officials say.” 6-23-2019 update. Accessed 6-24-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/23/us/hawaii-deadly-skydiving-crash-sunday/index.html

 

Fox News. “Hawaii skydiving place accident investigation shifts focus to ‘quality’ of repairs made following 2016 crash.” 6-24-2019. Accessed 6-24-2019 at: https://www.foxnews.com/us/ntsb-investigating-repairs-to-plane-that-crashed-in-hawaii-killing-11

 

National Transportation Safety Board. Aviation Accident Preliminary Report. “Accident Number: WPR19MA177.” Accessed 7-13-2019 at: https://www.scribd.com/document/416338201/NTSB-s-preliminary-report-on-skydiving-plane-crash#from_embed

 

USA Today (Kristin Lam). “Fatal Hawaii skydiving plane crash renews NTSB’s call for stricter rules: ‘Accidents continue to happen’.” 6-24-2019, updated 6-25-2019. Accessed 6-25-2019 at: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/06/24/hawaii-skydiving-plane-crash-ntsb-criticism-faa/1554311001/

 

 

 

 

 

–12  Blinder and Thrush. “Virginia Beach Shooting: 12 Victims Identified…” NYT. 6-1-2019.

Narrative Information

May 31: “….The shooting began shortly after 4 p.m. at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center, a campus of city offices and agencies, including the Police Department. The shooting unfolded on multiple floors in Building No. 2, which includes offices for planning and public works, among others, and is adjacent to City Hall….” (NYT. “11 Killed in Shooting at Virginia Beach Municipal Center…” 5-31-2019.)

 

June 1: “Virginia Beach — The Virginia authorities on Saturday identified the dozen victims of a shooting rampage at a government office complex and named the suspect in the attack for the first — and they said only — time.

 

“Most of the victims, city officials said, worked for the Virginia Beach government, several of them for decades. The police chief, James A. Cervera, said the suspect in the attack, DeWayne Craddock, had also been a municipal employee for about 15 years. Chief Cervera, speaking at a news conference on Saturday morning [June 1], said he did not intend to say the name of the suspect, who was killed on Friday, again in public.

 

“He declined to discuss a possible motive for the attack…City Manager David L. Hansen said that Mr. Craddock was still employed by the city at the time of the ‘senseless and incomprehensible’ shooting on Friday afternoon and that he had been ‘authorized to enter the building.’

 

“All but one of the 12 victims were city employees. The authorities identified them as Laquita C. Brown, Tara Welch Gallagher, Mary Louise Gayle, Alexander Mikhail Gusev, Katherine A. Nixon, Richard H. Nettleton, Christopher Kelly Rapp, Ryan Keith Cox, Joshua A. Hardy, Michelle “Missy” Langer and Robert Williams. The other victim, Herbert Snelling, was a contractor who was at the city government’s vast campus of office buildings to file a permit….

 

“There was no immediate indication that Mr. Craddock targeted anyone in particular, officials said, and four people were in serious condition on Saturday. Once Mr. Craddock began shooting, he continued to fire throughout the building.

 

“Additional weapons were found at the scene and at the suspect’s home, though officials did not specify what kind.

 

“The attack ranks among the deadliest workplace shootings in the United States in recent years. In 2017, the most recent year for which data is available, there were 458 work-related homicides, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was a slight decrease from 2012, when there were 475 workplace homicides….” (Blinder and Thrush. “Virginia Beach Shooting: 12 Victims Identified…” NYT. 6-1-2019.)

 

Sources

 

Blinder, Alan and Glenn Thrush. “Virginia Beach Shooting: 12 Victims Identified…” NYT. 6-1-2019. Accessed 6-1-2019 at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/01/us/virginia-beach-shooting.html

 

New York Times. “11 Killed in Shooting at Virginia Beach Municipal Center, Officials Say…” 5-31-2019. Accessed 5-31-2019 at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/31/us/virginia-beach-shooting.html