Cessna 421B crash at Palwaukee

[Captainkirk]

Sadly, one of my former customers perished in a fatal crash at Palwaukee Airport (PWK) near Wheeling, IL Monday night. Ken Knuteson, owner of The Sybaris Clubs, was apparently flying right seat in his 421B, which crashed 1/2 mile from PWK returning from Olathe, KS. Mark Turek, an experienced local pilot, was listed as PIC. The aircraft was caught on video by a security camera and exploded on impact. The video could be seen at www.chicagotribune.com; I saw it on Chicago ABC Channel 7 news. Our shop did some radio work for Ken last summer, before that I hadn't seen him for a number of years. Ken was a heck of a great guy, always had a joke or a great story. He was the one that hung the \"Captain Kirk\" thing on me. There are a lot of rumors & speculation flying about; I won't repeat any of it unless I know it to be fact. I'll update as I hear it. Right now, there is no known cause; PWK tower had cleared them to land a minute prior to impact and no mention had been made regarding any kind of problems. This information from today's News-Sun.

[Anonymous]

It was one of those nights where there was occassional freezing rain and sleet. I wonder if icing might have been factor.

[gnapert]

Sorry to hear this was a friend of yours Captn.

Speculation is premature - but the aircraft looked intact in the video.

I also know there are ADs on the spar - but I think a missing wing would have been obvious.

We'll keep an eye on the investigation.

[Captainkirk]

There was some icing reported; I don't know the extent. The plane did appear intact, NTSB has reported at least one engine was running. Funny thig is, ATC cleared them for landing and no problems reported.

[Captainkirk]

According to my boss, there is now some speculation that one engine may have been out(?) Whether or not it's true, and which engine (critical?) remains to be seen.

[Captainkirk]

As in most crash investigations, there is a flurry of activity, rumor and speculation followed by a long period of silence.....until the NTSB report comes out, sometimes years later. Speaking to an anonymous FAA official, speculation at this point is that it was a stall while turning final, either due to too low of an airspeed and/or ice accumulation. There is no indication at this point in time of an engine-out problem or icing. And that's probably all we'll hear until the NTSB report. I'll keep you all in the loop.