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Preliminary Report Out On Pastor's Crash

Photo from WSPA-TV

The wreckage of the Rev. Forrest Pollock's plane was found in rugged terrain near Asheville, N.C.

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TBO.com

Published: May 22, 2008

Updated: 05/22/2008 04:06 pm

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  Forrest Pollock

  Preston Pollock

TAMPA - The stark preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board offers plenty of cold hard facts about the May 12 airplane crash that killed a popular Brandon pastor and his son, but doesn't answer the question of why Forrest Pollock's Piper slammed into the side of a North Carolina mountain.

Still, one flying expert who examined the report was able to make some educated guesses.

"It looked like he was trying to dodge some clouds, trying to find a clearing and it didn't work out for him," said Boca Raton flight expert Robert Breiling, a retired Navy pilot who has been around airplanes for most of his life and now runs a consulting business. "He was turning, descending and climbing."

"It looks like he got into some inclement weather and didn't have enough instrument training," Breiling said after reading over the report. "Turn around and go back. That's the first thing they teach you."

The report was made public Thursday and is on the NTSB's Web site. It details the weather conditions and the radar record of where Pollock's plane went and when it was last detected before crashing into the side of a mountain near Cruso, N.C., at 5:33 a.m. on May 12. The crash killed the popular pastor of the Bell Shoals Baptist Church and his 13-year-old son, Preston.

Breiling said the combination of overcast, predawn skies, Pollock's skill level and the terrain all may have contributed to the crash. The final NTSB report likely will take months to complete.

There may have been some mistakes, Breiling said.

For example, most pilots call the Federal Aviation Administration before a flight to get a weather briefing. That wasn't done, according to the report. And the weather could have presented a problem.

The report said that at the time, winds of about 25 mph were out of the northwest with gusts of up to about 34 mph. Visibility was at 10 miles, although the flight was just before dawn. There was some scattered cloud cover at 3,800 feet with an overcast ceiling at 4,900 feet.

Pollock was flying under visual flight rules and was not required to file a flight plan. The 44-year-old pastor did not have certification to fly an airplane by instruments alone and could only fly under visual flight rules, the report said.

Brieling said that a pilot with Pollock's experience should have obtained the instrument rating.

"He's been flying for a couple of years and he never got instrument rating?" Breiling said. "You can use it [nstrument capability] daytime or nighttime." A pilot who flies regularly "should get the instrument rating," he said.

The report said Pollock's fatal flight left the Rutherford County Airport-Marchman Field in, Rutherfordton, N.C., about 5 a.m. headed for North Little Rock Municipal Airport in Arkansas. He was visiting his mother in North Carolina and was en route to Texas for a Christian conference. He was stopping in Little Rock to pick up a fellow clergy member.

Radar records show that at 5:20 a.m. Pollock's plane passed over Asheville, N.C. heading west at an altitude of 9,200 feet. For the next 10 minutes the Piper continued west, descending to 8,300 feet. During the next two minutes, the plane entered a descending right turn before continuing northwest at an altitude of 7,100 feet, the NTSB report said.

The next radar blip, 10 seconds later, showed the plane at an altitude of 6,100 feet. The plane then turned back toward the west and climbed to 6,300 feet, before the final radar blip showed it at 5,700 feet, he report said.

All that indicates a pilot looking for some clear sky, Breiling said.

The report said that Pollock had logged 612 hours of flying and had successfully completed his biannual flight review on April 12.

The wreckage was found on the southern face of a mountain at 4,700 feet above sea level. Breiling said the minimum safe altitude anywhere is 1,000 feet above the highest point.

Investigators said the sheared treetops and positioning of the wreckage indicated a steep descent. The plane appeared to be intact when it hit.

Breiling said the airplane could have stalled or Pollock could have undergone vertigo.

"If he was in the clouds, that could have happened," he said.

Pollock's close friends at the church have said he was a safe pilot who always erred on the side of safety rather than take risks.

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