Moonless Night Claims Two Senior CAP Officers

Could the lack of a moon have contributed to this tragic accident?


TOP CIVIL AIR PATROL OFFICERS KILLED
(http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#196556)
The FAA and NTSB are investigating how two seasoned pilots, both
senior officers in the Civil Air Patrol, flew into a mountain near
Las Vegas Thursday evening. Col. Edwin Lewis, director of
operations for CAP's western region, and Col. Dion DeCamp,
commander of the Nevada unit, died when their CAP Cessna 182 hit
8,500-ft. Mt. Polosi, about 12 miles southwest of Las Vegas.
According to the FAA preliminary report

(http://www.faa.gov/data_statistics/a...a/01_881CP.txt)
visibility was listed as 10 miles when the aircraft crashed about
7:15 p.m.




************************************************** ******************************
** Report created 11/9/2007 Record 1 **

************************************************** ******************************

IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 881CP Make/Model: C182 Description: 182, Skylane
Date: 11/08/2007 Time: 0315

Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N
Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION
City: LAS VEGAS State: NV Country: US

DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO A MOUNTAIN, THE TWO PERSONS ON BOARD WERE
FATALLY
INJURED, 12 MILES FROM LAS VEGAS, NV

INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 2
# Crew: 2 Fat: 2 Ser: 0 Min: 0
Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0
Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0
Unk:

WEATHER: KLAS 090245Z 10SM FEW180 BKN250 33/M01 A2995

OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER


FAA FSDO: LAS VEGAS, NV (WP19) Entry date:
11/09/2007

---------------------------------------------------

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mesowest/get...&num=130&raw=0
08 Nov 7:56 pm 69 32 25 WSW 3 10.00 FEW180 BKN250 1012.8 29.96
27.688 OK
08 Nov 6:56 pm 73 31 21 WSW 3 10.00 FEW180 BKN250 1012.9 29.95
27.678 OK


---------------------------------------------------
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/MoonPhase.php#y2007
2007 Phases of the Moon
Universal Time

NEW MOON FIRST QUARTER FULL MOON LAST QUARTER

d h m d h m d h m d h m

JAN. 3 13 57 JAN. 11 12 45
JAN. 19 4 01 JAN. 25 23 01 FEB. 2 5 45 FEB. 10 9 51
FEB. 17 16 14 FEB. 24 7 56 MAR. 3 23 17 MAR. 12 3 54
MAR. 19 2 43 MAR. 25 18 16 APR. 2 17 15 APR. 10 18 04
APR. 17 11 36 APR. 24 6 36 MAY 2 10 09 MAY 10 4 27
MAY 16 19 27 MAY 23 21 03 JUNE 1 1 04 JUNE 8 11 43
JUNE 15 3 13 JUNE 22 13 15 JUNE 30 13 49 JULY 7 16 54
JULY 14 12 04 JULY 22 6 29 JULY 30 0 48 AUG. 5 21 20
AUG. 12 23 03 AUG. 20 23 54 AUG. 28 10 35 SEPT. 4 2 32
SEPT. 11 12 44 SEPT. 19 16 48 SEPT. 26 19 45 OCT. 3 10 06
OCT. 11 5 01 OCT. 19 8 33 OCT. 26 4 52 NOV. 1 21 18
NOV. 9 23 03 NOV. 17 22 33 NOV. 24 14 30 DEC. 1 12 44
DEC. 9 17 40 DEC. 17 10 18 DEC. 24 1 16 DEC. 31 7 51


-----------------------------------------------
http://www.fox5vegas.com/news/14562845/detail.html
Air Patrol Officers Killed In Potosi Plane Crash
Men Brought Planes To Nellis For Air Show

POSTED: 7:38 pm PST November 10, 2007
UPDATED: 8:34 pm PST November 10, 2007


LAS VEGAS -- Civil Air Patrol officials confirm that two of their
own were killed in a plane crash into Mount Potosi, just outside
of Las Vegas.

Col. Edwin W. Lewis Jr., director of operations for CAP's Pacific
Region, and Col. Dion E. DeCamp, commander of CAP's Nevada Wing,
died Thursday evening when their CAP plane crashed into the
mountain.

Lewis had traveled to Nellis Air Force Base to drop off a CAP
airplane to be used as an airshow display. He and DeCamp were
apparently en route to Rosamond, Calif., Lewis' hometown, when the
crash occurred.

"The CAP family is deeply saddened by this tremendous loss," said
Brig. Gen. Amy S. Courter, CAP interim national commander. "There
were no finer members than Col. DeCamp and Col. Lewis. Their
illustrious volunteer service, which collectively spanned more
than seven decades, touched innumerable lives and now, in sorrow,
consoles those left behind as a testament to their dedication and
commitment to the citizens of their respective communities."

The cause of Thursday evening's crash is unknown at this time.
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board are
currently investigating the incident.


-----------------------------------------------------

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/n...laircrash.html
http://www.lvrj.com/news/11142391.html
Nov. 09, 2007

Small airplane crashes on Potosi

Accident described as not survivable by LV police air unit

By BETH WALTON
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Click image for enlargement.

Two people were presumed killed Thursday night when a Civil Air
Patrol plane crashed into Mount Potosi, about 35 miles southwest
of Las Vegas, officials said.

A police air unit crew who flew over the wreckage said the crash
was not survivable.

The plane, a single-engine Cessna 172 , went off the radar at
McCarran International Airport about 7:15 p.m., said Ian Gregor,
spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

It was the second small plane that disappeared from local radar
Thursday night. The same thing had happened with a single-engine
Beechcraft Bonanza at 6:37 p.m. Authorities later learned that
plane had made a successful emergency landing several miles
southeast of Jean, and its two occupants, who were headed to
Phoenix from Las Vegas, were unhurt, Gregor said.

A Las Vegas police air unit was searching the area around Mount
Potosi when the crew heard an explosion and saw a plane burning on
the mountain, Lt. Steve Herpolsheimer said.

The crash was estimated to be about 2,000 feet from the top of the
8,514-foot tall mountain, Herpolsheimer said.

Search and rescue crews tried to get to the crash site using
four-wheel-drive vehicles, he said. Rescue air units were also
sent out to the site, said Las Vegas police spokesman Bill
Cassell.

Late Thursday, police were considering pulling back and waiting
until daylight to try to reach the crash site.

Cassell said he had no idea why the Civil Air Patrol plane was
flying Thursday night. The most common mission for the Civil Air
Patrol is search and rescue.

The crew of this plane was not believed to have been searching for
the missing Beechcraft, so perhaps they were involved in a
training flight, Cassell said.

Civil Air Patrol representatives could not be reached for comment
late Thursday.

Mount Potosi is known as the site of a 1942 plane crash in which
actress Carole Lombard and 21 other people died.

Lombard, the wife of actor Clark Gable, had been returning to
California after taking part in a national war bond campaign for
World War II when the plane she was in, a twin-engine DC-3,
slammed into a cliff near the top of the mountain.