Cape Air Experiences First Accident
For the first time in its 19-year history, Cape Air experienced its first fatal accident recently in which Captain David D. Willey, the sole occupant on the ferry flight, was killed. The crash of the Cessna 402 occurred September 28 in West Tisbury, Mass. in heavy rain and winds.
Captain Willey, 61, departed Martha’s Vineyard on a ferry flight to Boston where he was scheduled to pick up passengers. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident which also caused damage to a house near the crash site.
Luke Schiada chief investigator for the NTSB said all communications were normal prior to the crash which occurred just two miles from the airport.
“We’re not ruling anything out,” he said, “we haven’t judged any of the information at this point,” told the Gazette.
“He was a great pilot, an exemplary human being,” Cape Air founder, chief executive officer and fellow pilot Daniel Wolf told the Martha’s Vineyard Gazette. “This was a special person and it’s a huge loss for the company. It’s a devastating thing for the family.”

AE Flies Overloaded Planes
ABC News reported that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), after investigating American Eagle, found it repeatedly flew passengers after improperly calculating weight and balance which resulted in overloaded planes. The investigation, prompted by two reports the airline made to the FAA’s safety data systems, found 19 cases over the past five months in which AE flew in violation of weight and balance rules. American Eagle did not comment to the news organization, nor would the FAA.

Dumb and Dumber: You Just Have to Wonder About Some Pilots
Far from being the airborne gods as most passengers view pilots, at least four pilots showed really poor judgment recently in incidents that ended in their arrests. Two worked for Trans States while two JetBlue pilots were arrested and charged with beating a cabbie in a $9 fare dispute
The Trans States pilots were charged with public intoxication in an incident in Tennessee last week in which a United Express captain told police that arresting him would mean he would not be able to fly his trip and they would be delaying passengers. In the meantime, both were ejected from the flight roster while Trans States investigates, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel, after police notified the McGhee Tyson Airport authorities and United.
Forty-three-year-old Jeffrey Leon Saltis was also charged with indecent exposure after Alcoa, Tenn. police observed him walking along a grassy strip of the Alcoa Highway and mooning passing motorists. His and his co-pilots arrest was even caught on the cruiser cam. His 25-year-old co-pilot, Michael Cody Etzel, who was also charged with public intoxication was nearby with an unidentified female friend trying to take pictures. The two had emerged from a local restaurant where Saltis became belligerent when staff refused to serve him additional drinks.
Trans States Spokesperson Bill Mishk confirmed the two were pilots and the company had been notified that the two were being held.
Meanwhile, two Fort Lauderdale-based JetBlue pilots were charged with battery when they refused to pay the fare between the strip club they just left and the Subway restaurant, according to Fort Lauderdale police. The Miami Herald reported the August 12 incident which occurred at 2 a.m., saying the two hailed a cab from a local strip club to go to a Subway sandwich shop. They left the cab without paying arguing over the amount of the $9 fare. The cabbie sustained a concussion, bruises and a broken ankle in the attack which was caught on Subway’s surveillance video. The two were not arrested until last week.