Discussion

Folkstyle

G-R and Freestyle

Teams

Rankings

2019 UWW Senior World Championships
2019 Final X
2019 Junior Greco-Roman National Duals
2019 Junior Boys' Freestyle National Duals
Division changes for 2019-2020 OHSAA Dual Championships
2019 AAU National Duals (Disney Duals)
2019 Yasar Dogu International Tournament
2019 Junior and 16U National Championships (Fargo)
Division changes for 2019-2020 OHSAA Individual Championships

Forum Home

Forum Search

Register

Log in

Log in to check your private messages

Profile

► Add to the Discussion

Discussion Topic: Case Wrestler from Massillon Dies In Plane Crash
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on August 26, 2014

Terrible news.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/08/victims_of_fatal_willoughby_hi.html#incart_big-photo

http://athletics.case.edu/sports/wrest/2013-14/bios/marcelli_luke_w9zi



Add to the discussion and quote this      

Discussion Topic: Case Wrestler from Massillon Dies In Plane Crash
Bruce Andrews added to this discussion on August 26, 2014

One of the other passengers grew up near where I live and was a wrestler at Georgetown Prep in Bethesda. I don't know whether he also wrestled at Case.

Whenever I read about a crash involving 4 guys in a Cessna 172 one of the things that comes to mind is whether the plane was overloaded. A departure at 10 PM is also a bit on the unusual side.

Nevertheless, a sad loss of young life.

Bruce



Add to the discussion and quote this      

Discussion Topic: Case Wrestler from Massillon Dies In Plane Crash
Mark Niemann added to this discussion on August 26, 2014

Bruce: You seem more knowledgable on this subject than me... What was the witness referring to when she stated the color of the flames? Is that a fuel issue???



Add to the discussion and quote this      

Discussion Topic: Case Wrestler from Massillon Dies In Plane Crash
Bruce Andrews added to this discussion on August 26, 2014

Mark,

Pilots tend to study and discuss the causes of airplane accidents in order to learn from them. I participate in the Cessna Pilots Association forum where we talk about significant accidents like this one.

I do feel bad when I hear about young men that are killed for any reason, and it especially hits home when the men are wrestlers or pilots. So please do not think of me as callous when I begin speculating on the causes of the crash.

The color of the flames is typical of an intense airplane fire which is being fueled by Avgas so there is nothing unusual there. One would expect that the airplane had a significant (but unknown to us) amount of fuel on board since they were just departing. During a departure crash it is quite possible for the fuel to ignite as a result of the impact and burn furiously.

Other possible causes are the following:
(1) A Cessna 172R has a useful load of about 750 pounds. That amount includes passengers, fuel and any baggage they may have on board. Fuel weighs 6 lbs per gallon. Unless they had minimal fuel on board or they were all very lightweight guys, there is a possibility they may have been overloaded or the plane was loaded in an unbalanced way.
(2) They took off at around 10 pm. That night there was no moon, so they were flying off into dark night conditions. The pilot did not have an instrument rating. Sometimes non-instrument rated pilots departing in dark night conditions become disoriented.
(3) It is relatively uncommon, although perfectly permissible and legal, to start a flight that late at night. The NTSB database does have a number of cases where young people have had accidents after departing very late at night who have some alcohol detected in their blood. I do not think that is the case here but a toxicological test will be done by the FAA on the pilot as standard procedure.



Last edited by Bruce Andrews on August 26, 2014; edited 1 time in total

Add to the discussion and quote this      

Discussion Topic: Case Wrestler from Massillon Dies In Plane Crash
Patrick Campbell added to this discussion on August 26, 2014

Bruce is just talking dirty. I love it! Inexperienced pilots are far more dangerous than they realize. So much to consider. They can get one curveball and handle it, but get sideways on 2 and 3 issues and it's a recipe for disaster. This case is involving a young pilot, a heavy load for the plane, and darkness. This is not trash talk, please don't consider it as such, but that in and of itself is 3 issues that can be tough enough to negotiate. Now, toss in some tough weather feature or a mechanical problem. I feel for the guys. Lost many friends that were great and experienced pilots. Finances and a family have kept me out of the air for some time. Which sucks as I was in a Cessna 182 at 2 weeks old (I was exceptionally inexperienced that day). RIP



Add to the discussion and quote this      

Discussion Topic: Case Wrestler from Massillon Dies In Plane Crash
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on August 26, 2014

Apparently three of the four were members of the wrestling team.

Young men often feel indestructible and take risks that they would never take when older. Was that the case here? Was it simply a malfunction? Who knows?

Sadly, this is the second time in Mark Hawald's coaching tenure that he's had to deal with a tragic crash. While he was head coach at Mt Union, the team bus was in an accident and an assistant coach was killed.

Thoughts and prayers to all the families.



Add to the discussion and quote this      

Discussion Topic: Case Wrestler from Massillon Dies In Plane Crash
John Ice added to this discussion on August 27, 2014

Corky Smith (Marcelli),the father of Lucas Marcelli had wrestled at Heidlberg and was coach at Bowling Green High School the same time I was at BGSU. He was a guy that was all about wrestling and was highly respected by all. He was a guy you were always glad to run into. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family.


http://fox8.com/2014/08/26/local-college-student-killed-in-plane-crash-remembered-as-bright-successful/



Add to the discussion and quote this      

Discussion Topic: Case Wrestler from Massillon Dies In Plane Crash
Al McIntosh added to this discussion on August 27, 2014

I am in utter shock. I faintly heard about this incident in the news, but didn't realize CWRU students were involved. My son wrestled Lucas Marcelli in high school. Lucas was a fierce competitor who had an outstanding year as a true freshmen starter for Case. My prayers go out to the families of those who lost loved ones, and to Coach Hawald and the Case Western Reserve University community.



Add to the discussion and quote this      

Discussion Topic: Case Wrestler from Massillon Dies In Plane Crash
Doug Brandt added to this discussion on August 27, 2014

One of my high school classmates- Fred, wanted to train as a pilot. Another high school classmate, who had a lot of experience as a pilot, refused to train him when Fred requested his help.

Reason?

He felt that Fred had a reckless/fearless side to him that could potentially get him, and others, into trouble on the wrong day.

As it turned out, Fred trained with someone else.

One day, Fred was flying back to Columbus with three friends. The weather turned sour. Smart money said to turn back. Fred decided to bull his way through.

The weather overwhelmed Fred's abilities, and they crashed. Everyone died.

The vast majority of airplane accidents are small craft accidents. We don't often see the reports of them in the papers, because they're literally just a blip on the radar.

You would have liked Fred. I did.



Add to the discussion and quote this      

Discussion Topic: Case Wrestler from Massillon Dies In Plane Crash
Bruce Andrews added to this discussion on November 18, 2015

The FAA has published a detailed factual report of the accident. The probable cause has not yet been released. Here is the link to the report:

http://ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief2.aspx?ev_id=20140825X32653&ntsbno=CEN14FA453&akey=1



Add to the discussion and quote this      

► Add to the Discussion