Probe Of Fiery Cargo Plane Crash Begins Ameriflight Involved In 11 Accidents, 5 Deaths Since ‘87, According To Records

It could be six months to a year before federal investigators determine why a small cargo plane crash-landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, injuring the pilot, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday.

The twin-engine Beech 1900 owned by Ameriflight Inc., based in Burbank, Calif., crashed Wednesday evening under clear skies at the airport south of Seattle.

The plane’s fuel tanks caught fire and the aircraft’s lone occupant, pilot Paul Goralski, 34, of Vancouver, Wash., was briefly trapped inside until airport fire crews rescued him.

Goralski was in serious condition Thursday at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with a spinal fracture, facial abrasions and smoke inhalation. Hospital spokesman Larry Zalin said Goralski suffered no loss of movement from the fracture and should make a full recovery.

Investigators haven’t spoken yet with Goralski and don’t know when he became aware of any trouble, NTSB investigator-in-charge Steve McCready told a news conference.

The small plane carried no “black box” or voice or data recording devices. Goralski did not make a distress call, McCready said.

He compared the accident investigation to putting together the pieces of a puzzle and said that at the scene of this crash, investigators are lucky to have a pilot who survived, good witnesses and a partially intact aircraft.

“The object is to put the puzzle together and to understand what the image is that we’re seeing,” McCready said.

Ameriflight operates more than 160 aircraft nationwide, specializing in transportation of small-package freight and financial documents.

The airline has been involved in 11 accidents since 1987, including five fatalities, according to news accounts and government records.

Goralski’s aircraft, arriving from Portland, was landing at 7:13 p.m. on one of the two main runways when it came down hard and “ground looped” - turning nearly 180 degrees and coming to rest just off the runway, said airport Fire Chief Tom Barrett.

The plane’s landing gear collapsed and as it skidded down the runway, fuel from a ruptured wing tank ignited in a fireball, witnesses said.

The fire spread to the cargo of documents inside. Goralski was trapped inside the cockpit when the cargo shifted forward, Barrett said.

Airport fire crews injected foam inside the plane, extinguishing the blaze quickly, then ripped off the cargo door and pulled out the pilot.