It appears that the pilot of a perfectly good PA-46T Malibu Meridian may have attempted to fake his own death!
From what I can gather:
the guy made several fake emergency calls, reporting that his windshield had caved in, and that he was bleeding profusely.
The plane did crash, however military aircraft investigated before it did so. The plane was observed to have no one in the cockpit, and the rear airstair doors were wide open.
The aircrafts owner/pilot, Mr. Marcus Schrenker, of Anderson, Indiana, is reported to have checked into a motel room in Alabama under a different name(!).
Celebrating the birth of KELPkidJR on August 5, 2009 :-)
Pliersinsight From United States of America, joined May 2008, 446 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 6 days 21 hours ago) and read 4121 times:
Guess he thought it would make the Gulf of Mexico without him and sink beneath the waves never to be found. So much for the vanishing act. When do we suspect the big life insurance policy story will show up next?
HangarRat From United States of America, joined Jul 2005, 627 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 6 days 21 hours ago) and read 4066 times:
SEPilot From United States of America, joined Dec 2006, 6260 posts, RR: 39 Reply 3, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 6 days 21 hours ago) and read 4048 times:
What a waste of a beautiful plane! That should warrant the death penalty...
The problem with making things foolproof is that fools are so doggone ingenious...Dan Keebler
Pliersinsight From United States of America, joined May 2008, 446 posts, RR: 0 Reply 4, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 6 days 20 hours ago) and read 3987 times:
Quoting SEPilot (Reply 3): What a waste of a beautiful plane! That should warrant the death penalty...
If the Piper would have killed anyone when it hit the ground I agree fully. As to destroying a nice aircraft, there are fates worse than death that come to mind.
KELPkid From United States of America, joined Nov 2005, 5934 posts, RR: 4 Reply 5, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 6 days 20 hours ago) and read 3943 times:
ClearedDirect From United States of America, joined Oct 2004, 271 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 6 days 19 hours ago) and read 3799 times:
Guess he was found, taken to a hotel - but they didnt realize who they had.
The pilot, identified as Marc Schrenker, was taken to a hotel in Childersburg, Ala., by a police officer after the 38-year-old man told officials he'd been in a canoeing accident, WALA-TV said.
The officer was unaware at the time that a single-engine Piper Malibu had crashed in a swampy area near Milton, Fla. The plane crashed at about 9:20 p.m. CST.
Truly an interesting story - imagine business was not going too well??
Alias1024 From United States of America, joined Oct 2004, 2644 posts, RR: 2 Reply 7, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 6 days 18 hours ago) and read 3747 times:
SEPilot From United States of America, joined Dec 2006, 6260 posts, RR: 39 Reply 8, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 6 days 18 hours ago) and read 3681 times:
Quoting Pliersinsight (Reply 4):
If the Piper would have killed anyone when it hit the ground I agree fully. As to destroying a nice aircraft, there are fates worse than death that come to mind.
Well, I think faking your own death should be a capital offense. As should attempted suicide.
The problem with making things foolproof is that fools are so doggone ingenious...Dan Keebler
KELPkid From United States of America, joined Nov 2005, 5934 posts, RR: 4 Reply 9, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 6 days 18 hours ago) and read 3675 times:
Aah, some of the truth emerges.
Apparently, the guy's businesses were under government investigation:
SEPilot From United States of America, joined Dec 2006, 6260 posts, RR: 39 Reply 10, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 6 days 17 hours ago) and read 3614 times:
What got me about this article was the statement that the pilot was wearing goggles that looked like they were for flying. I have not seen a pilot (especially of a pressurized plane) wearing goggles for a long, long time. But a parachutist might....
The problem with making things foolproof is that fools are so doggone ingenious...Dan Keebler
JetJeanes From United States of America, joined Oct 2004, 1415 posts, RR: 1 Reply 11, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 6 days 16 hours ago) and read 3529 times:
Oh this guy is slick, when they went back to the hotel where he had checked in under another name he was gone. So he is on the run.
Pliersinsight From United States of America, joined May 2008, 446 posts, RR: 0 Reply 13, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 6 days 1 hour ago) and read 3209 times:
Quoting Ryu2 (Reply 12): More info from a aviation perspective is here:
"The Meridian's speed later deteriorated to under 100 knots, and at 9:12 pm the aircraft descended to just 200 feet... where it remained until the last radar echo was reported two hours later, at a recorded speed of 82 knots."
Did the author of this article note from flight aware that the aircraft's position didn't move for those couple of hours, despite the seceral hours indicating 82kts airspeed and an alt. of 200? Could it be possible that the plane crashes after 10pm and the transponder just keeps sending the last reported data for several hours from the ground? How else could the plane fly at 82 kts for several hours and not move? I don't suspect there was an 82kt. headwind at 200 feet.
JCS17 From United States of America, joined Jun 2001, 8065 posts, RR: 43 Reply 14, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 6 days ago) and read 3124 times:
Shouldn't have this guy bailed out in South Texas near the Gulf of Mexico? You know, so he could actually get into Mexico, where its a lot harder to find (and extradite) someone than backwoods Alabama? Then again, I think this guy might not be the brightest around.
HangarRat From United States of America, joined Jul 2005, 627 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 6 days ago) and read 3101 times:
Quoting JCS17 (Reply 14): Shouldn't have this guy bailed out in South Texas near the Gulf of Mexico?
Just create a Payne Stewart scenario for yourself. An unexpected depressurization at night around FL240 would be enough to plausibly do the pilot in. As long as the plane had enough gas to get out into the ocean, it would be at the bottom of the Atlantic or the Gulf before anyone could figure out what had happened.
By making radio calls and declaring an emergency, he drew attention to himself. By failing to ensure that the aircraft and his body were never found, he blew his entire scheme.
Ideal scenario would be a night flight due east at FL250 to somewhere like Galveston with max fuel on board. Then just stop talking to ATC and jump somewhere near the descent point. The plane would keep motoring out into the gulf for a few hundred miles. A night intecept would be difficult and dangerous and would be of little use anyway. Authorities would have only a rough idea of the splash location.
Pliersinsight From United States of America, joined May 2008, 446 posts, RR: 0 Reply 16, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 5 days 21 hours ago) and read 2969 times:
Quoting HangarRat (Reply 15): Then just stop talking to ATC and jump somewhere near the descent point.
KELPkid From United States of America, joined Nov 2005, 5934 posts, RR: 4 Reply 17, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 5 days 21 hours ago) and read 2939 times:
Quoting Pliersinsight (Reply 16): Quoting HangarRat (Reply 15):
Then just stop talking to ATC and jump somewhere near the descent point.
Would a skydiver have a radar return?
Apparently enough of one that the FAA was able to deduce that he probably jumped (read some of the linked articles) Maybe they got a "skin paint" on Mr. Schrenker
Celebrating the birth of KELPkidJR on August 5, 2009 :-)
Pliersinsight From United States of America, joined May 2008, 446 posts, RR: 0 Reply 18, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 5 days 20 hours ago) and read 2889 times:
Quoting KELPkid (Reply 17): Apparently enough of one that the FAA was able to deduce that he probably jumped (read some of the linked articles) Maybe they got a "skin paint" on Mr. Schrenker
Or maybe he was wearing a big enough Rolex for a return. Every few hours it seems the story gets more hysterical, now there is a storage unit he rented days earlier near his parachute landing zone and a motorcycle he escaped on that was in the storage unit. What are the odds he made Mexico by now?
ClearedDirect From United States of America, joined Oct 2004, 271 posts, RR: 0 Reply 19, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 5 days 17 hours ago) and read 2742 times:
nice picture in the Flightaware profile.
Shame that beautiful plane in the background is now a mangled heap.
KELPkid From United States of America, joined Nov 2005, 5934 posts, RR: 4 Reply 21, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 5 days 17 hours ago) and read 2704 times:
Quoting HangarRat (Reply 15): By making radio calls and declaring an emergency, he drew attention to himself. By failing to ensure that the aircraft and his body were never found, he blew his entire scheme.
Also, he probably should have chosen a route away from the Tyndall and Eglin Air Force Bases (where the FAA was able to summon fighters from to investigate what was going on...)
Celebrating the birth of KELPkidJR on August 5, 2009 :-)
Dispatchguy From United States of America, joined Jan 2006, 1185 posts, RR: 2 Reply 22, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 5 days 16 hours ago) and read 2657 times:
Yeah - the best part of this dirtball's history is that he was being investigated for pulling a mini-Madoff with retirement funds from Delta Air Lines pilots.
ClearedDirect From United States of America, joined Oct 2004, 271 posts, RR: 0 Reply 23, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 5 days 16 hours ago) and read 2619 times:
Rgreenftm From United States of America, joined Jan 2008, 272 posts, RR: 0 Reply 24, posted (4 years 4 months 1 week 5 days 15 hours ago) and read 2587 times:
I used to live in Milton, FL and here is what I don't get - the flight plan was filed from Indy to Destin, FL. The crash site of the aircraft is more or less in line with the path he would normally fly. He slowed down before jumping, thus conserving fuel, and still crashed short of his destination? Milton is probably no more than 30 miles from Destin, so real close.
If he is/was an accomplished pilot, it seems like he would have known he didn't have enough fuel and would have built in a stop to fuel up to get his plane into the gulf of Mexico.
Do smaller aircraft have any type of flight data recorders? Don't think it really is needed in this case to tell the story, but it would potentially be interesting nonetheless.
I highly doubt he is smart enough to get himself into Mexico and will likely be caught within a week.
25 DiamondFlyer: Well, since its a turbine, the problem is very simple. Turbines are much more efficient at altitude. Something tells me, if the plane was at 10,000 ft
26 Skibum9: If you look at his flightplan, you can see that he originally filed from AID to DTS, but then diverted to GAD. Bu when looking at the flight data, he
27 Lovetojetblue: I like Krusty as much as the next guy, but I don't understand
28 Rgreenftm: So another thought - again my experience is coming from my "mad flight sim skills" but couldn't he had programmed the autopilot to ascend up to a high
29 DingDong: Krusty is a clown. That was his way of saying this plan was foolish and stupid, on part of the actual guy who did just that. Well, see, the thing is.
30 Grain: so let me get this straight..... that sweet looking female is single now?
31 797: Yes, and if they're not separated yet, she's getting the insurance for the plane too!!!
32 CFMitch56: Actually, in one episode of the Simpsons, Krusty tried to fake his own death to avoid paying back taxes and fines to the IRS. He flew his plane (the
33 KELPkid: Yeah, ummm, about that insurance, I'm pretty sure most policies have an exception in them for damage intentionally caused by the owner... And unless
34 KELPkid: And it didn't take them long, either: http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?C...97073-2225-4218-931d-6f15c2e86ae7& Case closed
35 HangarRat: Surprising how little attention this has gotten in the media. Seems like it should be a slam dunk for CNN.
36 Pliersinsight: Spot on. Looks like the company holding the loan on the plane is going to get stuck holding the bag, with only an obvious deadbeat to sue for the bal
37 KELPkid: Just a quick update here: Mr. Marcus Schrenker was indicted today by a federal grand jury on charges of attempting to fake his own death and making a
38 Type-Rated: I didn't know attempting to fake your own death was a crime until you file for your insurance money or attempt to use the faked death for personal fin
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From United States of America, joined Nov 2005, 5934 posts, 
Classic! 
From Taiwan, joined Aug 2002, 460 posts, 
Maybe they got a "skin paint" on Mr. Schrenker
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