YouTuber, dad killed in plane crash 1 month after ‘aircraft malfunction’ close call - noob amateur pilot and YouTuber, TNFlygirl, 43, kills self and Dad in high speed plane crash

https://nypost.com/2023/12/10/news/tennessee-aviation-youtuber-jenny-blalock-dad-killed-in-plane-crash/

A popular aviation YouTuber and her father were killed when their plane crashed in Tennessee Thursday — just one month after she posted a video of her facing an “aircraft malfunction” at 4,000 feet.

Jenny Blalock, 45, and her father James, 78, went down around 11 a.m. and crashed on a remote road in Pulaski, a city on the central-southern border of Alabama, according to federal and county officials.

Their bodies were discovered outside the plane, which landed in a “remote” area that was difficult for crews to reach.

“It was just devastating. It was significant damage again. Unfortunately, there were just no survivors,” Bill Myers, director of the Giles County Office of Emergency Management, told 10 News.



The father-and-daughter pair had traveled 180 miles from Knoxville when the aircraft plummeted, FlightAware data shows. They were roughly 10 miles short of landing at a city-owned airport.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation, but it comes just a month after Blalock — known in the community as TNFlyGirl — posted a video of herself executing an emergency landing during an “aircraft malfunction” from 4,000 feet in the air.


“Are we going to make it?” she eerily asks her flight instructor after he points out the plane’s battery had died mid-flight.


Later, she discovered that the plane also had screws loose on its regulator.

Despite the harrowing ordeal, Blalock remained calm and expertly landed the aircraft without issue.

“God bless and fly safe,” the well-known YouTuber told her 16,000 subscribers.

According to her account, she was a “private pilot, flying for fun in a Beechcraft Debonair.”

Blalock, who also is a luxury home builder and designer, frequently filmed her flying excursions with her father since launching her popular channel in 2021.

Their fatal flight appeared to be one of the first the pair had taken together “in a while,” according to a video Blalock posted in November.
Jenny and her dad were not just daughter/father, they were best friends and did EVERYTHING together!” her partner, Brett Thees, said on Facebook.

The Blalock family issued a statement saying they take comfort in knowing the father-daughter pair “were together when they met our Lord and Savior!”

 

[Seething Troon Collector]

I have my PPL and I've never thought to use auto pilot. That's for Airline Transport Bigboys with complicated systems. I'd much rather stay in control and maintain situational awareness.

Are you instrument rated? Having an autopilot really helps with single pilot IFR. Juggling the airplane, communications, navigation, weather all at once is tough when you’re by yourself and even a single axis autopilot helps a lot.

In this girls instance though, you better know how to use it and know how to kill it when things start to go bad. I’ve had autopilot gear fail on me and start doing weird shit, but that’s what the circuit breaker is for. Im not going to let it fly me into the ground.

 

[TheDarknessGrows]

Small aircraft and helicopters are death traps, they crash all the time and have killed a lot of prominent people

At least a few of those were CIA assassinations. Like you said: it's just so easy!

 

[Cpl. Long Dong Silver]

Are you instrument rated? Having an autopilot really helps with single pilot IFR. Juggling the airplane, communications, navigation, weather all at once is tough when you’re by yourself and even a single axis autopilot helps a lot.

Yes I am IFR qualified but I share the plane with my brother (also IFR rated) and we typically go up together on any cross country to spend time together and back each other up. Its fairly infrequent I IFR solo.

I guess I'm just old and out of touch on this. I agree it's a lot to manage, but I just accepted that as why you have to stay current and practice. I don't disagree with your points or anyone else's about autopilot. I guess I was just out of the loop.

 

[Daddy's Little Kitten]

Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the


FLOOOOOOOOOOR

5 bucks it was pilot error.

 

[oldTireWater]

Preliminary NTSB report analysis.

 

[The Connected Nose]

Small aircraft and helicopters are death traps, they crash all the time

You only hear about deadly crashes because they're the only ones that have to be reported. And the majority of GA crashes come down to pilot error, not mechanical failure. If you have proper training, don't act like a retard, and keep up with the maintenance schedule, GA aircraft are just as safe as anything else, provided you know your own limits and that of your aircraft.

For reference I have experience in a Cessna 172, Piper Cherokee, Piper Aztec, and Cessna 310.
The 172 and Cherokee are docile and very forgiving, the Aztec somewhat less.
The 310 is a fucking beast that can get you in trouble fast, and the fuel system controls are rather retarded IMO.

Yeah, Cessna planes are known as "Doctor Killers" for a reason.

That's the Beech Bonanza V-Tail and its older traditional predecessor, the Debonair. Ironically enough, the same model this chick crashed. And even then most of the crashes were due to pilots with inadequate training becoming too confident in a high-performance aircraft. Although there were some issues with the original v-tails leading to in-flight breakups when outside the designed performance envelope, leading to a redesign being mandated to strengthen the tail.

 

[Falcos_Commisar]

'Its not stupidity its faulty judgement!'

....in other words its stupidity. She made a stupid call and got herself and her father killed. Within weeks of making a similar stupid call and nearly getting herself and an instructor killed


I wouldn't be so sure about that. I've known a few commercial pilots and a couple of them are some of the stupidest people i've ever met. Its more about the money that you can put into getting the license than actual competency. This is even more apparent when you spend time around the people that operate air shows

Totally agree. As GAA money requirements have gone up, so too have the amount of stupid in GAA as many really so believe that more money = more Smart.

Especially airshow warbird types that inherited airplane or write a massive check to get one. Holy Christ some people think they are Gods of the Air because their truly accomplished parent or grandparent gave them a shit hot P-40/47/51 or similar. Or that because they sucked off some old guy who lets them fly his warbird on occasion.

She was flying a C33, one of the cheapest of the Bonanza family, but it's still a 6cyl, complex, IFR airplane. That's going to cost you $180/hr+ to operate and probably $150,000+ to buy the plane, though that depends heavily on airframe condition and hours on the engine. The engine overhaul alone is going to pro rate out to $20/hr+ if you buy a freshly overhauled one. You can buy a cheap 60+ year old two seater and maybe spend $100/hr operating it, including pro-rating the engine overhaul and airframe inspections, but that's as cheap as it gets flying certified aircraft.

Ugh GAA got stupid expensive starting in the late 1980s. An uncle was getting his pilot license until he was priced out of it.

You only hear about deadly crashes because they're the only ones that have to be reported. And the majority of GA crashes come down to pilot error, not mechanical failure. If you have proper training, don't act like a retard, and keep up with the maintenance schedule, GA aircraft are just as safe as anything else, provided you know your own limits and that of your aircraft.

For reference I have experience in a Cessna 172, Piper Cherokee, Piper Aztec, and Cessna 310.
The 172 and Cherokee are docile and very forgiving, the Aztec somewhat less.
The 310 is a fucking beast that can get you in trouble fast, and the fuel system controls are rather retarded IMO.




That's the Beech Bonanza V-Tail and its older traditional predecessor, the Debonair. Ironically enough, the same model this chick crashed. And even then most of the crashes were due to pilots with inadequate training becoming too confident in a high-performance aircraft. Although there were some issues with the original v-tails leading to in-flight breakups when outside the designed performance envelope, leading to a redesign being mandated to strengthen the tail.

This why why real men fly AUTOGYROS

Imagine a Cessna 172 with a rotor blade to allow for relatively soft landings even with no power. AUTOGYRO essentially can't stall or if they do it's at sub 20 knots.

 

[reptile baht spaniard rid]

Anyways, sounds sad, never gonna be happy when someone dies in the air.

As mentioned (unless something surprising happened) they died on (in?) the ground. The best thing about these stories is we WILL get the followup after the NTSB takes apart the damn forest with toothpicks. As Null says, one of the few good government agencies.

Are you instrument rated? Having an autopilot really helps with single pilot IFR. Juggling the airplane, communications, navigation, weather all at once is tough when you’re by yourself and even a single axis autopilot helps a lot.

Unless you're flying a big boy, and even then, the autopilot should be a glorified trim tab and vector follower, not actually flying the plane. Many of these smaller planes have little or no protection from the otto-pilot just straight up stalling the aircraft.

You only hear about deadly crashes because they're the only ones that have to be reported. And the majority of GA crashes come down to pilot error, not mechanical failure. If you have proper training, don't act like a retard, and keep up with the maintenance schedule, GA aircraft are just as safe as anything else, provided you know your own limits and that of your aircraft.

Something like 60% of motorcycle fatalities are not the rider's fault (other drivers, unexpected terrain, etc). Over 90% of GA pilot fatalities are directly attributable to avoidable pilot error.

I like those odds.

 

[The Connected Nose]

As mentioned (unless something surprising happened) they died on (in?) the ground. The best thing about these stories is we WILL get the followup after the NTSB takes apart the damn forest with toothpicks. As Null says, one of the few good government agencies.

The preliminary NTSB report mentioned finding two intact "digital recording devices." Ergo, NTSB has the GoPro footage. That should tell them everything they need to know. Do we have any bets on whether or not it gets leaked? Or would a FOIA request work to make them release it?

Over 90% of GA pilot fatalities are directly attributable to avoidable pilot error.

I like those odds.

As much as the 310 scared me a few times, I still felt safer in that than on the interstate.

 

[Saddam Hussain Obama]

Who Flys better blacks or white women?

 

[Seething Troon Collector]

Unless you're flying a big boy, and even then, the autopilot should be a glorified trim tab and vector follower, not actually flying the plane. Many of these smaller planes have little or no protection from the otto-pilot just straight up stalling the aircraft.

True true. It’s nice to have, but a lot of older AP systems will happily put you in a spiral dive if you ask it nicely, or the AP head overheats and the servos freeze on their last position. Sure it’s useful, but only if you know how to use it and what it can’t do.

EDIT: I finally got around to looking at the initial reports (I don’t like to read into these until the NTSB does their thing) but holy shit. If you’re struggling with the autopilot then disconnect it and fly the airplane.

There has to be a point where you mentally have to discard whatever you’re doing and concentrate on flying the airplane. To do otherwise will send you to an early grave. Fly the airplane first, figure out where you are second, talk to whoever you need to talk to last. Flying comes first!

I hate that she got herself killed, but you’re taught the above points from day one. Aviation is very unforgiving to people who forget this rule.

Do we have any bets on whether or not it gets leaked? Or would a FOIA request work to make them release it?

No need. The NTSB is very forthcoming with information and will provide it (I don’t know about GoPro footage though, but they’ll likely provide a transcript). Unless there is some specific case I don’t know about, the NTSB database will have all of the gory details once they finish the investigation.

As much as the 310 scared me a few times, I still felt safer in that than on the interstate.

I can feel the pain in my wallet just thinking that. Good on you, I love the 310, but the thought about having to overhaul two engines is enough to squash that thought. To your point though, I think they’re about equally as dangerous, you just think about it more when flying because mistakes compound quicker and the consequences are often fatal.

 

[The Connected Nose]

There has to be a point where you mentally have to discard whatever you’re doing and concentrate on flying the airplane.

1. Aviate
2. Navigate
3. Commnicate

Always in that order.

I love the 310, but the thought about having to overhaul two engines is enough to squash that thought.

Wasn't mine, I just got to fly it, heh. Owner eventually sold it, and apparently the new owner dropped it into a field somewhere and bent it beyond repair.

Would love a DA62 but too damn rich for my blood.

 

[Iron Jaguar]

And this is why rotary wing > fixed wing.

 

[BelUwUga]

And this is why rotary wing > fixed wing.

I'm not so sure, maybe for an autogyro. Some helicopters are a bit more forgiving for others. That said best-case scenario for autorotation is 20 degrees or a slope of .36. For every foot you fall you get a bit less than 3 feet of horizontal travel. On the other hand a Cessna 172 has a 6.34 degrees or .11... slope. You get 9 feet for every one foot of descent. Even if we generously assume you're equally likely to encounter a malfunction and lose power, you'll have less than a third of the amount of time to rectify it. You're also fighting to get the helicopter to that angle and under control. Alternatively you really have to be trying to make it not the case in a plane.

 

[Iron Jaguar]

I'm not so sure, maybe for an autogyro. Some helicopters are a bit more forgiving for others. That said best-case scenario for autorotation is 20 degrees or a slope of .36. For every foot you fall you get a bit less than 3 feet of horizontal travel. On the other hand a Cessna 172 has a 6.34 degrees or .11... slope. You get 9 feet for every one foot of descent. Even if we generously assume you're equally likely to encounter a malfunction and lose power, you'll have less than a third of the amount of time to rectify it. You're also fighting to get the helicopter to that angle and under control. Alternatively you really have to be trying to make it not the case in a plane.

A helicopter can autorotate and land anywhere within a 360 degree horizontal plane, including, at zero airspeed, immediately below the point at which autorotation was entered. Source: me, holder of a CPL(H). I have personally done this; it is a requirement to be able to obtain a licence.

 

[God's drunkest driver]

Incompetents with helicopters crash just like incompetents in bonanzas or anything else, the problem lies with the pilots not the machines. The primary difference is that the helicopter gives you less time to process the situation, less margin for error, and less chance to gain real experience if you're a rich hobbyist like the subject of the OP. For reference to the outsider it costs 3-4x as much per hour to train in a helicopter. Renting an R22 costs $300/hr+, about 2.5x the rate of a the cheapest airplane to rent, a Cessna 152, in these parts. Instructor rate is also more expensive. I'd rather the low-skilled pilots stick to basic airplanes than basic helicopters, there are fewer way for them to get themselves into trouble with machines that don't settle in their own waste, shake themselves to pieces if mishandled on the ground, run out of control authority while taxiing when faced the wrong way in the wind, lose lift if power is demanded too abruptly. Just a sampling from the dumb pilot-induced incidents at the local helicopter flight school over the past couple of years, there wasn't a single fixed wing crash at the same airport despite it having a much busier school.

 

[Iron Jaguar]

Incompetents with helicopters crash just like incompetents in bonanzas or anything else, .

Yes, but that's beside the point - a good helicopter pilot has far more options about where he'll land than a fixed wing pilot does.
As for the rest of your post: yes, flying helicopters is a much more demanding skill set. We are the elite.

 

[Platonic Cat Lover]

Her youtube channel had all the plane videos removed. Is there somewhere where they can be found such as an archive?

 

[reptile baht spaniard rid]

Yes, but that's beside the point - a good helicopter pilot has far more options about where he'll land than a fixed wing pilot does.
As for the rest of your post: yes, flying helicopters is a much more demanding skill set. We are the elite.

private helipilots are even worse than weekend warrior doctor bitches with a PPL; they fucking hover everywhere. There's a damn good reason you almost never see the bear in the air or other commercial chopper pilots hover, because if anything goes wrong whilst hovering you're basically fucked.

 

[robobobo]

private helipilots are even worse than weekend warrior doctor bitches with a PPL; they fucking hover everywhere. There's a damn good reason you almost never see the bear in the air or other commercial chopper pilots hover, because if anything goes wrong whilst hovering you're basically fucked.

How so? I'd've figured a hovering helicopter that lost power would just land, assuming the space beneath them was clear and they weren't too high up.