RotorAndWing
Final Approach
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2008
- Messages
- 8,496
- Location
- Other side of the world
- Display Name
Display name:
Rotor&Wing
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/lo...airport-crash-lantana-p050609,0,1369497.story
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Plane cartwheels, crashes on landing at Lantana Airport; two dead
By Jerome Burdi
South Florida Sun Sentinel
4:59 PM EDT, May 6, 2009
WEST LANTANA
Two people died this morning after a plane with engine trouble tried to return to Lantana Airport, but cartwheeled as it landed, clipping a parked aircraft and then smashing into a semitrailer truck, officials and witnesses said.
The cause is still under investigation.
"Local authorities have told us that a Bonanza [airplane] departed the airport, experienced engine trouble and attempted to return to the airport and land. The aircraft landed short and collided with another aircraft on the ground. The registration numbers cannot be read at this time," said FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen.
The airplane with engine trouble was described as a Beechcraft V35 Bonanza, said Capt. Don DeLucia, with Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue. Fellow pilots and a mechanic identified one of the victims as Jack Henderson, 68, of west of Lantana, who drove a fuel truck at the airport and was a retired officer with the Palm Beach Police Department.
The Bonanza, which was about 20 years old, then clipped a Piper Cherokee and took the wing off a Cessna Skymaster before sliding on the ground and crumbling under a semitrailer truck, DeLucia said.
"The plane took off and made a loop around the airport before it crashed," DeLucia said.
Bruce Schnur witnessed the crash at about 11:30 a.m. He said he saw an airplane take off and bank sharply after seeming to suffer a malfunction. The plane, with two passengers aboard, then crashed into a plane on the ground. Both occupants died, officials said.
"With a little more altitude, he could have made it back," said Schnur, a pilot who owns an airplane at the airport. "He almost made it back. Almost."
Schnur said one of the victims who died worked at the airport.
"He was a hell of a nice guy," he said.
Brad Coulson, 35, of Lake Worth, said he was landing his helicopter and saw the aircraft take off from the airport's southeast runway and quickly bank westward.
"I just happened to look up. I saw the aircraft really low, banked really hard, it was coming over the top of the hangers where the parked aircraft were," said Coulson. "Next thing I know, he banked a little harder."
Coulson said he jerked his chopper back into the air as the plane careened toward him. But instead, its wing clipped another plane on the ground, then cartwheeled until it smashed its way under a semitrailer truck. He said the entire flight lasted maybe 30 seconds.
"It's unfortunate, I knew the gentleman. I've been flying at this airport for 4 years," Coulson said. "He was an elderly gentleman. He has family here at the airport."
Alan Lougher, 37, of Lake Worth, went to Lantana Airport just to take some photographs. When he arrived, he saw a legion of fire-rescue vehicles.
As he got closer, he realized how bad the situation was.
"When I walked over there, the first thing I saw was the engine was at least 30 to 40 feet away from the plane," Lougher said. "The engine [was] all smashed on the ground."
He watched as firefighters sprayed a protective foam on a red plane that had smashed its way underneath a semitrailer truck.
Student helicopter pilot Andrew Herrick was standing on the ground near his helicopter with five other people.
"It appeared to be headed right for us," he said. "I think the pilot saw us there and banked at the last moment. I really believe he jerked the plane on purpose, [thinking] it's either all of them or me. He sacrificed himself. He just turned into the ground."
Mike Cummings, a helicopter mechanic at the airport, said he heard the crash and ran outside of the shop.
"It sounded like a big bang, then like paint cans falling off a shelf," he said. "We ran outside and saw the engine tumbling toward us."
There was at least one other fatal crash directly connected to Lantana Airport in the past five years, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
In October 2007, two people died and a third was injured when they crashed into some trees west of Boynton Beach after taking off from the airport. The plane had reported engine problems shortly before going down onto Quail Ridge Golf Club development.
Killed in the crash were flight instructor Anders Selberg, 46, and pilot trainee Arjun Chhikara, 18.
Copyright © 2009, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Plane cartwheels, crashes on landing at Lantana Airport; two dead
By Jerome Burdi
South Florida Sun Sentinel
4:59 PM EDT, May 6, 2009
WEST LANTANA
Two people died this morning after a plane with engine trouble tried to return to Lantana Airport, but cartwheeled as it landed, clipping a parked aircraft and then smashing into a semitrailer truck, officials and witnesses said.
The cause is still under investigation.
"Local authorities have told us that a Bonanza [airplane] departed the airport, experienced engine trouble and attempted to return to the airport and land. The aircraft landed short and collided with another aircraft on the ground. The registration numbers cannot be read at this time," said FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen.
The airplane with engine trouble was described as a Beechcraft V35 Bonanza, said Capt. Don DeLucia, with Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue. Fellow pilots and a mechanic identified one of the victims as Jack Henderson, 68, of west of Lantana, who drove a fuel truck at the airport and was a retired officer with the Palm Beach Police Department.
The Bonanza, which was about 20 years old, then clipped a Piper Cherokee and took the wing off a Cessna Skymaster before sliding on the ground and crumbling under a semitrailer truck, DeLucia said.
"The plane took off and made a loop around the airport before it crashed," DeLucia said.
Bruce Schnur witnessed the crash at about 11:30 a.m. He said he saw an airplane take off and bank sharply after seeming to suffer a malfunction. The plane, with two passengers aboard, then crashed into a plane on the ground. Both occupants died, officials said.
"With a little more altitude, he could have made it back," said Schnur, a pilot who owns an airplane at the airport. "He almost made it back. Almost."
Schnur said one of the victims who died worked at the airport.
"He was a hell of a nice guy," he said.
Brad Coulson, 35, of Lake Worth, said he was landing his helicopter and saw the aircraft take off from the airport's southeast runway and quickly bank westward.
"I just happened to look up. I saw the aircraft really low, banked really hard, it was coming over the top of the hangers where the parked aircraft were," said Coulson. "Next thing I know, he banked a little harder."
Coulson said he jerked his chopper back into the air as the plane careened toward him. But instead, its wing clipped another plane on the ground, then cartwheeled until it smashed its way under a semitrailer truck. He said the entire flight lasted maybe 30 seconds.
"It's unfortunate, I knew the gentleman. I've been flying at this airport for 4 years," Coulson said. "He was an elderly gentleman. He has family here at the airport."
Alan Lougher, 37, of Lake Worth, went to Lantana Airport just to take some photographs. When he arrived, he saw a legion of fire-rescue vehicles.
As he got closer, he realized how bad the situation was.
"When I walked over there, the first thing I saw was the engine was at least 30 to 40 feet away from the plane," Lougher said. "The engine [was] all smashed on the ground."
He watched as firefighters sprayed a protective foam on a red plane that had smashed its way underneath a semitrailer truck.
Student helicopter pilot Andrew Herrick was standing on the ground near his helicopter with five other people.
"It appeared to be headed right for us," he said. "I think the pilot saw us there and banked at the last moment. I really believe he jerked the plane on purpose, [thinking] it's either all of them or me. He sacrificed himself. He just turned into the ground."
Mike Cummings, a helicopter mechanic at the airport, said he heard the crash and ran outside of the shop.
"It sounded like a big bang, then like paint cans falling off a shelf," he said. "We ran outside and saw the engine tumbling toward us."
There was at least one other fatal crash directly connected to Lantana Airport in the past five years, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
In October 2007, two people died and a third was injured when they crashed into some trees west of Boynton Beach after taking off from the airport. The plane had reported engine problems shortly before going down onto Quail Ridge Golf Club development.
Killed in the crash were flight instructor Anders Selberg, 46, and pilot trainee Arjun Chhikara, 18.
Copyright © 2009, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
