The right pontoon on the single-engine Maule plane collapsed, said Paul Heaton, who was piloting the aircraft. “It was actually a very smooth landing. I’m thankful everyone got out.”
Trooper Scott Richardson of the state Highway Patrol said the plane was coming in for a water landing when it flipped and landed on its roof. “Nobody was hurt and everyone got out safely.”
Law enforcement, fire and emergency services set up at a private subdivision with water access off Jack Brown Road in the Thelma area.
Richardson said the Federal Aviation Administration was contacted and the state Wildlife Resources Commission enforcement division and Halifax County Sheriff’s Office assisted
happened.
Clothing and fishing gear were strewn about the crash site. The landing gear was still down and tangled in a limb that had been clipped during the crash. The blue seats and insulation of the plane were exposed.
“That’s about as bad as I’ve seen one tore up,” resort owner Jim Gaston said, looking at the wreckage. “I don’t know, but I hear they were really loaded down. They had packs on the boys’ laps. I think they should have aborted takeoff.”
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration sent investigators to the site of the crash in northern Arkansas, close to the Missouri border.
On Friday afternoon, they had no preliminary cause.
“It could take up to a year depending on the circumstances,” said Roland Herwig, a spokesman out of the FAA’s office in Oklahoma City.
According to plane specifications on Propaire’s Web site, the maximum load the plane could carry – including fuel – was 1,627 pounds.
At least five plane crashes occurred at Gaston’s in the past 25 years, according to the FAA. Ten people died in those crashes and several others were injured. The National Transportation Safety Board determined pilot error was the most likely cause of all five accidents. Wind or unmarked power lines were found to be additional factors in three of the accidents.
Little information was available Friday about Langford or his time as a pilot.
Efforts to reach members ofPropaire, which describes itself as a nonprofit organization “devoted to the world of general aviation,” were unsuccessful.
But John Bales, director of aviation at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport, said that there are 10 members of the club and that they each pay a portion of costs to store and maintain the plane.
“Most of them are very experienced pilots,” Bales explained. “I know a
FAA. Ten people died in those crashes and several others were injured. The National Transportation Safety Board determined pilot error was the most likely cause of all five accidents. Wind or unmarked power lines were found to be additional factors in three of the accidents.
Little information was available Friday about Langford or his time as a pilot.
Efforts to reach members ofPropaire, which describes itself as a nonprofit organization “devoted to the world of general aviation,” were unsuccessful.
But John Bales, director of aviation at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport, said that there are 10 members of the club and that they each pay a portion of costs to store and maintain the plane.
“Most of them are very experienced pilots,” Bales explained. “I know a few of the guys. I’m sorry to hear that someone died.”
Before the call from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Friday afternoon, Bales did not know the plane had crashed. Neither did a friend of his who was a member of the club.
They had no idea Beckerle had survived the crash and been released from the hospital.
And that along with the Langfords, Ritz had died.
Front Section, Pages 1, 10
The right pontoon on the single-engine Maule plane collapsed, said Paul Heaton, who was piloting the aircraft. “It was actually a very smooth landing. I’m thankful everyone got out.”
Trooper Scott Richardson of the state Highway Patrol said the plane was coming in for a water landing when it flipped and landed on its roof. “Nobody was hurt and everyone got out safely.”
Law enforcement, fire and emergency services set up at a private subdivision with water access off Jack Brown Road in the Thelma area.
Richardson said the Federal Aviation Administration was contacted and the state Wildlife Resources Commission enforcement division and Halifax County Sheriff’s Office assisted
happened.
Clothing and fishing gear were strewn about the crash site. The landing gear was still down and tangled in a limb that had been clipped during the crash. The blue seats and insulation of the plane were exposed.
“That’s about as bad as I’ve seen one tore up,” resort owner Jim Gaston said, looking at the wreckage. “I don’t know, but I hear they were really loaded down. They had packs on the boys’ laps. I think they should have aborted takeoff.”
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration sent investigators to the site of the crash in northern Arkansas, close to the Missouri border.
On Friday afternoon, they had no preliminary cause.
“It could take up to a year depending on the circumstances,” said Roland Herwig, a spokesman out of the FAA’s office in Oklahoma City.
According to plane specifications on Propaire’s Web site, the maximum load the plane could carry – including fuel – was 1,627 pounds.
At least five plane crashes occurred at Gaston’s in the past 25 years, according to the FAA. Ten people died in those crashes and several others were injured. The National Transportation Safety Board determined pilot error was the most likely cause of all five accidents. Wind or unmarked power lines were found to be additional factors in three of the accidents.
Little information was available Friday about Langford or his time as a pilot.
Efforts to reach members ofPropaire, which describes itself as a nonprofit organization “devoted to the world of general aviation,” were unsuccessful.
But John Bales, director of aviation at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport, said that there are 10 members of the club and that they each pay a portion of costs to store and maintain the plane.
“Most of them are very experienced pilots,” Bales explained. “I know a
FAA. Ten people died in those crashes and several others were injured. The National Transportation Safety Board determined pilot error was the most likely cause of all five accidents. Wind or unmarked power lines were found to be additional factors in three of the accidents.
Little information was available Friday about Langford or his time as a pilot.
Efforts to reach members ofPropaire, which describes itself as a nonprofit organization “devoted to the world of general aviation,” were unsuccessful.
But John Bales, director of aviation at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport, said that there are 10 members of the club and that they each pay a portion of costs to store and maintain the plane.
“Most of them are very experienced pilots,” Bales explained. “I know a few of the guys. I’m sorry to hear that someone died.”
Before the call from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Friday afternoon, Bales did not know the plane had crashed. Neither did a friend of his who was a member of the club.
They had no idea Beckerle had survived the crash and been released from the hospital.
And that along with the Langfords, Ritz had died.
Front Section, Pages
Leave a Reply