A private plane has made its second emergency landing in Cameron County in just one week's time.
It all happened just east of Rio Hondo off Nelson and Wiesman Roads around 12 p.m. Wednesday.
Investigators told Action 4 News that the pilot had to make an emergency landing.
The pilot was not injured during the incident.
This is the third time in one week's time that a plane or helicopter has had to make an emergency landing in Cameron County.
Cameron County Emergency Management Coordinator Humberto Barrera told Action 4 News the plane in Wednesday's landing is the same plane from another incident near Santa Monica last week.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials are investigating the emergency landing.
FAA records show that 1969 Cessna is owned by Garza Aircraft, Inc. out of Harlingen.
David Garza with Gulf Aviation said the plane was flying a load of fruit flies for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) when it went down.
Garza said the plane is expected to be grounded while company mechanics and FAA officials examine it.
RIO HONDO — For the second time in less than a week, the same private plane made an emergency landing in a field after taking off from Valley International Airport in Harlingen.
Gulf Aviation owner David Garza said the single-engine Cessna 207 experienced a power failure Wednesday, forcing it to land in a field off Nelson Road and FM 106 east of Rio Hondo.
Different pilots were operating the aircraft for each emergency landing, and neither pilot was injured, Garza said.
The plane was not damaged in the first emergency landing on Aug. 18, Garza said, and the Federal Aviation Administration approved it to fly again.
Before Wednesday’s emergency landing the aircraft was doing contract work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, releasing sterile fruit flies, Garza said. The plane’s front end was damaged this time, he said.
He said the plane will be repaired and he expects that the FAA will again clear it to fly.
Last week the plane had throttle problems, which caused pilot Ludovic Prevost of Harlingen to make an emergency landing in a sorghum field east of Sebastian, Garza said.
Garza did not identify the pilot involved in Wednesday’s emergency landing.
Garza said he believed the aircraft’s two incidents are not related.
“It’s a coincidence,” Garza said of the two emergency landings. “I expect the plane to be operational again.”
Garza said the plane was leased by Garza Aircraft Inc., which he also owns.
Cameron County Emergency Management Coordinator Humberto Barrera said the FAA is investigating the incident.
Garza said Gulf Aviation has a spotless record.
“You need to look at the big picture," he said. “Gulf Aviation has had 30 years of near-perfect history. These are the only two incidents on record.”
“There is a high probability that this accident is not the company’s fault. Some things are out of our control,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment