Monday, March 26, 2012

Friends of pilot who survived crash say she's 'as good as it gets' - N10468 Cessna 172 and N9325C Cessna 180. Longmont, Colorado


ERIE - With retirement comes choices and decisions on where to live and how to spend your time. Lynn and his wife Pat Miller have a runway in their back yard. They live at the Erie Air Park Subdivision because they love to fly.

It's their passion that brought them to their tight knit community and the reason they met Beverly Cameron. The Miller's say Beverly is an experienced and professional pilot who has been flying for more than 45 years.

"She's a vital part of our community out here. She's tough on people and that's what makes her such a good FAA examiner," Lynn said.

When Lynn got his instrument rating, Bev was sitting beside him.

"You would think that a neighbor might give you a little bit of a break," Lynn said.

But, even with more than four decades of flight time things can still go wrong.

"There are some blind spots in an air plane just like a car," Lynn said.

On Friday afternoon, Bev was flying towards the Vance Brand Airport in Longmont. Investigators believe she and another plane collided in the air. One plane went down killing the two inside. Bev managed to glide 4 miles before she crashed just outside of the airport.

"It ended up in a few pieces, but she got out and walked away from it. Absolutely amazing," Lynn said.

Lynn and Pat say Bev is thinking of the families whose loved ones were not that fortunate. When it comes to flight, experience cannot eliminate risk. But risk, they say, won't keep Bev from flight.

"She'll go up again, there's no doubt in my mind," Lynn said.

Investigators say the planes have been taken to a hangar in Greeley. The National Transportation Security Board along with the FAA will complete their investigation on the planes. They are trying to determine exactly what caused the crash, but examiners say all indications point to a mid-air collision.


Regis#: 10468        Make/Model: C172      Description: 172, P172, R172, Skyhawk, Hawk XP, Cutla
  Date: 03/23/2012     Time: 1741

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Fatal     Mid Air: Y    Missing: N
  Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION
  City: LONGMONT   State: CO   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  N10468, A CESSNA 172, AND N9325C, A CESSNA 180, COLLIDED UNDER UNKNOWN 
  CIRCUMSTANCES, THE 2 PERSONS ON BOARD N10468 WERE FATALLY INJURED, THE 1 
  PERSON ON BOARD N9325C SUSTAINED UNKNOWN INJURIES, WRECKAGE LOCATED NEAR 
  LONGMONT, CO

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   2
                 # Crew:   2     Fat:   2     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    


OTHER DATA
  Activity: Training      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER


  FAA FSDO: DENVER, CO  (NM03)                    Entry date: 03/26/2012 

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