Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Mesa, Arizona: Officials say 2 dead in plane crash - Falcon Field


 


Two people died in a small plane that crashed immediately after takeoff in a vacant lot near the northeast corner of Falcon Field around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday morning, according to authorities.

The plane was engulfed in flames after it struck what appears to be an earthen wall near Higley and McDowell roads. The fire gave off a tall plume of smoke but was quickly put out. The plane crashed near the 13th hole of the golf course at the Apache Wells Country Club and several homes that were on the other side of the earthen wall.

The plane was a homebuilt, single-engine Rans S-12, according to Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the FAA.

Jerry Mangini lives about a quarter of a mile from where the plane went down.

Mangini said he was sitting on his porch having a cup of coffee when he saw the small plane come down from only a few hundred feet in the air.

Mangini had seen the plane a few times this week and that the plane looked like two people were hanging inside of a basket like a glider.

"I feel sorry for those two people who are dead," Mangini said. "It's a terrible thing to happen."

Jeff Furnari was working at the Apache Wells Country Club Tuesday morning and said he saw the smoke from the crash.

"The smoke was real heavy," Furnari said. "It was black until the fire department got there."

The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash, according to Gregor.

Falcon Field is owned and operated by Mesa. More than 750 aircraft are based at the airport and it was the fifth busiest general aviation airport in 2011, according to the airport's website.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com

MESA, Ariz. - Two people are dead after a small plane crashed right after takeoff in an area southeast of Mesa's Falcon Field around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday.
Mesa Fire Department spokesman Forrest Smith says the plane went down at Higley and McDowell Roads next to a golf course.

The plane did catch fire and Smith says firefighters were able to extinguish the flames. Smith says the occupants of the plane were dead when fire crews arrived.

SkyFOX helicopter video showed blackened wreckage next to a berm and a red tarp placed over it.

The FAA says the plane, was a home-built, single-engine S12 and registered to someone in Mesa.

Authorities have not released the victims' identities. Earlier in the day, they weren't able to tell the gender of the bodies.

One witness was having coffee on his front porch when the plane went down. Jerry Mangini described the scene as "..it get to the end of the runway..approximately..couple hundred feet up..couple of sputters, sputters and then straight down. Nose first, right into the ground. Did not try to glide, didn't try to do anything..went straight into the ground."

Mangini said everything happened within a matter of seconds. With all the surrounding homes near the airport, fortunately, no one was injured on the ground.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation continues.

Mesa small-plane crash kills 2 just after takeoff at Falcon Field


Two people died in a small plane that crashed immediately after takeoff in a vacant lot near the northeast corner of Falcon Field around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday morning, according to authorities.

The plane was engulfed in flames after it struck what appears to be an earthen wall near Higley and McDowell roads. The fire gave off a tall plume of smoke but was quickly put out. The plane crashed near the 13th hole of the golf course at the Apache Wells Country Club and several homes that were on the other side of the earthen wall.

The plane was a homebuilt, single-engine Rans S-12, according to Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the FAA.

Jerry Mangini lives about a quarter of a mile from where the plane went down.

Mangini said he was sitting on his porch having a cup of coffee when he saw the small plane come down from only a few hundred feet in the air.

Mangini had seen the plane a few times this week and that the plane looked like two people were hanging inside of a basket like a glider.

“I feel sorry for those two people who are dead,” Mangini said. “It’s a terrible thing to happen.”

Jeff Furnari was working at the Apache Wells Country Club Tuesday morning and said he saw the smoke from the crash.

“The smoke was real heavy,” Furnari said. “It was black until the fire department got there.”

The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash, according to Gregor.

Falcon Field is owned and operated by Mesa. More than 750 aircraft are based at the airport and it was the fifth busiest general aviation airport in 2011, according to the airport’s website.

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