Ponzi schemer Marcus Schrenker’s stunt plane sold by Secretary Lawson’s office with help from U.S. Rep. Rokita

 

INDIANAPOLIS (August 17, 2012) – Secretary of State Connie Lawson and U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita today announced the stunt plane of Marcus Schrenker has been sold. Schrenker was an Indianapolis businessman who ran an intricate ponzi scheme swindling more than $4 million from investors. In January of 2009, he tried to evade the law by crashing his other plane into a Florida swamp in an attempt to fake his own death. He was later arrested in a Florida campground and is currently serving time in prison.

Read more:   Ponzi schemer Marcus Schrenker’s stunt plane sold by Secretary Lawson’s office with help from U.S. Rep. Rokita

  INDIANAPOLIS -- A stunt plane owned by an Indianapolis businessman who stole $4 million from investors before trying to fake his own death has been sold to benefit his victims.

Marcus Schrenker, who was convicted in 2010 of running an intricate Ponzi scheme, had used investor money to buy a Model Extra EA 300/L stunt plane.

Slideshow: Marcus Schrenker's Disappearance, Discovery
Slideshow: Michelle Schrenker Recounts 14-Year Marriage 

An offer of $264,000 was made on the plane this spring, but the Indiana Secretary of State's Office had issues finalizing the deal due to Federal Aviation Administration registration requirements. 

Current Secretary of State Connie Lawson called upon previous secretary of state and current U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita, who was in office when action against Schrenker was first taken. 

After working through red tape, they announced Friday that the plane had been officially sold. 

 "The Secretary of State's Office has been working diligently for years now to sell Schrenker's assets so his victims can receive reimbursement for their losses," Lawson said in a news release.   "Selling this plane is the final chapter in this office's efforts to close this case and gives his victims the closure they deserve." 

All of Schrenker's assets were seized and sold for a total of $306,000. Schrenker crashed his other plane into a Florida swamp in January of 2009 in an attempt to fake his own death but was arrested a short time later. He is currently serving 10 years in prison.

Ponzi schemer Marcus Schrenker’s stunt plane sold by Secretary Lawson’s office with help from U.S. Rep. Rokita

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/31364116/detail.html

State sells Schrenker's stunt plane

Piper PA-46-500TP,  N428DC

 Marcus Schrenker

NTSB Identification: ERA09FA133 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, January 11, 2009 in Milton, FL
Probable Cause Approval Date: 12/20/2010
Aircraft: PIPER PA-46-500TP, registration: N428DC
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.

The pilot filed a flight plan from his home airport to an airport about 1 mile from the Gulf of Mexico. During the flight, the pilot reported to air traffic control that he was encountering moderate to severe turbulence and, later, that the windshield was "cracking." After reporting the loss of the airplane’s door, the pilot advised that the windshield "has gone." The pilot later transmitted that the airplane’s flight controls were locked, that he was bleeding profusely, and that he was "graying out." The pilot further advised that he intended to "point the aircraft at the gulf," and he then parachuted from the airplane without advising air traffic control. As the airplane continued toward the Gulf of Mexico, air traffic controllers continued attempts to assist the pilot, with no response. The airplane eventually impacted wooded terrain, under power, about 18 nautical miles north of the Gulf of Mexico and about 100 yards from a residential area. An examination of the wreckage revealed no preimpact failures or malfunctions, that the door was still attached to the airframe, and that the windshield was undamaged and secured in its frame. A law enforcement investigation subsequently determined that the pilot, who was facing legal problems, intentionally parachuted from the aircraft near where he had previously stashed a motorcycle. The pilot was apprehended and subsequently plead guilty to federal criminal charges.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's intentional inflight abandonment of the airplane.

Full narrative available

Parasailing Death Leads to Investigation

(GULF SHORES, Ala.) After a recent accidental parasailing death in Pompano Beach Florida, local officials are citing their own lessons learned and the success of a city ordinance that gives Gulf Shores officials some degree of control over the industry. 

The ordinance passed in 2010 helps regulate how the Parasailing Business operates through business license regulation. "With that business license application the ordinance requires operators to trim the lines and follow manufacturer specifications on the shoot that is used. The number of passengers is regulated, the safety speech that is done and a lot of what is part of the operation is regulated throughout the city ordinance," said Grant Brown with the City of Gulf Shores.

Brown says the Coast Guard is responsible for safety on the vessel used to tow a parasail and all of the equipment it carries. Brown points to a good safety record over the years. The most recent incident was when a small advertising airplane flew too low near a parasail. The FAA investigated that incident.

Source:  http://www.local15tv.com

Related:  
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/state-regional/ntsb-joins-investigation-in-fatal-parasailing-acci/nRDc4/

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-parasailing-deaths-20120817,0,1991471.story

Cessna T210N Turbo Centurion, N2081U: Report details plane crash that killed business owner, son - Accident occurred September 07, 2010 in Mountain Home, Arkansas

Emergency personnel work the scene of a plane crash south of Mountain Home in this Sept. 7, 2010, photograph. The National Transportation Safety Board recently issued a report regarding the crash in which two men died.

Photo Courtesy:  The Baxter Bulletin 

WATSONVILLE - Federal authorities reported this week that a Watsonville business owner and his son flew their small plane into a large storm before they crashed in the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas in 2010. 

 The report from the National Transportation Safety Board detailed the crash, which took the lives of United Flight Services owner Bob Ross and 32-year-old Michael Ross of Austin, Texas.

The plane appeared to come apart in the sky before it took a spinning nose dive to the ground.

"It was a really great loss," said Chris Kilgus, a friend of the Ross family who lives in Felton. "They obviously flew into a thunderstorm inadvertently," he said Friday.

About 9:30 a.m. Sept. 7, 2010, Bob and Michael Ross took off in their single-engine, 1982 Cessna T210N from Danville, Ill. to Georgetown, Texas, according to the report.

About 1:05 p.m. near Memphis, Tenn., an air traffic controller told them that a "very large area" of precipitation was about 30 miles ahead of them. The front was part of Tropical Storm Hermine, the report later stated.

Both men sat next to each other piloting the plane. They were directed to another radio channel and told that "heavy to extreme" precipitation was 15 miles ahead, according to the report.

One of the pilots replied "thank you." They turned the plane left, then turned it back to the right two minutes later, according to the report.

At 1:22 p.m., the controller broadcast that he lost their plane on his radar. The controller tried to contact them several times, but heard silence.

Witnesses on the ground said they heard the Cessna's engine "revving up and down" but couldn't see it through clouds. They then saw the plane shoot from the clouds and dive in a nose-down spiral.

One of the wings appeared to "fold," the report stated. The plane crashed in a heavily wooded area about 5 miles south of Mountain Home, Ark. The crash site was about 90 miles north of Little Rock near the Missouri border.

Debris was spread across 3,850 feet. The fuselage had caught fire and the two men died in the crash.

The NTSB's "factual report" was limited did not state its cause. A separate "probable cause" report is expected to be released this month, according to the NTSB.

Authorities mentioned that both pilots had certifications and that the plane had its annual inspection in November 2009.

Kilgus, Ross' friend, said small planes like the one that crashed typically do not have sophisticated weather tracking equipment.

Don French, then-general manager of Watsonville Municipal Airport, said after the crash that Bob Ross had been investing in the airport and building a hangar.

Ross' reputation in aviation circles drew people from all over, French said.

"I've known Bob for 20 years," said French. "He was a really good guy."

Ross and Alicia Márquez bought United Flight Services in 2002. It had been based at the Watsonville airport since 1966, according to a statement released at the time of the sale.

When the September 2010 crash was reported, it was the second small plane linked to the business at Watsonville airport to crash in less than a month.

On Aug. 13, 2010 a Piper Cherokee Arrow from the flight-training and plane-rental company crashed in a remote area of the Sierra Nevada mountains, killing a Santa Cruz flight instructor and a college student from Watsonville.

Story and photos:   http://www.mercurynews.com

NTSB Identification: CEN10FA520
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, September 07, 2010 in Mountain Home, AR
Probable Cause Approval Date: 08/15/2012
Aircraft: CESSNA T210, registration: N2081U
Injuries: 2 Fatal.

The airplane was in cruise flight at 6,700 feet mean sea level when the air traffic controller advised the pilot that a large area of heavy to extreme rain showers was ahead along his flight path for the next 180 miles. The pilot did not change course, and, about 6 minutes later, he requested a descent in order to remain operating under visual flight rules. About 4 minutes later, the controller lost radar contact with the airplane and tried to contact the pilot. There was no response. Witnesses on the ground reported that the airplane’s engine could be heard “revving up and down,” but the airplane could not be seen because of an overcast layer of clouds. Moments later the airplane appeared from the clouds and was observed descending in a nose down spiral. The witnesses added that, before the airplane descended out of sight, one of the wings “appeared to fold.” Postaccident examination indicated that the airplane experienced a positive overload failure of the left wing during the descent and subsequently broke apart. The examination revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions, anomalies, or failures before the wing separation that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot’s decision to continue flight into a known area of heavy rain and his subsequent failure to maintain aircraft control.

Full narrative available

Robinson R22, N208WM: Accident occurred August 17, 2012 in Spanish Fork, Utah

NTSB Identification: WPR12LA362 
 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, August 17, 2012 in Spanish Fork, UT
Aircraft: ROBINSON HELICOPTER R22 BETA, registration: N208WM
Injuries: 1 Serious,1 Minor.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On August 17, 2012, at 1642 mountain daylight time, a Robinson R22, N208WM, sustained substantial damage subsequent to a hard landing and rollover at the Spanish Fork - Springville Municipal Airport, Spanish Fork, Utah. The certified flight instructor (CFI) sustained serious injuries and the student pilot receiving instruction sustained minor injuries. The helicopter was registered to Zbura Helicopters LLC and operated by Utah Helicopters as an instructional flight under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight that departed Spanish Fork about 45 minutes prior the accident.

The certified flight instructor (CFI) and student pilot were practicing autorotations. The student pilot reported that they had completed multiple straight-in autorotations and then initiated one from a 180-degree turn. During the turning maneuver, the main rotor RPM decayed and the helicopter’s descent rate increased; the helicopter subsequently touched down hard and rolled over.

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 208WM        Make/Model: R22       Description: R-22
  Date: 08/17/2012     Time: 2242

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Serious     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Substantial

LOCATION
  City: SPANISH FORK   State: UT   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  N208WM ROBINSON R22 ROTORCRAFT CRASHED DURING AUTO ROTATION, NEAR SPANISH 
  FORK, UT

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   2     Fat:   0     Ser:   1     Min:   1     Unk:    
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    


OTHER DATA
  Activity: Training      Phase: Maneuver      Operation: OTHER


  FAA FSDO: SALT LAKE CITY, UT  (NM07)            Entry date: 08/20/2012 

Remains of a helicopter lay at Spanish Fork airport where it crashed Friday, August 17, 2012.

 SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald

http://registry.faa.gov/N208WM

Visit  ksl.com, KSL TV and KSL Newsradio for more information

SPANISH FORK -- A helicopter pilot was hospitalized Friday night after the helicopter in which he was flying crashed at the Spanish Fork-Springville Airport.

Lt. Brandon Anderson with the Spanish Fork Police Department said an flight instructor and a student pilot were doing simulated engine failures near the airport late Friday afternoon. During one of those simulations the helicopter lost altitude and rammed into the ground. Investigators do not know the reason for the loss of altitude.

The pilot, whose name had not been released, was taken to the hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries; he was conscious and talking at the scene. The student pilot had minor injuries and was treated and released at the scene.

Based on the tail number on the helicopter, it is a rotorcraft manufactured in 2008 by Robinson Helicopter and owned by Zbura Helicopters LLC in Elk Ridge.

http://www.heraldextra.com

  SPANISH FORK, Utah (ABC 4 News) - Two people were injured in a helicopter crash at the Spanish Fork Municipal Airport on Friday afternoon.

Officials told ABC 4 News that one man had minor injuries, while another sustained serious injuries.

The crash happened on a runway at the airport located on 2200 North Main Street.

Lt. Brandon Anderson says the pilot was a student and doing a training exercise when the accident occurred.

"He was doing an engine failure simulation and for some reason the helicopter dropped to the ground," says Lt. Anderson

The exercise requires the engine to be shut off and students go through procedures to land the helicopter.

A man who claimed to be the student pilot's cousin says there was time to restart the engine.  He says his cousin couldn't start the throttle that disengages a brake like device to straighten out the helicopter and cushion the fall.

The helicopter belonged to Utah Helicopters based in Spanish Fork.

http://www.abc4.com

SPANISH FORK — A witness says crews pulled a helicopter instructor and a student out of a training helicopter that crashed Friday afternoon in Spanish Fork. 

The helicopter went down on an airport runway at 2200 North and Main Street.

KSL photojournalist Steve Landeen said the helicopter was practicing stalled engine maneuvers when it suddenly lost altitude and went down quickly.

Emergency crews reportedly took the instructor to the hospital; the student got treatment and walked away.

The helicopter belongs to the company Utah Helicopters.

Visit  ksl.com, KSL TV and KSL Newsradio for more information

'Attention seeker': British Airways steward jailed for hoax bomb threat he left in plane's toilet so he could 'save the day' and be promoted

A British Airways steward who wrote a bomb threat on a jet’s toilet door mid-flight so he could 'save the day' as a hero and get a promotion was jailed for six months today. 

'Attention seeker' Mathew Davis, 22, was a member of the crew on the Boeing 777 flight from London to Tokyo with 150 passengers on board when he posted the message claiming there was a live bomb on the plane that was going to explode mid-air.

The note read: 'The bomb on board will explode at 16.00GMT unless our demands are met' and he showed it to terrified stewardess Sarah Jane Spencer when the plane was 35,000 feet over the Middle East.

She spent the rest of the flight checking her watch believing her time had come but in reality it was a hoax by Davis so that he could tell the captain and get a promotion.

Judge Anna Guggenheim QC, who noted it was 'highly dangerous behaviour', said: 'This is an extremely serious example of a bomb hoax.

'Several hundred people aboard a plane at high altitude is a common thing in our world but they are extremely vulnerable.

'You wanted to create a crisis in order to be seen to equip yourself well, to be seen well by your employers, to rise in the estimation of your employers, putting it shortly to be a hero.

'Had you been believed the extent of the chaos and disruption and fear would have been very great indeed.'

Davis 'found' the message and told the captain and Ms Spencer but luckily the 'highly experienced' pilot realised it was a hoax almost immediately.

Read more and photos: http://www.dailymail.co.uk 

Dallas County to continue aerial spraying

 

A Beechcraft airplane sprays insecticide DUET over Forest Rd in Garland,Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012, to curb the spread of West Nile virus. The planes took off from Dallas Executive Airport

 Photo: Tom Fox, The Dallas Morning News / AP

DALLAS (AP) — Unfazed Dallas County residents took to recreation areas and running trails one day after airplanes dropped gallons of pesticide from the skies to fight the nation's worst West Nile virus outbreak. 

 After a round of spraying was cut short by rain Thursday, four more planes were scheduled to cruise over the rest of the county Friday night.

The virus spread by mosquitoes has left 10 dead and more than 200 sick in Dallas County, which is home to 2.5 million people and the city of Dallas. Officials say it will be a record year for West Nile virus, and about half of the United States' cases are in Texas.

Although commonplace in other major cities, the efforts have provoked a debate in the Dallas area between health officials trying to quell the disease risk and people concerned about insecticidal mist drifting down from above.

The Environmental Protection Agency has said that the insecticide, Duet, poses no significant threat to humans or animals, though it is toxic to fish and other types of aquatic life.

The first round of aerial spraying covered 52,000 acres in north and east Dallas County on Thursday evening before storms grounded the planes, said state health department spokeswoman Carrie Williams. Health officials also set traps Friday to determine the spraying's effectiveness, and another aerial mission is scheduled for Monday night to catch mosquitoes hatched over the weekend.

In east Dallas on Friday morning, dozens of people ran, walked and biked around White Rock Lake, apparently unconcerned with the pesticide sprayed hours earlier.

Darren Willis, 37, of Garland, caught several fish at the lake, which had been doused with insecticide Duet just hours earlier. He said he stayed indoors during the spraying, but wasn't concerned about lingering chemicals.

Other residents weren't as confident. Some holed up inside their houses to minimize contact with the pesticide, which they fear could harm their pets, children and personal health.

Adrian Serrano, 28, isn't sold on the EPA's seal of approval. He didn't plan on leaving his house Friday, and shut off his air conditioner. His concerns are mostly for his family — two small children and a pregnant wife.

"I'm worried about them breathing it, and it could damage them," Serrano said in a phone interview from his home. "I just don't want them to get exposed to it.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins assured residents that a check of area hospitals Friday morning revealed no reports of negative reaction to the sprayed pesticides.

"We didn't expect and we don't expect to hear any of those reports," Jenkins said at a news conference. "Why would our citizens be any different than every other American who's experienced this?

Jenkins said that though he has listened to aerial spraying opponents, he felt it was the right decision and would prevent more deaths.

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

Piper PA-24-260, N8546P: Accident occurred August 16, 2012 in Holton, Kansas

NTSB Identification: CEN12LA551 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, August 16, 2012 in Holton, KS
Aircraft: PIPER PA-24-260, registration: N8546P
Injuries: 2 Serious,1 Minor.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On August 16, 2012, at 2154 central daylight time, the pilot of a Piper PA-24-260, N8546P, made a forced landing on a rural road 3 miles south of Holton, Kansas. The pilot and a pilot-rated passenger were seriously injured. Another passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by N8546 PAPA, LLC, Tecumseh, Kansas, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 as a business flight. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The cross country flight originated in Tioga (KD60), North Dakota approximately 1930, and was en route to Topeka, Kansas (KFOE).

Preliminary information indicates the pilot reported to air traffic control that the propeller was overspeeding, there was smoke in the cockpit, the engine was losing power, and he couldn't maintain altitude. The pilot attempted to land on a rural road but clipped trees and impacted a ditch. There was no evidence of fire in flight.

HOLTON, Kan. — A plane crash north of Topeka late Thursday night still has everyone involved just shaking their heads in amazement after somehow everyone on board survived. 

 The crash happened last night just west of Holton, Kansas. The plane is badly damaged but all three men in the plane survived.

The front seat passenger was the most seriously injured – air ambulance took him to University of Kansas Hospital Thursday night with what appeared to be a broken pelvic bone. But the other two men literally walked away from the plane’s wreckage.

“You look at that and can’t believe they were able to live through that,” says friend of the pilot and co-owner of the plane, Jay Hubbell. He had to see the wreckage for himself. He says his friend, pilot David Osborne, did an amazing job piloting the plane to safety.

“I think a pilots worst nightmare is an engine failure at night and off airport landing,” Hubble says. “It’s even worse with no moon and it’s overcast so no starlight. So he faced the worst situation that he could.”

Sheriff Tim Morse says the crash happened just before 10:00 p.m. Thursday, as the three men were returning to Topeka from a trip to North Dakota when the pilot reported that his cabin was filling with smoke.

“They lost their engine and they were trying to find a place to land but it was pitch dark outside,” says Morse. “They saw some car lights on N Road so that’s where they chose to land.”

The plane clipped some trees on the way down and tore off the wing, but the sheriff’s amazed that’s all that went wrong.

“Narrowly missed a home, narrowly missed a power line,” he says. “Things turned out pretty well.”

The backseat passenger, Stephen Graff, had only minor bruises. Osborne was also banged up but walked away from the wreckage. Front seat passenger Steven Stutzman was most critically injured, but friends are calling the whole thing nothing short of a miracle.

“Lot of help from the good Lord and a lot of skill as a pilot,” says Hubbell. “He did well.”

The only casualty is the plane itself, a 1964 Comanche that had been in Hubbell’s family since his dad bought it in 1966.

“It’s like losing a family member but when you get down to it as long as everybody is all right that’s what counts,” said Hubbell.
Source:  http://fox4kc.com

Topeka builder home again after crash landing 

Former Topeka pastor also injured in Holton plane crash 

By Phil Anderson
THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL
 
David F. Osborne was back in his home near Berryton on Friday afternoon, less than a day after piloting a disabled small aircraft to a crash landing that he and two other men were able to survive.

Osborne, 58, owner of DF Osborne Construction, was piloting a small aircraft Thursday night, returning to Topeka with two passengers after a business trip in North Dakota.

Flying at an altitude of 9,500 feet, the plane was about 35 miles from its destination at Topeka’s Philip Billard Municipal Airport.

Suddenly, around 9:50 p.m., the plane began experiencing engine trouble. The cabin began filling with smoke, and the small plane began a rapid descent.

Osborne immediately began planning for an emergency landing in the 1965 Piper Comanche single-engine airplane.

Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse said Osborne thought he saw car lights on a rural road three miles west of Holton and planned his approach.

Witnesses said the plane sounded like a semi truck with its tailgate flapping as it neared the ground.

Traveling at an estimated 90 mph, the plane struck several trees with its right wing before it landed on its bottom side in a ditch.

It came to an abrupt stop with its left wing extended over the roadway near 22625 N Road, about a half mile south of K-16 highway and three miles west of Holton.

Osborne and front-seat passenger Steven L. Stutzman suffered what the Kansas Highway Patrol called disabling injuries.

Osborne was taken by Jackson County Emergency Medical Services to Stormont-Vail Regional Health Center in Topeka. He remained overnight but was released Friday.

Stutzman also was taken to Stormont-Vail, then was airlifted to The University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., for treatment of what a friend said was a badly broken pelvis.

A third occupant of the plane, Stephen M. Graff, 47, of Topeka, suffered minor injuries. He was treated at the scene.

Osborne was in a great deal of pain Friday afternoon, but he said he felt much better than he did Thursday night immediately after the crash.

Seated in a leather chair in his home, where several family members were assisting him, Osborne said the plane began having trouble when it lost oil pressure. Within minutes, he said, the control panel “lit up like a Christmas tree.”

He made a call to the Federal Aviation Administration in Kansas City to declare an emergency, then turned his attention to making a safe landing.

Osborne, who has been a pilot for about 30 years, said he stayed focused on flying the airplane and “making the best of a bad situation.”

He searched for a place to land on the dark, overcast night, when not even the moonlight was available to help him see a safe place to land.

As the plane was coming in for a crash landing, Osborne brought the aircraft down on a narrow stretch of N Road, landing it between a tree line on the east side of the gravel road and power poles and lines on the west side.

“We’re very thankful to the Lord for sparing our lives,” he said. “We could very easily have been dead or paralyzed or injured a lot worse than we were.”

On Friday morning, an owner of the plane, James Hubbell, 69, and his son, Christopher Hubbell, 43, both of Topeka, were standing on N Road, talking with Leon Conger, who lived in a house across the road from the crash site.

Conger earlier had told authorities the plane “sounded like a semi-truck with the tail gate banging” before it crashed.

After the crash, Conger ran outside with his flashlight and found the plane’s wreckage. Amazingly, all three people were alert and talking. Conger then called for help.

Emergency responders were able to cut the roof off the plane and get the three men out.

The plane was owned by a limited liability company with three partners — the elder Hubbell, Osborne and Bill Leeds, a Topeka physician.

The elder Hubbell said he was notified of the plane’s problem after its beacon signal was activated, indicting the aircraft was in distress.

“I thought maybe they’d had a hard landing over at Billard,” Hubbell said. “As I was heading over there, I got a call. It was Dave, who was in the back seat of the ambulance, telling me the plane had crashed.”

Christopher Hubbell said the plane’s lights only illuminated a short distance in front of the aircraft, just enough to give about 1 or 2 seconds for Osborne to react before the plane hit the ground.

“He saw the power poles and swung a little to the right to avoid hitting the poles,” Christopher Hubbell said. “That’s all he had time to do.”

Both Hubbells, who are pilots themselves, said they were amazed by Osborne’s cool hand in what they described as “a pilot’s worst nightmare” — making a landing at night with absolutely no light.

Because the plane was partially blocking N Road after it came to rest, it was moved early Friday to a lot on the east side of Holton, where the Federal Aviation Administration and National Safety Transportation Board were to inspect the aircraft.

Barry Feaker, executive director of the Topeka Rescue Mission, said Stutzman, who was the most seriously injured of the three occupants, was the former pastor of Open Way Church in North Topeka.

Stutzman also is a former employee at the mission, where he helped oversee construction of the Hope Center, a two-story facility for women and families, about 12 years ago.

Feaker said Stutzman, who also is a pilot, is now working with the DF Osborne Construction Co., which he said has projects in various parts of the nation.

The Rev. Mike Shinkle, current pastor of Open Way Church and a close friend of Stutzman’s, said he visited Stutzman late Thursday in the trauma center at Stormont-Vail, before Stutzman was airlifted to the KU hospital.

Stutzman, he said, was in and out of consciousness because of pain medication for his injuries.

Shinkle noted there have been recent plane crashes in northeast Kansas in which no one walked away.

In Friday night’s crash, he said, “there were 100 things that could have gone wrong and one thing that could have gone right, and that one thing went right.”

When he was awake Thursday night, Stutzman praised Osborne for making a crash landing in extremely difficult circumstances, Shinkle said.

“Steve said Dave did an incredible job getting the plane down,” Shinkle related. “The engine failed, and the cabin filled with smoke. It was nighttime, and they couldn’t see where they were going.”

Of the three crash survivors, Shinkle said, “They are under the hand of the Lord, to be here at this time.”

Story, video and photos:  http://cjonline.com

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 8546P        Make/Model: PA24      Description: PA-24 Comanche
  Date: 08/17/2012     Time: 0248

  Event Type: Incident   Highest Injury: None     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Unknown

LOCATION
  City: TOPEKA   State: KS   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES. TOPEKA, KS

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   1
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   2
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    


OTHER DATA
  Activity: Unknown      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER


  FAA FSDO: WICHITA, KS  (CE07)                   Entry date: 08/17/2012 

http://registry.faa.gov/N8546P

http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N8546P.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisk48/5565435809/

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N8546P

Time Lapse video of a Global Express 8C Inspection

http://flyteam.jp/photo/wilmington-trust/Bombardier-BD-700-1A10-Global-Express/374264/L

N949GP Global Express 9049 Operated by Aviation Concepts Inc. based at Subic Bay, Philippines

http://www.flyaci.com/

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4018/4479971523_508bdecbed_o.jpg  aircraft was new in 1999

Reports awaited in runway incursion probe

The aviation regulator is awaiting the Mumbai air traffic control (ATC) office's report on a minor runway incursion that took place at Mumbai airport on August 9 to begin its probe. A runway incursion is a situation when an aircraft, airfield vehicle or an airport staffer enters the runway without prior permission from the ATC. 

On August 9, a Jet Airways aircraft mistakenly entered the airport's main runway while an Etihad Airways flight was scheduled to land on the same runway.

The aircraft maintenance engineer (AME) alerted the ATC official. The official then asked the arriving aircraft to make a go-around – an aborted landing, where the pilot takes-off mid-air.

"The arriving aircraft was seven nautical miles away from the one on the runway. However, we want to probe the miscommunication between the Jet pilot and the ATC official," said RK Khanna, deputy director, DGCA, western region.

The trainee controller on duty and the AME were suspended pending inquiry.

http://www.hindustantimes.com

Gender Balanced Regional Airport Board Issue

 

 August 10, 2012 by CRIWPUTV 

The State's gender balance law became an issue again at this week's Mahaska County Board of Supervisors Meeting. The supervisors talked about replacing Joe Warrick -- who was appointed in May to the Regional Airport Board -- with former candidate Margaret Ratcliff. This change would satisfy Iowa's Gender Balance Law making the board balanced with three males and three females.
 

Beechcraft A36TC Bonanza 36, N678DR: Accident occurred August 15, 2012 in Clifton Park, New York

NTSB Identification: ERA12FA508
 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, August 15, 2012 in Clifton Park, NY
Aircraft: BEECH A36TC, registration: N678DR
Injuries: 1 Fatal,1 Serious.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On August 15, 2012, at 0727 eastern daylight time, a Beech A36TC, N678DR, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain during a forced landing near Clifton Park, New York. The certificated airline transport pilot was seriously injured, and the certificated commercial pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight. The flight departed from Albany International Airport (ALB), Albany, New York at 0724, and was destined for Plattsburg Airport (PBG), Plattsburg, New York. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

Review of preliminary air traffic control information provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), revealed that the airplane departed from runway 01 at ALB, turned northeast, and continued to climb. At 0725, at an altitude of 1,100 feet msl, the pilot advised air traffic control, “eight delta romeo just lost our engine”. No further transmissions were received from the flight, and radar contact was lost about 30 seconds later at an altitude of 300 feet msl.

According to FAA records, the left seat pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with multiple ratings, including airplane single-engine land, as well as a flight instructor certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine. His most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on March 1, 2012, at which time he reported 10,691 total hours of flight experience. The pilot seated in the right seat held a commercial pilot certificate with multiple ratings, including airplane single-engine land. His most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on December 20, 2011.

The accident site was located in a residential area approximately 3 miles northeast of ALB. The initial impact point was identified by several damaged tree limbs, and a wreckage path about 150 feet in length, oriented approximately 320 degrees magnetic, extended through the impact area. Fragments of the airplane, including portions of right wing, right wing tip fuel tank, and ailerons were located approximately 40 feet prior to where the fuselage came to rest between two pine trees. The left wing was located approximately 20 feet beyond the fuselage along the wreckage path. The engine remained attached to the fuselage, and 2 of the 3 propeller blades exhibited impact-related damage. One blade was bent aft about 45 degrees near the mid-span point and the other blade was bent aft about 90 degrees near the mid-span point. None of the blades exhibited chordwise scratching or leading edge gouging.
 
TROY - Memorial services are now set for the businessman, killed in this week's plane crash in Clifton Park. 

Calling hours will be from 3 to 8 p.m. at McLoughlin & Mason Funeral Home at the corner of 109th Street and Third Avenue in Lansingburgh.The Mass of Christian burial will begin at 10:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart and St. William Catholic Community located at 310 Spring St. in Troy.
 
Uccellini's friend and colleague, Jim Quinn, remains in critical condition.

Quinn was piloting the plane when it crashed on Wednesday.

Investigators are moving the wreckage to a hangar in Connecticut today for further examination.

Story and video:   http://wnyt.com 

For additional information and online guest book information, please visit www.mcloughlinmason.com.

http://registry.faa.gov/N678DR

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N678DR

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 678DR        Make/Model: BE36      Description: 36 Bonanza
  Date: 08/15/2012     Time: 1210

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

LOCATION
  City: CLIFTON PARK   State: NY   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT CRASHED SHORTLY AFTER DEPARTURE, THERE WERE 2 PERSONS ON BOARD, 1 
  WAS FATALLY INJURED, 1 SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES, CLIFTON PARK, NY

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   1
                 # Crew:   2     Fat:   1     Ser:   1     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    


OTHER DATA
  Activity: Unknown      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER


  FAA FSDO: ALBANY, NY  (EA01)                    Entry date: 08/16/2012 

F-16 crash: Faulty guidance to maintainers cited - Air Force releases findings on F-16 mishap near Kunsan

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- Headquarters Pacific Air Forces today released the results of its investigation into an F-16CM aircraft mishap which occurred March 21, 2012, northeast of Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea.  The mishap aircraft was assigned to the 36th Fighter Squadron, Osan AB, ROK.

Gen. Gary North, then the Pacific Air Forces commander, directed an investigation into the incident which resulted in the destruction of the aircraft totaling more than $21.5 million.

The accident investigation board found evidence the cause of the mishap was engine failure and subsequent engine stall.

The pilot performed the appropriate emergency checklist procedures in an attempt to recover the engine, but it did not respond and continued operating in a degraded state until impact. After safely ejecting, the pilot was transported to Kunsan Air Base medical clinic by the 6th Search and Rescue Group, Republic of Korea Air Force. The clinic examination revealed the pilot sustained no injuries.
Lt. Col. William Jones served as the Accident Investigation Board president. Colonel Jones is the 8th Operations Group deputy commander, Kunsan Air Base. Colonel Jones is a command pilot with more than 1,900 flight hours, to include the T-38 Talon and the F-16.

For a copy of the Accident Investigation Board report, visit: http://www.pacaf.af.mil/library/publicreports/index.asp.

Cessna 152, N152BA: Accident occurred August 17, 2012 in Rockford, Illinois

NTSB Identification: CEN12CA599 
 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, August 17, 2012 in Rockford, IL
Aircraft: CESSNA 152, registration: N152BA
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.

While on a visual approach to the runway during the instructional flight, the engine lost partial power. The flight instructor reported the engine was operating normally and then the engine RPMs went 2,200 RPMs to approximately 1,300 RPMs. The carburetor heat was in the OFF position for the approach. The flight instructor's efforts to regain engine power were unsuccessful. The airplane touched down in a field short of the airport, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. Examination of the airplane revealed the vertical stabilizer and rudder were bent. Postaccident examination of the engine and airplane found no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The engine was test run at various power settings with no anomalies noted. A carburetor icing probability chart revealed that, at the ambient temperature and dew point at the time of the accident, conditions favored serious carburetor icing at glide power.

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 152BA        Make/Model: C152      Description: 152, A152, Aerobat
  Date: 08/17/2012     Time: 2050

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: None     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION
  City: ROCKFORD   State: IL   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT CRASHED SHORT OF THE AIRPORT, NEAR ROCKFORD, IL

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   2     Fat:   0     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: WEST CHICAGO, IL  (GL03)              Entry date: 08/20/2012 

WREX.com – Rockford’s News Leader

 

ROCKFORD (WREX) - A small, single engine plane crashed in a soy bean field just south of 1100 Samuelson Road on Friday. 

The plane experience engine problems and during the emergency landing, the aircraft flipped on its roof. The pilot and single passenger are okay. The plane is registered to Poplar Grove Airmotive, based at the Poplar Grove Airport (C77), Illinois.

As of 4:50 p.m.Rockford Police are waiting on the FAA decision to remove the plane.

Visit 13 News for more on the crash from Matt Groves.

http://rockfordscanner.com
 
ROCKFORD —   There were no injuries after a single-engine airplane crashed today near the Chicago Rockford International Airport.

Rockford police said the pilot had engine problems and landed the plan in a bean field near the 1100 block of Samuelson Road. The aircraft flipped upside down during the emergency landing, but both the pilot and passenger escaped without injury.

Officers are awaiting a Federal Aviation Administration decision to remove the plan from the field.

http://www.rrstar.com

ROCKFORD (WIFR) -- A small plane has crashed near the Rockford Airport in the 1300 Block of Samuelson. At this time, information is limited and authorities have not released the type of plane involved.

Police at the scene say two passengers were inside and have reported no severe injuries. It has been reported that the engine stalled and the plane flipped once.

http://www.wifr.com


http://registry.faa.gov/N152BA

http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photos

New Hampshire firefighters help rescue skydiver stuck in Maine tree

Rescue in Lebanon 

The Lebanon Rescue Department and Lebanon Fire Department work to get a skydiver out of a tree Thursday evening. (Courtesy photo)

 

Parachute in tree 

 The skydiver was around 50-60 feet in the tree. 

(Courtesy photo)

 

The skydiver, a man from Massachusetts, was stuck 50 to 60 feet in the air.

 (Lebanon Rescue Department) 

LEBANON – The Lebanon Rescue Department and Lebanon Fire Department were dispatched to Upper Guinea Road near Leone Way in West Lebanon on Thursday evening for the report of a skydiver who was stuck in a tree. The call came in at 5:46 p.m., according to a department press release. 

"When emergency crews arrived on scene shortly after the call was received, they located the skydiver from Skydive New England about 50-60 feet up a large tree," Assistant Chief Jason Cole said. "He reported no injuries, he was just a little shook up from the incident. We had requested a ladder truck from Milton, N.H. when the call came in, but due to the skydiver being about 200 feet off the roadway, it could not access them. I then requested a rescue truck from Rochester, N.H. Fire Department to respond with their high angle rescue equipment. Two Milton fire officers and a Rochester firefighter who have training in technical rescue scenes assisted with coming up with a plan on getting the skydiver out of the tree. Additionally, SkyDive New England also had a safety person on scene that helps with these type of rescues so it truly was a team effort."

A 24-foot ladder was placed against the tree and Milton Fire Chief Nick Marique climbed up and started cutting tree limbs so that the safety person from SkyDive New England could then climb the tree with his harness and ropes to rescue the skydiver, Cole said.

At about 7:30, the rescue climber reached the skydiver. Just before 8, the skydiver and rescue climber were both back down on the ground, with no injuries.

"In the 25 years I have been a volunteer in Lebanon, we have been called to maybe a dozen incidents where a skydiver was in a tree," Cole said. "With over 25,000 jumps annually done at SkyDive New England, that is a pretty amazing record. They go over a lot of safety training with each skydiver and they are taught what to do properly if they get in a situation like the male did today and he had to make a landing outside the landing zone. That safety training led to him not being injured. After being cut down, he was already planning his next skydive for tomorrow."

The skydivers jumped at about 13,500 feet today. The skydiver was a man in his 20s from Massachusetts. He is still a student and this was his approximately 10th jump. He was not in a tandem jump and was alone at the time of the accident.

Story and photos:   http://www.keepmecurrent.com

Chicago Midway International (KMDW), Illinois: Airport Worker Charged With Stealing Copper Wire From Runway

 

David Coates was charged with one count of theft and faces up to five years in prison if found guilty, after video surveillance showed him stealing copper wire from an airport runway.

 
Cook County State's Attorney's Office: Press Releases 
Cook County State's Attorney
Communications Department
Chicago, IL 60602

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

August 16, 2012

City Employee Charged In Copper Wire Thefts From Midway Airport
 
Prosecutors have filed charges against a City of Chicago employee for stealing 500 feet of copper wire from Midway Airport, according to the Office of Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.

David Coates, 57, of Chicago was charged with one count of theft and is facing up to 5 years in prison if convicted.

According to prosecutors, Coates worked for the Chicago Department of Aviation at Midway Airport where he pumped gas. On Tuesday, Coates was captured on video leaving his work site in his truck to cut pieces from a copper runway wire.

Chicago Police investigated the thefts and found that he had taken approximately 500 feet of wire since August 12. Investigators also found Coates had taken the wire, valued at nearly $700, and sold it at a scrap yard.  Investigators also recovered a pair of wire cutters from the defendant when they confronted him about the thefts.

Coates was charged and appeared in court this morning where Judge Edward Harmening set his bond at $25,000. The case was continued to August 22 for a preliminary hearing.

The public is reminded that charging documents contain allegations that are not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial at which the state has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

http://www.statesattorney.org

CHICAGO (AP) - A worker at Chicago’s Midway Airport has been charged with stealing copper runway wire. 

 The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office says David Coates was charged with one count of theft and faces up to five years in prison if found guilty.

Coates worked for the Chicago Department of Aviation and pumped gas at Midway.

Prosecutors say Coates was seen on video Tuesday leaving his work station in his truck to cut pieces from a copper runway wire.

Chicago police found he had taken about 500 feet of wire worth about $700 since Sunday. Prosecutors say he sold it at a scrap yard.

A judge on Thursday set his bond at $25,000. It wasn’t immediately clear if Coates had an attorney. There was no public phone listing for Coates. 

Story and photo:  http://stlouis.cbslocal.com

Flight Instructor in Sweden

 

August 8, 2012 by bealeebjork 

Flight Instructor - Bea-Lee
Steady Cam - Magdalena
Ground Crew - Mikael and Julian
 

Beechcraft A36TC Bonanza 36, N678DR; Accident occurred August 15, 2012 in Clifton Park, New York

NTSB Identification: ERA12FA508 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, August 15, 2012 in Clifton Park, NY
Aircraft: BEECH A36TC, registration: N678DR
Injuries: 1 Fatal,1 Serious.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On August 15, 2012, at 0727 eastern daylight time, a Beech A36TC, N678DR, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain during a forced landing near Clifton Park, New York. The certificated airline transport pilot was seriously injured, and the certificated commercial pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight. The flight departed from Albany International Airport (ALB), Albany, New York at 0724, and was destined for Plattsburg Airport (PBG), Plattsburg, New York. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

Review of preliminary air traffic control information provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), revealed that the airplane departed from runway 01 at ALB, turned northeast, and continued to climb. At 0725, at an altitude of 1,100 feet msl, the pilot advised air traffic control, “eight delta romeo just lost our engine”. No further transmissions were received from the flight, and radar contact was lost about 30 seconds later at an altitude of 300 feet msl.

According to FAA records, the left seat pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with multiple ratings, including airplane single-engine land, as well as a flight instructor certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine. His most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on March 1, 2012, at which time he reported 10,691 total hours of flight experience. The pilot seated in the right seat held a commercial pilot certificate with multiple ratings, including airplane single-engine land. His most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on December 20, 2011.

The accident site was located in a residential area approximately 3 miles northeast of ALB. The initial impact point was identified by several damaged tree limbs, and a wreckage path about 150 feet in length, oriented approximately 320 degrees magnetic, extended through the impact area. Fragments of the airplane, including portions of right wing, right wing tip fuel tank, and ailerons were located approximately 40 feet prior to where the fuselage came to rest between two pine trees. The left wing was located approximately 20 feet beyond the fuselage along the wreckage path. The engine remained attached to the fuselage, and 2 of the 3 propeller blades exhibited impact-related damage. One blade was bent aft about 45 degrees near the mid-span point and the other blade was bent aft about 90 degrees near the mid-span point. None of the blades exhibited chordwise scratching or leading edge gouging.

 

Walter Uccellini

Funeral arrangements have been set for Walter Uccellini, the founder of The United Group of Companies in Troy, New York, who died in a plane crash August 15.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be Tuesday, August 21, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Sacred Heart and St. William Catholic Community at 310 Spring Ave. in Troy.

Calling hours are Monday, August 20, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at McLoughlin & Mason Funeral Home, on the corner of 109th Street and Third Avenue in Lansingburgh.

For more information and to sign an online guest book, click here.

Walter Uccellini, 67, was a passenger in a single-engine plane that crashed in Clifton Park shortly after taking off from Albany International Airport.

The six-seat plane was piloted by James Quinn, vice chairman of The United Group of Companies.

James Quinn, 68, was severely injured and taken to Albany Medical Center. He was listed in critical condition today, according to a spokesman.

They were headed to a business meeting in Plattsburgh.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.

A story about how The United Group is coping with the death of its leader is here.
 

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 678DR        Make/Model: BE36      Description: 36 Bonanza
  Date: 08/15/2012     Time: 1210

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

LOCATION
  City: CLIFTON PARK   State: NY   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT CRASHED SHORTLY AFTER DEPARTURE, THERE WERE 2 PERSONS ON BOARD, 1 
  WAS FATALLY INJURED, 1 SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES, CLIFTON PARK, NY

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   1
                 # Crew:   2     Fat:   1     Ser:   1     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    


OTHER DATA
  Activity: Unknown      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER


  FAA FSDO: ALBANY, NY  (EA01)                    Entry date: 08/16/2012 

Traffic helicopter helps investigations

 

August 15, 2012 by kitvtv 
Police traffic choppers will help in recent car accident investigations.

Ottawa pilot sets her sights on Webster Trophy and title of Canada’s top amateur pilot

Andrea Marrocco is representing Eastern Ontario in the 2012 Webster Trophy competition to determine Canada’s top amateur pilot. 

Photograph by: Bruce Deachman

OTTAWA — Andrea Marrocco has a poor memory, and so doesn’t recall her creation story — that particular moment when she looked at an airplane flying high overhead, perhaps, and decided she needed to be up there at the controls. 

 She enjoyed watching planes as she grew up, though, and repeatedly told her parents that she wanted one day to fly.

And as she takes a Cessna 150 through its pre-flight checklist on the tarmac at the Rockcliffe Flying Club, making sure there’s no water mixed in with the gas, that the windshield is cleaned of dead bugs and that there are enough screws and bolts holding everything together, she says her experience flying — she received her licence in 2009 — bore out her youthful excitement.

She loves the speed, especially at low altitudes where the landscape passing hurriedly below makes it seem all that much faster. She gets the biggest rush, she says, from steep turns and landings.

“It’s supposedly where the most accidents occur,” she remarks of the latter, “but I love being in the circuit, just going up, flying around and coming in to land. The sensation of coming down and touching down gently on the wheels and doing everything right is just fun.

“When you’re landing,” she adds, “you can see everything. Taking off, you only see sky. I much prefer to have my nose pointed down than up.”

For the past week, the 29-year-old Peterborough native and student at Algonquin College’s aviation management program has been undergoing a series of interviews and tests — written exams on flight theory and meteorology; flights in simulators; and actual turns, stalls, forced approaches and precision landings in the tiny cockpit of the two-seater that as often as she can she likes to call home.

At stake is the Webster Memorial trophy, awarded annually for most of the past 80 years to Canada’s top amateur pilot, and a prize package that includes a trip for two to anywhere Air Canada flies and a “media day” with the RCAF’s 431 Air Demonstration Squadron — the Snowbirds — which in the past has included a ride-along inside one of their CT-114 Tutors. Just the idea makes Marrocco’s eyes light up like a child’s on Christmas morning.

Already deemed the top amateur flyer in Eastern Ontario based on her flight test scores two months ago, all that stands now between Marrocco and the national title, to be awarded Saturday evening at a dinner at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, are the eight men who represent different regions in the rest of the country — Montreal’s Louis Rousseau, for example, a 24-year-old who was inspired to flight when, at the age of 11, read author and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s memoir Terre des Hommes. By coincidence, he notes, his first flight at the controls was out of the Aéroclub Bastia Saint-Exupéry in Corsica.

“I saw that was my path,” he says. “Saint-Exupéry’s books are about more than aviation. It’s an adventure, it’s the story of life, of living.”

Ottawa-born Matt Caouette, meanwhile, just 20 years old and living in Red Deer, AB, represents the third generation of pilots in his family. He remembers as a four-year-old flying with his grandfather, a crop-duster, aboard a 1946 Erco Ercoupe. His father, too, was a pilot, and Caouette hopes to become a fighter pilot. “The skies,” he says, “are where I find the most joy in life.”

The competition began in 1932, when Dr. John Clarence Webster of Shediac, N.B., established the trophy — a stunning bronze bust of a winged pilot created by former Almonte son and sculptor R. Tait McKenzie — to honour Webster’s son, John C. Webster Jr., who died in a plane crash in August 1931, at the age of 30, while practising for the Trans-Canada Air Pageant aerobatic competition in St. Hubert, Que.

According to assistant judge Wayne Foy, the competition helps young pilots move closer to careers in aviation — he estimates that 90 per cent of participants hope to fly professionally. Throughout the week, he says, they meet numerous senior aviation executives, including those from Air Canada, Jazz and Air Transat.

“A lot of companies tell us that they give Webster competitors — not even just finalists — more weight on their applications. Because here’s a person who’s willing to go out on a limb to challenge themselves. These are Class-A personalities, and that’s who they’re looking for to become leaders and skilled captains.”

It was a gruelling week, says Marrocco, and if there was any truth to Foy’s assertion that being the hometown favourite — she flies out of the Ottawa and Rockcliffe Flying clubs — and knowing the region’s topography better than the other finalists might have given her a slight edge, she feels that was cancelled out by the barrage of media interviews she faced as the host city’s representative. Additionally, she found that all the encouragement she received from club members and others in the area only added to her anxiety.

“I know they were just being supportive, but as the week progressed, I felt more and more pressure to not disappoint them.”

Her hour-long flight test — originally scheduled for Friday morning but bumped up to Wednesday as organizers took advantage of clear skies, didn’t go as well as she’d hoped.

“I did really well on some things, and really bad on others,” she admits. “I’m a bit of a perfectionist, and I’m not great at putting my nerves aside.”

Like Marrocco, most of the nine finalists fell in love with aviation at a young age. Nova Scotian Rob Forrest, at 33 the oldest of the group, recalls sitting at his desk in primary school, his six-year-old arms stretched out as his sides as if in flight. In later years, he was drawn to TV shows and movies that featured planes.

That kind of fervour is often passed down through family members. Regina’s Shane Lanouette, 20, says the first photograph he ever saw of himself was as a five-year-old standing at an air show in front of a B-17 Flying Fortress. Years later, his father, who flew Sea King helicopters for the Canadian Forces, pulled Shane out of Grade 8 one day to see another B-17.

“I knew I wanted to do this from the day I first saw that B-17,” he says. “Just pick the worst day — rainy, windy, grey — but you take off and get through the clouds, and above is just blue skies and sun.”

Twenty-three-year-old Winnipegger Peter Heron, meanwhile, used to joke with his sister, a fashion designer, that they were breaking the family tradition by not becoming pilots.

“Most of my family is in the aviation industry,” he says. “My father flies Boeing 767s for Air Canada. I have lots of family in Central Mountain Air, Air Canada and Canadian North.”

He studied Business at Red River College and worked at a restaurant, and it was while out skydiving with friends two years ago that he was bitten by the flying bug.

“For some reason that I can’t explain,” he says, “after jumping out of that plane I really wanted to become a pilot.

“It makes no sense. But I love the freedom I have as a pilot to explore the world.”

Marrocco is the only woman competing this year, but that is not a card she plays, or even thinks about. She’s elated to have made it to the finals, but she’s not looking to win one for the girls’ team. “Of course I want to win,” she admits. “That’d be super cool. But just going through the whole thing and meeting and talking to people is big.”

And as she prepared for her final written exam Friday morning — followed by a field trip in the evening to Bombardier in Montreal and the closing dinner Saturday night — she reflects on the week that was and the one that might have been. She feels she didn’t show the judges her best — “Sometimes you have bad days,” she says — and doesn’t expect she’ll win.

If that’s the case, there’s always next year — only this year’s winner is disqualified from entering again — but she doesn’t see that as a likelihood.

“You can only enter again if you haven’t worked as a pilot,” she explains, “and that would mean I couldn’t work for a year.

“That wouldn’t be worth it.”

Story and photos: http://www.ottawacitizen.com

EXCULSIVE VIDEO: Historic Aircraft Lands In Baltimore, Maryland

 

Video shot and produced by WBAL's Scott Wykoff

 (August 17, 2012) 

 

Video shot and produced by WBAL's Scott Wykoff

 (August 17, 2012) 

Friday, August 17, 2012 
Scott Wykoff

On Monday, August 20, Lockheed Martin will celebrate its Centennial with employees at the company's Middle River facility and on Saturday August 18, and Sunday, August 19, the Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum will be celebrating National Aviation Day.

On Friday, a historic vintage aircraft that will be on display for both of the celebrations arrived at Martin State Airport.

With pilot Bob Coolbaugh at the wheel, the flying replica of a 1911 Ely Curtiss Pusher aircraft flew into Martin State Airport in Middle River.

This aircraft will be a featured presentation at the Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum's National Aviation Day on Saturday, August 18 from 11am - 3pm.

Coolbaugh built the 1911 Ely Curtiss Pusher and flew the aircraft to Middle River from the Eastern Shore.

"When the museum and Lockheed Martin asked us to bring the airplane up here for the Glenn Martin Centennial, I jumped at the chance," Coolbaugh told WBAL's Scott Wykoff on the tarmac moments after he landed the vintage aircraft after doing a few flybys of both the airport and the historic Lockheed Martin Facility in Middle River. "just because you're tying it all together. You know you have the Wright Brothers, Glenn L. Martin, Glenn Curtiss, and we are all flying these strange airplanes and to be able to bring this for the people up here for the people of Baltimore at Martin State Airport is a good thing for us."

In 1912, aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin founded his company and the Lockheed brother founded their company the same year. In 1995, the Lockheed Corp. and Martin Marietta merged to form Lockheed Martin, which is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland and employs nearly 10,000 Marylanders.

Today, Lockheed Martin's Middle River facility is one of the company's longest operating facilities. Glenn L. Martin moved his company to Baltimore in 1928, officially establishing Middle River as the company headquarters in 1929.

Lockheed Martin's Middle River facility currently employees 400 people working on the MK 41 Vertical Launching System and Littoral Combat Ship for the U.S. Navy and a number of new initiatives in nanotechnology and renewable energy.

This National Aviation Day is set aside to recognize aviation achievements was established in honor of Orville Wright's birthday.

The Museum will also be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Glenn L. Martin Company. Joining the Museum for this event will be the 99's, Silver Wings, the Baltimore Chapter of the American Rosie the Riveter Association, and 21st century space technology pioneer Blaze Sanders with Solar Systems Express.

On exhibit for this special flying holiday is a replica of a 1911 Ely-Curtiss Pusher aircraft built by Bob Coolbaugh and provided by Ely-Curtiss Aerial Exhibitions LLC. At 11:30am Fred Hall, the Museum's Volunteer Coordinator will share his experiences with the Berlin Airlift.

The Movie "Memphis Belle", a restored WWII B-17 "flying fortress" bomber and Rare Curtiss P-40 Warhawk will take to the skies over Baltimore on their first national tour with public flights available at Martin State Airport as part of the celebration on  August 18-19.

The Liberty Foundation's "Memphis Belle" is making Martin State Airport its home this weekend for tours and rides.

The bomber usually flies between 10 AM and 3 PM each day with tours offered after the day's flights.

CLICK HERE for info to reserve a seat on the B-17.

Sixty five years ago these aircraft flew from bases far from home in an attempt to bring freedom to oppressed peoples. Our B-17 & P-40 mission for today is to educate the people of America about the courages WWII veterans, and remember those brave aircrew who never made it home. "Liberty Belle" is a living museum, our heritage not in mothballs or the pages of a dusty book, but real life, three dimensions, here and now. You are invited to come touch the past and fly through ageless skies.

At 12:30pm, the Museum's theatre-in-residence Thirst 'n' Howl Musical Productions will present its original musical "Right Place, Right Time, Wright Brothers" as it share s the story of Orville and Wilbur Wright and their quest to design and build a successful flying machine.

Visitors to the Museum can climb aboard the 1952 passenger airliner the Martin 404. and sit in the pilot's seat of a jet fighter.

The Museum's new exhibit "They Answered the Call", a salute to the World War II workers of the Glenn L. Martin Company will be open as visitors are greeted by "Hazel", a Martineer Rosie.

The celebration of aviation is provided in part by the support of the Baltimore County Commission on Arts and Sciences.

Story, photos, video:    http://www.wbal.com