Friday, February 13, 2015

Pilot Jeff Barnett: "Act like the tops of the trees are your runway, flare out and land into 'em, after that, trees take care of everything"

GLEN BURNIE, Md. (WJLA) — The pilot of a small plane who survived a crash in a wooded area near Fort Meade last weekend was released from the hospital Friday. 

In an interview with ABC7 News as he returned home, Jeff Barnett described the crash he and a passenger managed to survive - something that doesn't happen often.

The 57-year-old Glen Burnie man confirmed that at about 250 feet altitude after takeoff from Tipton Airport, his plane lost engine power. He said he tried to land softly in the tops of the trees.

"We always teach: Act like the tops of the trees are your runway and you flare out and land into 'em," he explained. "After that, trees take care of everything."

But after impact, the Grumman American AA-1 aircraft tumbled to the ground and landed upside down; Barnett and his passenger, 82-year-old Thomas Cline of Silver Spring, looked at each other and agreed that they were lucky to be alive.

"It's a matter of fate, you know... I'd like to think my superior piloting skills did it but it didn't," Barnett observed.

He said he looks forward to flying again, and is even building a small plane currently in his garage.

Original article can be found at: http://www.wjla.com


 

Regis#: N6116L
Aircraft Make: GRUMMAN
Aircraft Model: AA1
Event Type: Accident
Highest Injury: Serious
Damage: Unknown
City: ODENTON
State: Maryland
Flight Phase:  UNKNOWN (UNK)
FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Baltimore FSDO-07

AIRCRAFT SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, CRASHED AND FLIPPED OVER INTO A WOODED AREA OFF THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY, TIPTON AIRPORT, ODENTON, MD

American (Grumman) AA-1 Yankee, N6116L

http://registry.faa.gov/N6116L

1 comment:

  1. The pilot wisely did not try and return, thus stalling in a tight turn.

    ReplyDelete