AIRCRAFT: 1975 CESSNA C172M N9924Q, s/n: 17265868
TTAF 7007.6 at the last annual inspection on 05/24/17
Current Tach 7017.2; Hobbs 1752.0
ENGINE: Lycoming O-320-D2J, s/n: RL-15878-39A
TSMOH 110.7 at the last annual inspection on 05/24/17
Overhauled 03/08/16 by JB Aircraft Engines. TTSN 2150. Tach 6896.4
EQUIPMENT: Removed and stored separately. Condition not known or warranted.
(1) GPS - Apollo 2001 NMS
(2) NAV/COM TKM MX17DC
(1) Transponder Narco AT 165 TSO
(1) Audio Selector Panel PMA 6000
(1) DME King KN 62
(1) ADF 300 ADF R-546E
DESCRIPTION OF ACCIDENT: N9924Q broke loose from the tiedowns during Hurricane Irma, and was blown across the ramp upside down at Homestead, Florida
DESCRIPTION OF DAMAGES: Damage includes but may not be limited to the following:
- Tail was broken in half and is separated from the fuselage
- Tail, horizontal stabilizer and elevators damaged
- Wings and fuselage are also damaged
LOCATION OF AIRCRAFT: Florida Air Recovery, Fort Pierce, Florida
REMARKS: INSPECTION OF SALVAGE HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Salvage is sold AS IS/WHERE IS.
Logbooks are NOT complete - no airframe logs prior to 2003.
03/08/16 - Ram STC SA2375SW-D dated November 1, 1976, amended August 28, 1987, reissuance Aug 25, 2008 and Ram Drawing No R17201-H dated December 10, 1986
Wings were removed for retrieval.
Read more here: http://www.avclaims.com/N9924Q.html
Jeff Bennett, a Florida Keys resident and pilot with ties to Lee County, is ferrying needed supplies to the Keys. His own house, the last house on the left in the second row from the bottom in the above photo, on Big Pine Key, sustained damage from Hurricane Irma.
Jeff Bennett believes in neighbor helping neighbor rather than relying on government help.
That's why Bennett, a Florida Keys resident, and pilot, is ferrying much-needed supplies from Lee County to the place where Hurricane Irma first hit land in the United States.
"Everybody is chipping in to see what we can do," he said. "This is what neighbors used to do. I love that. Neighbors that I hardly knew, now we have a bond."
Bennett and his wife, Heather Joy, evacuated their Big Pine Key home in advance of Irma and came to Cape Coral, where they have several rental properties.
Ater ascertaining that the older, wood home they had lived in for the past 27 years was still standing, Bennett knew he had to do something to help.
He posted on Facebook — "I'm being told that the people down there are getting desperate for personal hygiene materials (diapers, tampons, toilet paper etc) as well as cleaning materials. Dog food and tarps are also on the list" — and then packed his Cirrus SR22 plane and headed on down Saturday, landing in Key West.
"I didn't expect things to be as bad as they were," he said.
He saw homes and trailers that were pancaked, large cabin cruiser-style boats sitting along streets, businesses he knew existed before Irma that looked as if the buildings were no longer there, and a need for supplies.
Bennett said he was surprised there were not more casualties. "There should have been more," he said. "Too many people stayed."
He said a "cry wolf" attitude prompted people to stay to ride out Irma.
"We've been there for so many storms," he said. "They always said 'storm surge, storm surge' but we never saw it."
He said the first time they ever saw any type of storm surge was about 18 inches from Hurricane Wilma in 2005.
"We laugh at Category 1 storms," the retired Navy veteran and businessman said. "We call them 'friendly hurricanes'."
But Irma, at Category 4 when it ripped through, was anything but friendly to the Keys, he said.
"It will be at least a month before power is back," he said.
In the meantime, Bennett said there are large and small needs.
Generators and chainsaws are the big needs.
Flying out of Page Field, Bennett will be making more trips with his plane and, since the Keys were reopened to residents Sunday, a cargo van to take as much as he can get.
His wife, who works for the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, headed back earlier.
"I'll be going back and forth for the next couple weeks," he said. "I have no idea how this will go."
Bennett said he will also need to attend to the damage done to his own home and several rental properties he owns on Big Pine Key. Damage includes siding stripped off, water damage, trees snapped in two and debris everywhere.
"I had just redone some of the properties," he said. "We will have to redo them."
The water got so high in one unit that a sink that had been plugged had seawater inside the bowl.
"I consider myself lucky," he said. "All my properties are still standing."
Bennett, who ferries dogs around as part of his involvement in Pilots for Pets, said he has a cadre of other pilots and donors to help.
"There are a bunch of pilots who have contacted me," he said, coming from Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa and beyond.
He has set up a van at the Key West airport where supplies that are flown in can be stored.
Bennett had a bit of advice for those planning on heading to the Keys to help.
"If you're going south of Seven Mile Bridge you'll need plenty of water, a generator, and a chainsaw," he said. "There are a lot of trees down. Make sure you fuel up as well."
Read more here ➤ http://www.news-press.com
