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    Small Plane Lost in Maine Kills 2


    This is not George A. Fortin’s N96389; it is a Taylorcraft BC-12D Twosome photographed at Millinocket Municipal Airport in Maine
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Paul Robbins

    What: vintage 1946 Taylorcraft BC12-D en route from Limington airport
    Where: field near Cape Monday Road, Harrison, Maine,
    40 miles northwest of Portland
    When: August 14 2010
    Who: 2 fatalities
    Why: The flight was reported lost when it did not return Saturday night. The wreckage was found 6 am Sunday. It appears that the pilot struck trees while attempting a field landing.

    Pilot George A. Fortin and passenger Anatole “Tony” Kalinuk were killed in the crash.

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    Beechcraft Bonanza Crashes and Burns in Pennsylvania House

    What: TSI Titanium (1982) Beechcraft 58 Baron en route from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport
    Where: Bell Township Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
    When: Aug 7 2010 9:19 am
    Who: 2 fatalities
    Why: The plane crashed nine minutes after take-off. Witnesses say it sounded like the engine cut out before it crashed. The pilot did not contact ATC and the cause is unknown, pending investigation.

    Edward Sobota, president and owner of TSI Titanium, was flying his new Beechcraft two engine plane, and working on getting certified in it, when it crashed into a Bell Township neighborhood. Ted Kokolis a pilot for Bayer, who was also on board and killed in the crash. Steve Yanko was sleeping on his couch in his family room and was not injured when the plane crashed and burned in his wife’s art studio at the opposite end of the house. His wife was not in the house at the time.

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    Recovered: Last Victim of Lake Michigan Cessna Crash

    What: Cessna 206 en route from Alma Michigan to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn
    Where: Lake Michigan, Ludington MI
    When: July 23, 2010
    Who: 4 fatalities, 1 survivor 66-year-old pilot, Jerry Freed
    Why: While en route on a medical evacuation flight, the pilot contacted ATC about experiencing mechanical problems, then the medical flight crashed into Lake Michigan on July 23. The pilot was rescued by boaters Randall Schmidt and his wife, Kristin Berg, about 2 miles from shore. Six foot waves hindered the recovery efforts.

    The Michigan State Police Underwater Recovery Unit sonar found the plane at approximately 6 p.m. last Thursday.

    The remains of Alma school superintendent and cancer patient Don Pavlik and his wife, Irene, were recovered Friday by divers. The body of Dr. James Hall was recovered Saturday night and identified Sunday. Co-pilot Earl Davidson was found last, on Sunday at 9 a.m..

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    Helicopter fire in CA

    What: private helicopter crash en route from Paso Robles to Benecia
    Where: Paicines area field
    When: June 22, 2010
    Who: 4 aboard
    Why: The pilot and adult passenger were taking their daughters to choir practice. After the cockpit began to smell of smoke, the pilot landed in the field. Just prior to landing, flames erupted from the motor. The pilot and adult passenger quickly exited with their daughters, and a few moments later, the helicopter was engulfed in flames.

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    UK Light Crash Kills pilot

    What: Light crash
    Where: in a field next to the River Aire between Castleford and Methley.
    When: June 19, 2010 4 p.m.
    Who: 31 year old pilot
    Why: In west yorkshire, the plane crashed near the river Aire, killing the pilot.

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    Tuscaloosa Crash Kills Entrepreneur and Anesthesiologist

    What: Dagmar Transport LLC Cirrus SR22 GTS en route from the Dominican Republic to Miami to Tuscaloosa Alabama
    Where: Tuscaloosa Regional Airport
    When: May 10 2010
    Who: Pilot and passenger 41 year old Mark Yellen and 56 year old Paula Moffett
    Why: Witnesses say that on landing, one of the plane’s wings may have hit the pavement before the landing gear. The single engine plane flipped and crashed twenty-five yards short of the runway.

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    Cessna Field Landing


    Pictured: A Cessna 150M Commuter filmed in Milwaukee
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Bruce Leibowitz

    What: single engine Cessna 150 M en route from Harlingen.
    Where: Los Fresnos TX
    When: April 29 2010
    Who: Pilot
    Why: The pilot is a flight instructor who has just bought the Cessna involved. En route, he experienced engine trouble (in-flight engine power loss) and landed safely in a sorghum field in Los Fresnos with no injury and no plane damage reported.

    George’s Point of View

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    Beechcraft Lost in Kentucky

    What: Island Trading Ltd. Hawker Beechcraft 58 en route from from Frederick, Maryland to Olive Branch MS
    Where: Leslie County
    When: April 27 2010
    Who: pilot and passenger
    Why: While en route, the plane lost contact, and is believed to have wrecked in eastern Kentucky, in a remote, mountainous area of Leslie County. It is believed the wreckage was located at 5:30 pm, with no survivors.

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    Hawaii: Microlight Crash Results in Two Fatalities


    Pictured: Image on Tedd’s Flying Adventures website

    What: Tedd’s Flying Adventures Airborne Outback XT-912 SST Tundra micro-light aircraft
    Where: Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii
    When: April 21, 2010 9:36 a.m.
    Who: Pilot Tedd Robert Hecklin, owner of Tedd’s Flying Adventures in Kailua-Kona and passenger Kathryn Grace Moran of Kailua-Kona
    Why: While en route, witnesses report seeing the wing of the Airborn Edge “fold.” Then the plane descended and impacted Kealakekua Bay. Local tour boats hurried to retrieve both aboard, and those aboard attempted CPR but both victims had sustained fatal injuries.

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    Ireland: Kit Plane Crash, 2 Fatalities

    What: Slazenger’s single-engine two-seater kit Falco EI BMF landing at Powerscourt private airstrip
    Where: County Wicklow
    When: 10 April 2010
    Who: pilot Dr Michael Slazenger and passenger Noel Whitney
    Why: While Slazenger was attempting to land his aircraft at a private airstrip on his Powerscourt estate in Eniskerry, the plane’s wing struck a tree and crashed. Noel Whitney died at the scene, Slazenger died Monday morning.

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    Vintage Crash in Chandler


    Pictured: North American P-51D Mustang; N514NH / 4484850/FF-850 (cn 124-44706) Former Apollo astronaut Frank Borman own this Mustang in the ’90s. Borman registered it as N15FS in August 1995 and named it Su Su. In it’s history this aircarft has carried the registrations N151TH, N850AH, N151BF, N151FS. Now it belongs to Hirani Oil in Chandler Arizona.
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Dave Budd – Photorecon

    What: (Hirani Oil Arizona) single-engine P-51D Mustang
    Where: Stellar Airpark in Chandler
    When: Thu Mar 11 1:20 p.m.
    Who: pilot Nazzi Hirani
    Why: On an attempt to land, the World War II-era plane appeared to be coming in to land too fast, hit a brick retaining wall, then flipped into the hanger, setting it afire and killing the pilot.

    * Although the Mustang was built by North American Aviation, it is the precursor of the Piper.

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    University Executives Die in Humanitarian Mission

    What: Piper PA-31 Turbo Navajo B en route from Tomé to Concepción
    Where: Tomé Chile
    When: Mar 1 2010
    Who: Fatalities included Pablo Desbordes, Ignacio Fernández, Luis ernesto Videla, Juan Guillermo Moya and Rodolfo Becker and pilot Marcelo Ruiz.
    Why: The plane crashed near the town of Tomé, Chile while transporting five University Santo Tomás executives for eartquake relief work. They were traveling to the site of the earthquake to evaluate shelter safety conditions. No reason has been reported for the crash.

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    Brazil Cessna Crash

    What: Cessna 310R en route from Leopoldina to Pampulha
    Where: Serra do Curral, Minas Gerais Brazil
    When: Feb 26 2010
    Who: 2 fatalities
    Why: After takeoff, the plane crashed in conditions of fog and low visibility. The mountainous crash site was 5 meters below the top of Serra do Curral mountain range. The plane apparently blew up on impacting a “wall” of mountain.

    A local fire department helicopter spotted the wreckage.

    The victims were identified as Tanus Sales and Rafael Tanus Pascoal Sales. Rafael was the pilot.

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    Piper Crash Lebanon-Springfield

    What: KMT Consultants Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee C en route from St Clair County Airport to Lebanon- Springfield Airport
    Where: west of Lebanon-Springfield Airport
    When: Feb 23 2010
    Who: Pilot Kent Douglas Shilling of Springfield (lost in crash)
    Why: The Piper 28 airplane disappeared from radar about 4 miles west Lebanon Springfield Airport. Kent Douglas Shilling was piloting the plane. Shilling, who owns a flight school, was returning to Kentucky from Alabama. When his arrival in Lebanon-Springfield was overdue, a search ensued. The Emergency Operations Center received a call concerning the crash at 4:10 p.m.

    A state trooper found the wreckage in a wooded area off of Kentucky Highway 55 thirty minutes after the flight disappeared from radar.

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    Cessna: 5 Fatalities in Bolivia


    Pictured: A Cessna 172A
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Giovanni Francisco Rodriguez Bravo

    What: Bolivian Cessna 172 RG
    Where: “Agropecuaria Arco Iris” airstrip, north of Montero, Santa Cruz, Bolivia
    When: May 11, 2008
    Who: 5 fatalities
    Why: While en route, the plane impacted a tree with its left’s wing and then the ground, where a fire ensued. The accident site was about 1,150 meters from an unlit runway of “Agropecuaria Arco Iris” airstrip, north of Montero, Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The pilot and the four passengers received fatal injuries; the airplane was destroyed. The flight originated from El Tromprillo Airport, Santa Cruz, Bolivia, at about 1808.

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    Pictured: A Piper PA-46-310P Malibu
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Lindsay Hockey

    What: Piper PA-46-310P Crash
    Where: Houston TX
    When: Sept 17 2005
    Who: 2 fatalities
    Why: The 641-hour private pilot and passenger were departing on a 155-nautical mile night cross-country flight. The tower controller heard a weak transmission that she could not completely understand, but did hear the words “engine” and “power.” The controller asked the pilot to “say again”, but there was no response. She again asked, “say again” and the pilot transmitted, ” I’m going down.” There were no further communications from the pilot. impacting the ground, the airplane cartwheeled. 50 feet wide. Witness reports of the airplane’s flight path along with the wreckage distribution path were consistent with the pilot’s attempt to return to the airport. A post-impact fire consumed the fuselageThe reason for loss of engine power could not be determined.

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    Hendrick Motor Sports


    Pictured: A Beech 200 Super King Air
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Carlos Barbosa

    What: Hendrick Motorsports Beechcraft Super King Air 200
    Where: Bull Mountain, seven miles from Blue Ridge Airport,
    When: October 24 2004
    Who: 2 pilots 10 passengers
    Why: On October 24 2004, en route to theNextel Cup Series, a Beechcraft Super King Air 200 owned by Hendrick Motorsports crashed in fog into Bull Mountain, seven miles from Blue Ridge Airport, carrying two pilots and ten passengers. Fatalities included Jon Hendrick and his twin daughters,and Ricky Hendrick. The plane missed its first landing attempt before veering off course and crashing; and the plane had not climbed to its temporarily assigned altitude of 2,600 feet; it instead descended to 1,800 feet before crashing. The cause was ruled failure to use an instrument approach and pilot error

    George’s Point of View