Arizona

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    Medical Emergency Prompts Allegiant Air Plane to Divert to Kingman Airport

    AllegiantAn Allegiant Air plane made an emergency landing at Kingman Airport in Mohave County, Arizona, on September 22.

    Authorities said the flight, heading from Shreveport, Louisiana, to Las Vegas, Nevada, had to be diverted due to a medical emergency. It is believed that a female passengers started experiencing heart issues mid-air.

    The plane, carrying 140 passengers, landed uneventfully.

    The patient was taken off the plane and the flight resumed shortly afterwards.

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    Small Plane Crashed in Surprise; Pilot Injured

    A single-engine, fixed-wing plane crashed just short of a private airstrip near Loop 303 and Cactus Road in Surprise, Arizona, on April 4.

    Authorities said the Jabiru 3300 light-sport aircraft took off from Glendale Airpark and was attempting to land at the private airfield when it went down.

    The pilot, who was the only one aboard, sustained minor injuries in the incident and was shifted to hospital.

    The FAA is investigating.

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    Home-Built Plane Crashed Near Bagdad Airstrip; Pilot Injured

    A light-weight plane crashed near Bagdad airstrip in Arizona, on January 16.

    Authorities said the home-built plane went down after a strong wind gust bent its wing during a test flight.

    The pilot, identified as Donald Low, 79, of Bagdad suffered minor leg injuries and was shifted to Flagstaff Medical Center.

    The NTSB is investigating.

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    Cochise County Sheriff’s Office Helicopter Crashed in Benson; 2 Killed

    A Cochise Air helicopter, used by Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, crashed near Benson, southern Arizona, on the night of December 31.

    The accident happened when the helicopter was returning from Phoenix to Sierra Vista airport, after maintenance.

    Spokesperson of Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, Carol A. Capas, confirmed that both people aboard the aircraft were killed in the crash. They were identified as the pilot Carol A. Capas, who was a retired police officer, and the mechanic Marc Hansen, 51.

    The cause of accident is under investigation.

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    Small Plane Makes Emergency Landing on I-8 in Arizona

    A small plane made an emergency landing on Eastbound Interstate 8 near Stanfield, Arizona, at around 6:27 p.m. on November 11.

    According to Tim Gaffney, director of administration for the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, the FAA informed the authorities about a small aircraft that sent a mayday signal and was descending.

    The pilot, his wife and 10-year-old daughter remained uninjured.

    The eastbound lanes were closed for traffic immediately after the incident but were re-opened at around 9:45 p.m.

    The FAA will investigate.

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    No Injuries Reported as Small Plane Makes Emergency Landing Near Arizona-California Border

    A small Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft made an emergency landing near the Arizona-California border on November 5.

    The plane was en-route to California when it started experiencing engine trouble due to a fuel pump malfunction.

    The pilot landed the plane on a natural gas pipeline road, around 20 miles east of Lake Havasu City in Arizona. The authorities said the pilot and his only passenger remained unharmed however, the aircraft’s wing was torn off after it crashed into a tree during landing.

    The FAA and the NTSB will investigate.

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    Southwest Flight Lands in Emergency with Blown Tire

    southwestboeingSouthwest Airlines flight 1359 had to land in emergency at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Phoenix, Arizona, shortly before 1:30 p.m. on October 6.

    The flight was on its way from Phoenix to Newark when a blown tire was observed on the aircraft’s main landing gear. The plane was then diverted to making an emergency landing.

    Southwest spokesperson Dan Landson said that the plane landed uneventfully after burning off extra fuel. All 135 passengers and 5 crew members were shifted to another aircraft.

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    Bomb Threat Tweet Prompts American Airlines Emergency Landing

    American AirlinesAmerican Airlines flight 362, en-route from Dallas to San Diego, had to divert and make an emergency landing at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Arizona, at about 12:05 p.m. on August 24.

    According to Rebecca Bloomfield from the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, officials at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field received a call from the Transportation Security Administration’s Coordination Center that the FBI was looking into a tweet indicating about possible explosives aboard flight 362. The twitter threat was posted by @LizardSquad at around 10:45 a.m. on August 24. It read: @AmericanAir: We have been receiving reports that @j_smedley’s plane #362 from DFW to SAN has explosives on-board, please look into this.

    She further said that the FBI officials then diverted the flight to Phoenix where it made a safe emergency landing. Everyone aboard remained safe.

    Passengers had to wait while the federal investigators searched the plane for any explosives. The flight resumed to San Diego after 4 hours. The FBI is investigating the incident.

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    Smoke Detected in lavatory; US Airways Express Flight Makes Emergency Landing

    US Airways expressA US Airways Express flight, on its way from Albuquerque to Phoenix, had to make an emergency landing at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona on July 29, 2014.

    The decision was made after smoke was detected in the lavatory of Bombardier CRJ900 series regional jet, which was being operated by Skywest Airlines.

    The plane made an uneventful landing and no one was injured.

    The Phoenix Fire crews and the airport police received the aircraft at the runway. The north runway of the airport remained closed for some time.

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    Small Plane Crash Took Lives of Two Utah Brothers

    CessnaA single- engine Cessna 172 crashed in Mohave County of northern Arizona, near the Utah-Arizona border at about 7:30 p.m. on July 20.

    Two brothers, Daulton Whatcott, 19 and Jaxon Whatcott, 16, were killed in the crash. Both of them were students of Syracuse High School; Jaxon was about to begin in junior year this fall while Daulton recently graduated in 2013. Whatcott family spokeswoman Taunie Reynolds confirmed the unfortunate deaths and said that Daulton had recently received pilot license and he was flying his brother to Las Vegas for a basketball tournament.

    The Mohave County sheriff’s office said that the accident happened just south of Virgin River Gorge, near Interstate 15 and about 25 miles southwest of St. George in Utah. The plane was en route to Mesquite, Nevada from Beaver, Utah at the time.

    According to the FAA records, the plane was registered to D&G Aircraft Leasing in Bountiful, Utah.

    The FAA and the NTSB are investigating the cause of accident.

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    Plane Crash in Arizona Kills 2

    2 South Carolina residents were killed after their small plane crashed in northern Arizona.

    Charles Trotter, 47, of Liberty, SC and Dakota Jacks, 15, from Pickens, SC were aboard the plane which took off from Las Vegas on June 20. It then landed in Page for a while and departed again at about 1:30 p.m. Authorities said that the last contact with the pilot was established off a Navajo Mountain tower, shortly after the plane took off from Page. Coconino County Sheriff’s office confirmed that the pilot had not filed a flight plane.

    According to Sgt. Aaron Dick from Coconino County Sheriff’s office, the deputies received a report of missing, South-Carolina-bound 1961 Mooney M20B plane at about 7:30 a.m. on June 22. The Civil Air Patrol Wings started the search operation, extending over Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. He also said that they were notified about possible wreckage in Peach Canyon, Navajo Nation, at about 1:40 p.m. On June 22.

    A sheriff’s deputy was then sent to the area, in a department of Public Safety helicopter, who located the wreckage of the missing plane. The bodies of both the pilot and the passenger were also found with the wreckage.

    Trotter was piloting the time at the time of crash. His family later released a statement which said, “Charles Michael Trotter, 47 years old, died doing what he loves-flying his plane. Devoted husband, loved his wife, loved flying, and loved Jesus. Now he is at home with his Lord and Savior. May he rest in peace.”

    Dakota was a friend of Trotter’s family; he attended Pickens High School and Pickens View Wesleyan Church.

    The NTSB is investigating the cause of accident.

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    Mesa Police Department Helicopter Crash Lands in Gilbert

    helicopterA Mesa Police Department helicopter had to make a hard landing in a field near Stapley Drive & Baseline Road in Gilbert, Arizona.

    The incident happened at about 1 a.m. on June 8, when the chopper carrying two police pilots lost engine power and crashed.

    According to Mesa Police Department Sgt. Tony Landato, “They had 10 to 15 seconds from engine failure to impact…. The preliminary information I have is that the pilot did a remarkable job avoiding homes by putting the helicopter down in a field… I’ve been told, luckily, there are no serious injuries.”

    During the impact, the tail of helicopter broke off.

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    Cessna Crash in Arizona


    A Cessna 340A en route from Laughlin-Bullhead International Airport to Ernest A. Love Field Airport when it clipped trees and a radio tower during a low pass at the Gunsite Training Academy. There are four fatalities.

    Passengers were going to Gunsite Firearms Training Academy when the plane struck a radio tower and crashed. Witnesses heard the plane whining before it crashed.

    Respondents include Chino Valley Fire and Yavapai County Sheriff’s department.

    The names of the victims have not been released. The FAA is investigating.