Posted on 06/18/2005 5:59:28 AM PDT by al_again
Need help - a friend of mine(student pilot) was involved in a plane crash yesterday. They crashed in the Gulf of Mexico close to key west(not the family that crashed in the swamp). I think everyone was ok but I can't find any news. Are there any South Florida freepers who have any info/links about this.
Thanks in advance!
Hi, could this be it?
Published on Saturday, June 18, 2005
Cessna ditched near Boca Chica
BY MANDY BOLEN
Citizen Staff
KEY WEST — A reported engine malfunction forced pilot Jonathan Crawford to ditch his single-engine Cessna in calm waters nine miles north of Boca Chica Friday afternoon.
Crawford, a flight instructor from Orlando, was flying with a student pilot, and both evacuated safely from the plane around 3:30 p.m.
"A good Samaritan saw them treading water, picked them up and took them to Coast Guard Station Key West, said Petty Officer Sandra Bartlett, the Coast Guard spokeswoman in Miami.
The plane had taken off from Key West International Airport and were en route to Naples," said Petty Officer Robert in the Key West Operations Center.
Both men refused medical treatment once they arrived at the Coast Guard base.
"They are working on a commercial salvage plan for the aircraft," Bartlett said, but did not know the water depth in the plane's location.
mbolen@keysnews.com
Based on the description I think it's the right story. I'm glad both men are not hurt.
See http://keysnews.com/
Cessna ditched near Boca Chica
BY MANDY BOLEN
Citizen Staff
KEY WEST -- A reported engine malfunction forced pilot Jonathan Crawford to ditch his single-engine Cessna in calm waters nine miles north of Boca Chica Friday afternoon.
Crawford, a flight instructor from Orlando, was flying with a student pilot, and both evacuated safely from the plane around 3:30 p.m.
"A good Samaritan saw them treading water, picked them up and took them to Coast Guard Station Key West, said Petty Officer Sandra Bartlett, the Coast Guard spokeswoman in Miami.
The plane had taken off from Key West International Airport and were en route to Naples," said Petty Officer Robert in the Key West Operations Center.
Both men refused medical treatment once they arrived at the Coast Guard base.
"They are working on a commercial salvage plan for the aircraft," Bartlett said, but did not know the water depth in the plane's location.
Beat me to it ;)
I'd like to know how they landed fixed gear on water without flipping over a few times.
Not an easy task.
There are a LOT of small plane crashes every year. There are several small airports near where I live and there have been 6 or 7 crashes in the last few years. Suprisingly few deaths for the number of crashes around here.
It will be a good weekend for crashes with the race at MIS. Hight tension power lines very near the airport with lots of inbound and outbound traffic.
That was it - thx.
Interesting enough - I just got a phone call from him. They were both ok but a very exciting time! The plane is under 30 ft of water at the moment - not sure how the heck they salvage that.
Thx again for the info.
The books all say full stall landing just above the water. My flight instructor also pointed out that with the lack of visual cues, and the fear involved, most pilots would do it do high and go in nose first. Glad I have never needed to to try it for myself.
Sounds like it ditched in the same area as Cabanas a few years back.
I know. But even a dirty full stall has to be around 60mph.
That just has to hurt.
Another concern is that often the fuselage deforms making it hard to open the doors.
I used to own a Grumman Tiger. The rule there was in case of crash to unlock the sliding canopy and block it open for just that reason.
If you have 10 or 15 knots of wind, when it actually stalls just above the water your actual ground speed will be about 30 knots. When the gear hits the plane will nose into the water and not flip.
They wedged both doors open after the engine failed. They stalled just before impact and were doing around 30 knots at impact. They were able to brace themsselves and escaped with no injuries. It was very lucky that a fisherman saw them going down and was able to get his boat to the crash site in minutes.
A sun visor was recovered so the plane wasn't a complete loss :)
I think that is a bit overstated.
You would need a good 25 knot headwind (pretty stiff wind down that low) to get down to 30 knots, and any number of planes have ended upside down in the water.
Heck, there was one in the lake off sebring for awhile.
Great picture - thanks for the update. Glad to see both are making the best of the experience. A glass half full bunch of guys ;)
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