Student Pilot Crashes Into Police Station

ANN ^ | 012404 | N/A

[Archangelsk]

Student Pilot Crashes Into Police Station

Sat, 24 Jan '04 Jail Evacuated, Pilot Seriously Hurt

A student pilot practicing touch-and-goes in Farmington (NM) apparently lost power Thursday night, causing his plane to pile into a police building near Four Corners Regional Airport. The student-pilot, who's not yet been identified, was seriously injured, according to local authorities.

"I was pulling into the back entrance of the police department when a plane was on coming on a northwestern approach to the airport and appeared to have lost power and fell straight into the north end of the building of the Farmington police department," said one police sergeant.

The aircraft impacted a part of the building that houses the detective unit, according to Fire Marshal Herb Veazey. "There’s some structural damage inside the building a lot of glass and debris strewn about...bent and twisted I-beams inside the office area," says Veazey. "We have a lot of fuel leaking down inside the building."

Ten prisoners detained in a holding area had to be evacuated from the building. They were sent to the San Juan County Detention Center. None of them was hurt.

The unidentified pilot reportedly had serious head and facial injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment. The pilot is expected to survive.

Crews worked through the night to remove the B36 Bonanza from the building, saying it was remarkably intact, considering the force of the impact.

[Archangelsk]

"I was pulling into the back entrance of the police department when a plane was on coming on a northwestern approach to the airport and appeared to have lost power and fell straight into the north end of the building of the Farmington police department,"

Fell straight into the north end of the building?

[tbeatty]

It doesn't sound like a power problem but more like a stall from flying too slow. Bonanzas are fast for a student pilot.

[nevergore]

"Crews worked through the night to remove the B36 Bonanza from the building"

A student pilot in a Bonanza? This is hardly a training plane...retractable gear, over 200HP....

The CFI who signed this student pilot off for this aircraft is probably undergoing a anal exam by the FAA right now...

NeverGore

[Archangelsk]

I agree, maybe a cross-control stall if he went base to final and overshot and tried to overcorrect. Also, you're right, a Bonaza is far too much airplane for a student pilot.

[Ed_in_NJ]

An Al Qaeda in training, perhaps?

[Archangelsk]

Not likely. The Bonanza 36 takes large coin to own and no FBO is going to let a student pilot rent a complex aircraft for a solo.

[old-ager]

M-E muslim? Leaving this out is poor reporting, these days.

[sharktrager]

Another article gave the pilot's name, and it was pretty white.

I used to live in this town, and an arab training to fly for Mesa Airlines (which is what this kid was doing) would not go unnoticed.

The airport sits on a mesa right next to the police department, and is not popular among many pilots, who refer to it as the SS Farmington because of the similarity to an aircraft carrier without arrestor cables.

[Dan(9698)]

When I transitioned from a 172 to a 210, it was like learning to fly all over again and I had over 2000 hours.

[Archangelsk]

Yeah, but you probably had your CPL/I when you transitioned. The article said student pilot.

[steve86]

"A student pilot in a Bonanza? This is hardly a training plane...retractable gear, over 200HP...."

As a student pilot, doing real well in 152s and Beech Skippers, my instructor let me fly the approach in a Bonanza he was renting for the weekend. I went so wide on the turn to final we would have flown past a parallel runway. Like the plane was always a half mile ahead of where I thought it was. Did better on the go-round.

[Dan(9698)]

My point was that to go directly to a high performance airplane is asking for trouble. Ask John Kenney Jr. --- He had more airplane than he could safely handle. So did this guy.

[connectthedots]

When my younger son was 23, he transitioned to Canada Air RJs and said it was a piece of cake.

[Archangelsk]

You bet. I just read AOPAs article on the EADS Socata TBM 700C2, a six pax, single engine turbine that has a PT6A-64 for a powerplant. AOPA does a marvelous job of detailing the performance of the plane (max. cruise setting, FL280 @ 6164 lbs is 290 kts/1015 NM, but I'll bet my bottom dollar that the test pilot at EADS waxed and pampered that baby to achieve that performance), and warns the reader - who knows a little bit about Part 23 certification - that this is a very hot airplane (Vso is 65 knots. They used a special exemption around the 61 knot limitation). All in all, a very good article.

However....

EADS placed an advertisement in the back of the magazine showing the 700 being deplaned and offloaded by four models posing as pilots and pax. The image and the verbiage leads one to believe that this plane is as easy to fly as your basic trainer. I imagine that there's some 80-hour-on-his-PPL-ticket executive, who is an accident waiting to happen, is calling his dealer based on the ad and not the article.

[Archangelsk]

Yes, I just got through with the CL-65 course. It is a piece of cake if you have had the transition training, 3 weeks of CBT and the full 31-day training footprint.

Which model is your son flying?

[connectthedots]

Who do you fly for?

[Archangelsk]

Nobody now. I'm teaching. I'll jump into a regional carrier in about two years (or God forbid, management).

[connectthedots]

My son started as a first officer with HNorizon when he was 21 and left after 20 months for a regional to fly RJs. He upgraded to captian just before turning 25.

[Dan(9698)]

>>>...it was a piece of cake.

You have to apply pilot's language, "piece of cake" means "I didn't crash" or "I walked away from it"

Any landing that you walk away from is a "good landing".

[Archangelsk]

Or "I survived my limitations exam" or "my oral was 'only' three hours" or "the FAA examiner didn't dick me over".