Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout02 04 1990 Second Pilot CriticalSecond Pilot Critical By ADAM CHRZAN And MIKE SHAMBORA Press -Journal Staff Writers A Florida Institute of Technolo- gy student died in a midair plane collision Saturday morning outside . Sebastian Municipal Airport, after a former Airport Advisory Board member clipped, the tail of the stu- dent's aircraft. A plane flown by 62-year-old Roger Cooper crossed the path of an FIT -owned plane piloted by Jeffrey Allen Dimond, 19, accord- ing a National. Transportation Safety Board investigator. Dimond, of Savannah, Ga., died after his Piper Warrior II nose- dived into the backyard of a River's Edge home off Roseland Road. He was a student at FIT's School of Aeronautics. Cooper, a former airport advi- sory board member and a retired Air Force' colonel, was listed in stable but critical condition late Saturday night at Humana Hospi- tal Sebastian. A nursing supervisor there said Cooper suffered "multiple trau- mas," including many broken bones. "He's broken up head to toe," she said. Cooper reportedly crashed through the windshield of his Grumman Cheetah after it nose- dived into a fenced water treat- ment compound on the east side of Roseland Road. Both single -engine planes crashed nose -first about a half - mile from the airport runway they were heading toward. Dimond's .plane crashed about 15 feet from a River's Edge house on the west side of Roseland Road. Dimond was about 11/4 miles out from Runway 13 and descending on final approach when the 10:45 a.m. collision occurred, according to NTSB air, safety investigator Corky Smith. Cooper, also gearing for final ap- proach, flew into the same flight path and hit the student's plane at a 45-degree angle on the passenger side rear tail section, Smith said. "(Cooper) ran through (the stu- dent's) final approach," he said during a five-minute press confer- ence at the crash site Saturday evening. Initial reports indicated Dimond , hit Cooper's plane from behind. Please See-COLLISION/5A Collision Smith stressed the NTSB is not blaming Cooper for the accident. A five -member board in Washington, D.C., will make'that determination after Smith files his report. The airport does not have air traffic controllers or a traffic con- trol tower. Investigators said pilots radio in to a fixed -base operator on airport grounds, but are largely unsupervised. They are expected to listen to other aircraft radioing their posi- tion and use visual flight rules, a Federal Aviation Adminstration official at the scene said. Pilots also follow a standard method of ap- proach. Dimond's body remained pinned in the plane's crushed cockpit until about 7 p.m. when emergency workers pried open the twisted wreckage. The task took about 30- minutes and required .a large crane to lift the plane a few feet off the ground so workers could remove the body. An FIT spokesman said Dimond was a a fully licensed private pilot and lived on campus. Investigators believe he may have been practic- ing a landing during a solo train- ing flight. , It was not known if Dimond, who flew out of Melbourne Regional Airport, filed a flight plan. A su- pervisor at the school said students routinely file flight plans when they .check out planes for training. Ed Everette, FIT Aviation presi- dent, was expected to hold meet- ings this morning with key administrators, the spokesman said. Witnesses said the planes were flying about 300 to 400 feet above ground when they collided, accord- ing to Detective Larry Snietzer of the Indian River County Sheriff's Department. i Twelve -year -old Jessica Falzone, of 12405 Roseland Road, was play- ing basketball when she glanced and saw the two planes. "I saw they were getting kind of close and said to myself, `You guys are gonna crash,'" she said. "But I From Pg. 1 A official at the scene said. Pilots also follow a standard method of ap- proach. Dimond's body remained pinned in the plane's crushed cockpit until about 7 p.m. when emergency workers pried open the twisted wreckage. The task took about 30- minutes and required a large crane to lift the plane a few feet off the ground so workers could remove the body. An FIT spokesman said Dimond was a a fully licensed private pilot and lived on campus. Investigators believe he may have been practic- ing a landing during a solo train- ing flight. It was not known if Dimond, who flew out of Melbourne Regional Airport, filed a flight plan. A su- pervisor at the school said students routinely file flight plans when they check out planes for training. Ed Everette, FIT Aviation presi- dent, was expected to hold meet- ings this morning with key administrators, the spokesman said. Witnesses said the planes were flying about 300 to 400 feet above ground when they collided, accord- ing to Detective Larry Snietzer of the Indian River County Sheriff's Department. t Twelve -year -old Jessica Falzone, of 12405 Roseland Road, was play- ing basketball when she glanced and saw the two planes. "I saw they were getting kind of close and said to myself, `You guys are gonna crash,'" she said. "But I didn't think it would happen." Falzone said one plane immedi- ately started dropping, curved, and "then went straight down." The other plane continued a short dis- tance before crashing. One wing of Cooper's plane sheared off when his plane impacted the ground. The fuel tanks on Dimond's plane ruptured and emergency workers from Roseland and Sebas- tian used foam to cut the risk of fire. Larry Brown, a free-lance nurse and anesthesiologist and a River's Edge resident, said he ran across Roseland Road and spotted Cooper on the ground next to the plane. "He was unconsious, but he was Press -Journal stall photo by Adam Chrzan After a crane lifted the aircraft wreckage, workers were able to get to the body of the pilot, who was killed in the miir collision near Roseland Road. moving around," Brown said, adding that it appeared both Coo- per's arms and one leg were broken. Jim Craig, who also helped Cooper, said the plane appeared to waiver as it stood on its nose. "We were afraid it would fall on top of him," the River's Edge resi- dent said. Lawmen and emergency work- ers on the scene said it was a mira- cle no one else was injured and no houses or cars were involved. Annabelle Stevens said her hus- band was sitting on the patio about 50 feet from where Dimond's plane crashed. He heard the impact, turned, and saw the plane practi- cally in their pool. "Thank the Lord it didn't hit the house," Mrs. Stevens said. "Five more minutes and I'd have been outside hanging laundry." A sheriff's deputy was assigned to stand guard at the site Saturday night. The planes will be removed after Smith, who is being aided by FAA officials, completes his inves- tigation. mom 1 11111"r 191 VOW c 4 Pres"ournalstaff photo by Ernie Greer The wreckage of the Piper Warrior II flown by a Florida Institute of Technology student, lies outside a home after crashing near Sebas- tian Municipal Airport. 71 st YEAR -NO. 137 A EACH 3ourinat INDIAN RIVER COUNTY FEBRUARY 4, 1990 118 PAGES, 7 SECTIONS 500 SINGLE COPY a