Jet Skiing
Member
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2003
- Posts
- 18
I don't know how many fellow alumni out there had this guy as a professor, but he died in this plane crash. I didn't know him but know that a lot of people out there have done research with/for him. Hope everyone has a nice weekend.
Volusia plane crashes near Alabama-Florida border
By LYNN BULMAHN
Staff Writer
Last update: 12 February 2004
A plane owned by two Volusia County men which took off from New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport ran out of fuel and crashed in Escambia County near the Alabama border Wednesday night, killing its pilot.
The pilot of the 1958 Beech Bonanza, which carried no passengers, is being withheld by authorities until family members can be notified.
The aircraft was owned by James F. Fletcher of Port Orange and William T. Dyer of New Smyrna Beach, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Dyer said he had not seen Fletcher in two days. But, he said, Fletcher did not normally tell him if he was taking the plane on a trip.
"He flies around quite a bit, but he does not always tell me when he's going," Dyer said.
Dyer said when he was told of the accident, he tried unsuccessfully to contact Fletcher at his house. Dyer said he did not know whether Fletcher was flying Wednesday night, but he said it would be unusual for anyone else to pilot the plane.
Fletcher is a trainer and coach with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's athletic department and an adjunct physiology professor in the College of Aviation. ERAU spokesman Jim Hampton said Fletcher was not at the university Thursday, but his classes don't meet on Thursday so he wasn't expected.
Escambia County authorities said the pilot of the single engine Beech Bonanza radioed air traffic controllers at the Pensacola Regional Airport late Wednesday night that the plane was low on fuel and about six miles from the airport.
About 10:15 p.m. CDT, the tower lost contact with the aircraft.
Shortly afterward, residents of a rural area in north Escambia County heard an aircraft circling and then heard its engine falter. Nearby residents told the Pensacola News-Journal they heard a loud noise as the aircraft clipped some tree limbs.
Because of rainy conditions and low clouds, helicopters were unable to participate in the search. But a ground search through a swampy wooded area located the debris around 3:30 a.m. Thursday about 15 miles northwest of the airport.
Search crews had difficulty reaching the crash site. The debris was spread over about 200 yards, Escambia County sheriff's officials said, and pieces of the aircraft were lodged in the trees. The pilot's body was found outside the wreckage of the aircraft.
Authorities said the pilot was flying by instruments due to the weather. According to FAA records, the 1958 Beech Bonanza had undergone and passed an inspection in March of last year.
FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the pilot, who she declined to identify, had filed a flight plan indicating the aircraft was en route to New Orleans.
Investigators from the FAA and the National Traffic Safety Board arrived on the scene Thursday, and an investigation is ongoing. The Northwest Florida District 1 Medical Examiner's Office has scheduled an autopsy of the pilot today.
[email protected]
-- Staff writers Mark I. Johnson and Cindi Brownfield and the Pensacola News Journal contributed to this report.
Volusia plane crashes near Alabama-Florida border
By LYNN BULMAHN
Staff Writer
Last update: 12 February 2004
A plane owned by two Volusia County men which took off from New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport ran out of fuel and crashed in Escambia County near the Alabama border Wednesday night, killing its pilot.
The pilot of the 1958 Beech Bonanza, which carried no passengers, is being withheld by authorities until family members can be notified.
The aircraft was owned by James F. Fletcher of Port Orange and William T. Dyer of New Smyrna Beach, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Dyer said he had not seen Fletcher in two days. But, he said, Fletcher did not normally tell him if he was taking the plane on a trip.
"He flies around quite a bit, but he does not always tell me when he's going," Dyer said.
Dyer said when he was told of the accident, he tried unsuccessfully to contact Fletcher at his house. Dyer said he did not know whether Fletcher was flying Wednesday night, but he said it would be unusual for anyone else to pilot the plane.
Fletcher is a trainer and coach with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's athletic department and an adjunct physiology professor in the College of Aviation. ERAU spokesman Jim Hampton said Fletcher was not at the university Thursday, but his classes don't meet on Thursday so he wasn't expected.
Escambia County authorities said the pilot of the single engine Beech Bonanza radioed air traffic controllers at the Pensacola Regional Airport late Wednesday night that the plane was low on fuel and about six miles from the airport.
About 10:15 p.m. CDT, the tower lost contact with the aircraft.
Shortly afterward, residents of a rural area in north Escambia County heard an aircraft circling and then heard its engine falter. Nearby residents told the Pensacola News-Journal they heard a loud noise as the aircraft clipped some tree limbs.
Because of rainy conditions and low clouds, helicopters were unable to participate in the search. But a ground search through a swampy wooded area located the debris around 3:30 a.m. Thursday about 15 miles northwest of the airport.
Search crews had difficulty reaching the crash site. The debris was spread over about 200 yards, Escambia County sheriff's officials said, and pieces of the aircraft were lodged in the trees. The pilot's body was found outside the wreckage of the aircraft.
Authorities said the pilot was flying by instruments due to the weather. According to FAA records, the 1958 Beech Bonanza had undergone and passed an inspection in March of last year.
FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the pilot, who she declined to identify, had filed a flight plan indicating the aircraft was en route to New Orleans.
Investigators from the FAA and the National Traffic Safety Board arrived on the scene Thursday, and an investigation is ongoing. The Northwest Florida District 1 Medical Examiner's Office has scheduled an autopsy of the pilot today.
[email protected]
-- Staff writers Mark I. Johnson and Cindi Brownfield and the Pensacola News Journal contributed to this report.
