Heading south on I-95 this morning I saw a big plume of thick black smoke coming from the area of the airport. You know when you get that sinking feeling in your gut and you just know. I made a call to co-workers and confirmed and continued into work. I made sure our club aircraft was not involved and tried to go about my business. My phone rang off the hook this morning with co-workers calling to see if I bagged a day of work to go fly. It's nice to know they care. My thoughts and prayers are with the family of the pilot lost today.
From delaware online....
Businessman dead as plane crashes at New Castle Airport
By TERRI SANGINITI and CRIS BARRISH, The News Journal
Updated Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 11:38 am
A view of the crash site.
The News Journal/RON SOLIMAN
"The plane is completely destroyed," said Jim Salmon, a spokesman with the Delaware River and Bay Authority, which operates the airport.
The News Journal/CARLA VARISCO-WILLIAMS
Location Google maps
Delaware River and Bay Authority officials have confirmed the identity of a victim in this morning's fatal plane crash at the New Castle Airport as a Wilmington-area businessman.
The Owner often used the plane for work-related trips, said Joseph Lamonica, an aviation attorney who is the Federal Aviation Administration’s lead safety representative at the airport.
“He was a pretty good guy,’’ Lamonica said.
DRBA Airport Operations Director Stephen Williams said the 1969 Beechcraft Duke twin-engine aircraft took off from runway 27 about 7:22 a.m. today.
The pilot, who was not required to file a flight plan, was given a wind advisory before takeoff from the air tower.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the plane climb about 150 feet into the air before banking to the left at a 90-degree angle and barreling to the ground.
A witness said he was stopped at a red light at Airport and Churchmans roads when he saw the plane take off headed in the direction of the Wawa Food Market on the corner.
“It kind of banked a hard left and headed back toward the airport, making almost a 180-degree turn,” Rogers said.
As the plane made a turn halfway around, its left wing was pointed downward and the right wing “went up in the air, like a gust of wind caught it underneath,” .
“It crossed my mind that it might be a stunt plane,” he said.”When the wing kicked up, the nose headed toward the ground, almost in a straight nosedive. I didn’t see it hit, but a second later I saw a ball of fire shoot up from behind the hill about 40-50 feet in the air.”
He was one of many witnesses who called 911 to report it.
Williams said although a wind advisory had been issued by the tower, an experienced pilot would typically be able to handle something like that.
“The plane climbed at a high angle, maybe as a result of wind,” he said. “It may have resulted in a difficult recovery."
Williams said he did not know what the wind gusts were like at the time of the crash.
“He couldn’t have been in the air more than a few seconds,” he said.
The plane crashed and burned a few feet away from MBNA’s former hangar, which is currently unoccupied.
National Guard personnel, assisted by Wilmington Manor firefighters, quickly extinguished the blaze.
County paramedic spokeswoman Sgt. Kelli Starr-Leach said Hart, the lone victim, was pronounced dead at 7:24 a.m.
Three piles of charred wreckage were all that remained of the aircraft. Assorted fiberglass pieces were seen blowing down the taxi runway nearby.
The FAA and state medical examiner were on the scene this morning investigating.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were on their way to the scene, Williams said at a 9:30 a.m. press conference.
“We’ve operated the airport since 1995, and this is the first fatality,” DRBA Police Chief John McCarnan said.
Air traffic at the airport was not significantly affected by the crash, Williams said.
The airport averages about 150 arrivals and takeoffs a day, he said.
