Another reason airplanes should be outfitted with horns

[Mikey]

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — A 38-year-old father of two was jogging and listening to his iPod when he was hit from behind and killed by a small plane making an emergency landing on the beach, officials said Tuesday.

Robert Gary Jones of Woodstock, Ga., died instantly Monday evening when he was hit by the single-engine plane, which had lost its propeller, said Beaufort County Coroner Ed Allen. The pilot's vision was blocked by oil on the windshield.

Jones apparently did not see or hear the plane, which was "basically gliding," the coroner said.

FAA records show the Experimental Lancair IV-P plane was registered to Edward I. Smith of Chesapeake, Va.

Smith was on the beach with his plane Tuesday and confirmed he was the pilot. He said he didn't want to talk about the crash and offered few details.

"I've got a lot of issues going on right now. I've got a plane that's all torn up. And I've got a young man that I killed," he said.

Authorities said there was also a passenger on board but did not identify him or her.

The plane started leaking oil at about 13,000 feet and tried originally to make it to Hilton Head Airport, said fire and rescue spokeswoman Joheida Fister.

The oil on the windshield blocked Smith's vision and he told authorities the propeller came off. When he tried to land on the beach near the Hilton Head Marriott Resort and Spa, the plane hit Jones and came to rest a little farther down the beach, Fister said.

The plane was still on the beach Tuesday afternoon. Waves lapped against it and the tail was attached to an anchor with a rope so the tide wouldn't pull it out to sea. The waves had washed away any sign of it skidding across the sand.

Yellow crime scene tape stretched from the water to the dunes to keep people away. Tourists walked up to the tape, gawking and snapping pictures. Other than the missing propeller, the plane appeared undamaged.

The plane left Orlando, Fla., at 4:45 p.m. and was headed for Virginia, Fister said. The four-seater plane has a turbine engine, can be built from a kit and can fly up to 370 mph, according to the Lancair Web site. The IV-P model has a pressurized cabin.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating, Fister said.

An FAA spokeswoman referred inquiries to the NTSB.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... gD9EFTIL02

[smackaholic]

from the story......

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

holy shit!!!! AP was the pilot?

the plane is a single engine turbine? that would be turbo prop, wouldn't it? wasn't aware there were small single engine turbo props.

[Derron]

Not the first Lancair to have the prop come off in mid flight, or crash for unknown reasons.

That is a lot of hp and powerplant in a small plane.

It used to be built in Redmond, OR, I don;t know where it is built now, maybe still in Redmond.

Never though you would need a warning horn on a plane. :doh: :doh:

[Dr_Phibes]

Not the first Lancair to have the prop come off in mid flight, or crash for unknown reasons.

[BarFlie]

Nobody yelled... HEADS UP!

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

Not the first Lancair to have the prop come off in mid flight, or crash for unknown reasons.

A crescent wrench?

Hmmm...

Crescent...as in the crescent on many Islamic flags!!!



Brilliant deductive reasoning, Phibes! IT WAS AL QUEDA ALL THIS TIME!
RACK you, you brave trooper...stoically pressing onward in the War On Terror!


Do you see, folks? Maybe us communists can be your allies after all.

[Dr_Phibes]

eh? EH?

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

You're freaking me out, dude.

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

Are you saying that an Al Queda Stuka dive-bomb attack is imminent?

[jiminphilly]

[PSUFAN]

holy shit!!!! AP was the pilot?

AP's a jackoff many trades.