Third Victim Was Returning From Cancer Treatment

ANN REALTIME UPDATE 07.18.08 1500 EDT: Authorities have identified the third victim in the Wednesday afternoon downing of a Beech Bonanza on takeoff from a Tampa, FL airport.

Patricia Snyder, 49, was being flown back home to Stuart following what was scheduled to be her last treatment at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa.

Family members tell the Palm Beach Post she had asked a friend of her family, 15-year-old
Tyler McLellan, to accompany her on the Angel Flight charity trip, flown by WWII veteran pilot Harlan Northcott.

All three were killed when the Bonanza crashed on takeoff from Vandenburg Airport (VDF) at approximately 3:30 pm EDT Wednesday. A preliminary cause of the accident has not been officially determined, but it appears likely the Bonanza struck a glideslope antenna 100 feet from the runway.

Original Report

0001 EDT: A Beechcraft A36 crashed on takeoff from Vandenburg Airport (VDF) near Tampa, FL Thursday afternoon, killing the three persons onboard.

Captain Bruce Delk of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue told WOFL-35 the aircraft crashed at 1530 EDT, about six minutes after the pilot called for clearance to depart the field. The aircraft came to rest on airport property about 100 feet off the runway, and caught fire on impact.

The aircraft (type shown below) may have struck a glideslope antenna on takeoff, said Tampa International Airport spokeswoman Brenda Geoghagan. An antenna or radio tower is reported down near the crash site, though it's not yet known whether that is causal to the accident.

The Tampa Tribune identifies the victims as pilot Harlan Northcott, 81; Tyler McLellan, 15; and an unidentified 49-year-old woman. Northcott was reportedly flying an Angel Flight mission to return the woman, who was receiving medical care in Tampa, back home to Stuart, FL.

A thunderstorm cell had just blown through the area, though only light rain was reported at the time of the accident.

Runway 5/23 was closed most of the afternoon as firefighters extinguished the flames, and investigators began their preliminary investigations.

Glenn Northcott told the Tribune his father had been a pilot for 32 years. "Eighty percent of the time he was doing volunteer work," Northcott said. "Twenty percent of the time, he was just flying to see people he loved."

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.angelflightse.org