Funeral Arrangements Pending For Jerry Smith
Details are sketchy about the downing of a Cessna 177RG Cardinal
Tuesday near Mena, AR... but the identity of the lone person
onboard has been confirmed.
Representatives with Garmin say Jerry L. Smith was flying his
personal plane (similar to graphic shown below) when it
crashed for still undetermined reasons some time before 2 pm
Tuesday near Queen Wilhelmina State Park.
Smith was Garmin's Aviation Regional Sales Manager for the South
Central United States. The avionics maker says he was flying on a
business trip.
Local officials say police received a call about a possible
plane crash from a local resident who heard an explosion.
Authorities found the wreckage soon after, stating it appeared the
plane caught fire on impact.
"Jerry joined Garmin in 1994 as a Regional Sales Manager and had
the distinction of being one of the first aviation sales managers
hired by Garmin," the company said in a release to ANN. "He was a
vital member of Garmin’s aviation sales team, as well as a
commercial pilot with instrument, multi-engine and instructor (CFII
and MEI) ratings with over 20,000 hours. Jerry was involved with
the aviation industry for over four decades and held positions at
BF Goodrich Aerospace, where he did research flying for Stormscope
and TCAS, King Radio, and others.
"Beyond his professional contributions, even more sorely missed
will be his zest for life and sense of humor, which everyone will
remember. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jerry's family,
friends, coworkers and customers as their lives have been changed
forever by this tragic event."
Funeral arrangements are pending. The FAA and NTSB are on
scene.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 2526V
Make/Model: C177 Description: 177,
Cardinal
Date: 11/11/2008 Time: 1446
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury:
Fatal Mid Air: N Missing:
N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: MENA State: AR Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE ONE PERSON
ON BOARD WAS
FATALLY INJURED, 5 MILES FROM RICH MOUNTAIN, MENA, AR
INJURY DATA Total
Fatal: 1
# Crew: 1 Fat:
1 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat:
0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Grnd:
Fat: 0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
WEATHER: KNWT 112153Z AUTO 11003KT 10SM OVC006 13/12 A2994
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase:
Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: LITTLE ROCK, AR
(SW11)
Entry date: 11/12/2008