Pond Now Being Drained

Crews are working to pump thousands of gallons of raw sewage from a wastewater tank near Gilroy, CA where the wreckage of a Beechcraft twin was found Tuesday.

The FAA reports three people were onboard the BE-95 Travel Air when it apparently crashed under unknown circumstances Monday afternoon. A witness saw the plane go into the 100-foot-long tank, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department told the Associated Press.

"You cannot see this plane," Gilory police Sgt. Kurt Svardal said. "And it's completely submerged."

A San Jose flight school reported one of its planes -- a twin-engine aircraft carrying an instructor and two students, all Japanese nationals -- failed to arrive back at Reid-Hillview Airport Monday night.

Authorities could not confirm if the accident aircraft was that plane, but FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said several personal items have been recovered from the tank, including a logbook and a Japanese passport.

The accident aircraft (file photo of type, below) is registered to a San Jose, CA address.

Workers at the South County Regional Wastewater Authority treatment plant had removed less than half the tank's capacity by Tuesday morning. The tank will need to be drained completely -- and then decontaminated -- before it is safe for investigators to reach the wreckage, and the victims inside.

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 144PG        Make/Model: BE95      Description: 95 Travel Air
  Date: 12/18/2006     Time: 2350

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Fatal     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION
  City: GILROY   State: CA   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  ACFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES INTO A WASTE WATER TREATMENT
  FACILITY AND WAS SUBMERGED, THE THREE PERSONS ON BOARD WERE FATALLY
  INJURED, GILROY, CA

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   3
                 # Crew:   3     Fat:   3     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: NOT REPORTED

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Pleasure      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER

  Departed: SAN JOSE, CA                Dep Date:    Dep. Time:     
  Destination:                          Flt Plan:              Wx Briefing: 
  Last Radio Cont: 
  Last Clearance: 

  FAA FSDO: SAN JOSE, CA  (WP15)                  Entry date: 12/19/2006

FMI: www.faa.gov