Thu, Dec 01, 2005
Mosquito Control Aircraft Collided With Unlit
Tower
The NTSB has determined
pilot error and improper flight planning were the likely causes of
a September 11, 2004 accident that claimed the lives of two men
aboard a Piper Aztec twin after the plane struck an unlit
television tower outside of Lake Wales, FL.
Pilot Dave Wilkes and copilot Harold Miller were flying a
Mosquito Control mission when the accident occurred, according to
the Lakeland (FL) Ledger.
The tower -- which had lost power after Hurricane Charley roared
through the area a month earlier -- was covered by a NOTAM issued
by Comcast Cable advising pilots to steer clear of the area as the
tower's warning lights weren't operating.
The NTSB report states Wilkes did not obtain a weather or
preflight briefing before the flight -- which would have included
the NOTAM. Allen Loe, president of Vector Disease Control -- which
had been contracted by FEMA to spray for mosquitoes after last
year's storms -- disputes part of that ruling.
"We do our own [briefings] every day," Loe said, adding Wilkes
had received a company briefing with representatives from the
Department of Agriculture prior to taking off at 4:15 that morning,
including notices about the unlit tower.
"We're in a very dangerous business," said Loe. "When you fly
250 feet off the ground at 150 miles an hour -- it's something that
occurs in this industry. It was one of those unfortunate things
that happen."
The NTSB stated the Aztec (file photo of type, above) struck the
520-foot tower about 20 feet from the top.
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