"It Hasn't Been A Good Couple Of Days"

Federal investigators, and those who fly out of Hayward Executive Airport (HWD) near San Francisco, are asking the same questions in the aftermath of a sadly curious string of accidents this weekend.

At the top of that list of questions is this: how did an airplane that was involved in a prop-strike Sunday -- which killed a 74-year-old man -- manage to make in out to the flight line later that day, only to then crash into a nearby golf course Sunday afternoon?

The online newspaper InsideBayArea.com reports David Herrington exited a Cessna 210 Centurion (file photo of type, below) Sunday afternoon at the airport, when he was somehow "clipped" by the still-spinning propeller.

FAA spokesman Mike Fergus says it is standard -- and mandatory -- procedure for any aircraft that has been involved in a prop strike to be inspected by a mechanic before returning to service, as the engine's crankshaft or other internal components may be damaged from the encounter.

Somehow, however -- and investigators are trying to ascertain how this happened -- the Centurion returned to the air less than four hours after the accident, with the same pilot at the controls.

Robert Hughes Franklin wasn't in the air very long, however -- as the plane went down shortly after takeoff, and crashed onto a fairway at the nearby Skywest Golf Course. Witnesses say the plane only made it to about 200 feet AGL, before unspecified engine trouble brought the plane down.

Franklin -- who owns Aerial Services, a banner-towing company -- escaped serious injury in the accident -- but the C210 was not so fortunate. A pilot who flew over the accident scene said the plane's wings were sheared off by trees on the golf course.

"It hasn't been a good couple of days," Franklin told reporters Monday. He did not comment further on the accidents.

Now, investigators and airport workers alike are trying to figure out how -- and why -- the accidents happened.

"We are all in shock," said KHWD airport manager Brent Shiner. "When you get a call about an incident and it was the same plane that we had just been out for, it was very disheartening."

"We haven't had very many incidents at all [at the airport]," Shiner continued. "We haven't had a fatality in I don't know how long."

The NTSB is expected to release its preliminary reports on the accidents by the end of the week.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.faa.gov