Plane Believed To Be On Demonstration Flight

Two men onboard a homebuilt Velocity 173RG were killed Thursday when their plane nosed in on takeoff from Runway 13 at St. Augustine/St. Johns County Airport (SGJ) in Florida.

Assistant Airport Manager J. Bryan Cooper told the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville the aircraft was taking off about 3 pm local, and became airborne shortly before it turned to the side and crashed into marshy ground adjacent to the Intracoastal Waterway.

"It looks to me like it sort of cartwheeled across the salt marsh," Cooper said.

Authorities have identified one of the men onboard as Gene Powers, an experienced pilot owner of Wind Dancer Aviation Inc., a well-known maintenance facility based at SGJ. The second man, believed to have been a prospective buyer of the accident plane, has not been named pending notification of family members.

The plane's registered owner, Gary Forhan, was not onboard the plane. "I know absolutely nothing," he said, when contacted by the Times-Union. "I've just been informed my plane crashed."

Northern Florida has been hit by a series of storms over the past several weeks, and skies were reported as overcast at the time of the accident... but weather is not believed to have been a factor, officials said.

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 269VE        Make/Model: EXP       Description: EXP VELOCITY
  Date: 07/31/2008     Time: 1838

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

LOCATION
  City: SAINT AUGUSTINE   State: FL   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT SHORTLY AFTER DEPARTURE, CRASHED, THE TWO PERSONS ON BOARD WERE
  FATALLY INJURED, SAINT AUGUSTINE, FL

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   2
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   1     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   1     Fat:   1     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: SPECI 1838Z 22010G17KT 10SM SCT030 BKN040 BKN055 32/24 A2993

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Pleasure      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER

  FAA FSDO: ORLANDO, FL  (SO15)                   Entry date: 08/01/2008

FMI: www.faa.gov, http://winddanceraviationinc.com/