One Had Just Purchased Plane
Two North Mississippi
pilots and another from Tennessee were killed Thursday when their
Piper Twin Comanche (file photo of type, below) went down on
takeoff from John Bell Williams airport outside Raymond, MS.
"I saw the airplane just spinning and I was like, 'This ain't
right. What's he doing?' And I saw it crash," said Hinds Community
College student Edward Aycock, who was getting ready for flight
class when he saw the plane go down.
According to Jackson's WLBT-TV, Aycock and his classmates ran to
help the victims. "But when we got up there, I saw the airplane
burning and I knew there wasn't a whole lot to be done," said
Aycock, who is a student in the school's aviation program.
Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham Stewart identified 64
year-old Billy Frank Crumpton, who managed the New Albany airport,
and 62 year-old New Albany airport board member Wesley Paul Fisher.
The third victim is Jim Lofton of Jackson, Tennessee.
"It was somebody who had just purchased the aircraft and was
taking it back to home base," said Hinds Community College Aviation
Chairman Randy Pearcy of one of the victims.
The FAA was on the scene Thursday, and the NTSB was expected to
continue the investigation Friday. While the cause of the crash has
yet to be determined, flight instructors and students at Hinds who
witnessed the accident told WLBT the right engine sputtered before
takeoff.
"We could hear it backfired and was missing [on the runway]...
If you're going to fly it, that would be something unusual, that
would be something that I definitely would not want to do," said
flight instructor David Hutchins, who took off on a training flight
right before the Comanche went down.
Having witnessed something no one -- certain no pilot -- would
ever wish to, Aycock had a piece of advice all pilots can take to
heart.
"Make sure that everything before you take off is right, and
make sure everything is safe to fly," the student pilot said.
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IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 7315Y
Make/Model: PA30 Description:
PA-30/39 Twin Comanche, Twin Comanche CR
Date: 12/01/2005 Time: 2125
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury:
Fatal Mid Air: N Missing:
N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: RAYMOND State: MS Country:
US
DESCRIPTION
ACFT LOST CONTROL ON DEPARTURE, RAYMOND, MS
INJURY DATA Total
Fatal: 3
# Crew: 1 Fat:
1 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Pass: 2 Fat:
2 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Grnd:
Fat: 0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
WEATHER: METAR KHKS 012053Z 31011KT 10SM CLR 16/M04/A3011 RMK
A02 SLP191
OTHER DATA
Departed: M16 JOHN BELL
WILLIA Dep
Date: Dep.
Time:
Destination: NEW ALBANY,
MS Flt
Plan:
Wx Briefing:
Last Radio Cont:
Last Clearance:
FAA FSDO: JACKSON, MS
(SO07)
Entry date: 12/02/2005