Passenger Taken To Hospital, Condition Unknown

The downing of a vintage single-engine aircraft in Ohio claimed the life of the pilot Tuesday morning, and injured the passenger onboard.

The Denver Post reports 37-year-old Leonard Notek was killed when the 1966 Helton Lark 95 crashed just after takeoff from Moraine Airpark (I73) near Dayton. His passenger and girlfriend, Nikki Romero, was transported by helicopter to a local hospital. Her condition is presently unknown.

Witnesses said the plane's engine was sputtering as it began a left climbing turn, before the Lark's wing struck a power pole. The plane came to rest inverted in the backyard of a home near the small airstrip, said Sgt. Chris Colbert of the Ohio Highway Patrol.

"We are very fortunate both people didn't die in this," Colbert said.

A native of Dayton, Notek was hired one year ago as a pilot for Frontier Airlines, and lived in the Denver suburb of Castle Park, CO.

"He was always happy," Linda Notek told the Dayton Daily News. "When I picture him now all I picture is his smile, just a happy guy. The only thing I can say is he died doing what he loved to do."

Notek reportedly planned to fly the Lark, which belonged to a friend, to Reno, NV.

A forerunner to today's light sport aircraft, the Helton Lark had its roots in the World War II-era Culver PQ-8 target drone. Several companies attempted to convert that aircraft to civilian use, the first being the Lark Aviation Company in Tracy, CA. Two years after that company folded, Helton Aircraft of Mesa, AZ purchased the design -- now sporting plywood-covered wings, in lieu of fabric, and a sliding canopy -- and began limited production in late 1966.

Production ceased in early 1967, however, with only a handful of Helton Larks produced. One example is housed at the Pima Air Museum.

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 86657        Make/Model: LARK      Description: HELTON LARK 95
  Date: 06/17/2008     Time: 1440

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

LOCATION
  City: DAYTON   State: OH   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THERE WERE TWO PERSONS ON
  BOARD, ONE WAS FATALLY INJURED AND ONE SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES, NEAR
  DAYTON, OH

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

WEATHER: VFR

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Unknown      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER

  FAA FSDO: CINCINNATI, OH  (GL05)                Entry date: 06/18/2008

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.pimaair.org