L-39 Pilot Has Not Been Identified To Local Authorities

The pilot of an L-39 Albatros that struck electric cables while making a low pass over De Beque Canyon in Colorado in May is known to the FAA, according to information from the agency passed along to local authorities.

What they did not pass along was the name of the pilot, according to a report appearing in the Grand Junction, CO Daily Sentinel.

In a conference call with Mesa County, CO officials and a representative from Congressman Scott Tipton's (R-CO) office last week, the FAA said that the pilot was on a non-military ferry flight returning the jet to its home base in Alabama. During the flight, he "buzzed" the canyon and struck power cables, which damaged the right wing of the aircraft. Two vehicles on Interstate 70 were struck by cables that whipped through the air after being severed. He pulled up out of the canyon and circled to burn off fuel before landing, according to the pilot's report to the FAA.

Diane Fuller, senior advisor to the FAA's Northwest Mountain Region, wrote in a letter to local officials that “The pilot held the appropriate civil authorizations to fly the aircraft and was acting in a civil aviation capacity as a commercial pilot. His employment status was not relevant to our investigation."

The FAA has also said that "pilot competency was not a factor."

The NTSB's investigation in ongoing.

(Image from file. Not incident airplane)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov