ANN Readers Mark and Tommy each thought we'd like to know more about this crash, that took the life of the pilot on Sunday. Here are their accounts:
"I heard about this accident on the news Sunday night, and then on the Macon-Telegraph newspaper's website tonight (Tue, 5/7/02). A decommissioned Spanish fighter jet crashed Sunday about 2 miles south of the Perry-Houston County GA, Airport (PXE). The 32-year old experienced pilot, Randy Allen Smith of Cordele, GA, was killed instantly. The airplane was a Hispano HA-100 Triana twin-engine jet."
And, "It was an experimental jet that crashed and killed a Cordele (GA) pilot. The FAA and NTSB are looking into the Sunday Afternoon crash. The experimental twin engine jet crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 32-year-old Randy Allen Smith. He was a professional pilot, and the only one on the plane." "... It happened Sunday afternoon, near Valley Drive, in Houston County. Witnesses say the small jet crashed right after takeoff. The NTSB says the jet was a homebuilt experimental one [this is why you've got to monitor your non-aviation news sources carefully, folks --ed.]. ...[Smith's] body is at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab."
Tommy thought that the last statement was unusual: taking the 4000-hour pilot's body to the GBI...

** Report created 05/08/2002 Record 1 **
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 2000G Make/Model: HA20 Description: 1962 HISPANO HA-200 SAETA
Date: 05/05/2002 Time: 2100
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: PERRY State: GA Country: US
DESCRIPTION
ACFT TOOK OFF FROM RY18 AND WAS IN THE PATTERN WHEN WITNESSES STATED THAT IT WAS FLYING LOW AND SLOW AND APPEARED NOT TO BE ABLE TO CLIMB, WITNESSES REPORTED THAT IT SOUNDED LIKE THE ACFT HAD ENGINE PROBLEMS, APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES FROM THE ARPT, THE PILOT MADE A SHARP LEFT TURN BACK TOWARDS THE ARPT, AND THE ACFT CRASHED INTO A WOODED AREA AT THE EDGE OF A LARGE OPEN FIELD, THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE, AND THE PILOT/SOLE OCCUPANT SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES, OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES ARE UNKNOWN, PERRY, GA.
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 1
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
WEATHER: KMCN 052053Z VRB05KT 10SM FEW028 23/16 A3026
OTHER DATA
Activity: Pleasure Phase: Unknown Operation: General Aviation
Departed: PERRY, GA Dep Date: 05/05/2002 Dep. Time:
Destination: PERRY, GA Flt Plan: NONE Wx Briefing: N
Last Radio Cont: UNKN
Last Clearance: UNKN
FAA FSDO: ATLANTA, GA (SO11) Entry date: 05/06/2002 #