Wednesday, November 13, 2002
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Wednesday, November 13, 2002 |
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Former PTC councilman, 3 others escape injury in belly landing at Falcon Field By JOHN
MUNFORD
A former Peachtree City councilman and head of one of Fayette County's largest development firms escaped injury when a small plane disabled with a landing gear problem landed safely at Falcon Field Thursday afternoon. Jim Pace, who is head of Group VI Corp. and served one term on the council during the 1990s, was a passenger on the twin-engine craft bound for Florida. The plane, owned and piloted by Kirk Barber of Peachtree City, skidded several hundred feet before coming to a stop. Seconds later, Barber and his three passengers Pace, Rick Cramer and James Tomlinson, all from Group VI scrambled away from the Cessna 310. None of the four occupants of the plane were injured. "It was very easily handled," Barber said minutes after the smooth landing. "Not a big deal." Barber, who has flown for over 14 years and is also an air traffic controller at the Atlanta Tracon in Peachtree City, said the passengers were calm as he warned them what to expect when the plane landed. Smoke filled the cockpit as he predicted, but not from a fire from the friction created as the plane skidded on the runway. The wind also cooperated during the decent, Barber added. The plane was originally headed to Destin, Fla., but as they neared the airport it was discovered that the right landing gear would not deploy. Barber decided to head back to Peachtree City, and he circled Falcon Field for over half an hour to burn up fuel in the hopes of preventing a fire or explosion. Barber said if the plane's engines are in good shape, the repairs needed may turn out to be minimal. The plane only had 1,900 hours in the air, "a creampuff," Barber called it. But Barber was just happy no one was hurt. Peachtree City Fire Chief Stony Lohr called it "a textbook landing." The Fire Department was called to the scene, responding with three fire engines, three ambulances and the rescue truck in case any of the victims needed to be extricated. The Peachtree City Police Department also helped out, securing the scene to protect onlookers.
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