Friday, September 19, 2003
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Friday, September 19, 2003 |
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Vintage plane crash-lands No one injured seriously during Falcon Field mishapBy JOHN
MUNFORD
A $500,000 vintage aircraft crashed early Wednesday evening at Falcon Field while attempting to land, but the pilot and passenger received minor injuries according to emergency officials. The plane was part of the National Air Tour exhibition, which has brought a number of vintage aircraft to Peachtree City on a multi-city tour of the United States that is underwritten by the Ford Motor Company. It was fortunate the plane didn't catch fire because it was carrying 200 gallons of aviation gas, said Peachtree City Fire Chief Stony Lohr. Flight operations at Falcon Field were suspended until the wreckage could be removed from the runway at about 10:45 p.m., Lohr said, noting that the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash. Emergency crews responded to the scene at 6:29 p.m., Lohr said. The pilot and passenger declined a trip to the hospital to get checked out, Lohr said. "They were more worried about their aircraft." The plane, dubbed the Miss Veedol, was a replica of a single-wing aircraft that made a long-distance trip from Japan to the United States back in 1931, Lohr said. The plane can hold 900 gallons of aviation fuel, he added. "It's a flying gas tank," Lohr said. The Air Tour, which is underwritten by the Ford Motor Company, was originally scheduled to leave Falcon Field Thursday, but the decision was made to stay until Friday morning to avoid Hurricane Isabel which could have brought rough weather to their next stop in South Carolina.
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