Sunday, June 19, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Two killed in CAF plane crash in Pike Co.By MONROE ROARK A vintage World War II airplane based in Peachtree City crashed Thursday morning in Pike County, killing the pilot and his only passenger. According to a press release from the Commemorative Air Force, the Fairchild PT-26 Cornell, a single-engine plane, took off from Falcon Field at approximately 10:30 a.m. Thursday and landed one hour later at Peach State Airport in Williamson. Almost immediately after repositioning and taking off again, the plane struck a tree and crashed, the report stated. Killed in the crash were pilot James Ford, 67, and passenger Robert Lang, 58, both of Marietta. Ford, a retired Delta Air Lines pilot, had more than 20,000 hours of flying time and was an instructor and check pilot for the PT-26. Lang was a flight and safety systems engineer for Lockheed Martin and a U.S. Air Force veteran who had flown F-105s and F-4s. He was also a flight instructor for the Lockheed Martin Flying Club. Both men were members of the CAF. The airplane is assigned to the CAFs Dixie Wing, which is based at Falcon Field. Its 225 members also maintain and fly the CAFs P-51 Mustang, SBD Dauntless Dive Bomber and C-45 Expeditor. A T-6 Texan and P-63 Kingcobra are under restoration by the Dixie Wing, according to a CAF spokesperson. The PT-26 is a modified PT-19 with enclosed cockpits to enable the airplane to be used for training during cold weather, and it also has a larger engine and electrical system, better instrumentation and a capability for easier starting in cold weather, CAF officials stated. The Dixie Wings assigned PT-26 was manufactured in 1943. The CAF maintains a total of six PT-26s and four are currently flying. One is based in Albuquerque, N.M., two are in Brownsville, Tex., and the other in Anderson, Ind. The CAF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to flying and restoring vintage aircraft. Headquartered in Midland, Tex., the organization has over 9,500 members and operates a fleet of 154 World War II aircraft. The FAA and the NTSB are investigating the accident. |
|
Copyright 2004-Fayette Publishing, Inc. |