datasets.iitb.crawledDocs.yn_08Oct08_file_504 Maven / Gradle / Ivy

    Cedar Rapids - Iowa City - Eastern Iowa 41° CLEAR Updated October 07. 2008 9:52PM Pilot in Iowa City plane crash in serious condition By Samantha Miller The Gazette Photos: Please go to order Gazette photos. (Brian Ray/The Gazette) Employees of Jet Air Inc. lift the wreckage of a small plane that crashed on Edingale Drive in Iowa City as it was landing at the Iowa City Airport on to a trailer in the middle of Sunset Street Monday, Oct. 6, 2008. Jet Air Inc., who owns the plane, was taking it back to the airport to conduct an investigation in to the cause of the crash. IOWA CITY - Airport officials are saying itýs most likely pure coincidence two airplane crashes within months of each other, happened near the Iowa City Municipal Airport this year. James N. Meade, 64, of Iowa City, crashed the Cessna 150 he was flying onto Edingale Drive about 8:30 p.m. Monday. He was the only passenger in the small plane and was listed in serious condition Tuesday at University Hospitals, officials there said. This crash happened less than one mile from where a plane crashed on Sunset Street and Willow Creek Court on June 3. A 2-year-old girl was killed in the crash. Mike Tharp, the Iowa City Municipal Airportýs operations specialist, said he couldnýt think of any logical reason why the two accidents happened in such close time and proximity to each other. He said the last plane crash before the one in June was in the 1990s, so itýs quite the anomaly. ýWhy this summer all of the sudden thereýs a rash of accidents is left up to the final reports,ý Tharp said, Crash reports typically are not released until weeks or even months after the crash. Tharp added that the airport, though a common link between the accidents, did not contribute to the crashes. ýI think each of these accidents, once everything is out there, will have no correlation between them,ý he said. ýThereýs nothing as far as airport facilities that are contributing to the crashes.ý Mondayýs crash is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration. FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory said the administration does not know for certain what caused the crash but a preliminary report points to engine failure as a possible cause. Cory said numerous factors are considered when determining what causes a crash. ýWe look at several areas in our investigation,ý she said. ýWas the aircraft maintained properly, were the rules of flight followed, and was the pilot properly certified ý those types of things.ý Tharp said Meade was flying a plane owned by Jet Air Inc., an aviation services company with facilities in Iowa City, Burlington and Galesburg, Ill. Meade was flying the plane back to the runway after taking off from there earlier that day, Tharp said. It has not yet been released where Meade was returning from or why he was using the plane. Meade crashed the plane on Edingale Drive in Iowa City Monday, leaving a trail of debris and tree limbs in the planeýs wake. The plane narrowly avoiding hitting nearby homes. Witnesses say he was bleeding from his head and coherent when taken to the hospital by paramedics. The fatal June 3 plane crash on Sunset Street and Willow Creek Court may have occurred from substantial damage received on impact with runway terrain during the liftoff from an Iowa City runway, according to a report by the National Transportation Safety Board. The pilot and one passenger in that crash were seriously injured, while the third passenger ý Sydney Blanton of Thomasville, Ga. ý died. Article Comments Note: Article comments will include your name as you submitted it when you registered. You can edit your personal information . Click the Post Button to add your comment to a story. Posted By: Lynx -- Post Date: 10/07/08 10:47:00 PM Title: Speedy Recovery to the pilot My prayers are for the pilot. I wish for him a speedy and complete recovery from this tragic air crash. They need to overhaul Iowa city airport and their lack of safety with their runways. They are having far too many air crashes and one of these times a house is going to be involved with more deaths and casualties. Posted By: time check rompot Post Date: 10/07/08 01:34:00 PM Title: proof reading Engine failure likely casued Iowa City plane crash Posted By: Cat - Post Date: 10/07/08 05:33:00 AM Title: Re-evaluate My prayers for the pilot's complete recovery from this plane crash. It would seem to me that the Iowa City Airport needs to be re-evaluated for safety, not just for the planes and pilots, but for the civilian population who live by that airport. There have been a lot of plane crashes at that airport lately. It is becoming a safety hazard to me. Maybe the FAA should become more involved with this hazardous situation. Posted By: R J Post Date: 10/07/08 01:27:00 AM Title: Plane crash My prayers are with the pilot tonight for a speedy recovery and I'm thankful that no one else was injured in this accident. The Cessna (nicknamed "Junior") is well known around the Iowa City flying community and many pilots (myself included) received their flight training in this aircraft. The approach to land on Runway 12 (the only active rwy) can be somewhat difficult because the final approach requires pilots to fly over higher ground before dropping into the valley that the airport lies in. While it isn't a large elevation change, I've found myself too close for comfort on a few occasions. This elevation change is also hazardous for aircraft taking off from Rwy 30 (towards the bluff), especially if there is a problem on climbout. Also, the airport is in a state of transition right now, and with 2 of the 3 runways currently closed it has become somewhat congested. Posted By: J G Post Date: 10/07/08 12:01:00 AM Title: rental plane That's one of Jet Air's rental planes. It's a model used mainly as a trainer for student pilots, although other pilots can rent it, too. Wind was out of the southeast, so planes should have been using runway 15, which would involve crossing over that neighborhood while landing but not while taking off. Here's info on the plane that crashed: Posted By: Patricia Raftis Post Date: 10/06/08 11:43:00 PM Title: Planes Why are there so many accidents at the Iowa City Airport. I just don't understand, but it sounds awfully horrorific to me. 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