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Coincidences? Four small plane crashes.
Florida (5 PM Eastern), Colorado (4 PM Mountain, 6 PM Eastern), Puerto Rico
(?), California (1 PM Pacific, 4 PM Eastern)
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2430-2002Jan5.html
The Associated Press
Saturday, January 5, 2002; 6:48 PM
TAMPA, Fla. A small plane with a student pilot took off without
permission Saturday, did not respond to orders to land from a Coast Guard
helicopter and then crashed into a skyscraper, authorities said.
A law enforcement official in Washington, speaking only on condition of
anonymity, said the FBI does not believe the crash is related to terrorism
but has sent agents to the scene.
The student left the St. Petersburg-Clearwater Airport in a Cessna 172 and
then crashed into the Bank of America building, Coast Guard Lt. Lance
Isakson said. It hit near the 20th floor of the 40-story building.
Air traffic controllers notified the Coast Guard helicopter that the plane
had taken off without clearance, said Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Charlotte
Pittman.
The helicopter intercepted the plane and attempted to give the pilot visual
signals to land at a small airport, but the plane did not respond, Pittman
said.
She said the plane was only a few yards from the helicopter when it was
signaled to land. Pittman said she has no doubt the pilot understood what
the Coast Guard helicopter was indicating.
Federal Aviation Authority spokesman Scott Brenneer said the plane was flown
by "a student pilot who did not have permission to fly the aircraft."
Tampa Police Department spokesman Joe Durkin said there was no immediate
word on injuries.
Tampa Police and fire crews were on the scene of the crash, which occurred
shortly after 5 p.m.
Hijacked passenger planes were used to collapse the World Trade Center
towers and attack the Pentagon in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. A fourth
hijacked plane crashed in western Pennsylvania.
Some of the pilots in the hijackings had been trained at Florida flight
schools.
Bank of America, based in Charlotte, N.C., is the third-largest U.S. bank.
It employs about 143,000 people and serves about 30 million households in 20
states.
Bank officials did not immediately return calls for comment Saturday.
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http://9news.com/newsroom/14257.html
Plane Crashes in Boulder
Story by 9NEWS Staff and Jeannie Piper January 5, 2002 - 5:06pm
BOULDER Emergency crews are headed to a plane crash in Boulder.
The plane went down west of U.S. 36 near Neva Road shortly after 4 p.m,
according to a Boulder County sheriff¹s dispatcher.
A spokesman at Denver International Airport says there is one fatality
confirmed.
The plane is reportedly a single-engine Cessna. It¹s not known how many
people were on board or why it crashed.
9NEWS has a crew headed to the scene and will let you know when more
information becomes available. Refresh your browser for updates.
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http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/ap/20020105/wl/puerto_rico_plane_crash_1.html
Saturday January 5 4:43 PM ET
Small Plane Crashes in Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - A small plane crashed in fog and rain Saturday
in northeastern Puerto Rico, killing at least five people on board,
including an infant, authorities said.
The 12-seater smashed into a remote, rocky area near the Rio Grande, some 22
miles east of San Juan, said Oscar Sotomayor, acting operations director of
the State Agency for Emergency Management.
The plane ``broke apart into fragments'' upon impact, he said. There was no
sign of survivors.
It was not immediately clear where the flight originated, where it was
heading and who was on board. It appeared to be a private aircraft or
chartered flight because investigators so far had not been able to match the
registration with regular flight operators on the U.S. territory, Sotomayor
said.
Firefighters and emergency crews have recovered five bodies, said Justina
Quinones, manager of the emergency management agency. Their nationalities
and identities were not yet known.
Workers were still combing the wreckage for other possible victims, Amaury
Hernandez, head of an emergency paramedic team, said by telephone.
The landing gear and fuselage have been located, but steep terrain and a
drizzling rain were hampering efforts to retrieve the rest of the plane's
scattered parts, firefighter Eric Nieves said.
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http://www.sacbee.com/state_wire/story/1416329p-1492947c.html
Small plane crashes a block from Fullerton airport
Sacramento Bee
Published 2:45 p.m. PST Saturday, Jan. 5, 2002
BUENA PARK, Calif. (AP) - A single-engine plane went down a block away from
an airport Saturday, knocking down power lines in a fiery crash.
"There probably aren't going to be any survivors," said Orange County Fire
Authority Capt. Steven Miller. He said he did not know how many people were
aboard the six-seat plane, which crashed in Buena Park a block west of
Fullerton Municipal Airport.
An hour after the 1 p.m. crash, firefighters were still working to put out
the blaze. Miller said it was not immediately clear whether the crash hurt
anyone on the ground.
Miller said skies were clear and winds were light at the time of the crash.
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