Rescuers On Scene Immediately
This story reminds us that we should
always fly within gliding distance of the shore, that we should
make sure to look at the gauges once in a while... and perhaps most
of all, that sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports Bruce Moody and Matt
Barcelona were pretty lucky indeed. They were flying around the Bay
Area Wednesday doing aerial photography. About two hours after
takeoff, their 1979 Cessna 210 Centurion (type shown at right)
suddenly went quiet at 1,500 feet over the water off
Emeryville.
Moody was the PIC, and said he tried to glide to Alameda to
land, but didn't make it. The C210 splashed down 500 yards from
shore just north of the Bay Bridge.
Fortunately for Moody and Barcelona, drivers waiting in line to
pay their tolls saw it happen and called 911.
As it turned out, the Coast Guard, Alameda County Sheriff's
Department and the Oakland Police Department had a total of six
boats conducting a drill, and all were less than two miles from
where the plane went down. The Coast Guard reached the stranded men
in a 32-foot inflatable Zodiac within 15 minutes of the call.
By that time, the paper reports the men were standing on the
wing of the submerged plane, and only the tail was still visible
above the water. The men were said to be wet and cold, but fine
after warming up for a while under the supervision of medics on
Yerba Buena Island.
Air Flight Service of Santa Clara, the company which owns the
plane, is in turn owned by Matt's father, Jack Barcelona, who says
he'll work with authorities on how to recover the plane from the
bay.
The FAA and NTSB are investigating.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 6278C
Make/Model: C210 Description: 210,
T210, (Turbo)Centurion
Date: 09/10/2008 Time: 2051
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury:
None Mid Air: N Missing:
N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: OAKLAND State: CA Country:
US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT LOST POWER AND CRASHED INTO THE BAY, THE TWO
PERSONS ON BOARD WERE
RESCUED BY THE COAST GUARD, NORTH SIDE OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY,
OAKLAND, CA
INJURY DATA Total
Fatal: 0
# Crew: 2 Fat:
0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk: 2
# Pass: 0 Fat:
0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Grnd:
Fat: 0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
WEATHER: OAK 2053Z 10SM CLR
OTHER DATA
Activity: Aerial Observation
Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: OAKLAND, CA
(WP27)
Entry date: 09/11/2008