Mon, Aug 04, 2003
Two Other Passengers Hospitalized
The call came into the
Ohio State Police at around 4:00 p.m. Saturday. A confused-sounding
woman told a dispatcher that she had just survived the crash of a
small plane near the airport in Galion (OH). The woman had wandered
over to a nearby farmhouse and used the phone. She wasn't sure
where she was.
When police and rescue workers arrived at the scene, they found
the Piper twin-engine aircraft had clipped some trees, then broken
into three pieces as it hit the ground along State Highway 309, not
far from a house.
Inside the shattered cockpit, which was a piece of wreckage unto
itself, they found the bodies of 38-year old James Mitchell
and his son, five-year old Justin. Police on the scene say the
wreckage was so gnarled that rescuers had to use the Jaws of Life
to extract James Mitchell from the aircraft.
Weather played a factor
in the search and recovery efforts and, according to officials on
the scene, may have played a role in the crash itself.
Heavy thunderstorms were over the area at the time the twin
Piper went down. Efforts to airlift the elder Mitchell to a
hospital in Toledo were grounded by the ongoing storms. As the
weather cleared, 47-year-old Jean Mitchell and three-year old Jenna
Mitchell were airlifted to a hospital in Cleveland. Their
relationship to the pilot and his son wasn't immediately
known. FAA and NTSB investigators are on the scene now,
trying to determine the cause of the crash. Both survivors are now
listed in stable condition.
** Report created 8/5/2003 Record
19 **
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 577SK
Make/Model: PA34 Description: PA-34
Seneca
Date: 08/02/2003 Time: 2000
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury:
Fatal Mid Air: N Missing:
N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: GALION State: OH Country:
US
DESCRIPTION
ACFT ATTEMPTED TO LAND AND HIT TREELINE AND CRASHED 200-500
YARDS SW OF GALION AIRPORT, FOUR PERSONS ON BOARD, TWO WERE FATALLY
INJURED, TWO ARE SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES, OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES
ARE UNKNOWN, GALION, OH
INJURY DATA Total Fatal:
2
# Crew: 1 Fat:
1 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Pass: 3 Fat:
1 Ser:
2 Min:
0 Unk:
# Grnd:
Fat: 0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
WEATHER: METAR KMFD 021952Z 22009KT 11/4 TSRA BR OVC015 19/18
A2999
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase:
Landing Operation: General
Aviation
Departed:
UNK
Dep Date: Dep. Time:
Destination:
UNK
Flt Plan: UNK
Wx Briefing: Y
Last Radio Cont: UNK
Last Clearance: UNK
FAA FSDO: CLEVELAND, OH
(GL25)
Entry date: 08/04/2003
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