Fri, Jun 18, 2004
Investigation Finds Florida Man Died Seconds Before Impact
The 80-year old pilot of an ultralight trainer that crashed in
southwest Florida died of a heart attack before the aircraft hit
the ground Sunday, according to the widow.
"By the time the plane hit the ground, he was no longer aware of
it," Gloria Philbrick told the Charlotte Sun-Herald after speaking
to the Charlotte County Medical Examiner's Office about the cause
of her husband Ray's death. "The man was no longer alive. That is
what caused (the accident). It wasn't carelessness on his
part."
That flatly contradicts speculation from a GA pilot who flew
over Charlotte County Airport shortly after Philbrick's ultralight
trainer went down. Craig DeVries, who flies for the Bald Eagle
Flight school, told the Sun-Herald Sunday that ultralights and the
pilots who fly them are inherently dangerous.
"They're basically made out of nylon vinyl," he said. "It's a
go-cart with a pair of wings. You can usually take a pencil and
stab it through a wing. And if you can fly one, you're an
instructor. Most people teach themselves. They don't need to go
through the training you go through to be a pilot."
[Note to Mr. DeVries... You, sir, should only comment on what you
know about... your comments are errant, untrue and improperly
defamed a segment of aviation that does not need a member of the
aviation community to add to the many misunderstandings already in
circulation about this exciting sport aviation pastime. Shame on
you...--Jim Campbell-ANN E-I-C]
Mrs. Philbrick said her husband had a history of heart problems,
but that he had gotten much better over the past couple of years.
His two-place aqua ultralight, thought by witnesses to have been a
Challenger, nose dived into the runway at Charlotte County Airport
Sunday while he was practicing touch-and-go's. Philbrick was dead
at the scene.
As for Gloria, who was married to Ray for 43 years, the
Sun-Herald reports she's comforted knowing that there was nothing
her husband could have done to prevent the accident.
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