Tue, Jul 05, 2011
Officials Say Microbursts Are The Most Likely Explanation
A pilot flying a Cessna 182 on a aerial photography mission near
Denver, CO, was fatally injured last Wednesday afternoon when
severe weather moving through the area apparently caused the
airplane to impact the ground.
NOAA Image
The plane went down in a residential neighborhood just outside
of Thornton, CO, west of Denver. Witnesses said there were
thunderstorms in the area, and that there were microbursts, strong
vertical downdrafts, associated with the storms. The Denver
Post reports that a witness told television station KUSA that
the pilot appeared to be attempting to land when a wind gust caused
one wing of the plane to "completely (flip) up and he nose dived
into the ground." There was a post-crash explosion and fire.
The aircraft was registered to Julair LLC, which is a aerial
photography company. Shortly after the accident, departures at
Denver International Airport were suspended due to the weather. The
Associated Press reports that the Adams County coroner has
identified the pilot as 41-year-old Salil Sinha of Marshfield,
WI.
The paper also reports that weather caused havoc at
Burlington-Kit Carson County (KITR) airport east of Denver, where a
hangar was destroyed by what meteorologist David Floyd described as
a "classic microburst event." Photographs show several
badly-damaged airplanes under piles of rubble that used to be the
hangar. The extent of the damage has not yet been
fully assessed.
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