Sat, Sep 24, 2005
Instructor Dies When DA20 Clips Power Lines
A recent graduate of the US Air Force Academy is still in
critical condition after the Diamond DA20 (file photo of type,
below) she and her instructor were flying went down Wednesday
morning after impacting power lines outside San Antonio.
Second Lieutenant Taryn Robinson, a member of the USAFA Class of
2005, suffered burns to 80 percent of her body. She was rescued
from the wreckage by a passer-by just as it caught fire.
Robinson's instructor, who worked for Stinson Flying School,
died in the accident. He is believed to have been pilot-in-command
of the two-seat trainer when it went down.
According to media
reports, the plane came to rest inverted and immediately caught
fire following the accident. The flames also sparked a five-acre
brush fire, said Chief Deputy David Soward of the Atascosa
Sheriff's Department, limiting access to the wreckage.
Local worker Cindy Carter saw "a big black ball of smoke and
flames" after she was drawn outside when the lights inside her
nearby business flickered. "You couldn't even see the plane," she
told the San Antonio Express-News. "You could only see the wheels
sticking up through the flames."
"We immediately thought no one could have survived, that whoever
was in there was surely dead," said Carter.
Robinson sustained broken bones in her neck from the accident,
as well as severe burns that may result in the loss of her feet and
several fingers. Doctors have estimated her chances of survival as
50/50.
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