Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 12, 1995 TAG: 9509120081
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MATHER LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: SHACKLEFORDS, VA. LENGTH: Medium
Gina Arbogast, a nurse from Virginia Beach, was a novice skydiver who had just completed her student training. She was looking forward to her first formation jump with the Peninsula Sky Divers Sunday afternoon.
But she was among the 12 people killed - one of them on the ground - when the skydiving plane crashed into a house shortly after taking off.
``She loved the beach, and she loved skydiving,'' said her mother, Cathy Arbogast of Charlottesville. ``It was a passion.''
Witnesses and those familiar with the twin-engine Beechcraft Queen Air said the aircraft appeared to be in trouble moments after take-off from the West Point Airport. The witnesses said the plane, with an engine either misfiring or dead, appeared to be returning to the airport when it went down about 11/2 miles from the small airfield.
A witness said the plane slammed into a house and broke apart. Moments later, fire spewed from the wreckage.
The plane landed on the home of the Rev. Vincent Harris, killing him.
``It was wobbling, and I heard it backfire,'' said Linda Harris, Vincent Harris' sister-in-law. ``It did a twist in the air and then fell straight down.''
Linda Harris' husband, Michael, tried to get into the burning home to save Vincent Harris, but couldn't, she said.
Vincent Harris' 8-year-old son, Vincent Jr., and a friend were playing in the yard when the crash occurred, neighbors said. Neither boy was hurt. The home was destroyed.
Harris' wife had just left their home to pick up their 15-year-old daughter, Velicia, when the plane crashed.
Mike Benson, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, said it appeared the airplane fell straight to earth because there was no damage to the tall trees surrounding the burned home, and only heat damage to two neighboring homes.
``The absence of damage to the trees certainly suggests that, but it will be a while before we know for sure,'' Benson said.
A Peninsula Sky Divers pilot said the accounts from witnesses led him to believe the crippled plane stalled and fell from the sky.
``It sounds like he lost a motor and had nowhere to go,'' said Winsor Naugler III. ``Sometimes your options just run out.''
The plane had made numerous flights the day of the crash and had flown about 20 flights throughout the weekend, club members said.
The seats had been removed to accommodate the cargo of skydivers, a commonplace and legal practice for such aircraft, Benson said.
Along with Gina Arbogast, 28, club records identified the dead as:
The pilot, Nick Christian, 30, of Hampton.
Dave Ropp, 38, of Fredericksburg, and Ruth Sondheimer, 38, of Beltsville, Md., both longtime club members and instructors.
Jim Pratt, 36, of Silver Spring, Md.
Pierre Richard, 35, of Richmond.
Mike Faulkner, 27, of Newport News.
Thomas Isherwood, 31, of Quinton, a student jumper.
John Shaw, 34, of Chester.
Brett Jordan, 37, of Glen Allen, a student jumper.
Chesley Judy, 56, of Reston.
Eight other skydivers - in two groups of four - were asked at the last minute to give up their seats on the flight so the instructors and two students could get in a last jump, said club member Jimmy Sneed.
All 12 bodies were removed from the crash site early Monday, said state police spokeswoman Claire Capel. She said their identities won't be confirmed until dental records are compared.
Representatives of the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration will be joined by representatives of the aircraft and engine makers. A final report on the crash could take six months.
The aircraft didn't have a flight-data recorder - the "black box" found on commercial airliners - because small planes aren't required to have them. The West Point airfield doesn't have a control tower, so there were no known communications before the crash, Benson said.
The last two major plane crashes that killed skydivers occurred in 1992. All 12 people aboard were killed when a twin-engine Beechcraft B-18 went down near Hinckley, Ill., on Sept. 7, 1992. Sixteen people died when a De Havilland Twin Otter DHC 6-200 carrying 22 people crashed during takeoff on April 22, 1992 at Perris Valley Airport 70 miles east of Los Angeles.
Federal investigators blamed the California crash on pilot error, dirty fuel and overloading. In the Illinois crash, poor maintenance and inspection by the operator cause the engine to fail during takeoff, an NTSB report said.
Some information in this story came from The Associated Press.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB