ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, May 15, 1996 TAG: 9605150089
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN SNIDER STAFF WRITER
Seven-year-old Brian Tincher has seen plenty of planes take off and land at the Roanoke Regional Airport. Tuesday afternoon he heard one crash.
"I heard it go 'poosh' and crash," Tincher said. "As soon as I heard that, we were out [of the car]."
Brian and his father, Gary Tincher, were eating dinner and watching the planes, as they often do, when a Cessna 152 crashed during takeoff. The Tinchers didn't see the crash because the view was partially blocked by maintenance equipment.
The student pilot, a 41-year-old Roanoke man, who asked police not to release his name, was not injured, state police said.
He was practicing a solo takeoff and landing when he lost control of the plane, skidded across a grass median and a taxiway, then hit an airport commission vehicle, airport spokesman Mark Courtney said.
The plane came to rest on the brush of a runway sweeper truck, Courtney said.
The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the incident and determine whether charges will be filed against the pilot, he said.
State police estimated damage to the commission car at $1,500 to $2,000. The FAA will assess the damage to the two-seater plane, which is used for training.
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS/Staff. State troopers examine theby CNBsite of the crash. The FAA also will investigate and will decide
whether charges should be filed.