THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, July 14, 1994                TAG: 9407140688
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK                            LENGTH: Medium:   64 lines

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: ***************************************************************** William M. Sklar of Portsmouth, the pilot who was killed Monday when his plane collided with a Navy helicopter over the Chesapeake Bay, was 62 years old. Sklar's age was incorrectly reported in stories Tuesday and Thursday. Correction published Friday, July 15, 1994. ***************************************************************** COPTER PILOTS NOTICED A PLANE BEFORE FATAL COLLISION

The pilots of a Navy helicopter that collided with a small private plane Monday over the Chesapeake Bay near the southern tip of the Eastern Shore had seen a plane earlier but believed it was heading away from them, an investigator said Wednesday.

``The two pilots saw an airplane in the vicinity, but we're not sure if it was the one'' that was involved in the collision, said Alan Yurman, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board. In any case, he said, the pilots told him the plane appeared to be flying away from the helicopter, making it of less concern.

Yurman, talking with reporters at the opening of what could be a long investigation, said the fatal collision came without warning 1 1/2 minutes after the helicopter began descending from 5,700 feet to 3,300 feet - where the crash occurred.

How it happened remains a mystery, however, in part because the wreckage of the plane has yet to be found in the Bay. ``That's the key,'' Yurman said Wednesday. Without seeing the plane, ``I have no idea what the impact marks are.''

Those marks could answer questions about the direction of the aircraft when the crash occurred.

The lone occupant of the small plane, William M. Sklar, 60, of Portsmouth, was killed. The helicopter, an MH-53E Sea Dragon from Mine Countermeasures Squadron 14 based at the Norfolk Naval Air Station, landed safely in a wheat field near Kiptopeke State Park. None of its four crewmen was hurt. Sklar, who owned the plane, was attempting to spot menhaden for the Zapata Protein Fishing Co. in Reedville. He had taken off from the Hampton Roads Airport in Chesapeake on Monday morning.

The crash occurred at 4:18 p.m. Most of the wreckage of the small plane, a Cessna 173 RG, landed in the Bay and remained there Wednesday as salvage crews tried to pinpoint its location.

The wreckage is believed to be near Fisherman's Island, not far from where the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel meets the southern tip of Virginia's Eastern Shore.

The helicopter, with a huge gash in its side, remains on the ground on the Eastern Shore. It likely will not be moved for a couple of days.

Yurman said he hopes the Cessna will be found and raised today or Friday. He plans to issue a preliminary report within five days after he inspects the wreckage. That report will go to the full NTSB board, which will issue a final determination on the accident's cause.

KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT PLANE ACCIDENT MILITARY U.S. NAVY FATALITY

by CNB