THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 12, 1995 TAG: 9509120252
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SHACKLEFORDS, VA. LENGTH: Long : 121 lines
Engine failure is suspected in the Sunday crash of a sky-diving plane that killed a Virginia Beach woman and 11 others, authorities said Monday.
The sky-diving club's records identified the woman as Gina Arbogast, 28, of the 200 block of 57th St. A member of the Peninsula Sky Divers said Arbogast, a nurse, was a novice jumper who had just completed her student training.
``She loved the beach, and she loved sky-diving,'' said Gina Arbogast's mother, Cathy Arbogast of Charlottesville. ``It was a passion.''
It was to be Gina Arbogast's first formation jump, club members said.
Witnesses said the twin-engine Beechcraft Queen Air 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, looked like it was returning to the airport when it went down about 1 1/2 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, his sister-in-law. ``It did a twist in the airand then fell straight down.''
Her husband, Michael, tried to get into the burning home to save Vincent Harris but couldn't, she said.
He was the only casualty on the ground. His 8-year-old son, Vincent Jr., and a friend were playing in the yard, neighbors said, but neither 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.
Harris' family members gathered outside the charred home in tears early Monday.
``They understand the nature of life and death,'' said the Rev. Keith Parham, of the First Baptist Church in nearby Hockley. ``They understand death is not an enemy to God's children. They will miss his fellowship, but they know there is a greater fellowship on the other side. He is reunited with his mother.''
The airplane apparently fell straight to Earth, said Mike Benson, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board. There was no damage to the tall trees surrounding the burned home, and only heat damage to the two homes flanking the crash site.
``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 entire crash site was contained to only a portion of the Rev. Harris' back yard. The rear porch area of his home was leveled, but two white T-shirts hanging on a clothesline just 20 feet away were unsoiled and snapped in the afternoon breeze.
A Chevrolet Camaro in the back yard was burned on the side facing the Harrises' home, but not on the other side.
The only recognizable parts of the aircraft were an engine and propeller jutting from a pile of soot.
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 sky-divers, a commonplace and legal practice for such aircraft, Benson said.
Along with Gina Arbogast, 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. Capel said her department won't be able to confirm their identities until dental records are compared.
Representatives of the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration will sift through the wreckage for several days, Benson said. They 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 so-called 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 sky-divers 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 caused the engine to fail during takeoff, an NTSB report said. MEMO: The Associated Press contributed to this story.
ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
TAMARA VONINSKI
Staff
A propeller is the most recognizable piece of debris sifted through
by members of a National Transportation Safety Board team.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
An aerial view of the site in Shacklefords on Monday shows the
destroyed home and intact adjacent homes that sustained only heat
damage. The homeowner died Sunday when the plane crashed into his
house.
Map
Graphic
JOHN EARLE/Staff
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT PLANE FATALITIES by CNB