Pilot killed as small plane crashes at naval station

ASSOCIATED PRESS

March 11, 2000

FALLBROOK -- A pilot was killed and his passenger critically injured Saturday after their small plane crashed at a Navy base shortly after taking off from Fallbrook Airpark, authorities said.

The single-engine Cessna 182 went down on the grounds of nearby Fallbrook Naval Weapons Station only minutes after it took off at 9:30 a.m., said Bill Polick, an airport spokesman.

There was no fire, he said.

The pilot was pronounced dead at the scene. A woman was in the critical care unit at Palomar Memorial Hospital, said an emergency room attendant who declined to give her name.

The victims were believed to be husband and wife, Polick said. Their identities were not immediately known, authorities said.

The airpark and weapons station are located in a hilly, agricultural area of San Diego County, about 85 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

http://www.uniontrib.com/news/northcounty/20000311-991515-planecrash.html

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), March 12, 2000

Answers

It was on the local news this evening. The pilot was a respected local attorney with over 20 years flying experience. His wife is currently in ICU with massive injuries to her upper body and spine. Witnesses say they heard the engine cut out minutes after the Cessna took off and the plane augured in soon after.

Fallbrook Naval Weapons Depot has a large napalm storage area. It's fortunate that the plane did not hit that, otherwise the damage might have been much more widespread.

-- DeeEmBee (macbeth1@pacbell.net), March 12, 2000.