Wed, 08 Dec '04

Tragedy Strikes AST/Texas Air Aces... Again
Wed, 08 Dec '04

It's damned eerie and horrendously tragic.

Last year, ANN reported the death of Texas Air Aces/Aviation Safety Training Boss Don Wylie in a T-34 crash. Yesterday, one of Don's compatriots was lost... in a T-34.

The Beechcraft T-34, already the subject of numerous wing failure investigations, went down some time Tuesday morning near Lake Conroe, some 55 miles North of Houston. One witness reports seeing a wing separate from the aircraft prior to impact.

The Department of Public Safety's Kenneth Hiebert reported to local media sources that, "A witness saw the wing come off the airplane and then saw it spiraling down to the ground... They said it was flying east, over this area at about a thousand feet."

The main impact area was located about a quarter mile from the remains of the separated wing, and both occupants, including AST's Richard Gillenwaters (pictured right), 57, were found to be dead on the scene. Gillenwaters was a retired USAF pilot, and a native of Conroe, TX.

His unidentified passenger reportedly was a man from Venezuela.

ANN profiled this company in early November of 2003 -- just prior to the Wylie accident... for which an NTSB final report has yet to be issued.

Preliminary Accident Report
Note: Aircraft type is misidentified...

** Report created 12/8/2004 Record 2 **
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 141SW Make/Model: BE40 Description: 400 Beechjet (T-1 Jayhawk, T-400)
Date: 12/07/2004 Time: 1620
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: CONROE State: TX Country: US

DESCRIPTION
ACFT RIGHT WING BROKE OFF INFLIGHT AND ACFT CRASHED ON STUBBELFIELD LAKE RD., MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TX. THE 1 POB IS FATAL AND THE ACFT IS DESTROYED. CONROE, TX

INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 1
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
WEATHER: METAR KCXO 071553 34008KT 10SM CLR 16/08 A3006
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Cruise Operation: General Aviation
Departed: HOUSTON, TX DWH Dep Date: 12/07/2004 Dep. Time: 1545
Destination: HOUSTON, TX DWH Flt Plan: NONE Wx Briefing: N
Last Radio Cont: RWY 35L Last Clearance: CLRD FOR TAKE-OFF
FAA FSDO: HOUSTON, TX (SW09) Entry date: 12/08/2004

FMI: www.aviationsafetytraining.com

courtesy of aero-news.net