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Families deal with crash aftermath

By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published June 14, 2006

TAMPA - Ryan Tate most misses the soccer ball signed by his teammates before he left for the battlefields of Iraq.

His younger brother lost his drums and skateboard. His sister lost clothes and a friend, the family's Siamese, Clia.

His father lost a new mountain bike, his mother hundreds of family photos, baby pictures of the children.

"I wish my animals were still alive, and that man had not died, and our house had not burned," said Cynthia Tate.

Just after noon Monday, a plane careened off a runway at Peter O. Knight Airport and into the Tate family's Davis Islands house, killing the pilot, Steve Huisman, 41, of Bradenton, and destroying the home. Co-pilot Sean Launder, 25, of Sarasota was in critical condition at Tampa General Hospital.

On Tuesday, as crash investigators combed through the charred, twisted metal at the scene, the Tate family began looking to the future.

"We're gonna be okay," she said. "Everybody's offered to help us out."

Mrs. Tate stood behind the counter of the family's Davis Islands pizza shop. As she spoke with a reporter, a customer shook her hand, asking if she needed any help. That scene has repeated itself again and again for the Tates.

The Tates, who are staying with family in Tampa, will need plenty of help. Their house has been condemned. They're hoping city officials will let them claim the bodies of their pets - Jack and Vinnie, both dogs, and Clia.

She repeatedly said she felt thankful her family is safe, a sentiment echoed by her son.

"You know, it's just a house," said Ryan Tate. "We can rebuild. The memories are in our heads."

The plane, a Beechcraft KingAir 90, a 1967 model, took off from Sarasota Bradenton International Airport just before 10:30 a.m. Monday. The plane carried sterile Mediterranean fruit flies, part of a government program to limit the population of the flies, which can harm crops.

Since 1998, the planes, which operate under private contract, have delivered 100-million flies each week, said Mike Shannon, director of Florida's plant health for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

As the plane neared Tampa on its return to Sarasota, the pilot reported a fuel problem, said Laura Brown, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

The crash occurred just after 12:30 p.m., when the plane skidded off the runway, tore open a fence, hit a tree and careened into the Tates' home.

Witnesses said part of the plane's landing gear did not go down and one engine wasn't running, said Tampa Fire Rescue Capt. Bill Wade.

Investigators have not said why the plane landed at Peter O. Knight, but the choice of airport during an emergency landing is up to the pilot, said Chris Dancy, a spokesman for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

The crash is under investigation by the National Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

The remains of the plane, including a propeller, was removed from the house and loaded onto a trailer.

At a news conference, safety board investigator Tim Monville told reporters there were 14 propeller scratches on the runway, according to WTVT-Ch. 13. The investigation could take as long as a year.

As the Tates' grappled with their losses, a Bradenton family dealt with the death of a father of four.

Huisman is survived by his wife, Sonja, and the couple's four children, ages 1, 4, 6 and 8, said the family's pastor, Scott Hawkins, 41.

He grew up in Papua New Guinea and piloted both the fruit fly planes and missionary supply planes, Hawkins said.

A quiet, unassuming man, Huisman spent his free time remodeling his house with his wife, Hawkins said.

Funeral arrangements had not been made. A memorial service will be held at Church of the Cross in Bradenton, he said.

[Last modified June 14, 2006, 05:05:17]