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Letter to the editor

Three walk away, but small plane is totaled in crash

By The Times Staff
Published August 19, 2007

[Joseph Garnett Jr. | Times] A Beech Bonanza plane sits just south of the runway at Clearwater Airpark on Saturday after a crash landing.

CLEARWATER

Their aircraft was totaled, but the three men involved with a minor plane crash at Clearwater Airpark Saturday morning walked away with only minor injuries, officials said.

The plane had just lifted into the air when it teetered, came back to the ground, slid across the runway and landed on its belly, according to Clearwater Fire Rescue. The crash occurred at 10:06 a.m.

Pilot Ralph Gross, 67, was taken to Morton Plant Hospital with injuries that were not life threatening, according to Fire Rescue.

Passengers Gary Mullen, 55, and Hugh Edward Carmichael, 83, were treated at the airport.

The airport, located at 1000 N. Hercules Ave., was shut down briefly after the accident. It reopened Saturday afternoon. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash.

The FAA reported that the plane had just taken off and was attempting to return when it lost control on landing and crashed into a fence and a pond, said spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen.

The aircraft was "substantially damaged," Bergen said.

There was no evidence of fuel leakage.

The plane is a six-seater, single-engine 1984 Beech Bonanza registered to Plane Stuff Too Inc. of 700 Tuskawilla St. in Clearwater, according to the FAA Web site.

[Last modified August 19, 2007, 00:10:11]