Passenger on crashed airplane is identified

Roger Eugene Stephens, 50, worked in the Tampa office of the software giant Oracle.

By TAMARA LUSH

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 12, 2000

ODESSA -- Authorities have identified the second man who was killed in a plane crash this week at the Tampa Bay Executive Airport.

Authorities said Friday that Roger Eugene Stephens, 50, also was aboard the single-engine plane that sliced through trees and power lines before crashing about 100 yards from the runway. A second man, Henry Steven Jackson, 45, of 4004 Ligustrum Drive in Palm Harbor, was also killed in Wednesday's crash.

Both men worked in the Tampa office of computer software giant Oracle, which has headquarters in Redwood City, Calif. Pasco County sheriff's spokesman Jon Powers said Stephens had been staying with Jackson in Palm Harbor and was looking to buy a home in the Tampa Bay area.

Stephens lived in the Middle East until a few months ago, said Powers, who added that Stephens' family members were in the Middle East when they were told of his death.

Butch Wilson, an air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, on Friday said both men had pilots' licenses but that Jackson was piloting the 1983 Mooney when it crashed.

The plane's frame and engine displayed no problems, said Wilson.

"There were no anomalies," he said. "There was virtually no discrepancy with the airplane at all."

Witnesses said they saw the plane flying very low to the ground at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, and then striking a nearby power line before crashing. The plane did not catch on fire, but the power line did cause trees and brush to ignite.

Wilson finished examining the wrecked plane Friday afternoon and said he would review the aircraft's maintenance records and the pilot's flying history next week.

A full report on the crash will be released in about six months, Wilson said.

-- Staff writer Tamara Lush is the police reporter in Pasco County. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6245 or (800) 333-7505, ext. 6245. Her e-mail address is lush@sptimes.com.

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