Pilots survive crash in water

[Times photo: Fred Victorin] Plane owner Don Saunders, center, talks with pilot Mason Cox, 73, who sustained minor injuries Wednesday.

By LEANORA MINAI and WES ALLISON

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 30, 2001

ST. PETERSBURG -- Within 100 feet of land, the vintage airplane lost power.

Pilots Mason Cox and Bill Coffman had no choice but to land in the water.

"I really didn't have a whole lot of time to be scared," said Coffman, 47, who has flown 14 years and never crashed before Wednesday.

The 1939 Piper Cub, gliding at 30 mph, dropped 60 feet and crashed into Bayboro Harbor, just yards from the U.S. Coast Guard station. Coffman and Cox clung to the wing for several minutes until rescuers plucked them from the water.

Coffman was not hurt, but Cox, a 73-year-old instructor, was treated and released from Bayfront Medical Center. Cox declined to comment.

Divers and the airplane's owners searched the murky waters with sonar for 41/2 hours but could not find the Piper, which is insured for $25,000.

The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash, which is likely to refuel debate over the future of the airport.

Contractor Don Saunders, a co-owner of the Piper, said the crash demonstrated that Albert Whitted Municipal Airport is safe and should remain open because its runways are bordered by water.

"That's what makes this crash survivable," Saunders said. "You're over the water."

The City Council is discussing whether to spend millions of dollars maintaining waterfront properties such as Albert Whitted Municipal Airport or to raze them and build townhomes instead.

The incident began at 8:50 a.m. Wednesday after Coffman and Cox touched down at the airport and then, in a training procedure known as "touch and go," took off seconds later to fly another pattern.

In the air, the pilots realized the single-engine plane was not generating full power. On the ground, people at the U.S. Coast Guard Station, just 50 yards from the crash site, noticed too.

"We called the tower," said Coffman, a real estate appraiser. "We needed to turn back to the airport."

Rick Gilson, a civilian carpenter for the Coast Guard station, and Seaman Apprentice Jesus Collazo were working on an out-building when they heard the plane fly overhead. They could tell by the sound of the engine it wasn't flying fast or high enough.

"You could hear the engine; it was barely idling," Gilson said.

Said Collazo, 20, of New York City: "The engine went out on that sucker. It just glided."

The plane banked to the left. The left wing tip dipped into the water, dragging the plane into 15 feet of water.

"It was kind of like jumping in the water face-first," Coffman said.

He unbuckled his seat belt and helped free Cox.

"You could see what looked like two heads coming out of the water, hanging onto the wings," said Gilson, the carpenter. "The thing was barely floating."

Collazo called for help, and a 24-foot Coast Guard boat was on the way within minutes.

Coast Guardsman Warren J. Fisher, an emergency medical technician, was one of the first to reach the men, who climbed aboard the boat on their own. The plane sank in 15 to 20 feet of water minutes later.

"We were glad to see everyone was okay and talking," said Fisher, 29, of Los Angeles, who checked their pulse and breathing. "I was surprised they were hanging onto the wing of the aircraft and in the condition they were in. They were in excellent condition."

- Times researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report.

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