alphaone
Well-Known Member
This happened yesterday. Pretty sad. If you click on the comments section you can see pictures of the final moments before impact. Fly safe.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090821/NEWS01/308210094/Two+dead+in+Harrison+plane+crash
Two dead in Harrison plane crash
By Carrie Whitaker and Eileen Kelley • cwhitaker@enquirer.com | ekelley@enquirer.com • August 21, 2009
Read Comments(5) • Recommend(14) • Print • ShareThis • Type: A A • Click-2-Listen
HARRISON – The pilot who died when his old-style biplane crashed Friday night near a football scrimmage being played at Harrison High School was identified Saturday morning as 47-year-old Raymond M. Robben of Guilford, Ind.
His passenger, Belinda G. Roy, 52, of Lawrenceburg, Ind., also was killed in the crash, which was witnessed by hundreds of spectators attending the game betwen Harrison and McNicholas High School. No one on the ground was injured.
• Friday photos from the crash
The single-engine red, white and blue home-built Steen Skybolt biplane took off from Cincinnati West Airport in Harrison at 8:08 p.m. The Ohio State Highway Patrol said that according to witnesses, the airplane began a steep climb near the end of the runway.
Once the aircraft entered the climb, it pitched sharply to the left and nose down. The plane crashed approximately a quarter mile from the end of the runway, near the high school bus garage.
Robben and Roy died at the scene as a result of the crash.
Ed Meyer, 55, was sitting in the stands, watching his son play football, when he saw the plane go down.
“It was so sad to see, but there was nothing you could do,” Meyer said.
After the impact, players and spectators raced to the wreckage.
Hoping to shield young eyes from the wreckage, people moved several buses and ambulances in a formation around the wreckage. Eager young people stood on concrete walls and peered through the fence around the bus lot, in an attempt to see what was going on.
“It scared me and my friend,” said 6-year-old Leah Kercheval, who attended the game with her mother Julie and brother Tyler, 8.
Robben had been flying for about 15 years and was a skilled pilot, said Tony Maas, a close family friend.
“He’s never had trouble before and he would never, ever do anything that was dangerous,” Maas said. “He was the safest pilot you’d ever want to be around. I know he did everything he could.”
Maas is the president of JTM Food Group, located in Harrison. Robben worked for the company as a corporate pilot for about 10 years and the two families have known each other since the 1960s.
Maas said he didn’t just lose an employee, but a dear friend.
“He was absolutely a person to help everybody else,” he said. “He was a servant to others and took the responsibility of being a pilot extremely serious. Something beyond his control must have happened here.”
The Federal Aviation Administration registry said the biplane was manufactured in 1996. It is classified as an experimental aircraft. The registry lists Robben as a certified commercial pilot and flight instructor.
Although FAA officials were at the scene Saturday, the bulk of the investigation has been turned over to National Transportation Safety Board because it involved fatalities. It could take anywhere from eight to 12 months before a probable cause is released, said Tony Molinaro, spokesman for the Great Lakes Division of the FAA.
Reporter Quan Truong contributed.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090821/NEWS01/308210094/Two+dead+in+Harrison+plane+crash
Two dead in Harrison plane crash
By Carrie Whitaker and Eileen Kelley • cwhitaker@enquirer.com | ekelley@enquirer.com • August 21, 2009
Read Comments(5) • Recommend(14) • Print • ShareThis • Type: A A • Click-2-Listen
HARRISON – The pilot who died when his old-style biplane crashed Friday night near a football scrimmage being played at Harrison High School was identified Saturday morning as 47-year-old Raymond M. Robben of Guilford, Ind.
His passenger, Belinda G. Roy, 52, of Lawrenceburg, Ind., also was killed in the crash, which was witnessed by hundreds of spectators attending the game betwen Harrison and McNicholas High School. No one on the ground was injured.
• Friday photos from the crash
The single-engine red, white and blue home-built Steen Skybolt biplane took off from Cincinnati West Airport in Harrison at 8:08 p.m. The Ohio State Highway Patrol said that according to witnesses, the airplane began a steep climb near the end of the runway.
Once the aircraft entered the climb, it pitched sharply to the left and nose down. The plane crashed approximately a quarter mile from the end of the runway, near the high school bus garage.
Robben and Roy died at the scene as a result of the crash.
Ed Meyer, 55, was sitting in the stands, watching his son play football, when he saw the plane go down.
“It was so sad to see, but there was nothing you could do,” Meyer said.
After the impact, players and spectators raced to the wreckage.
Hoping to shield young eyes from the wreckage, people moved several buses and ambulances in a formation around the wreckage. Eager young people stood on concrete walls and peered through the fence around the bus lot, in an attempt to see what was going on.
“It scared me and my friend,” said 6-year-old Leah Kercheval, who attended the game with her mother Julie and brother Tyler, 8.
Robben had been flying for about 15 years and was a skilled pilot, said Tony Maas, a close family friend.
“He’s never had trouble before and he would never, ever do anything that was dangerous,” Maas said. “He was the safest pilot you’d ever want to be around. I know he did everything he could.”
Maas is the president of JTM Food Group, located in Harrison. Robben worked for the company as a corporate pilot for about 10 years and the two families have known each other since the 1960s.
Maas said he didn’t just lose an employee, but a dear friend.
“He was absolutely a person to help everybody else,” he said. “He was a servant to others and took the responsibility of being a pilot extremely serious. Something beyond his control must have happened here.”
The Federal Aviation Administration registry said the biplane was manufactured in 1996. It is classified as an experimental aircraft. The registry lists Robben as a certified commercial pilot and flight instructor.
Although FAA officials were at the scene Saturday, the bulk of the investigation has been turned over to National Transportation Safety Board because it involved fatalities. It could take anywhere from eight to 12 months before a probable cause is released, said Tony Molinaro, spokesman for the Great Lakes Division of the FAA.
Reporter Quan Truong contributed.
