Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Pilot, 3 passengers walk away from Friedman accident

Airport closed for more than hour after Sunday incident


By PAT MURPHY
Express Staff Writer

A Beech Bonanza aircraft sits nose down on the runway at Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey Sunday afternoon as emergency officials douse an engine fire.

The pilot and three passengers of a Washington-based aircraft were uninjured Sunday afternoon when their 1966 V-tailed Beech Bonanza V-35 ended its landing at Friedman Memorial Airport with a collapsed nose gear, an engine fire and wing damage.

The fire, which severely damaged the engine, was quickly extinguished. Fire and rescue units from Friedman Memorial, the city of Hailey and Wood River Fire & Rescue examined the aircraft's four occupants and released them at the scene.

According to Federal Aviation Administration records, the aircraft's registered owner is Frank J. Owens, of Olympia, Wash.

The airport was closed for about an hour and 20 minutes while the aircraft, which was resting on the runway's gravel shoulder, was removed.

A spokesman for the FAA regional office in Seattle said information about the accident must come from the National Transportation Safety Board's Los Angeles office. The NTSB investigator could not be reached.

However, the pilot of a Lear 60 jet that landed after the Beech Bonanza, Steven Garman, said that midafternoon westerly winds were very strong at the time.

State Highway 75 near the Hailey airport was closed for a brief period following the accident.




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