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Passenger Crash Lands Plane After Pilot Stricken
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (May 5) - A passenger was forced to crash land a private plane Thursday after the pilot suffered an apparent heart attack, authorities said.
The pilot later died. The two passengers were taken to University Medical Center in Las Vegas after the crash at North Las Vegas Airport, said Donn Walker, regional spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The plane was registered to Douglas R. Reichardt of Henderson, who was piloting the twin-engine Gulfstream I turboprop. A hospital official didn't know whether Reichardt died in the air or later at the hospital.
The two passengers did not appear to be seriously hurt, authorities said. Their names were not immediately released.
The pilot had filed a flight plan to San Diego and the plane took off from North Las Vegas at 8:30 a.m., Walker said. About 45 minutes later, the plane crashed on its belly several hundred feet short of an airport runway. The pilot is believed to have suffered a heart attack, Walker said.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
Reichardt had a valid multiengine airline transport pilot's license, according to FAA records.
05/05/05 22:46 EDT
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (May 5) - A passenger was forced to crash land a private plane Thursday after the pilot suffered an apparent heart attack, authorities said.
The pilot later died. The two passengers were taken to University Medical Center in Las Vegas after the crash at North Las Vegas Airport, said Donn Walker, regional spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The plane was registered to Douglas R. Reichardt of Henderson, who was piloting the twin-engine Gulfstream I turboprop. A hospital official didn't know whether Reichardt died in the air or later at the hospital.
The two passengers did not appear to be seriously hurt, authorities said. Their names were not immediately released.
The pilot had filed a flight plan to San Diego and the plane took off from North Las Vegas at 8:30 a.m., Walker said. About 45 minutes later, the plane crashed on its belly several hundred feet short of an airport runway. The pilot is believed to have suffered a heart attack, Walker said.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
Reichardt had a valid multiengine airline transport pilot's license, according to FAA records.
05/05/05 22:46 EDT
