5 Die As Small Plane Hits 2 Houses

(CBS/AP)  A small plane trying to make an emergency landing crashed into two houses Tuesday, killing five people and starting fires that seriously burned three others in one of the homes, authorities said.

NASCAR confirmed that Dr. Bruce Kennedy, a Daytona Beach plastic surgeon and husband of International Speedway Corporation President Lesa France Kennedy, and NASCAR Aviation pilot Michael Klemm were among the dead. The plane was registered to a Daytona Beach company linked to NASCAR's late chairman.

The identities of the victims on the ground were not immediately released.

Authorities said an adult and two children died in the homes that were quickly gutted by the fire after the airplane crashed in the suburban Orlando neighborhood around 8:40 a.m.

The crash comes on the heels on of the death of former NASCAR
chairman Bill France Junior. He died June fourth at his Daytona
Beach home. He was 74. Lesa France Kennedy is France's daughter.

Authorities did not release the identities of the others killed.

Matt Minnetto, a fire investigator with Sanford Fire Department, said two people aboard the plane were confirmed dead in the crash and the plane itself was scattered in several pieces. At least three people were injured in one of the homes, including two adults and a boy about 10 years old who had burns over 80 to 90 percent of his body, Minnetto said.

"They have shut down the entire neighborhood, and they are evacuating people in the area because there have been explosions since the plane hit the home," reports CBS affiliate WKMG.

The twin engine Cessna 310 was registered to Competitor Liaison Bureau Inc. of Daytona Beach, said Kathleen Bergen with the Federal Aviation Administration. Competitor Liaison is based in Daytona Beach and registered under the name of William C. France, the late chairman of NASCAR, online records from the Department of State Division of Corporations show. James C. France also is listed as an officer of the company.

The plane was traveling from Daytona Beach to Lakeland when the pilot declared smoke in the cockpit. The pilot was attempting to land at the Orlando Sanford International Airport when the plane crashed about a mile or two north of the airport, Bergen said.

A firefighter who responded to the blazes was also hurt trying to reach the victims.

Eric Domnitz, who lives just down the street from the crash, said the fire was twice the size of a normal two-story house in the neighborhood. He hurried with a fire extinguisher to a horrific scene and said he saw some of the victims.

"It's in my head. The woman was just melting. It looked like her skin was just melting off," he said. "The guy, he was melting. He looked like wax."

Neighbors reported hearing a wooshing sound and the crash explosion as they were readying for their days.

"I've never seen so many flames, never in all my life," Marcela Rodriguez told the Orlando Sentinel. She was eating breakfast at a friend's home when the plane crashed two houses away.

Rodriguez said she ran out and was unable to see anyone because of the heat and flames.

Heather Stahley, who also lives in the neighborhood, told the Orlando Sentinel she was upstairs with her two children when she heard the "boom, boom, boom" of the crash.

"Then I saw the two homes engulfed in flames and black smoke," she said. "I just couldn't believe it was happening."

[nyteryder2]

It's been an interesting debate, S_Temper. I've also learned that there are two sides to every debate and sufficient information can be found to support both sides.

It's funny because I think of the statistics everytime I get behind the wheel of my vehicle, climb onto my motorcycle, get behind the yoke or "stick" of an aircraft, or step aboard a commercial aircraft on one of my monthly trips to DFW. I know that I am safest on the airliner and most unsafe on the bike, not so much because of what I do or don't do, but because of the abilities or lack of abilities of those around me. I know that the airline pilot received the best training that money can buy and is not sitting in the cockpit discussing personal stuff with the crew, as happened in the late '70s when a PSA jet flew into a Cessna over San Diego. The NTSB determined that the flight crew should have been paying attention to flying the plane.

I don't feel very safe on the highway, either on my bike or in my vehicle, especially when I see people reading the newpaper or talking on the phone while driving. Yes, people actually read the newspaper while driving. So I have to drive or ride defensively. (Three years ago, at age 64, I placed second in my motorcycle safety course.)

As far as flying a plane goes...I no longer have to fly and I fly because I want to, not because I have to. Unlike the doctor and the NASCAR pilot, when I fly I don't have a schedule to keep. That and my flying credentials make me the safer pilot.

[nyteryder2]

It's funny. I searched "general aviation safety" and Greenspun's site was #1. I read his article and saw some inaccuracies in Greenspun's statements.

However, from the #2 listing:
"General Aviation (GA) in the United States is one of the world's safest forms of public transportation. Part of that outstanding track record comes from the steady improvements in technology and certification standards that have made GA safe for those flying and those on the ground. ... Compared with every other form of transportation (cars, trucks, buses, boats, motorcycles, bicycles, and walking), GA accidents are exceedingly rare. But, while rare, they do occur."
Source: gaservingamerica.org/Is_it_Safe.htm

That's why I continue to fly both commercial and general aviation.

At 3 fatalities per 10 Billion passenger flight hours (or even the statistics in your references), I would expect to live several lifetimes without suffering an airplane crash, let alone a fatality.

[nyteryder2]

"Do you know anything about aviation, or are you just desperate for a stranger to embarrass you publicly?" Posted by S_Temper at 04:13 AM : Jul 13, 2007
____________________

The heighth of conceit...

Do you know anything about statistics or are you just scrambling to find something to support your belief?

Dr. Gouhua Li ... get real!!

[nyteryder2]

"If an airplane has 100 passengers, then the passenger miles are 100 times higher, making the risk 100 times lower." That is false.
Posted by S_Temper at 03:54 AM : Jul 13, 2007
___________________

S-Temper, you are hopeless. That statement is from the very same Wikipedia Air Safety page that you cited. And now you are talking apples and oranges.

And now, in light of your arrogant miscalculations, you are resorting to demeaning me in an attempt to elevate your own position.

LOL!!! I don't have to defend my experience as a pilot or as a vehicle driver. Both records are on file, with the FAA or the DMV. I also have a degree in engineering, which obviously requires extensive mathematics.

What is your expertise in aviation safety, S-Temper?

[nyteryder2]

"Study lead author Dr. Guohua Li says intoxication isn't any less dangerous on a bicycle." Source: hopkinsmedicine.org/hnf/hnf_1489.htm

"We all know the dangers of drinking and driving, but now researchers from Johns Hopkins University warn against the dangers of drinking and riding a bike. In this week's Journal of the American Medical Association, Guohua Li, M.D., Dr.P.H. and colleagues report on the number of fatalities and injury accidents among people who were riding a bike while intoxicated." Source: chennaionline.com/health/homearticles/riding.asp

"An epidemiologist, Dr. Li is interested in injury causation and trauma outcomes, with an emphasis on risk factors identification and policy interventions. His studies encompass innovative research methodology, injury surveillance systems, occupational safety, aging, and alcohol abuse." Source: hopkinsmedicine.org

"Dr. Gouhua Li ... serves at the principal investigator for research project aimed at understanding the injury risk during the process of aging and the EFFECTIVENESS OF MANDATORY ALCOHOL TESTING IN AVIATION AND MOTOR CARRIERS."
Source: geog.hku.hk/isrs2006/Li_bio.pdf

It appears Dr. Li's expertise is not aviation safety statistics.

S_Temper, you're NIT PICKING and SELECTIVELY CHOOSING articles that weakly support your invalid theories. When you are proven wrong you move on to another source.

Keep moving, S_Temper, your arrogance overwhelms you.

[nyteryder2]

There is no need for you to address me further, because you will only look more foolish.
Posted by S_Temper at 04:33 AM : Jul 13, 2007
_______________________

You really had to dig deep to find that one, didn't you?

In view of all the objective evidence refuting your statement, S-Temper, your arrogance overwhelms you.

Plus, my commercial pilot's certificate with instrument and instructor ratings gives me a lot of insight of the subject matter.

[nyteryder2]

" nyteryder2, you don't know me, and you probably don't know what Libertarianism is, but I'll respond to your claim that I'm a "fact-twisting neocon" by guessing that you are a deceitful socialist ***-gobbler. Now we're even." Posted by S_Temper at 04:44 PM : Jul 12, 2007
______________________

Libertarian or not, you distort the facts by leaving out essential information. You will never be even with me, because your reading comprehension is not up to par.

[nyteryder2]

S_Temper, you keep leaving out the most important sentence (which I put in caps) that is in your referenced article. Here is the complete statement from your AIR SAFETY reference:

"IT IS OFTEN REPORTED THAT AIR TRAVEL IS THE SAFEST IN TERMS OF DEATHS PER PASSENGER MILE. The National Transportation Safety Board (2006) reports 1.3 deaths per hundred million vehicle miles for travel by car, and 1.7 deaths per hundred million vehicle miles for travel by air. THESE ARE NOT PASSENGER MILES. If an airplane has 100 passengers, then the passenger miles are 100 times higher, making the risk 100 times lower. The number of deaths per passenger mile on commercial airlines between 1995 and 2000 is about 3 deaths per 10 billion passenger miles."

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_safety

Another source cites 1 death per 7,700 (population) for motor vehicles and 1 death per 2,067,000 (population) for air carriers. This site also states "Deaths per passenger mile should also be considered as a basic risk measure when comparing risks amongst various modes of transportation. Since the average number of passengers in an aircraft far exceeds the average number of passengers in a motor vehicle, the passenger mile risk of air carrier transportation is significantly less than that of motor vehicle transportation."
Source: hazmat.dot.gov/riskmgmt/riskcompare.htm

[smilingb1]

I cannot believe that folks are more concerned w/ who owned the aircraft, the accuracy of the distance to the airport and the ability of physicians to fly planes. PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES. Did you miss that important fact?

[stardust999]

For some of you that cannot get it out of your heads, this plane was for hire, not a private aircraft." Posted by kaiyo4u at 08:38 AM : Jul 11, 2007


Please indicate your source for the afore mentioned statement

From what I have read on numerous sites - the plance was owned and operated by ISC/NASCAR as the parent corporation.

Brass tax:
Horrible tragedy
It will take much time for all to recover
Let the families mourn in peace
Don't make assumptions