WIX Archives

Albatross Crashes into bee hives

Posted by B Darnell on Mon Sep 29, 2003 08:28:37 AM

From ANN:

Bees Complicate Rescue in Amphibian Crash

The Albatross had engine trouble, and its subsequent
crash landing took out several commercial beehives. That
unfortunate turn of events made the rescue of the survivors
particularly heroic, as huge clouds of angry bees defended their
turf against the pilot, passengers, and rescuers, all of whom
sustained multiple stings.

The crash, near Florida's Atlantic coast, was in an open area --
open because it was a cow pasture, enhanced by a commercial honey
farm. There were over a hundred beehives there; many were destroyed
when the stricken plane came through.

A father-and-son team, driving nearby, saw the crash and went to
help. The pilot was treating one of the passengers, witness reports
said, trying to stop massive bleeding. 18-year-old Blake Lynch,
dressed just in jean shorts, wrapped his Dad's shirt around his
head, and ran to the wreck, where he pulled the injured pilot from
the wreck, put him on his shoulders, and ran from the crash site.
Blake was later quoted in the Palm Beach Post: "You don't
understand -- there were about a million bees out there... It was a
cloud about 100 yards wide."

Blakes' Dad, Garland Lynch, did his best to bind up the pilot's
wounds and pull the bees off his skin.

Fire and Sheriff's personnel arrived fifteen minutes later; they
too faced the angry swarms. Many sustained multiple stings.

The names of the men aboard are being withheld, for the time
being. One of the two passengers died.

The "seasonally-based" Hu-16 flew out of St. Lucie airport; the
flight was "just to exercise the plane," according to the paper's
report. It reportedly carried about 500 gallons of gasoline.
Luckily, there was no postcrash fire.
Hero kept his head

Kelly Wolfe, of the Palm Beach Post, noted, "Blake
Lynch said that as he headed toward the crashed plane he couldn't
panic because 'everyone else was panicking... If you watch out for
people,' he said, 'other people will watch out for you.'"

** Report created 9/26/2003 Record
9 **
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 70258
Make/Model: U16 Description:
HU-16 ALBATROSS
Date: 09/25/2003 Time: 1726
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury:
Fatal Mid Air: N Missing:
N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: FORT
PIERCE
State: FL Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT DEPARTED ST. LUCIE COUNTY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
(FPR). REPORTED AN ENGINE FAILURE. AIRCRAFT CRASHED TRYING TO
RETURN TO THE AIRPORT. OF THE TREE POB, ONE SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES
AND THE OTHER TWO ARE IN CRITICAL CONDITION. FORT PIERCE, FL
INJURY DATA Total Fatal:
1

# Crew: 1 Fat:
0 Ser:
1 Min:
0 Unk: Y

# Pass: 2 Fat:
1 Ser:
1 Min:
0 Unk:

# Grnd:
Fat: 0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
WEATHER: KFPR 251653Z 09009KT 10SM SCT021 28/24 A3000 RMK AO2
RAE11
OTHER DATA
Departed: (FPR) FORT
PIERCE,FL Dep Date:
09/25/2003 Dep. Time: 1720
Destination:
UNK
Flt Plan: UNK
Wx Briefing: U
Last Radio Cont: APPOX 2 NW FPR
Last Clearance: CLRD TO LAND RWY 14
FAA FSDO: ORLANDO, FL
(SO15)
Entry date: 09/26/2003

For the WHOLE story, go to http://www.aero-news.net/news/genav.cfm?ContentBlockID=379fd516-bb47-48cb-8c59-9c00e2b7f578&Dynamic=1

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