1 PILOT KILLED WHEN A CESSNA 172 SKYHAWK SMALL PLANE CRASHED IN SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA

JUNE 19, 2015

SHREVEPORT, LA

The pilot of the small plane that crashed late Friday afternoon at the Downtown Airport in Shreveport was declared "deceased on scene," according to Shreveport Fire Chief Scott Wolverton.

Shreveport emergency crews were called to the scene just after 5:30 p.m.  

Shreveport Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Fred Sanders says the plane that crashed is a Cessna 172. The plane's registration is connected to a Bossier City address, but it is unclear whether the pilot is local. He has not been identified, although Wolverton says he is a male, 50 to 60 years of age.

The aircraft itself was heavily damaged in the crash. Chief Wolverton says the pilot had been doing "touch and gos," which involve taking off and landing again repeatedly. It's a practice common for pilots looking to get required flight hours logged. 

The crash happened some 700 yards from the primary runway where the pilot was taking off and landing.  

The FAA has been called into investigate. 

Friends of the victim say the pilot had years of experience and the news of his death comes as a shock to them.

"Of all of us it could have happened to it was the least one you would have expected it to," said friend Jerry Harris.

Business partners in the Bag Flying Club are grieving the loss of one of their own.

"We've known each other a lot of years, I mean we aren't close friends but anytime you're brothers in aviation in a club like we've had," said Harris.

Friends tell us the pilot had at least 25 years of flying experience.

"Talk about a man with confidence, whatever happened, in my opinion probably the wind got him or something," said Harris.

Harris says this accident doesn't take away from the pilot that he was.

"He's just a very close personably type guy, he'd do anything for you. It's just like driving down the road, you could be the best person, and something could happen," said Harris.

The airport will reopen at 7 a.m. on Saturday. 

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A pilot died when a small plane he was flying crashed in Shreveport Friday.

Shreveport firefighters arrived at Shreveport Downtown Airport at about 5:20 p.m. to find a single-engine Cessna had crashed. More than a dozen units responded to the call.

The pilot — the only one on board — was dead by that time and was not immediately identified. Shreveport Fire Chief Scott Wolverton said the pilot was a man between the ages of 50 and 60.

"There's a lot of heavy damage to the aircraft. Just from the background we know, he'd been out doing touch-and-goes for several hours here at the Downtown Airport," Wolverton said. "The individual in the tower did witness the event. As of right now, that's the only witness we do have."

The runway was closed so the Federal Aviation Administration could investigate the crash.

The pilot's name won't be released until the investigation is complete, officials said. An autopsy will help determine if the pilot's death was health-related or caused by the crash itself.

Date:	19-JUN-2015
Time:	17:30
Type:	Cessna 172 Skyhawk
Owner/operator:	Bag Flying Club Inc
Registration:	N5743A
C/n / msn:	28343
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Airplane damage:	Substantial
Location:	Shreveport Downtown Airport (KDTN), Shreveport, LA -   United States of America
Phase:	Unknown
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	Shreveport Downtown (KDTN)
Destination airport:	Shreveport Downtown (KDTN)

Narrative:
The aircraft impacted airport terrain while performing touch-and-go landings at Shreveport Downtown Airport (KDTN), Shreveport, Louisiana. The airplane sustained substantial damage and the sole pilot onboard received fatal injuries.

 

Sources: 
http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=177107
  http://www.wsmv.com/story/29365180/small-plane-crashes-at-shreveports-downtown-airport http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2015/06/19/one-dead-in-shreveport-downtown-airport-crash/29010851/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin= http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=5743A
http://flightaware.com/photos/view/284228-ecbcb0814d74c1fb5b708fa4a90571775de4b322%3Btail=N5743A%3Bo=2