الطيار لدية ما يفوق عن 31 سنة من الخبرة في مجال الطيران
ولدية أكثر من 10 الف ساعة طيران
وهو غير متأكد هل هو أنزل عجلات الهبوط أم لا
The pilot in last week's fatal airplane crash told federal investigators he couldn't remember whether the landing wheels were deployed when the small aircraft flipped during a water landing on Lewisville Lake.
Three witnesses reported seeing the wheels sticking out from underneath the pontoons of the plane when Kenneth Gedney attempted to land about 4 p.m. March 18 near Stewart Peninsula Park in The Colony, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report.
Gedney, the owner of the plane, told investigators the airplane touched down on the calm water with "no skips or bounces" and flipped over its nose and into the water upside down. The wheels are supposed to be stowed in the wheel wells during water landings.
The crash killed his passenger and assistant, 41-year-old Kristin Kolby. A boater pulled the unconscious Gedney from the water and revived him by administering CPR.
Gedney is president of Addison-based OptiSky, a firm that helps clients acquire and manage aircraft, according to its Web site.
The site states that Gedney has 31 years' experience in the aircraft industry, including more than 10,000 hours of flight time.
An Experimental Lancair IV-P airplane lies beached on Hilton Head Island, S.C., Tuesday, March 16, 2010, the day after its pilot made an emergency landing. The pilot, Edward Smith, and his passenger survived the crash, but man jogging on the beach was killed when he was struck by the plane