David Royse, 82, of Saratoga, was airlifted to a hospital in
stable condition after his Avid C Aerobat took the hard landing at
about 2 p.m. Tuesday at Frazier Lake Airpark in San Benito County.
A sheriff’s detective also said wind played a role in the
accident.
SAN BENITO COUNTY
A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman reported that the single-engine airplane crashed by a Saratoga man Tuesday landed short of the runway, bounced once and came to a rest upside down.
David Royse, 82, of Saratoga, was airlifted to a hospital in stable condition after his Avid C Aerobat took the hard landing at about 2 p.m. Tuesday at Frazier Lake Airpark in San Benito County.
The aircraft number on the airplane from the crash scene is registered with the FAA, according to its Web site, as an Avid C Aerobat that Royse himself built. Ian Gregor, a communications manager with the FAA, called the aircraft an experimental airplane and confirmed how the accident occurred.
Royse didn’t suffer any life-threatening injuries from the crash, sheriff’s Detective Ed Nino said today. Nino also pointed out that a heavy northwest wind played a role in the plane flipping over.
Royse’s airplane crashed at Frazier Lake Airpark at about 2 p.m. Tuesday, and the victim was airlifted from the scene about 40 minutes later after being stabilized. The plane had no major, visible damage after flipping upside down slightly off the lighted, grassy runway area.
Some blood was visible on the interior ceiling of the plane and on a door. And he was found with a laceration on his head, said Fire Protection Engineer Jeff Kinoshita.
Responding were Cal Fire, the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office and CALSTAR. The victim was taken to the Regional Medical Center of San Jose for treatment.
