Local pilot tries to save Palmer man

WASILLA - After working a lifetime as a California Highway Patrol officer, a Palmer man risked his life Sunday trying to save a pair of pilots who crashed near the Wasilla Airport.

Dave Glenn, a retiree who owns and pilots Grasshopper Aviation, said he was shocked by the plane wreckage he saw at the Wasilla Airport in the early afternoon Sunday - the single engine of a white-and-brown-striped Cessna 177 Cardinal was folded back into the cockpit. Two men were trapped inside.

David Lott, a 24-year-old flight instructor from Anchorage, and Michael Hayes, a 38-year-old flight student from Palmer, were on an instruction flight from Merrill Field in Anchorage when their plane crashed off the runway of Wasilla Airport.

Lott suffered severe head trauma and died instantly, Glenn said. Hayes died later near the scene, according to reports.

&#8220The pilot [Hayes] was conscious and talking to me,” he said. &#8220He had no visible injuries. There wasn't any blood. He was talking to me, but his right foot was stuck.”

Hayes was lying upside down at a 30-degree angle and halfway out of the plane with his foot trapped beneath the crushed cockpit, Glenn said.

&#8220He asked me where he was,” he said. &#8220I figured he would be fine. He was very clear in his speech. Both of his eyes looked good, so he didn't have a concussion. I didn't notice any broken bones. All the blood, however, was going to his head.”

Glenn said he lied and told Hayes his dead partner was OK.

&#8220I did it to encourage him,” he added.

Glenn was worried because Hayes' head was starting to turn purple and there was hot electrical equipment and fuel everywhere. He ran to get a large piece of piping to bend the metal loose around Haye's foot. By the time he returned with the pipe, Glenn said Providence Alaska Medical Center's LifeGuard Alaska air ambulance response team took over.

Alexander Wysocki, a responding Wasilla Police officer, said plane crashes - especially fatal - are uncommon for Wasilla. He was unable to determine if both pilots were wearing their seat belts.

&#8220The plane was in a small ditch, about 300-400 feet from the runway,” he said.

The 370-acre airport's runway is 3,700 feet long.

Two other Wasilla Police officers, Timothy Jessen and Bill Rapson, responded.

Allen Kenitzer, spokesman for the FAA Alaska Region, said the crash resulted during an Aero Tech Flight Services instruction flight with calm winds and good visibility.

&#8220Sadly, both the student and the flight instructor were killed,” Kenitzer said.

Valia Ardaiz, an office administrator and daughter of Aero Tech Flight Services' owners, said Lott, a 24-year-old flight instructor, was newly married and and joined the company last September from Florida.

&#8220He was a really sweet man,” she said. &#8220He was trying to build time to be a pilot for a commuter. It's just a really, really sad thing.”

Aero Tech is in its 51st year, and this is the company's first instructor-student plane crash, she said.

Jim LaBelle, Alaska's regional director for the National Transportation Safety Board, said the student pilot, Hayes, had logged about 600 hours of flight time and was working on his commercial license. Hayes had passed a written examination and was preparing for his flight exam.

It is unclear if the cause of the crash is related to operational error or mechanical failure, LaBelle said, adding that the landing gear was down at the time of impact.

&#8220We're right in the throes of the investigation right now,” he said. &#8220No one actually saw the accident. We don't know who was flying the aircraft.”

LaBelle said normally the flight instructor is considered the pilot in command and assumes responsibility for the safety of the flight. He could not release information regarding how long Lott was training students or the amount of flight time he had. At least one witness who may have heard or seen the plane prior to the crash is being contacted. LaBelle believes the plane was bound for a return to Merrill Field.

Kurt Heller, a pilot and mechanic at Ray's Aircraft Service at Wasilla Airport, said pilots there are much more observant and courteous since the crash.

&#8220Everybody's kind of sad,” he said. &#8220It makes them think it could have been them.”

Heller said he and other pilots are confused by what could have caused the crash, before noting the airport's runway has a down draft that causes a high sink rate. It's like hitting a dip with a car that causes butterflies in the stomach.

&#8220But they would have been ready for that,” Heller said. &#8220It had to be something a lot more drastic.”

Contact Hannah Guillaume at 352-2284 or hannah.guillaume@frontiersman.com.