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Sheriff’s Dept. Aircraft Crashes Near Flomaton (Updated With Photo Gallery)
May 6, 2010
The “powerchute” ultralight aircraft operated by the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Department crashed in a wooded area near Flomaton this morning.
Chief Deputy Mike Lambert, who was piloting the aircraft, suffered a minor leg injury, according to Sheriff Grover Smith. A passenger in the aircraft — an undercover officer –was not injured.
Both men were transported to D.W. McMillan Hospital in Brewton by ambulance. They were evaluated and released.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the scene, click here.
Lambert was attempting to take off in a large grassy field about 9:20 a.m.. At this time, it appears a gust of wind on an otherwise calm day pushed the powerchute off course and into a pine tree, Smith said. The parachute remained tangled in some small brush under the tree, while the aircraft fell upright into a few inches of water in a marshy area.
Lambert and the undercover officer were searching the area for marijuana Wednesday morning and had located several plants from the air, Smith said. After returning to a landing zone behind a private residence on Old Fannie Road, the officers were returning to the skies to further investigate the marijuana field.
The powerchute includes a frame with an engine and seats which hangs from a large parachute; it is also called a “powered parachute”.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
36 Responses to “Sheriff’s Dept. Aircraft Crashes Near Flomaton (Updated With Photo Gallery)”
Teresa, “pot is illegal”, therefore it is bad? Many laws have been unjust in the past. It was illegal to transort runaway slaves 160 years ago. It was illegal for women to vote in the US only 80 years ago. Please enlighten yourself and reject this government fed brainwashing about marijuana. Cannabis has been used by humans for thousands of years for medicinal and recreational use without harm. While pharmecuetical companies poison people legally, you attack a naturally occuring plant which is relatively harmless. Please open your mind and educate yourself.
awww they broke there toy..a four wheeler is much cheaper and a lot safer.. I’m glad no one got hurt.. you know people we have a say to whether or not they should have things like this..it’s our tax money…and its the peoples right to have a say what is bought with it in our county..what it cost for this thing ,they could buy 4-fourwheelers..humm and could hire a few people that need JOB’S….
Teresa,
Instead of believing all of the media hype and propoganda that you have been fed over the years, do a little research and educate yourself. Marijuana is not addictive and is far less likely to be a gateway drug than tobacco, alcohol and prescription meds, yet thanks to alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceutical political lobbyist, those drugs remain legal and MJ is not in all but 15 states. Marijuana has legitimate medical uses, whereas the highly adictive alcohol and tobacco have none. Prescription medication has risen to the top as the most abused type of drug in America, followed by alcohol and tobacco. These are the drugs you should be concerned about, not pot.
P.S. Please turn CAPS lock off as it is very difficult to read in that format.
thats terrible about the plane, but at least nobody is seriously hurt. best wishes you have a speedy recovery, Mr. Lambert
ARE YOU KIDDING ME……..DON’T WORRY ABOUT A LITTLE POT….WHOEVER SAYS THAT MUST BE A USER…..I AGREE ABOUT PUTTING AWAY CHILD MOLESTERS, MURDER, AND OTHER WORSE CRIMES….POT IS ILLEGAL AND IT IS A MIND ALTERING DRUG WHICH IS BECOMING READILY AVAILABLE TO OUR KIDS WHO MAY THEN GO ON TO EXPERIMENT WITH OTHER DRUGS….SHAME ON YOU FOR EVEN SUGGESTING ABOUT NOT WORRYING…….IF THEY GROW IT….THEY WILL SELL IT…….
This is a picture of one of the planes that was practicing the other day…. did it look like this, Emily?
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Pitts-S-2C-Special/0698344/L/
Emily, that was a pilot practicing for an aerobatics competition. They were at Atmore Airport and flew close by there… were you around that area? Before the yellow Pitts flew there were 2 other planes/pilots who practiced as well….. none of them crashed or came close to crashing…. they have to stay above a certain altitude and not fly over congested areas to be able to do aerobatics like that…..
Never mind! But still, Did anyone else see the checkered red and yellow plane?
I saw a plane flying yesterday and it was like doing tricks I think and than it came like 200 feet away from my house and it was making a really wierd noise. And it went down like really fast and I don’t know if that was the plane or not! But I want to see pictures of what the plane looked like before the crash! I think it’s the one I saw. I hope not because it was really cool looking. It was checkered red and yellow. My mom and nana could only see the yellow. I could only see the red. But when it came close to my house it was checkered red and yellow! It was really cool! Did anyone else see it?
I own one and am a licensed Sport Pilot. I have over 200 hours in my Powered Parachute and have never crashed. To me it is the safest way to fly. On occaision when asked, I fly search and rescue looking for lost hikers. I’d be interested in seeing the news reports about “all” these people that have been killed. I say at the most its just a few. Some of those have been attributed to preexisting medical problems such as a heart attack while in flight.
More government intrusion? Leagalized Drugs? This is CRAZY!
I agree Educated decision maker , we have more serious issues we need to worry about. So what if they bust someone with pot, or growing pot, its never going to stop it , so they should instead focus on things that actually hurt people.
Why not keep crack off the streets instead?
Bob, I wish you knew what you were talking about.
That plane is a registered aircraft with an N number and airworthiness certificate, and undergoes an annual condition inspection just like a Cessna.
Pilots flying these are trained to the rules of Sport Pilot, take an FAA written knowledge test and pass an FAA practical test/checkride given by a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) rated in PPCL. (Powered Parachute Land.)
Training required is 12 hours of flight time, with 10 hours dual training with a CFI & 2 hours solo flight time. This can be verified by looking it up in the FAA rule book (FAR/AIM) under part 61.313(g) As a sport pilot who flies one of these, I have to know airspace rules.
I have flown one of these in Los Angeles airspace, so I know about that & more.
Aircraft like these are supplied by the DOJ to small departments in small towns like this at no cost to the department or county/city, so you now have an aviation division. Would you be able to buy a 2 million dollar or more helicopter? Could you fly it for the $30.00 to 40.00 per hour this costs to fly?
Criminals have been caught using these. Google Ripon, CA PD & you’ll find the story.
BTW, I know many real pilots, airline pilots with over 20,000 hours driving Boeing’s that own & fly these for the fun of flying.
maybe they have this thing to get in and get a closer look at all the
illegal crap going on in these places that have it going on where
you can’t get into them without the whole towns bad element knowing
your there, and where you can’t get in low enough any other way to get a good
look around.
Sounds like a plan to me.
Keep up the good work. put all the stupid druggies in jail, the good ppl
of this town are sick of it, and anyone who thinks it’s ok, should have
another look at the kids in your towns.
Real pilots won’t fly these things. If anyone does in your family please buy a good life insurance policy on them.
Always looking for good investments. I think this was a crash of an investment myself.
Huh,
They have the toy wannabe plane so that they can fill the jails with a few more non-violent marijuana growers while child molesters and other violent criminals run free. Someday in the not so distant future marijuana will be decriminalized in all states, freeing up police to concentrate on REAL crime.
Wow. Real agencies have planes and helicopters. But we have a go kart with wings.
Okay, we can’t ban everything because it may be unsafe! My Toyota had a recall on it so technically was “unsafe.” Does that mean we ban all Toyotas?
I think the response to this accident is somewhat overrated. The plane is a very useful tool in our Sheriff’s Dept. I for one would rather know that if something happens to me, if I went missing for example, that we have a tool that could help expedite the search. I think people are going to complain no matter what happens, but we can’t ban everything that some consider unsafe.
The Sheriff’s Department wasn’t flying this plane illegally. Both the Sheriff and Chief have pilot’s licenses.
No one was hurt, that should be what matters.
Years ago, I saw one have the same bad luck taking off in North Carolina. Gust of wind came up and he couldn’t clear the trees on the side and ran in to them. I videoed the whole thing.
Why does the sheriffs department have something like this to start with? I really hope the tax payers did not have to pay for some “toy” for them to play with. I don’t think you will be solving any crimes in that thing
I told my wife when the Sheriff’s Department got that thing, that someone will get killed in that thing. A good friend of mine that I worked with died on his first solo flight about a month before he was going to retire. It;s nothing but a souped up parachute!
Since more people are killed in commercial aircraft, cars, trucks, walking, doing chores at home, working on their everyday job, and almost every other kind of activity that you can think of than powered parachutes maybe we should ban all activity and become couch potatoes. OOPS! I forgot! that causes heart problems and obesity.
I think we should ban those people who don’t do anything but want to ban everything that they don’t like.
Just my 2cents
Junkman
There are two types of crashes related to this “powerchute” ultralight aircraft. The first crash and the next one.
Two-place PPCs are light sport aircraft in the United States. The pilot must have at least a sport pilot certificate issued by the FAA to fly them. A minimum of 15 hours of flight instruction, and 5 hours of solo as a student pilot is required to obtain this certificate.
to “me”: Too busy thinking. Duh.
They flew over my house first time around. It was better than coffee to wake one up.
I was outside in my bathrobe operating an electric weed-eater. No privacy. Geesh.
Bob,
Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens…should cars be banned? How about guns? And chainsaws? Maybe we should outlaw swimming and football too.
Gimme a break. Every accident (which this apparently was) does NOT, in my opinion, require a law banning an item or activity.
Almost everything in life exposes you to a certain amount of risk.
I, or you, or anyone else for that matter, should be free to manage our risk as we see fit.
I for one am tired of trading my freedom for someone elses “warm feeling” of security.
Looks to me this is a FAA licensed (inspected) aircraft. Powered by a Rotax 912 aircraft engine (same engine as many $100,000 sport planes). I’m sure the pilot was trained and licensed for this aircraft. Accidents can and do happen with any aircraft, but you are much more likely to survive an accident with a Powered Parachute like this than any other aircraft.
Bob, I agree that is it bad news. The rest of your comment is incorrect. The N number is clearly visible which means this is a two place N numbered AIRCRAFT registered with the FAA. As such it must piloted by a trained FAA Certificated Pilot holding at least a Sport Pilot Certificate unless the Sheriff’s Department was flying it illegally.
This is bad news, but these machines are not inspected and are not designed for anything more than a weekend enthusiast to have a good time. People who use them have no knowledge of pilot techniques,and do not have training from other than word of mouth. My experience with these widow makers is not good and they should not be allowed to fly in airspace where properly trained pilots are navigating. In my career I have seen many of my friends both male and female killed and maimed for life with these toys. They should be banned.
i still want one for myself
Better get that thing back up and running before the Flomaton drug cartel runs amock. The good news is…they didn’t put it thru someones roof. That would have required a “no-knock” warrant.
Thinker…you need to become a “reader”…the other passenger was not injured!
Come on…am I the only one that saw this one coming…
That thing doesn’t look nearly as cool sitting in the swamp as it did over at Mayfest the other day….
Good to hear it was a minor injury for Mike. What about the other guy?
if at first you don’t succeed,
so much for skydiving