Small Plane Overturns in Lake Lewisville

Pilot survives crash, passenger is killed

A small plane crashed into Lake Lewisville on Thursday afternoon and flipped upside down, killing a female passenger and seriously injuring the pilot.

The Colony Fire Department Capt. Kenny Adamcik on Friday said crews located the woman's body in the float plane around 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

The pilot was rushed by helicopter to Parkland Hospital in Dallas. He was conscious and talking, said The Colony Fire Chief Scott Thompson.

The single-engine plane, a 1983 Maule, is known as a float plane. It is capable of landing on water.

Witnesses said the plane had no obvious problems while they watched it fly around the lake before it crashed.

The plane was registered to a Dallas man. Nobody answered the door at his townhouse late Thursday.

Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the crash Thursday.

The crash happened apparently as the pilot was trying to land on the lake, witnesses said.

One possible cause focused on whether the pilot mistakenly lowered the landing gear.

The wheels should never be down for a water landing, experts said, but the wheels on this plane were clearly lowered.
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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