Plane crash-lands on Platte Avenue median

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jun 12, 2005 | by DENNIS HUSPENI THE GAZETTE

A tragedy didn't happen east of Colorado Springs on Saturday morning.

But it was so close.

A small plane hit the ground shortly after takeoff from the Colorado Springs Airport, landing smack in the middle of Platte Avenue just east of Powers Boulevard.

No motorists were affected, and the pilot and an instructor walked away from the wrecked Beechcraft Bonanza S-35. There was no fire, and no other property was damaged.

"Thank God there were no cars," said Sgt. Mike Schaller of the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. "If this had happened at 7:30 on a weekday, things could have been different."

The crash happened about 7:30 a.m. Saturday, and emergency vehicles responding to it blocked eastbound traffic on Platte for less than two hours. The wreckage remained in the median for most of the day.

Pilot Terry Angevine, 56, of Double Oak, Texas -- near the Dallas- Fort Worth area -- took off from runway 35L with an unidentified female flight instructor, according to a Colorado Springs Airport official.

After liftoff, it was unable to climb, said John McGinley, the airport's assistant director of operations and maintenance. Airport operations were not affected.

Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector Gerald Odom of Denver responded to the crash Saturday afternoon.

"The instruments were showing it was developing full power, but the aircraft was not able to climb or increase airspeed," Odom said.

Witness Shawna Doutt, who works at Don's Garden Shop off Platte Avenue, called 911 after seeing the plane go down.

There are piles of dirt near the shop and Doutt said the plane "just barely skimmed" over those before touching down on the eastbound Platte onramp from Powers, then "bouncing up over" the eastbound lanes of Platte and landing in the grassy median that separates the two lanes of Platte.

"We saw it fly overhead and heard the crunch and everything," Doutt said. "Planes fly over us all the time. We never thought we'd see anything like that happen."

"They were very fortunate," Odom said, noting the plane barely missed a pole. "And there were some very good piloting skills."

Angevine has more than 2,500 hours of flight time, Odom said, and he was in the state to get some hightude training.

Odom said Angevine -- who could not be reached for comment -- realized the plane might not climb shortly after takeoff, so he kept the landing gear down.

"The gear absorbed a lot of the impact," Odom said. "It was the reason they were able to walk away."

McGinley said the plane was headed for a day trip to Leadville, then was scheduled to return to Colorado Springs.

The plane wreckage was taken to Greeley, where FAA investigators will look at the engine to determine what happened.

Odom said investigation results are weeks away.

Staff writer Jacob Luecke

contributed to this report.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0110 or dhuspeni@gazette.com