Pilot unresponsive; Plane circling over Gulf of Mexico

[Ian David]

Source: NBC-2

Update: Pete Williams reports the plane has gone down 170 miles off the Florida coast.

A private plane is circling over the Gulf of Mexico and the pilot is "incapacitated," and apparently unconscious.

...

The U.S. Coast Guard is repositioning its assets, according to Williams, to try to help with a rescue.

The plane was due to land in Sarasota at 10:45 a.m. after leaving Slidell, Louisiana at 6:43 a.m.

A tracking chart for the plane shows that at 9 a.m., about half way into the trip, something happened and the plane is now making a corkscrew pattern headed toward Florida.



Read more: http://www.nbc-2.com/story/17585126/pilot-unresponsive-plane-circling-over-gulf-of-mexico

[guitar man]

1. Damn

Did W* take up flying again?

[Skinner]

2. "authorities believe the pilot is the only person onboard."

From the article. In case anyone is curious.

[Renew Deal]

3. Thanks

I was curious.

[Octafish]

4. Thank you.

Remember this poor fellow?

Faced Probe of Business Ventures : Pilot of Wandering Plane Had Been Shot in Stomach

Ah! You're young.

[southernyankeebelle]

5. I hope he makes it.

[HereSince1628]

6. Estimated fuel to last until 12:30 eastern, any news of a splashdown?

[ewagner]

7. Sad...

flight tracker looks like it spiraled into the sea...

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N48DL/history/20120419/1230Z/KASD/KSRQ

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. that is a cool site, by jove.

how did you know the pane's info to input it?

[ewagner]

15. In most cases

you have to know the "N-number" or flight number...but...

If you put in the airport location (either Slidell or St Petersburg) it will show you all flights departing or arriving at that airport...the erratic flight pattern of that plane would have immediately aroused suspicion to track it more closely.

Have fun with the site...we use it to track our relatives visits (when should we leave for the airport to pick them up?) and tracking who is coming and going at our local airport...you'd be surprised how much commerce takes place through a small, local airport.

enjoy

[bluedigger]

8. From update on MSNBC...

Howard Fine (I think) reported Air Force/Coast Guard(?) pilots reported that they couldn't see in the canopy due to icing. That would indicate a loss of cabin pressure, similar to what happened to Payne Stewart's aircraft a few years ago (1999). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payne_Stewart

The plane augered in.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

14. Came to mind for me, too...

... Payne's plane crashed in northern South Dakota, near Aberdeen. They had USAF F-16's tailing it from Louisiana to it's crash site in South Dakota. They said the F-16's were sent up so as to shoot it down if it appeared headed for a crash into a populated area.

[avebury]

10. Here is the latest on NBC

http://www.nbc-2.com/story/17585126/pilot-unresponsive-plane-circling-over-gulf-of-mexico

The plane landed softly in the water and was intact, floating right side up, Boderland said. A Coast Guard helicopter was responding and a patrol boat was about 90 miles away. Boderland did not know the condition of the pilot.

"The situation is pretty dynamic right now," Boderland said.

WDSU in New Orleans is reporting a Slidell Airport board member told them the pilot is Dr. Peter Hertzak, an OBGYN in Slidell.

[dipsydoodle]

11. K & R

for prominence back at the top of LBN.

[Rob H.]

12. Damn.

Plane from Slidell with unresponsive pilot crashes in to Gulf
wwltv.com
Posted on April 19, 2012 at 11:32 AM
Updated today at 2:11 PM

_snip_

The Coast Guard said the plane sunk into the Gulf of Mexico and that crews flying over the site saw no signs that its pilot survived the crash.

[Uncle Joe]

13. This reminds me of the flight that Payne Stewart died on.

http://www.airsafe.com/stewart.htm

Thanks for the thread Ian David.