Sad news from my formal flight school.....
 

http://www.star-telegram.com/state_news/story/305594.html

3 die in crash of plane from Arlington

The Associated Press

ABILENE -- Three people died Thursday when a plane owned by Skymates, Inc., an Arlington flight school crashed in Eastland County.
The three were on their way from Arlington to Abilene when the single-engine, fixed-wing Piper Cherokee crashed just after 3 p.m., senior trooper Sparky Dean of the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement.
In the front seat were instructor Robert William Davey, 29, of DeSoto and Luca Visani of Cesena, Italy. Andrea Venturini of Mantova, Italy, was in the back seat, Dean said. No ages were available for the two from Italy.
The victims were confirmed dead at the scene. The bodies have been taken to the Tarrant County medical examiner's office for autopsies.
Witnesses said the plane came apart before it hit the ground, Dean said. Troopers said that the debris field covered about 1 square mile. No one on the ground was reported injured.
The crash occurred about four miles south of Interstate 20 on Texas 16, near Ranger, said Roland Herwig, an official with the Federal Aviation Administration.
Skymates Inc., an Arlington flight training school, is listed as the owner of the aircraft. The plane was a four-seat model popular as a trainer, according to a Web site featuring Piper aircraft.
Skymates representatives could not be reached for comment late Thursday.
FAA officials are investigating, Dean said.
Staff writer Mitch Mitchell contributed to this report.


( I flew this plane quite a few times while I was there.)

http://www.skymates.com/fleet/images...307-05-072.jpg
Make: Piper
Model: Pa28R 200
Tail #: N55307
Year: 1973

Blue Skies......................RIP

The curse continues...I remember when the owner of Alamo Aviation (which SkyMates bought) died in a Seneca crash in 2000 or so. Is the Luca involved Luca the owner? I thought his last name was Fausti.

Very sad nonetheless.

RIP

Anyone know how it happend yet? The article said the plane came apart before the plane hit the ground.

Man oh man. So close to home. I think I might have flown with Davey once. How pitiful.

There's no way to speculate what happened, but this is not a first for Skymates. A few years ago, a Arrow crashed into a lake killing all on board. Given, it was the pilot's poor decisions that caused it, but nevertheless, it still adds the skymate's bad rap. Hope they can get things together. Be careful out there Morgan.