Posted 10:29 pm Thursday, February 09, 2012
UPDATE: Officials ID Owner Of Submerged Plane
Updated Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 10:28 p.m.
The single-engine Varga found in Lake Palestine today was registered to Fred Scholz of Anderson County.
Although Texas Department of Public Safety officials declined to provide the identity of the pilot for whom they are looking, friends and neighbors said they believe Scholz is the missing pilot.
They said Scholz and his wife have lived in the Aero Estates community in Berryville for a few years. The couple had a house and hangar like many in the aviation-centered community.
A friend who asked to be referred to only as Tom said Scholz is a "very meticulous pilot" and a trained aircraft mechanic.
Tom said Scholz is in his mid-80s and appears to be in good health.
Although Texas Department of Public Safety officials declined to provide the identity of the pilot for whom they are looking, friends and neighbors said they believe Scholz is the missing pilot.
They said Scholz and his wife have lived in the Aero Estates community in Berryville for a few years. The couple had a house and hangar like many in the aviation-centered community.
A friend who asked to be referred to only as Tom said Scholz is a "very meticulous pilot" and a trained aircraft mechanic.
Tom said Scholz is in his mid-80s and appears to be in good health.
Updated Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 4:58 p.m.
In a news conference this afternoon, Department of Public Safety Trooper Lynn Hubert said officials have not found a body in the search of a plane submerged in Lake Palestine. Game warden officials are still searching the water for any signs of a body using sonar.
Hubert said a recovery team is expected at 8 a.m. Friday to get the plane out of the water. There is no indication as to what caused the crash at this time.
The pilot was in Jacksonville to refuel about 10:40 a.m. Wednesday and left headed for Berryville. That was the last time the pilot was seen, Hubert said.
The Federal Aviation Administration shut off the fuel at that Jacksonville station where the piloted fueled up Wednesday to make sure the fuel was not bad, he said.
The plane was found on its belly with its hatch open and seatbelts released. Hubert said it was about 250 yards from the shore.
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Hubert said a recovery team is expected at 8 a.m. Friday to get the plane out of the water. There is no indication as to what caused the crash at this time.
The pilot was in Jacksonville to refuel about 10:40 a.m. Wednesday and left headed for Berryville. That was the last time the pilot was seen, Hubert said.
The Federal Aviation Administration shut off the fuel at that Jacksonville station where the piloted fueled up Wednesday to make sure the fuel was not bad, he said.
The plane was found on its belly with its hatch open and seatbelts released. Hubert said it was about 250 yards from the shore.
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Divers who checked the remains of a private plane that flew into Lake Palestine yesterday and sunk to the bottom found that the door was open, the pilot was not in the seat, and that his harness was unhooked, indicating he escaped the plane at some point.
DPS helicopters are searching shorelines of Lake Palestine in the event the pilot may have made it to land. Teams of divers will continue to search the lake bottom, as well.
A plane that took off from Jacksonville Wednesday but never arrived at its destination in Frankston was found in Lake Palestine at around 6 a.m. today after search teams had boats out on the lake all night.
The plane is fully submerged, reportedly in 17 1/2 feet of water. The diving team that left the lake shore in the noon hour is marking the plane before it is extracted, which is expected to occur tomorrow. Another diving team is coming from Dallas to search for the pilot, who has not been found. He has not contacted anyone since the plane disappeared, officials say.
According to Maj. Sandra Smith, public information officer of the Texas Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, the pilot was flying a Varga, a fixed-gear, low-wing, two-seat aircraft with a plexi-glass cockpit cover. The wing span is 30' and is 21 feet long.
TylerPaper.com will follow the story, and post additional details as they become available.
Updated Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 2:37 p.m. CST
DPS helicopters are searching shorelines of Lake Palestine in the event the pilot may have made it to land. Teams of divers will continue to search the lake bottom, as well.
A plane that took off from Jacksonville Wednesday but never arrived at its destination in Frankston was found in Lake Palestine at around 6 a.m. today after search teams had boats out on the lake all night.
The plane is fully submerged, reportedly in 17 1/2 feet of water. The diving team that left the lake shore in the noon hour is marking the plane before it is extracted, which is expected to occur tomorrow. Another diving team is coming from Dallas to search for the pilot, who has not been found. He has not contacted anyone since the plane disappeared, officials say.
According to Maj. Sandra Smith, public information officer of the Texas Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, the pilot was flying a Varga, a fixed-gear, low-wing, two-seat aircraft with a plexi-glass cockpit cover. The wing span is 30' and is 21 feet long.
TylerPaper.com will follow the story, and post additional details as they become available.
Updated Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 2:37 p.m. CST
