Pilot walks away from crash


Published on Monday, October 2, 2006 9:32 AM MST

Plane torn to pieces in wreck near Safford Regional Airport

By Adam Gaub, Assistant Editor

An Oklahoma man was able to walk away from a horrific plane crash when it ran out of fuel and crashed near Safford Regional Airport on Wednesday evening, police reports stated.

Jerald Pate, 48, of Muskogee, Okla., a pilot who was flying equipment for Phelps Dodge for the construction at the new Safford Mine, was able to walk nearly a mile and a half from the wreck to the airport hangar. He was in good enough condition to refuse medical treatment, police reports stated, despite the wreck causing Pate’s plane to be torn apart.

Safford Regional Airport Manager Doug Benson, who later went and viewed the wreckage, said it was a miracle Pate was able to walk away from that crash.

“I really can’t conceive how anyone could have walked away from (the crash),” Benson said. “How he went through all that sheet metal and Plexiglas without getting torn up is incredible.”

Benson said other than a few scrapes and being dusty, Pate looked otherwise unharmed when he talked to him at the airport. Medics checked Pate and the airport, but Pate refused to be taken to a hospital, police reports stated.

Pate told Graham County Sheriff’s deputies that he took off from Austin, Texas, after refueling there at 1:50 p.m. He was approaching Safford when he ran out of fuel and his engines shut down. He said his gauges were not reading properly.

Pate told deputies he tried turning on an auxiliary tank, but the plane stalled anyway, dropping from 6,000 feet at speeds estimated to be as high as 80 mph.

The plane slammed into the ground near a ravine about a mile east of the airport, police reports stated, tearing the front half of the twin engine Beechcraft Baron apart.

The plane is registered to Bruce Hensley, also of Muskogee. Pate told deputies the plane was uninsured.

Sheriff’s deputies went out to locate the plane the night of the crash so they could turn off the plane’s emergency locator transmitter signal. When deputies located the aircraft, it was broken in two behind where the seats were located, Commander Dwayne Elders stated in his report.

Pate was transporting eight concrete vibrators and tools to be delivered to the Phelps Dodge mine project just north of Safford. When Sheriff’s deputies returned to the scene, they were able to help Pate get the mostly intact equipment from the wreckage, and helped him get it loaded for delivery the next day, Benson said.

Comments

13 comment(s)

    Tricia Wenzl wrote on Sep 20, 2008 4:32 PM:

    " Re: Eve Batchelder murder-2006. I personally knew Eve as did many of my other co-workers and we were appalled that her confessed murderer was allowed to plead to a lesser charge (obviously) to escape the death penalty. This was a pre-meditated murder and kidnapping, resulting in the death of a wonderful, gentle soul not to mention leaving her two children without their mother! Jason Martinez does not deserve to live at the expense of the taxpayers with the chance that he could be paroled! Society cannot afford to be "soft" for the fear of peer pressure. "

    ciara wrote on Jul 17, 2008 9:06 PM:

    " hi i would like to know what time the pool opens "

    Warnar Moll Amsterdam The Netherlands wrote on Jul 14, 2008 11:20 AM:

    " I agree with Rustom Kevala.
    In literature there are many scientific indications that the preparation of the sacred liquid (Haoma),could not contain a Hallucinogen-Entheogen drug (cf publications of Harry Falk, Jan Houben, Frits Staal and the late Mary Boyce).
    As a plant-physiologist and toxicologian, I did some study about the preparation of Parahom (as described in Avesta). From the scientic point of view it is impossible that the sacred drink is hallucinogen.
    I do not understand the arguments of the Pima's Church of Cognizance.
    It is as stupid as the assert: Jesus used Marihuana. "

    tom wrote on Apr 19, 2008 3:15 PM:

    " if having someone go through something like especially a child is not an invasion of privacy then nothing is but then thats the 9th circus for you "

    F THE SYSTEM!!! wrote on Feb 14, 2008 9:15 AM:

    " Who cares about ibuprofen anyways! its just a pill that peopel take for headaches and aches who cares about what the school system. If someone suffers from chronic headaches and stuff like that they should be allowed to carry it around. IT was a bad thing to distribute it around to others, but they should be able to keep it anyway. Its not like teachers are all that willing to let students out of the classroom just because of a headache!!! SMS should be sued. Strip searching a student like that should NOT BE ALLOWED!!!! "

    LaVae McClellan wrote on Feb 5, 2008 1:51 PM:

    " Eric and Kevin Yazzie are my brothers, they always will be. Yeah its true they had a history of fighting, but thats all u see. The Eric and Kevin i know are happy and fun loving, make everybody laugh. I miss kevin, but theres nothing we can do for him now. As for Eric they need to let my brother go already "

    joe tapia wrote on Dec 9, 2007 8:05 PM:

    " I have spent half of my life in this canyon along with my cusion juan luepke and I would like to know what threats to the public that our gate is causing. there is another way into the canyon then through our property. Just before you get to the cobra guest ranch on klondyke rd take the tully springs\old aravaipa town turn follow for about 4 miles there is a side road just after the second cattle guard the road turns east you have to open a few gates but there not locked. "

    JOE TAPIA wrote on Dec 9, 2007 12:11 AM:

    " THE ROAD THAT EVERY ONE HAS USED FOR THE LAST 20-30 YEARS, Is owned by my family. as I have been told to me by my father that the b.l.m and nature conseverency asked to use our road because their easement down by the river kept getting washed out by floods.So when norma put the gate up the b.l.m asked the conservency to redo the road by the river again conservency said no way. By,joe tapia "

    Katelynn Nichols wrote on Dec 7, 2007 5:34 PM:

    " Clifford Bea Fowler is My uncle ans my cousin Kelci's dad he may be a white supremeist but he still loves his daughter.But he should be held responsible for his actions. "

    Stephen wrote on Nov 30, 2007 8:57 AM:

    " My thoughts and prayer's go out to the late Bobby Bell's family. "

    SMSmom wrote on Nov 9, 2007 12:11 PM:

    " I will be notified if my child is in so much trouble that he may need to be stripped searched. "Depending on circumstances"--NO I WILL BE NOTIFIED!!! TRY ME!!! "

    Keisha wrote on Oct 27, 2007 8:03 PM:

    " I'm sure if these guys were a threat to society action would of been taken. I'm not condoning such behavior but Linda sounds like she's up to no good. "

    linda wrote on Oct 26, 2007 11:59 AM:

    " Is there any way to post the photos of these molesters "in" the schools so that the children and school staff may detect any possible molesters? After all they are the ones who would most likely see them. "

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