John Russell

[Vixenbreak]

Just read a short article in Flypast reporting the crash of a Grumman Albatross in Florida. Unfortunately two reported killed and owner John Russell badly injured.

Can any pruners confirm that this is John Russell retired ex-BA who was off to establish his own operation in the Caribbean?

Also any news on how he's getting on?

[ETOPS]

Yes it was that JR. He is recovering at home, his injuries were serious but not life threatening.

The aircraft is a total loss but more importantly there were two fatalities. There is a preliminary report on the NTSB web site but it will be some time before all the facts are known......

[viking737]

Can't find it in the NTSB report, what was the date of the accident?

[neil armstrong]

Second passenger in seaplane crash dies
NTSB investigator begins evaluating the incident

Derek Simmonsen staff writer


September 27, 2003 - ST. LUCIE COUNTY -- A second passenger in a twin-engine seaplane that crashed into bee-infested woods east of Interstate 95 Thursday afternoon has died, according to the Sheriff's Office.




Passenger Jon Anderson, 56, of Lakeland, was flown Thursday by Air Rescue 1 in critical condition to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, where he died overnight.
The plane's other passenger -- Albert H. Schaaf, 56, of Richmond, Calif. -- was pronounced dead at the scene Thursday.

The pilot and owner of the plane, John W. Russell, 53, was injured in the crash and taken by ambulance to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce, where he was released Friday.

Russell declined to be interviewed prior to talking with the Federal Aviation Administration, according to Beth Tuttle, a hospital spokeswoman. He told the Sheriff's Office that the plane, a Grumman Albatross, experienced engine trouble.

The crash occurred around 1:26 p.m. about three miles northwest of the St. Lucie County International Airport, just north of Indrio Road. The plane took off from the airport on a test flight and was scheduled to return without stopping, according to the FAA.

The plane crashed into a row of Australian pine trees near about 100 commercial beehives. The bees hampered initial rescue efforts and have been an ongoing problem for investigators.

According to Russell's Web site, his company -- BuccanAer Amphibian Adventure Limited -- was formed in January 1999, after he retired as captain for British Airways. He completed an extensive training course in flying the aircraft, according to the site.

Anderson and Schaaf were longtime friends and classmates at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Anderson ran a private law farm in Lakeland, and Schaaf was a commercial airline pilot, according to close friend Judge Ralph Artigliere, a circuit court judge in Highlands County, Florida's 10th judicial circuit.

An investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board's Atlanta office arrived at the scene Friday morning to begin evaluating the crash, said Southeast Regional Director Jeff Kennedy of the NTSB's Miami office. The investigator could not be reached for comment Friday.

The FAA also visited the site, but is turning all of its findings over to the NTSB, the lead agency on the crash, said Christopher White, an FAA spokesman.

FAA investigators will look into several areas, including whether the plane was certified, if it was properly maintained and if the pilot had proper certification, White said. They will present all of their information to the NTSB, he said.

A preliminary report is usually ready about two to three months after a crash and a final report will likely be released from the NTSB in a year, White said.


'HE'S COMING DOWN'

A Port St. Lucie father and son meeting up for lunch witnessed the plane crash and helped pull Russell out of the craft.

Garland Lynch , 41, picked up his son Blake Lynch, 18, from his construction job in Vero Beach and they were coming off of I-95 at Indrio Road when they saw the plane descending.

It first was heading toward I-95, but then circled back around, Garland Lynch said. It looked like one engine was out, he said.

"You could count the props on the propeller," he said. "I told my son 'He's coming down.' "

They pulled over on the side of Indrio Road and started walking toward the plane.

"About 500 yards from the plane we started getting hit [with bees]," he said.

The bees were swarming all around, making it difficult for the two of them -- clad only in shorts and T-shirts -- to move far. Blake Lynch ran back to the truck to get some towels to help cover their heads.

"We could hear someone screaming for help," Garland Lynch said.

Blake Lynch climbed up into the plane through a cargo door that had been ripped off. He saw the pilot applying a tourniquet to the legs of one passenger, later identified as Anderson, whose legs were badly injured.

"He was the brave one through it all," Lynch said of Russell. "There must have been 10 million bees inside that plane."

Russell struggled to help his passengers in a sea of bees for more than 20 minutes before the Lynches were able to reach the plane.

With the bees so heavy and the possibility of fuel exploding, Blake Lynch put the pilot on his shoulder and carried him out of the woods. They realized they could not move Anderson due to the severity of his injuries.

Once outside the plane, Garland Lynch helped bind the pilot's leg while they began picking out the bee stings. Russell was then able to walk on his own.

He told the two that his engine had died and the plane began to lose power, Garland Lynch said.

On Friday, the Lynches both began to feel the dull ache of all the bee stings.

"We got stung hundreds of times," Garland Lynch said.

Garland Lynch maintains that he and his son only did what anyone else should have done in the same situation.

"When somebody needs help, you gotta go help them," he said. "We're just glad we were able to help."

WEST POINT TIES

Artigliere was coming back from vacation when he heard the news of the crash. He drove down immediately from Georgia -- where he was staying -- to pick up Anderson's car in Fort Pierce and drive it to his family in Lakeland.

"We've known each other since we were 18," Artigliere said. "We never had a cross word between us."

The two were roommates for a time at West Point and it was Anderson that convinced Artigliere to move to central Florida and enroll in law school. Anderson went to Stetson University, Artigliere to the University of Florida.

They later became law partners from 1991 until 2001, when Artigliere accepted a judgeship.

"When I left him to go on the bench it was one of the hardest things I've ever done," he said.

Anderson was a former president of the Lakeland Bar Association and volunteered as a mentor to disadvantaged youth. He was a fly fisherman, hunter and had a love for aviation, though he never learned to fly.

He leaves behind a wife, Betsy, and two grown daughters.

"He made everyone around him better," Artigliere said. "It's a tremendous loss."




Very bad news

I did email With John in the past to try to arrange a type rating on the Grumman.

Neil

[694c]

Enter any of the following in the NTSB query page:
Date 9/25/03
Place Fort Pierce FL
Type Grumman HU-16C
Reg N70258

[angels]

Whatever happened to the plane, there's some very brave folk featured here.

Condolences to the bereaved.

[Sensible]

Here's the link

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20030930X01622&key=1

[SmoothCriminal]

Terrible Tragedy.

Condolences to all involved.

Smoothie:(