At 15:40 central time, a Cessna 172N struck a power line and crashed five miles north of the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. The CFI and student pilot were killed. The two were practicing ground reference maneuvers in a designated practice area when they reported to Wichita controllers they would be operating in the traffic pattern at Maize Airport for a few minutes. No further radio contact was recorded, but about 35 minutes later witnesses heard a low-flying airplane in the vicinity of Wichita International Raceway. One witness reported the airplane was traveling north-northwest at 150 to 200 feet and descending slightly. The witness said the engine speed was high, but sounded normal, and the flaps were up. He lost sight of it behind some trees, but then heard the wire impact, saw the wires bouncing, and discovered the electricity and phone dead.
May 06, Wichita, Kan. / Cessna Skyhawk
At 15:40 central time, a Cessna 172N struck a power line and crashed five miles north of the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. The CFI and student pilot were killed. The two were practicing ground reference maneuvers in a designated practice area when they reported to Wichita controllers they would be operating in the traffic pattern at Maize Airport for a few minutes. No further radio contact was recorded, but about 35 minutes later witnesses heard a low-flying airplane in the vicinity of Wichita International Raceway. One witness reported the airplane was traveling north-northwest at 150 to 200 feet and descending slightly. The witness said the engine speed was high, but sounded normal, and t...
Key Takeaways:
- A Cessna 172N crashed five miles north of Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, striking a power line and killing both the CFI and student pilot onboard.
- The aircraft was practicing ground reference maneuvers and lost radio contact after reporting their intent to operate in the Maize Airport traffic pattern.
- Witnesses observed the plane flying at a low altitude (150-200 feet) with high engine speed before hearing the impact, which caused local power and phone outages.
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