KF down in SF Bay Area 2014-09-24

The media reported the crash of a KF this afternoon in a vineyard between Napa and Sonoma in the North Bay Area. Pilot and passenger were injured. No one was killed but the plane is destroyed - photos appeared on the local news websites. Power lines were reported as being involved.

The KF IV belongs to George Mendonca, a well-known and well-liked member of the SF Bay Area KF community and very active in Young Eagles. He was reported as being the pilot. The hospital in Santa Rosa this evening said he is in CCU and able to see visitors, so that's a good sign. I'm going to make the trip tomorrow for a visit.

Rich- thanks for the info. Sorry to hear about the crash. If you get in to see him please give George our best wishes for a speedy recovery along with his passenger.

My prayers are with George and his passenger. So sorry to hear this.

Here's an update on George's accident...

The most important thing is both George and his passenger are doing very well medically - absolutely the best news possible. I've spoken with him several times and he sounds great - he'll be out of the hospital this week to recuperate with family.

I visited the crash site on Thursday, 9/25/14, to observe aspects of the damage that would be of specific interest to us Kitfoxers.

The most distinctive element was the integrity of the cabin frame. It was very much intact and is no doubt the reason they survived. The plane took a terrific impact - the engine and mounts separated from the frame along with the right wing - but the cabin and fuselage stayed together with just broken welds and a lot of bending. Great frame construction, and I think we've seen this same pattern of strong frame integrity in other accidents.

The Grove spring gear folded under the cabin but did not greatly deform - it was easy to see the normal curvature of each leg, although entirely inverted.

Beyond that, it looked like what you might expect from a crash site - lots of stuff scattered around - but there was no fire, no fatalities, no injuries to anyone on the ground, and the first responders were fast and well-equipped, including the helicopter medevac.

Rich

Thanks for the update Rich.
So glad George and passenger are recovering. :)
Strong fuselage and no fire saved both.