By Steve Stone
The Virginian-Pilot
FRANKLIN, Va. — Two men , stranded for more than six hours in a small plane dangling precariously from the treetops where it crashed, were safely rescued late Sunday.
“They walked out on their own” after being lowered to the ground by a team of rescue personnel drawn from around the region, said Sgt. D.S. Carr, a State Police spokesman.
“They are hurt, but not badly,” Carr said, and were taken to Southampton Memorial Hospital for checkups.
Ricky Allen Rothig, a 43-year-old airline transport pilot from Suffolk, suffered minor head injuries. The other person in the plane, Monte S. Crowl, a 42-year-old commercial pilot from Chesapeake, had no apparent injuries.
The two were given permission to land at Franklin Municipal Airport when the engine failed while they were banking into a turn. They tried to restart the engine but couldn’t and crashed about 4 p.m.
One of the men aboard used a cell phone to call for help after the crash, but he wasn’t certain of the exact location, a dispatcher with the Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Department said.
Carr said the pilot of another aircraft located the crash scene a short time later.
The 1974 Beechcraft Bonanza had gone down in wilderness near the Blackwater River, west-northwest of the airport and about half a mile short of the main runway, Carr said.
Rescue personnel from Isle of Wight and Southampton counties, as well as Franklin, Smithfield and other localities, trudged through the marshy, heavily wooded area to reach the scene.
They found the small red-and-white plane hanging more than 75 feet off the ground in a stand of pines.
It was a crumpled wreck.
From WVEC-TV’s helicopter, hovering near the scene, it appeared that the plane’s nose engine had been snapped off and both its wings torn into pieces. But its cabin was intact.
A Coast Guard helicopter flew in from Elizabeth City, N.C., to survey the scene and determine whether the people in the plane might be hoisted to safety, Carr said. It was decided to mount a ground rescue, though.
Additional personnel trained in tactical rescue procedures were called in from Virginia Beach and Chesapeake to assist the crews with the delicate effort, Carr said. About 65 people were involved in the rescue.
By dusk, rescue personnel were climbing trees near the aircraft to get a better look at the plane and how it was being held aloft.
For the next several hours, they worked using lines and ropes to tether the plane to nearby trees and ensure it would not fall to the ground when it came time to get the people out.
Rescuers stayed in near constant contact with the men in the plane who were “actually assisting the workers” in the rescue effort, Carr said.
With the arrival of darkness, generators and lights were hauled to the scene to illuminate the aircraft, Carr said. WAVY-TV’s helicopter also lit the area for a time with its high-intensity lamp.
There was no immediate indication as to what may have caused the engine to fail .
“The airport manager said the course he was taking was the normal route for an approach to the airport,” Carr said.
According to the airport’s automated weather data service, at 4:20 p.m. winds in the area were 7 mph with gusts to 14 mph. Skies were clear.
State Police are investigating the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration also were alerted and will investigate.
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