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Man killed in plane crash
  
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Cleveland Advocate
By VANESA BRASHIER
A Saturday afternoon plane crash in Cleveland claimed the life of Bob Scott, a World War II veteran and resident of Kingwood. Witnesses of the crash said the plane rolled to the right, back to the left, and then crashed into a wooded area west of the runway at Cleveland Municipal Airport at around 1 p.m.
Cleveland Municipal Airport manager Alf Vien was flying with a friend from Hobby Airport and arrived at the Cleveland airstrip just moments after the crash.
“As we were coming in, we noticed a bunch of emergency vehicles heading down the field,” said Vien. That’s when they noticed a small debris area from what appeared to be a plane.
Scott’s body was found in the plane. He was the only occupant of the two-seater 200-hp. Pitts S-2 biplane. According an aviation book Vien had at the airport, the plane is designed for acrobats and is tricky to fly, but is ultimately rewarding for the skilled pilot.
Scott’s skill as a pilot was unquestioned. In fact, as his fellow flying enthusiast friends gathered at the airport later that afternoon, they called Scott a “straight shooter” who was once an amateur aerobatic pilot in the 80’s and 90’s.
Another friend commented that Scott “died doing what he loved.”
Scott is believed to have been headed to Lake Waterwheel, a private airstrip in the Shepherd area, when his plane crashed. Mickey Newton, a pilot from Lake Waterwheel, said Scott’s plane is kept at a hangar at the airstrip and he left there Saturday morning en route for Cleveland. Once he arrived at the Cleveland Municipal Airport, he visited with friends before taking off again for the return trip to Lake Waterwheel.
Tom Street, a pilot from Kingwood who flies out of the Cleveland airport, witnessed the crash.
“We saw the aircraft depart. It just went into a roll and then hit the ground,” he said.
Scott was pronounced dead by Pct. 6 Justice of the Peace Peggy Dunn. The crash scene was handled by the Texas Department of Public Safety with Trooper Jamie Neault, who was assisted by officers from Cleveland Police Department and firefighters with Cleveland Volunteer Fire Department. Tom Branch, director of Liberty County Office of Emergency Management, also made an appearance to help out.
By late afternoon on Saturday, representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration had arrived at the scene to conduct a crash investigation. The airport was closed for several hours for the investigation.
According to Vien, to his knowledge, this is the first fatal accident at Cleveland Municipal Airport.
“We have minor incidents that generally don’t amount to much, like tire problems and landing gear that don’t come down,” said Vien. The airport is home to 44 planes.
“We’ve been lucky to not have more accidents, but we don’t allow a whole lot of horseplay here,” said Vien. “And the experience level of the pilots here is pretty high.”
Cleveland Municipal Airport manager Alf Vien was flying with a friend from Hobby Airport and arrived at the Cleveland airstrip just moments after the crash.
“As we were coming in, we noticed a bunch of emergency vehicles heading down the field,” said Vien. That’s when they noticed a small debris area from what appeared to be a plane.
Scott’s body was found in the plane. He was the only occupant of the two-seater 200-hp. Pitts S-2 biplane. According an aviation book Vien had at the airport, the plane is designed for acrobats and is tricky to fly, but is ultimately rewarding for the skilled pilot.
Scott’s skill as a pilot was unquestioned. In fact, as his fellow flying enthusiast friends gathered at the airport later that afternoon, they called Scott a “straight shooter” who was once an amateur aerobatic pilot in the 80’s and 90’s.
Another friend commented that Scott “died doing what he loved.”
Scott is believed to have been headed to Lake Waterwheel, a private airstrip in the Shepherd area, when his plane crashed. Mickey Newton, a pilot from Lake Waterwheel, said Scott’s plane is kept at a hangar at the airstrip and he left there Saturday morning en route for Cleveland. Once he arrived at the Cleveland Municipal Airport, he visited with friends before taking off again for the return trip to Lake Waterwheel.
Tom Street, a pilot from Kingwood who flies out of the Cleveland airport, witnessed the crash.
“We saw the aircraft depart. It just went into a roll and then hit the ground,” he said.
Scott was pronounced dead by Pct. 6 Justice of the Peace Peggy Dunn. The crash scene was handled by the Texas Department of Public Safety with Trooper Jamie Neault, who was assisted by officers from Cleveland Police Department and firefighters with Cleveland Volunteer Fire Department. Tom Branch, director of Liberty County Office of Emergency Management, also made an appearance to help out.
By late afternoon on Saturday, representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration had arrived at the scene to conduct a crash investigation. The airport was closed for several hours for the investigation.
According to Vien, to his knowledge, this is the first fatal accident at Cleveland Municipal Airport.
“We have minor incidents that generally don’t amount to much, like tire problems and landing gear that don’t come down,” said Vien. The airport is home to 44 planes.
“We’ve been lucky to not have more accidents, but we don’t allow a whole lot of horseplay here,” said Vien. “And the experience level of the pilots here is pretty high.”
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