image: Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office
The pilot of a Piper Archer made an emergency landing on a beach in Venice, Florida, on Sunday afternoon, hitting a man and his 10-year-old daughter who were walking on the shore. The father died at the scene, and the girl was airlifted to a hospital where authorities said she was believed to be in critical condition. The pilot and passenger in the Archer were unhurt. Authorities said the pilot had contacted air traffic control and said he was unable to make it to the runway at Venice Airport. Also on Sunday, a pilot attempting an emergency landing on a highway near Reno, Nevada, collided with a truck, but no major injuries were reported. The pilot and passenger were able to exit the airplane, a homebuilt three-quarter-scale P-51 Mustang, but it then caught fire and was destroyed.
Pilot Fred Roscher, of Cupertino, told the local KRNV news he was en route to South Dakota for an air race when “all of a sudden, the engine just died.” He said he had been building the airplane for 13 years and planned to fly it in the Reno Air Races later this year. Four people were in the truck, according to KRNV. The truck spun off the road and was damaged, and the occupants suffered cuts from broken glass but were otherwise unhurt.
