It certainly is tragic, but the kid does have a surviving older
brother in D.C.

God, these things are awful. As part of our string of three fatal accidents
last week (all within 48 hours!) here in Iowa, one was a Cherokee 235 that
crashed on take-off, killing three out of four family members.

The sole survivor, an 8-year old girl, was thrown clear of the wreckage but
suffered burns over 80% of her body. She may survive, although she may wish
she hadn't.

Of the three, this one really hit home for Mary and me, as the "family on
board" scenario is so similar to ours. No one's quite sure what happened,
but it appears that the 28 year old pilot veered off the runway during
take-off, for unknown reasons (strong cross-wind?), and then balled it up.
With 84 gallons of gas on board, a 235 apparently makes a big bang.

:-(
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"