Luigi59
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Air Force pilot, wife killed in small plane crash at Springs airport
December 22, 2010 1:06 PM
JAKOB RODGERS AND LANCE BENZEL
THE GAZETTE
An Air Force B1 bomber pilot and his wife died Wednesday when a small plane approaching the Colorado Springs Airport slammed into the ground and burst into flames.
The crash just after noon shut down the airport for almost two hours, leaving stranded passengers to board buses en route to Denver International Airport to catch connecting flights.
John McGinley, assistant director of airport operations and maintenance, did not identify the pilot and passenger aboard the single-engine, four-seat Mooney M-20 aircraft.
Will Richardson, a friend who was with the pilot’s family at their home in Little Rock, Ark., identified the two as Air Force pilot Martin Anthony Riggan and his wife, Nicole, of Rapid City, S.D.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, Riggan was the registered owner of the plane.
He had flown planes since high school, enrolled at the Air Force Academy and graduated from there in 2007, Richardson said.
“(Riggan) always had a dream to be in the Air Force,” Richardson said.
He moved with Nicole over the summer to Rapid City after being assigned to Ellsworth Air Force Base, Richardson said.
Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/crashed-110012-reportedly-colorado.html#ixzz18wa1W0oR
December 22, 2010 1:06 PM
JAKOB RODGERS AND LANCE BENZEL
THE GAZETTE
An Air Force B1 bomber pilot and his wife died Wednesday when a small plane approaching the Colorado Springs Airport slammed into the ground and burst into flames.
The crash just after noon shut down the airport for almost two hours, leaving stranded passengers to board buses en route to Denver International Airport to catch connecting flights.
John McGinley, assistant director of airport operations and maintenance, did not identify the pilot and passenger aboard the single-engine, four-seat Mooney M-20 aircraft.
Will Richardson, a friend who was with the pilot’s family at their home in Little Rock, Ark., identified the two as Air Force pilot Martin Anthony Riggan and his wife, Nicole, of Rapid City, S.D.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, Riggan was the registered owner of the plane.
He had flown planes since high school, enrolled at the Air Force Academy and graduated from there in 2007, Richardson said.
“(Riggan) always had a dream to be in the Air Force,” Richardson said.
He moved with Nicole over the summer to Rapid City after being assigned to Ellsworth Air Force Base, Richardson said.
Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/crashed-110012-reportedly-colorado.html#ixzz18wa1W0oR
