Crash May Bring GA Scrutiny

EAA monitoring reaction to Texas crash

February 18, 2010 — As Federal and local officials continue to piece together background and details regarding Thursday’s aircraft crash into an office building in Austin, Texas, EAA is monitoring political, government and media reaction to the incident.

“We’re deeply saddened by this incident, which was clearly the result of the actions of a disturbed individual,” said Doug Macnair, EAA vice president of government relations. “We are staying in close contact with federal authorities including the FAA and TSA as well as AOPA and other aviation organizations to ensure that policy makers keep this incident in the proper perspective as it relates to aircraft security policy.”

Several news outlets have reported FAA’s statement that a Piper PA-28-236 Dakota departed an airport at Georgetown, Texas, on Thursday morning (hear the ATC recording prior to takeoff) and struck the seven-story Echelon Building in Austin at which nearly 200 Internal Revenue Service employees work. The airplane was registered to a Joseph Andrew Stack, according to news reports. The incident caused a fire at the office building and sent two people to an Austin hospital. One person was reported missing.

EAA expresses sincere condolences to those who were injured and their families.

Click to read: Reflections on Austin, by Tom Poberezny, EAA Chairman/President