NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, December 10, 2009

INCIDENTS

Cape Hatteras NS

Plane Crashes During Take Off From Billy Mitchell Airstrip

Rangers in the Hatteras District were notified by of a non-injury plane crash at Billy Mitchell airstrip on the morning of Sunday, December 6th. The strip is a state-maintained, day use airfield located within the park's boundaries. Rangers Brad Griest and Jeff Goad responded. Griest contacted C.C., the pilot of the aircraft, a Piper Saratoga, and found that he was okay and that there were no fuel leaks. C.C. said that an alarm went off in the Piper as he approached takeoff speed (about 90 mph). When he attempted to slow the plane down, the right side toe brake failed, causing it to run off the left side of the runway. It continued for about a tenth of a mile before the left wing struck a cedar tree and a sand dune, causing the Piper to spin 90 degrees. The plane then came to rest in low brush just off the runway. C.C. said that the weather was not a factor, as he was taking off into a headwind/crosswind from the north at 9 to 13 mph. The FAA was advised of the incident and the airport was closed for approximately four hours during the investigation and clean-up. [Paul Stevens, Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:

Grand Canyon NP - A California condor outreach workshop was held at Albright Training Center last month. Biologists and educators from five states and from Mexico and Argentina gathered to provide, receive, and discuss information about California condor populations and the threats they face. Photo.

Cultural Resources - After six years of serving the NPS as associate director, cultural resources, and keeper of the National Register of Historic Places, Dr. Janet Snyder Matthews, will leave the agency on Friday to join the faculty of the University of Florida. Photo.

Workforce Management - Kate Richardson, currently superintendent of San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, will be joining the Office of the Assistant Director, Workforce Management, to serve as the workplace enrichment program manager for the NPS. Photo.

To see these and other stories posted on InsideNPS (or NPS Digest, its public version), click on one or the other of the following links (please note that not all stories in the former appear in the latter): NPS employees: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index ; non-NPS employees: HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/

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Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found at the following web site:

HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363

Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

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