Two die after plane rented by Palo Alto flight club crashes in Alaska Issues Beyond Palo Alto, posted by Editor, Palo Alto Online, on Jul 19, 2012 at 5:30 pm
A plane that was leased by the West Valley Flying Club of Palo Alto crashed Wednesday 40 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska, killing two people, Alaska State Troopers have confirmed.
Read the full story here Web Link posted Thursday, July 19, 2012, 3:07 PM
Updated 4 p.m. The people killed in the plane crash have been identified as pilot Stephen Knight, 64, and passenger, Gillian Knight, 60, both of Queensland, Australia. Next of kin has been notified. Recovery efforts are ongoing.
Posted by Wayne Martin, a resident of the Fairmeadow neighborhood, on Jul 19, 2012 at 5:50 pm
There seem to be a number of sites that data mine airplane accident reports, posting them, with some supporting data, soon after the reports start hitting the Net:
Posted by John F, a resident of another community, on Jul 20, 2012 at 12:58 pm
As a member of the West Valley Flying Club, I want to clarify a few technical points in the article. The club is a non-profit and does not lease planes or provide instruction. The club enters into agreements with members who own aircraft to manage the rental and maintenance of the planes. The mistake is a common one, because many for-profit flying businesses do lease planes and then rent them.
Likewise, the instructors at West Valley Flying Club are not employees. They are members who have been granted permission by the club to provide instruction in planes operated by the club.
Accidents like this are tragic. Thank you to Palo Alto online for not engaging in speculation about the cause of the accident.
Posted by Paul, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Jul 23, 2012 at 10:49 am
>>"does not lease planes or provide instruction" = 100% FALSE
>I wonder, what is the purpose of stating such false information?
>"Providing 40 years of quality flight instruction and aircraft rental in the San Francisco Bay Area at Palo Alto and San Carlos airports."
Club itself does not provide instruction as every student pilot deals directly with instructor. Club is not directly involved in that. You can even go to the club, find instructor and then ask him/her to teach you to fly in another club. It is essentially an agreement between private parties.
All airplanes are privately owned by their owners so these airplanes do not belong to the club.
These are minor details and I do not see why somebody would claim "100% FALSE".
Posted by John F, a resident of another community, on Jul 23, 2012 at 10:47 pm
Dear Ted N.,
I'm sorry if it seemed weird to you. As for the purpose of stating the information, it was just to correct a factual error in the story, in the interest of accuracy. As far as what the club web site says, I suppose somebody thought it would sound awkward to say that the club helps members rent planes to other members.
Posted by El B Jay, a resident of the College Terrace neighborhood, on Sep 11, 2012 at 1:34 pm
It doesnt matter who leases them or not, or whether or not the club provides instruction. All that matters was whether or not the plane crashed because of pilot error or because of a mechanical issue.
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