Pilot escapes serious injury in crash landing

Kim Smith

Monday, Aug. 30, 1999 | 9:55 a.m.

A donation account has been set up for John Trivett, who survived a plane crash that killed two Las Vegas residents Aug. 20. He was burned over 30 percent of his body. An account has been set up at U.S. Bank, 4320 E. Tropicana Ave., Las Vegas, Nev., 89121. The account number is 153750251990. Checks may be made out to Trivett and mailed to the bank, said Norman Harvey, a local chess enthusiast.

The Federal Aviation Authority today is investigating the second plane crash in nine days inside the Las Vegas city limits, both approaching the North Las Vegas Airport.

The pilot in a crash that occurred at 9:30 a.m. Sunday walked away with minor injuries, authorities said.

Two people were killed and a third critically injured in an Aug. 20 crash that claimed the lives of Ken Horne, 55, and his wife, Gwen, 52, and severely burned John Trivett, 42.

Horne's plane crashed into a residence at 3249 Sisk St. No one was in the home at the time.

Sunday's accident took place in a vacant lot.

John Hanks, communications director for the Clark County Airport System, said the pilot was practicing takeoffs and landings from the airport when the engine of his Cessna 210 suddenly sputtered and quit.

Hanks did not release the pilot's name, but the Federal Aviation Administration registry listed Las Vegas resident Mark Doppe as the owner of a Cessna 210 with the registration number on the plane that crashed.

Doppe could not be reached for comment this morning.

The pilot was forced to put the plane down in an unlevel area near Rancho Drive and Decatur Boulevard.

"He had about 20 seconds to fly the plane and make some decisions," Hanks said. "He did a very good job of avoiding any houses and power lines. He came to rest very close to a boat that was next to a house. He landed literally within inches of the boat."

Hanks said the pilot merely scratched his knee in the incident. However, the plane sustained heavy damage as it bounced and skidded to a stop.

"Part of it was luck, but the greater part of it was his ability to follow emergency landing procedures," Hanks said. "He was basically flying a heavy glider at that point."

The Hornes were killed when their single-engine Mooney crashed as they returned from a Reno chess tournament.

Horne, an operations research analyst for the Range Safety Office at Nellis Air Force Base, was due to retire from the military today. He was active in the local chess community, serving at one time as vice president of Nevada Chess Inc. and as the state's delegate to the U.S. Chess Federation in 1991, Norman Harvey, a local chess enthusiast, said.

Trivett suffered severe burns to 30 percent of his body. He was listed this morning in critical condition at University Medical Center.

Trivett works at Sears and serves on the board of directors of Nevada Chess Inc., the state affiliate of the U.S. Chess Federation, said Harvey, who set up a bank account to help Trivett.

Hanks said the two accidents are not part of a trend. In fact, the North Las Vegas Airport, which is the second busiest in the state, has an accident rate that is 1/12th the national average.

Residents who live in the airport's flight path should not be alarmed, Hanks said.

The pilot in Sunday's accident "did have an open field to land in so there is space available for that to happen," Hanks said. "There is always a chance of an accident -- that's why they're called accidents. But our procedures and traffic control patterns are worked on constantly so that we can keep safety to a maximum and accidents to a minimum." Sun reporter

Jerry Fink contributed to this story.