Flight school investigated after string of crashes MESA, Ariz. (AP) =97 Scottsdale flight school Arizona Flight Works faces=20 scrutiny from federal investigators after a series of mishaps involving its= =20 aircraft. Aviation officials asked the National Transportation Safety Board= =20 and the Federal Aviation Administration to look into three crashes over the= =20 past year involving the flight school, Scottsdale Airport director Scott=20 Gray told the East Valley Tribune. "They have had several incidents over=20 the last year, so we asked the FAA to look into their training practices,"= =20 Gray said. "Most incidents have to do with pilot error. None of the=20 accidents were ever determined to be a fault of the airport or that it was= =20 a poor facility." The school's previous owners, CRM Airline Training=20 Center, received dubious notoriety as being a place where suspected Sept.=20 11, 2001, hijacker Hani Hanjour received pilot instruction for three months= =20 in 1996 and in December 1997. CRM sold its assets to Arizona Flight Works=20 in May 2001. In the most recent incident on Feb. 20, 38-year-old Jerry=20 Stockstill, an Arizona Flight Works student pilot, veered off a Scottsdale= =20 runway in his Cessna 172 while piloting by himself. The plane crossed a=20 taxiway and slammed into a hangar, damaging the plane's front end.=20 Stockstill suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries, including=20 multiple leg fractures. This was the sixth crash the NTSB has investigated in the past year=20 involving the Scottsdale Airport. Three of the incidents involved Arizona=20 Flight Works. Robert Lang, Arizona Flight Works' general manager, confirmed= =20 that the flight school had been contacted by the FAA. "Our intentions are=20 to fully cooperate with the NTSB and the FAA," Lang said. "We want to=20 participate with any inquiries they have with our safety." Runo Nelson, an= =20 investigator with the Scottsdale Flights Standards District Office, a=20 branch of the FAA, confirmed he was leading an investigation of Arizona=20 Flight Works. On Nov. 11, an Arizona Flight Works plane hit a runway sign=20 while landing. No one was hurt, but the plane sustained substantial damage.= =20 No flight plan was filed before landing at Scottsdale Airport, according to= =20 NTSB records. A student pilot of Arizona Flight Works lost control during a= =20 landing May 21, hitting a runway sign. The pilot wasn't hurt, but the plane= =20 was severely damaged. Again, no flight plan had been filed, according to=20 NTSB records. "I am really concerned there have been a couple accidents=20 that were from the same training center at the airport," Scottsdale City=20 Councilman Wayne Ecton said. Additionally, Ecton said the airport's=20 operation procedures should be looked at. A Utah couple died Jan. 26 when=20 their plane crashed into the McDowell Mountains during a takeoff from the=20 airport at night. On Dec. 8, small plane landed upside down after crashing= =20 into a shopping center after takeoff. The pilot and passenger suffered=20 minor injuries. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.dbombo.net/muddyangels/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************