TWIN BEE NEWS 2003

2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006

2003-Nov-24

Philippine Photos

Mr. Elpie Paras has kindly sent several photos of his beautiful Twin Bee (s/n 015) in The Philippines.   That paint scheme looks great!!  Thank you Elpie!!

As can be seen from the photos, the Philippine registration marks 'RP-C2743' have not been painted on the aircraft yet.  Some documents with Philippine authority (ATO) have to completed first.   The Twin Bee is also awaiting her first test flight for certification.  The only qualified Filipino CAA test pilot is in the US for the time being.  RP-C2743 is ex American N9506U.

2003-Nov-19

Hardy F. LeBel

It is sadly reported that Mr. Hardy Franklin LeBel (65) was killed on Sunday, 16 November 2003,  in a mid-air collision between the Cessna 180 he was aboard and a Piper PA-28-181.  The tragic accident happened at Westerly State Airport, Rhode Island.  The other occupant of the Cessna 180 landplane, Mr. Peter Budd Coleman (58), was also killed.  The three persons aboard the Piper PA-28 escaped without injuries. More details can be found at The Westerly Sun Newspaper web-site.  The accident is under investigation by the local police and the NTSB.

Mr. LeBel was the owner of UC-1 Twin Bee N65NE, which he purchased from Mr. Jay Merten early in 2002.  He was a long time commercial pilot/instructor and he was the Chief Pilot of New England Air.

LeBel was an avid seaplane pilot, flying his Cessna 180 on amphibian floats and his new Twin Bee.  LeBel was the Long Island Field Director of SPA (Seaplane Pilots Association).

Updated 2003-11-24: From the NTSB Preliminary Accident Report, some more details on the accidents;

On November 16, 2003, at 1330 eastern standard time, a Cessna 180, N34AG, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain, after colliding in-flight with a Piper PA-28-181, N2885D. The Piper received minor damage during a hard landing after the collision. The collision occurred while the Cessna was taking off, and the Piper was landing, at the Westerly Airport, Westerly, Rhode Island. Both certificated flight instructors aboard the Cessna were fatally injured, while the certificated private pilot and two passengers aboard the Piper were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for either airplane. The Cessna was a local instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91, while the Piper was a personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91, which originated from the Windham Airport, Windham, Connecticut.

The complete Preliminary Accident Synopsis can be found at the NTSB web-site.  NTSB Identification: NYC04FA033A .

2003-Oct-14

Twin Bee Photos

A Twin Bee owner sent a number of photos of beautiful Twin Bee N123BR (s/n 012).

According to the US CAR, N123BR is currently owned by American Aircraft Sales LLC; Wonewoc, Wisconsin, USA.  However, it seems that N123BR is operated by the company Flight Technologies, Inc.

For more Twin Bee photos, please visit the Twin Bee Photos section!

2003-Sep-30

Twin Bee in The Philippines

Updated: 2006-03-13

Copyright  © 2003 - 2006  Steinar Saevdal