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| February
3, 2007 |
Biplane Lands at Cabrillo Beach - (photos below) (February 3, 2007) - A pair of World War II-era biplanes collided while flying over over the ocean off San Pedro late this afternoon. Police at the scene told me the 1937 Waco biplane made an emergency landing on Cabrillo Beach after colliding with a 1942 Stearman about a mile offshore. The plane apparently flipped onto it's nose in the soft sand, and pilot Ralph Baxter was pulled from the cockpit by lifeguard's. Baxter, an 82 year-old retired commercial pilot from Rolling Hills, escaped serious injury. The rudder and elevator on the tail of his Waco were largely in shreds, likely from the midair collision. The plane suffered a bent prop and additional damage during the landing. The second aircraft, a 1942 Stearman piloted by Harry Haggard of Palos Verdes, was able to land safely a short time later at Torrance airport. News reports say the Stearman showed damage to it's propeller but otherwise appeared OK. The two planes were performing aerobatics with a third, unidentified aircraft at the time of the accident. The three pilots are reported to be long-time friends who frequent the area, a popular spot for aerobatic flying. None of them were hurt in the incident. There were no passengers involved. (Note: Harry Haggard experienced a beach landing of his own a few years back, as reported in the Easy Reader.) An attempt to tow the plane off the beach and up an embankment failed when the truck lost traction in the sand (see below). LAPD, Fire Department and lifeguard personnel muscled the plane part way up the sloping sand before another vehicle was able to haul it off the beach and into the parking lot adjacent to Cabrillo fishing pier.
More: See photos of pilot Ralph Baxter and his biplane on a much better day HERE. |
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