Two men in a small aircraft plunged to the ground from 50 feet in the air at a small airport in Missouri Valley yesterday (Sunday), killing the pilot and injuring the passanger. Steve Smith, the former manager of the airport, is an aircraft owner who’s been flying out of that airport since 1979. Smith says the craft flying there are a mix of small general-aviation planes and ultralights. He figures there are about half a dozen private planes hangared or flying at any time and probably up to a dozen ultralight and homebuilt “kit” planes. Smith says the ultralight club’s a good bunch at the airport and a safety-minded group who like to come out and fly on nice days. The man who died rented a hangar for the aircraft for around the last five years. Identified as Darius Krymuza, he’s described by relatives and a pilot who shared the hangar as a very careful pilot. The 54-year-old Krymuza was taken to a Missouri Valley hospital where he was pronounced dead. His passenger, 52-year-old Herbert Harden of Omaha, was airlifted by helicopter to an Omaha hospital in serious condition. Legally, an ultralight is a one-seat aircraft and only a certified instructor giving a lesson can have a second person in the craft.

Related web sites:
Ultralight FAA rules