Two people were seriously injured in a nose-dive plane crash into a wooded area shortly after take-off at the Tappahannock-Essex County Airport today.

Date published: 7/15/2008

BY SHAYNA JACOBS

Two people were seriously injured in a nose-dive plane crash into a wooded area shortly after take-off at the Tappahannock-Essex County Airport today.

The crash occurred at about 3:30 p.m., a witness reported.

The pilot and owner of the plane is David S. Harvey, 62, of Heathsville. He and the only passenger, his teenage daughter Daniella Harvey, were airlifted to Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond.

The injuries are not life-threatening said Sergeant Thomas Cunningham of the Virginia State Police.

The two were “out for a ride,” airport manager Charles Bowman said.

The crash site is about 500 feet from the runway.

The witness who reported the incident told police that he heard what he thought to be engine trouble before he saw the crash.

Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and the state police are looking into the cause.

The FAA was en route to the scene this evening, Cunningham said.

The plane, a 1980 single-engine model, was headed east.

Shayna Jacobs: 540/374-5000 ext.5617

sjacobs@freelancestar.com

Date published: 7/15/2008