FAA: Wife witnessed husband’s fatal crash
By JOE BUTTWEILER, joe.buttweiler@globegazette.com
HAMPTON — The pilot who crashed and died July 3 in Franklin County was following his wife’s car at low altitude before his airplane struck power lines, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
David Colglazier, 44, of Latimer, was the lone occupant in the Cessna 172. He was killed when the airplane went down about 1:30 p.m. along County Road C25.
Citing Colglazier’s wife, Autumn, the FAA report indicated the pilot had provided airplane rides for some friends earlier in the day, departing from the Hampton airport and flying over Iowa Falls and Sheffield.
“Shortly before the accident, the airplane flew over their residence as a signal to her that he was done flying and needed to be picked up at the airport,” the FAA report said.
Autumn Colglazier drove down County Road C25, also known as 190th Street, toward the airport.
“As she was driving, she observed the airplane in her rear-view mirror following her car at a low altitude before it suddenly descended nose first into the ground,” according to the report.
The FAA said investigators found the nose landing gear near a set of power lines that crossed the road.
“The nose landing gear strut exhibited damage consistent with an impact with a power line. The main wreckage was located about 200 feet past the power lines along the direction of flight,” the report said.