Plane Snags Line : Swept Off Her Feet by Kite, Girl, 8, Says

Little DeAndra Anrig was flying her kite when it suddenly started to fly her, her parents say. It was just a short hop, but one the 8-year-old isn’t likely to forget.

A twin-engine plane caught the 200-pound nylon test line of DeAndra’s kite, lifted her several feet off the ground--over her father’s head and almost into a tree--and carried her about 100 feet, she said Tuesday.

She let go and landed safely, but said she was still sore after two days’ rest. The plane, meanwhile, is grounded because of damage apparently caused by getting tangled in the kite string.

DeAndra and her parents, who live in the East Bay community of Dublin, were picnicking with friends at the Shoreline Park about 30 miles south of San Francisco and about two miles from the Palo Alto Airport on Sunday and taking turns flying a glider-type kite with a 12-foot wingspan.

Descending Plane

While it was DeAndra’s turn, a plane descending for the airport snagged the line, her parents said.

“She said it was just a big jerk that lifted her into the air,” said DeAndra’s mother, Debby. “It carried her right over my husband’s head. All he saw was a shadow going over his head. I’m just thankful she let go.

“We always said, ‘Hold on tight. Don’t let go, honey,’ ” the mother said, recalling their advice on proper kite-flying techniques.

DeAndra said she was doing just that, until she saw what was looming in front of her: “I thought that I was going to hit a tree.”

Asked what she thought about during her brief flight, DeAndra said, “I wasn’t thinking anything but how scared I was.”

Mountain View Fire Marshal Frank Moe said the child was dragged for about 100 feet before letting go. Moe did not see the incident, but quoted from a report filed by investigating officers.

Resting at Home

The girl spent a couple of days at home after Sunday afternoon’s incident, resting on an air mattress and surrounded by soothing ice packs and two of her favorite stuffed animals.

Edge Ritter, manager of the Federal Aviation Administration office in San Jose said one of his investigators interviewed the girl and her family and concluded that she was lifted 6 to 8 feet off the ground and then was dragged about 200 feet. He said the line had some slack in it, and after the plane hit it she was lifted off the ground.

“It’s reasonable to assume that she became airborne for a short while,” Ritter said.

Lenore Deaville, a pilot, was at the airport watching a friend make her first solo flight. She said the pilot of the twin-engine Rockwell Turbo Commander, Jake Uranga of Reno, told her that “he was at 800 feet doing about 140 knots (160 m.p.h.) when this thing came at him.”

Uranga, who was flying a patient destined for Stanford University Hospital, said he tried to avoid it, but couldn’t. He landed safely.

FAA manager Ritter said one of the two propellers on Uranga’s plane suffered a 2-inch gash.

The San Jose Mercury-News reported that 200-pound test line was found wound around one of the propellers.