Plane Hits Tree, Killing Paraplegic Student Pilot
A paraplegic flight student died Monday when the single-engine plane he was piloting crashed into a tree shortly after takeoff, authorities said.
James Lambert Parkinson, 50, was flying a specially outfitted Piper Cherokee 180 using hand controls, said Julie Smith, co-owner of Aero Haven, a flight instruction company.
He took off from Big Bear City Airport on a solo practice flight at 8:30 a.m., but banked left and crashed into a large pine tree less than a mile southwest of the runway, authorities said.
Parkinson was shot and paralyzed at age 10 as he and a friend played with a gun, Smith said.
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