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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 9, 2017)
Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian Thursday, November 9, 2017 Former MLB pitcher Halladay was fl ying plane low, witnesses tell safety board Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Roy Halladay was fl ying his tiny sport plane low over the Gulf of Mexico shortly before it slammed into the water and killed the retired star pitcher, witnesses told federal investigators. National Transportation Safety Board Investigator Noreen Price said Wednesday that Halladay’s ICON A5 experienced a “high-energy impact” with the water. She said both fl ight data recorders were recovered and the plane did not have a voice recorder. She said Halladay had been a licensed pilot since 2013 and logged about 700 hours of fl ight time before Tuesday’s crash near Tampa. She said a preliminary report on the cause likely will be issued in seven to 10 days, but the full investigation could take up to two years. Price said it was too early to say whether Halladay’s crash was related to two earlier crashes this year of A5s, one of them that killed both the plane’s chief designer and test pilot “Every accident is different. They are very complex. So as we move forward in the factual fi nding phase, if we see anything that we believe might connect it to previous accidents, we will certainly look at that. And if we see anything letting him get one. The son of a corporate pilot, Halladay had been forbidden to take up aviation until the two-time Cy Young Award winner retired from baseball after the 2013 season. Pope said “the plane itself is great.” But he had concerns about Halladay, a relatively inexperienced pilot, taking the craft out over water at low altitude. The plane, however, was marketed as a craft that could do that. “They still think that that’s the way the airplane should be fl own, and there are people in aviation who completely disagree with that,” Pope said. “They think you should not have a low-time pilot fl ying low over water. That’s a recipe for disaster.” Low fl ying was part of the problem when Karkow, the designer, crashed, according to federal investigators. Karkow was killed along with passenger Cagri Sever, the company’s newly hired director of engineering. The NTSB blamed pilot error for the crash, saying Karkow mistakenly entered the wrong canyon while fl ying over a California lake and was unable to correct in time, striking the canyon wall. Halladay’s ICON A5 went down around noon Tuesday off the coast of Florida, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said. Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP The remains of an ICON A5 ultralight airplane are moved from a boat ramp in the Gulf Harbors neighborhood of New Port Richey, Fla., on Wednesday. The private plane, which belonged to Roy Halladay had just been removed from the shallow waters off Ben Pilot Point in New Port Richey where it crashed Tuesday, killing the 40-year-old former MLB pitcher. that we think is unsafe, we will make recommendation immediately,” Price said during a news conference in New Port Richey. The 40-year-old former Toronto Blue Jays and Phil- adelphia Phillies pitcher had been the proud owner for less than a month of his ICON A5, and was among the fi rst to fl y the model. In one of many enthusiastic tweets about the plane, Halladay said it felt “like fl ying a fi ghter jet.” Rolled out in 2014, the A5 is an amphibious aircraft meant to be treated like an ATV, a piece of weekend recreational gear with folding wings that can easily be towed on a trailer to a lake where it can take off from the water. “The way that a lot of people described it is a Jet Ski with wings,” Stephen Pope, editor-in-chief of Flying magazine, told The Associated Press. “It’s really a play thing.” The man who led the plane’s design, 55-year-old John Murray Karkow, died while fl ying an A5 over California’s Lake Berryessa on May 8, a crash the NTSB attributed to pilot error. In other tweets, Halladay said he had dreamed about owning one of the planes. He said in video on the company’s website that he had to talk his wife into Staff photo by Kathy Aney Heppner quarterback Jayden Wilson races downfi eld as Stanfi eld’s Hunter McCanch (6) and Cody Griffi n (85) move in for the tackle during a game on Oct. 20. MUSTANGS: Riding six-game winning streak Continued from 1B that was trying to fi gure out its identity and not playing with the type of confi dence and cohesiveness that they are currently, especially on the offensive line. The Mustangs roll into the quarterfi nals on a six-game win streak powered by standout performances from the offensive line. The line, led by Steagall, has powered an offense that is averaging 51 points per game and has 1,672 rushing yards on 229 carries — a 5.9 yard per-carry average — during the streak. The line’s improvement has opened holes for the likes of Coby Dougherty, an all-league running back last season, and Beau Wolters to run through, scoring a combined 16 touchdowns. And freshman quarterback Jayden Wilson has utilized his legs exceptionally in the last four games, carrying the ball 36 times for 243 yards and 10 touchdowns. And on defense the Mustangs’ front seven, led by Steagall, Jason Rea, Dougherty and Tyler Carter, and has controlled the line of scrimmage well, giving up an average of just 115 rushing yards per game during the win streak. St. Paul gashed the Mustangs Week 1 for 370 total yards, with 129 yards and three scores through the air and 241 yards and three scores on the ground. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ———— Contact Eric at esinger@ eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0839. Follow him on Twitter @ByEricSinger. DAWGS: Enter match up more focused, ready to continue OSAA Farewell Tour Continued from 1B confi dent in what we’re going to do this weekend,” he said. “(This week) we just came in with a better menat- lity. We just know we’ve got to get it done to move on to the next round.” With all of this excitement on offense, the defense defi - nitely didn’t disappoint. They improved to 14 total interceptions on the season, after Gutierrez picked off La Salle Prep’s quarterback in the third quarter and senior Peter Earl in the fourth. Hermiston will need another big defensive perfor- mance against South Albany, who has had some of its greatest postseason success ever. The Bulldogs enter with their same tough mentality, and Gutierrez is excepting a tough match up despite the Rebels’ postseason inexperi- ence. “(We’re expecting) a hard fought game, smash mouth football,” he said. “They are a punch fi rst team kind of like how Moutain View is so we’ve just got to be ready for that.” The Rebels (6-4), who fi nished co-champion of the Mid-Willamette Conference after going 5-1 in league play during the regular season, will be in uncharted territory when they travel four hours east to Kennison Field. This is their fi rst ever quarterfi nal appearance in school history. South Albany got here by a well placed 28-yard fi eld goal attempt from junior kicker Ozzie Ramirez and an interception in the end zone to seal the 23-16 victory over Crater. The Rebels had plenty of playmakers in only their fourth postseason win in program history (1999, 2008, 2010, 2017). Costello made up for his fi rst half performance and ended 8-of 16 for 47 yards passing and had 113 rushing yards off 21 carries. But it was senior running back Ray Wilson led the run with 57 yards on just 19 carrie and a touchdown. South Albany might not present the same threat in the air that Hermiston has seen from other team’s on its schedule, but Costello’s athleticsm could test a still improving defensive line. The Rebels’ offense has yet to earn a resounding victory this year, as four of their six wins have been determined by 10 points or fewer. But making it this far into the postseason means something has been working for the squad. “Every eight teams that are in right now are going to be tough,” Ramirez said. “So we’re just going to go out and play.” It will be up to the Bull- dogs to keep the Rebels one dimensional and pressure the inexperienced postseason team if they want to end the week one of four. “We just want to be 1-0 at the end of the week,” Guti- errez said, “that’s all we look forward to.” The game will be broad- casted on AM 1360 KOHU, and live streamed via the HSD Communications YouTube channel. The winner of Friday’s game will go on to play the victor of the Lebanon-Wilsonville match up in the semifi nals on Nov. 18. ——— Contact Alexis at aman- sanarez@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4542. Follow her on Twitter @almansanarez. PIGSKIN PICKERS Week 10 Overall: Last Week: S. Albany at Hermiston: Heppner at St. Paul: Santiam at Grant Union : Silverton at Mtn. View : Washington at Stanford : Georgia at Auburn: Wash. State at Utah: Seahawks at Cardinals : Cowboys at Falcons: Giants at 49ers: Ron Gibbs Clint Shoemake Eric Singer Mike Appleton Zachary Orem Jodi Bloomberg John Airoldi 72-18 8-2 Hermiston St. Paul Santiam Mtn. View Washington Georgia Wash. State Seahawks Falcons 49ers 70-20 9-1 Hermiston St. Paul Grant Union Mtn. View Washington Georgia Wash. State Seahawks Falcons 49ers 65-25 6-4 Hermiston St. Paul Grant Union Silverton Washington Georgia Wash. State Seahawks Falcons Giants 65-25 6-4 Hermiston St. Paul Grant Union Mtn. View Washington Georgia Utah Seattle Cowboys Giants 65-25 8-2 Hermiston St. Paul Santiam Mtn. View Washington Georgia Wash. State Seahawks Cowboys 49ers 60-30 9-1 Hermiston St. Paul Grant Union Mtn. View Washington Georgia Wash. State Seahawks Falcons 49ers 59-31 4-6 Hermiston St. Paul Grant Union Mtn. View Washington Georgia Wash. State Seahawks Cowboys Giants IS ROOTING FOR IS ROOTING FOR EASTERN OREGON HEATING & AIR J OHN A IROLDI B RANDON C ASE IS ROOTING FOR ST. ANTHONY HOSPITAL ELMER’S IRRIGATION A LEXIS M ANSANAREZ HERMISTON HERALD SHERRELL CHEVROLET 4 SEASON’S PAINT CO. Brandon Case Weston Putman Alexis Mansanarez 50-40 60-30 57-23 7-3 7-3 6-4 Hermiston Hermiston Hermiston Heppner Heppner Heppner Grant Union Grant Union Grant Union Mtn. View Mtn. View Silverton Washington Washington Stanford Auburn Georgia Georgia Utah Wash. State Wash. State Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Falcons Cowboys Cowboys Giants 49ers 49ers NW METAL FABRICATORS IS ROOTING FOR MID COLUMBIA PRODUCERS, INC. E RIC S INGER IS ROOTING FOR W ESTON P UTMAN ROGERS TOYOTA EAST OREGONIAN IS ROOTING FOR IS ROOTING FOR IS ROOTING FOR IS ROOTING FOR IS ROOTING FOR R ON G IBBS C LINT S HOEMAKE M IKE A PPLETON J ODI B LOOMBERG Z ACHARY O REM
