Planes Collide, One Pilot Dead, Another Injured
by Rod Hughes
Two single-engine agricultural spray planes collided yesterday in Limon province. The pilot of one, Francis Chinchilla, 33, was killed instantly when he was ejected 20 meters from the craft on impact with the ground.
The other pilot, Carlos Madrigal, 41, was transported to Hospital Mexico in San Jose, suffering multiple injuries including to his head. He remains in critical condition. The wing-to-wing collision took place at barely 150 feet altitude and Chinchilla was unable to recover control. Madrigal somehow kept his plane aloft for a time before crash landing.
Early reports say that one aircraft belonged to Bandeco and the other to Standard Fruit Company and had been apparently engaged in spraying banana plantations. Preliminary inquiries blame the collision on the low afternoon sun which is thought to have blinder one or both pilots.