Cottonwood Police and Fire responded to the Cottonwood Airport located in the 1000 block of W. Mingus Avenue for a non-injury airplane accident at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 22. A white and red 1963 Piper PA-28-235 fixed-wing single-engine airplane sustained major damage when it was pushed off of the runway by a large gust of wind.
A pilot in training and instructor were conducting soft field take offs when the gust of wind came through.
The aircraft, with tail number N8619W, is owned by Arizona Aviation Services LLC, of 3948 Trotwood Drive, Lake Havasu City.
There were no injuries and the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were notified but declined to investigate at the scene.
Christopher Fox Graham is the managing editor of the Sedona Rock Rocks News, The Camp Verde Journal and the Cottonwood Journal Extra. Hired by Larson Newspapers as a copy editor in 2004, he became assistant manager editor in October 2009 and managing editor in August 2013. Graham has won awards for editorials, investigative news reporting, headline writing, page design and community service from the Arizona Newspapers Association. Graham has also been featured in Editor & Publisher magazine. He lectures on journalism and First Amendment law and is a nationally recognized performance aka slam poet. Retired U.S. Army Col. John Mills, former director of Cybersecurity Policy, Strategy, and International Affairs referred to him as "Mr. Slam Poet."
