 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
Back
|
Hours after one crash, another kills plane pilot
By BILL COATS, Times Staff Writer
TAMPA -- The two crashes, just 8 miles apart, have investigators and others struggling for answers. On Monday night, Michael Antinori survived when he crashed his helicopter onto the roof of a Tampa home. On Tuesday morning, Antinori's single-engine Cessna smashed into a dense forest of cypress trees in northwest Hillsborough County. Although the pilot's identification has not been been confirmed, Antinori's family is assuming the worst. "They are grieving a loss of a loved one, a very special son and brother," said Tampa lawyer John Brewer, a family friend who is acting as a spokesman. Both aircraft were registered to Antinori, 30, whose family owns a Brandon bedding company that employs 400 people. They don't know why Antinori would climb back into a cockpit 9 1/2 hours after smashing his experimental helicopter into a house in northeast Tampa, spilling gallons of fuel into the home. He suffered minor injuries. The residents escaped unharmed.
After taking off from Vandenberg Airport around 7:05 a.m., the plane attracted the attention of officials at Tampa International Airport because it was circling mysteriously 5 to 10 miles north of the airport. At the airport's request, both the Coast Guard and the Tampa Police Department launched helicopters. The police helicopter crew tried to contact the Cessna pilot and received no response. Around 8:24 a.m., the Cessna tore into woods just south of Van Dyke Road. "The motor was screaming all the way to the ground," said Don DiPerna, who works from his Darby Lane home nearby. "It was high RPMs all the way to the ground." The plane's pieces were scattered over several acres. The pilot was ejected 20 to 25 feet, said Hillsborough sheriff's spokesman Rod Reder. Antinori's family owns American Bedding Industries on Falkenberg Road near Brandon. Founded in 1960 by his father, Santino Antinori, the company invented the Orthomatic adjustable bed, according to its Web site. "It's a very close family and a very loving family," said Brewer, the family friend, who spoke to the Times from the home of Antinori's brother, Steven. Much of the family lives in Culbreath Isles, an upscale South Tampa neighborhood graced by Mercedes sedans, swaying palm trees and large Mediterranean homes. Michael Antinori's address could not be determined. He has bought and sold at least one Harbour Island condominium since 1996. In 1998, when Antinori was 27, he became the beneficiary of a trust fund established by his parents. Antinori pleaded no contest to a charge of driving under the influence in Belleair Beach in May 2001. His license was suspended for six months and he was on probation. Antinori also has 10 other driving-related infractions, including convictions for careless and improper driving. Tuesday morning, Antinori's Cessna came to the attention of aviation authorities because the pilot would not respond to radio contacts and the plane was flying in an erratic circular pattern, staying below 500 feet, said Brenda Geoghagan, spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority. She said no flight plan had been filed by the pilot. She said authorities don't know whether he may have been suffering from some kind of medical condition. The Cessna eventually dropped from radar and crashed at a steep angle. It had enough force to shear a sequence of cypress trees at mid trunk. The crash site, in the heart of a dried swamp, was so dense that a Sheriff's Office dog was brought in to search for any other victims who may have been in the Cessna. "We're confident there was only one person in it," Reder said. Though the floor of the swamp is dry and flammable, carpeted with dead fern leaves and cypress needles, authorities said the crash produced no fire or smoke. Tim Monville, an air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, said he had not determined whether any fuel remained in the Cessna. He said he had not had time to check the wreckage for alcohol or any note the pilot may have left. Several neighbors hurried into the woods after hearing the noisy crash, but found the pilot dead. "They tried to go back there and help him," said Jay Allberg, a stained-glass artist who lives in the rural scattering of homes southeast of the crash site. "But there was no help to be given." - Times staff writers Tamara Lush, Amy Herdy, Ryan Meehan and Jeff Testerman, and Times researcher John Martin, contributed to this report. Bill Coats can be reached at (813) 269-5309 or coats@sptimes.com.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
Headlines From the Times local news desks Howard Troxler |
