LEWISVILLE - Friends of a pilot at the controls of a float plane that crashed in Lewisville Lake called him an experienced pilot who often flew airplanes that land on water.
The Thursday crash killed 41-year-old Kristin Rochelle Kolby. She was a passenger who was flying with her boss, pilot Kenneth Gedney. He survived when two brothers pulled him out of the water and administered CPR.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators will be looking at the landing wheels on the bottom of the pontoons. When float planes land on water, the wheels are supposed to be retracted.
“I noticed a seaplane; I said, 'Check that seaplane out. That's a beautiful sight,'" said Pat Johnson, who saw the plane fly overhead just minutes before it went down. “He had his landing gear down. I didn't hear any issues with the engine at all. It sounded like it was running right."
Kolby’s friends said she went up on the float plane with her boss, the owner and president of Optisky Incorporated, which is a company that sells air crafts in Addison. Just before the flight, she sent a text message to her friend, saying, "I'm going up. Keep your fingers crossed.'"
Dennis Burns, a friend and customer of the pilot, said Gedney owned the plane that crashed and was very experienced with float planes. Gedney often taught pilots how to land them on water. Burns said retracting the wheels on the bottom of the pontoons is fundamental to water landings.
Johnson, who has been fishing at Stewart Creek Peninsula in The Colony for 30 years, said he has seen many float planes land on the lake.
“So, I've seen how it works, and the wheels are not supposed to be down," he said.
Another friend of the pilot said Gedney wants to call the two brothers who pulled him out of the lake to thank them for saving his life. He was unconscious when the men pulled him out. Gedney is at Parkland Hospital and expected to make a full recovery.
E-mail: sstoler@wfaa.com
