Air Lothario Tangles with Wires and House

Victor Oliver Geisen was seriously injured in an accident which occurred in the main street of Blountsville, Ala., January 1, 1943.  Geisen held a student pilot certification and had logged approximately 98 hours, all in the type airplane involved.  The aircraft, a Piper 25A, was demolished.

Geisen was properly cleared from Cullman Airport, Cullman, Ala. for a local practice flight.  Several witnesses observed the plane over the town of Blountsville at an altitude of about 400 feet, circling lower and lower, directly over the main street.  During the final turn, which was banked about 70 degrees, witnesses saw a white object drop from the plane.  While still in this turn, the left wing struck and severed five wires of a telephone line on the west side of the street and two wires of a local power line on the east side of the street.  The plane then crashed nose first through the roof of the porch of a large two-story colonial residence where it remained suspended above the porch floor.

Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of mechanical failure of the aircraft or engine prior to collision with the wires.  Investigation revealed that the white object dropped from the plane was a letter, addressed to a girl friend of the pilot.  It was found approximately 40 feet north of her home.  The recipient stated that this letter was signed “Victor Geisen.”

Geisen’s clearance authorized a practice flight in designated area No. 4. Blountsville is about 14 miles southeast of Cullman Airport and is not within this area. It seems apparent that Geisen, while flying recklessly at a very low altitude, directed his attention from his flight path and collided with the telephone and power lines.

Probable cause – Pilot’s recklessness and absolute disregard for the safety of himself and others in descending to a dangerously low altitude over the main street of a town.

-Civil Aeronautics Journal, v.4 no.7, July 15, 1943 p. 92 "Air Lothario Tangles with Wires and House"