Krolicki, Vucanovich recall near-death experiences in air crashes

FALLON - As investigators attempt to uncover the causes of the recent single-engine aircraft disaster in Alaska that killed former Sen. Ted Stevens and four others, two prominent Nevada political figures are recalling their own harrowing experiences aboard small airplanes that crashed decades ago in rural Churchill County.

Both former U.S. Rep. Barbara Vucanovich, whose plane crash-landed at Fallon Municipal Airport in 1982, and Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, whose plane fell to earth near Fallon in 1990, killing a passenger, say they are fortunate to have emerged alive.

Vucanovich, 89, a Republican who served in Congress from 1983 to 1990, said she was beginning a statewide campaign swing aboard a rented two-engine plane when the accident occurred.

"We were on the first day of the tour, and we were coming in for a landing at the Fallon airport on a cold and wintry January morning after I had made appearances in Carson City and Reno. There were six of us on the plane including my husband, George.

"There was heavy snow on the runway and the sides of the airstrip, and as we touched down the landing gear didn't lock in place. The wheels collapsed and the plane slid along on its belly for more than 1,500 feet, slowly executing several 360-degree spins, before coming to rest in a snowbank.

"We were shaken up, but nobody was injured. We were very lucky that day. The snow cushioned our landing. Without the snow, things would have been much worse. The plane suffered so much damage that it was eventually scrapped," she said.

Small planes are often the only means of transportation for people campaigning in rural states like Nevada. The risk in bad weather is evidenced by what befell Sen. Stevens and other politicians, such as Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone, congressmen Hale Boggs of Louisiana, Nicholas Begich of Alaska, Jerry Pettis of California and John Heintz of Pennsylvania, and Gov. Mel Carnahan of Missouri, all of whom died when their small airplanes crashed during bad weather.

The weather was clear, however, on Sept. 5, 1990, the day the plane carrying him and four others dove into the desert near Fallon, says Krolicki, 49, a Republican who served two terms as state treasurer before being elected lieutenant governor in 2006.

"The crash took place about 12:30 p.m. on Labor Day, a day before the Nevada primary elections," Krolicki recalls.

"There were five of us aboard the twin-engine Cessna 411 ... pilot Bob Seale, who was running for state treasurer; his wife, Judy; State Sen. Sue Wagner who was running for lieutenant governor; Wagner campaign aide Stephanie Tyler and myself," said Krolicki, who was serving as Bob Seale's campaign assistant.

"We had participated in the Fallon pancake breakfast and downtown Labor Day parade and were taking off from the Fallon airport to return to Carson City when the right engine suddenly died.

"Bob tried to fly on one engine, but because he had just taken off there was not enough lift and the plane started falling to the ground. We knew we were going to crash and we all said goodbye to each other. It was a painful moment. There was a lot of affection among the five of us as the plane hit the ground about a mile from the Fallon field," Krolicki stated.

"I was ejected still strapped to my seat when the plane hit an irrigation ditch. I had head injuries and was sitting upright in the seat and managed to free myself and walk back to the plane. We had gassed up in Fallon and I smelled fuel, but there was no fire or explosion.

"Judy Seale was dead in the front seat. An engine was in Bob's lap and he had head injuries and was unconscious. Stephanie also had critical injuries but I was able to pull her out of the wreckage. Sue, whose husband, Peter, had been killed 10 years earlier in a California plane crash, was in terrible condition and unconscious. She was trapped in the plane, and I thought she also would die," Krolicki recounted.

"I walked to a house about a mile away to seek help. A little girl answered the door, but she slammed it in my face when she saw all the blood and dirt on me. Her father came out holding a weapon, but he recognized me as he had seen me in the Fallon parade two hours earlier. He telephoned for help, the ambulances arrived soon, and we were taken to the Fallon hospital and later transferred to Washoe Medical Center (now Renown) in Reno.

"Sue Wagner won her primary election the next day, the general election in November, and served one term as lieutenant governor before retiring from political office. She still suffers from the injuries she received in the crash 20 years ago. Bob Seale also won the primary and general election and served two terms as state treasurer before leaving office," said Krolicki, who succeeded Seale as treasurer and is running for a second term as lieutenant governor in the Nov. 2 general election.

"I consider myself the luckiest man in the world to have survived the crash. A day doesn't go by that I don't think of that terrible tragedy," he said.

• David C. Henley is publisher emeritus of the Lahontan Valley News.