Mayday call sparks rumors in midstate
Posted by Tom Bowman/The Patriot-News June 11, 2007 11:35AM
Categories: Accident, Breaking News, Lebanon County, Midstate, Military, Sports
Rumors that an airplane carrying a NASCAR driver went down in Pennsylvania this morning are not true.
The air control tower at Fort Indiantown Gap heard a "Mayday" from an aircraft in trouble at 8:15 this morning. But Federal Aviation Administration officials told the state emergency operations center that there are no airplanes down in Pennsylvania this morning.
FAA officials said the search for the downed aircraft has moved to Delaware and Virginia.
The Wilmington News Journal reports in an online news item that a search today in Kent County, Del., turned up no downed plane.
The rumor, which apparently started in northeastern Pennsylvania, said the aircraft was believed to belong to NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon. However, John Edwards, Gordon's press spokesman, said Gordon's airplane is sitting safely in its hanger.