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Guv, others unhurt during plane’s hard landing
Gov. Susana Martinez
The governor, first gentleman and a district attorney were unhurt during a hard landing at the Santa Fe Airport late Wednesday.
The single-engine Malibu propeller plane carrying Gov. Susana Martinez, First Gentleman Chuck Franco and Ninth Judicial District Attorney Matt Chandler was on return from Tucumcari, where the three attended a campaign event for state Senate candidate Angie Spears, according to Martinez spokesman Scott Darnell.
High crosswinds forced the pilot, Sid Strebeck of Clovis, to lift the landing gear and circle the airport, Darnell said, adding that, upon landing around 10 p.m., Strebeck “failed to re-deploy” the landing gear.
“The plane received some damage, but no one aboard was injured,” Darnell said.
He said the Spears campaign paid for the private flight.
Upon landing, Strebeck, who has about 3,000 flight hours, immediately notified authorities, and Darnell said incident reports were being filed. Martinez and Franco left the airport at about 11:30 p.m. No other information was immediately available.
Darnell said the governor will continue with planned activities today, starting with an event at the Española Public Library at 9:30 a.m.
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I am glad everyone is safe. It is so hypocritical of Matt Chandler to criticize Pat Woods when he gave a political contribution to Governor Bill Richardson. The Governor Martinez’s attack dog is guilty.
http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/contributor.phtml?d=741316263
A close call, if I were the Guv, I wouldn’t be flying with amateur pilots.
Thank God, all are safe.
Enough said.
Michael J. Flynn
I am thankful nobody was hurt. Politics is one thing, but nobody should wish anything bad to happen to anyone or start pointing fingers in accidents (JusticeP)
Anyways, I am glad strong conservatives and leaders are standing with Angie Spears, because I have learned that Pat Woods is a supporter of liberal agendas but he is running with an “R” by his name.
I am STILL waiting for Pat Woods to explain why he gave money to Tim Keller (Dem) and Debbie Rodella (Dem) – both very liberal legislators. He gave right before the session started too. Why?
Why did Pat Woods donate money to the Dem that ran against Republican Dennis Roch?
Why did Pat Woods donate to the Dem that ran against Republican Clint Harden?
Why did Pat Woods donate enough to Democrat George Dodge to become his largest personal donor?
Show me your friends and I will show you your future. Pat Woods’ friends in Santa Fe are the same ones that fight against conservative values everyday, and Pat Woods future is and should be questioned based upon his history of putting $ in liberal democrats’ campaign accounts.
Pat, (or JusticeP) can you answer the questions?
EW-aif and Nelson Spear,
Richardson endorsed Harry Teague over Bill McCamley in the 2008 CD2 Democratic primary.
Justice P,
Thanks for the clarification.
EW,
I think that you are right that Richardson never endorsed one Dem over another Dem. Mr recollection is that he just bullied and intimidated anyone who dared challenge what he wanted to do.
Nelson Spear: There is not enough space on this site to write about my issues with the Richardson administration. However many of the issues were filed in court against some of his administration secretaries and cronies.
Mr. Spear, I do not recall Big Bill ever endorsing, let alone actively campaigning for, one member of his party over another in a contested primary. I think it is outrageous that Governor Martinez is hounding people in her own party instead of focusing on doing her job, and working to get candidates elected in contested primaries that represent her instead of the residents of certain districts. (The Clovis area is not the only one.)
As for Martinez (via McCleskey, whom her Susana PAC pays over $20,000 per month ) attacking Pat Woods for making occasional donations to Democrats, most of us, even if we are politically active, are three-dimensional people. We are not cardboard cutouts with “R” or “D” (or “Martinez”) stamped on our foreheads. I am an active Democrat, but I have occasionally supported and donated to a Republican candidate, even voted for a few, because I liked them or admired certain qualities in them. I recommend that Martinez quit being so ideologically rigid, and learn to value people for their honesty and integrity as well as, even in spite of, their political affiliation.
Wow…talk about Divine intervention…I wonder if Jay McClesky was on board since it was his bright idea and Richardson-style vindictiveness to stick the guv right in the middle of that senate primary race between Woods and Spears…I guess they don’t remember President Reagan’s 11th commandment…there’s a lesson here, Governor…time to re-evaluate the blind trust you’ve invested in your closest advisor.
JusticeP,
It is all about the perception of your opinion being biased when you claim of problems with the Republcans.
It could be my mistake, but I do not recall you haveing raised this issue with the Richardson administration.
You silly gooses campaign reporting laws are not applicable in New Mexico:
http://www.nmpolitics.net/index/2012/05/king-broke-campaign-reporting-law-fec-says/ !
Supposedly he Spears campaign paid for the flight. Someone needs to verify this from Ms. Spears’ campaign finance reports.
Nelson Spear: You’re assumption that I am a Democrat and support Richardson’s or his parties activities are totally misplaced. I am commenting about a current event. Everyday issues are being published about both parties representatives (and our representatives) that bring into question the abuse of taxpayers funds. The issue in this article is about Gov. Martinez and DA Chandler and I stayed to the issue. You might try the same.
Maybe the Governor should have been utilizing the professional pilots that she has at her service and the state plane instead of depending on a political car dealer and part time pilot. Landing with wheels up is a very serious lapse of memory when piloting a plane and landing in a cross wind.
JusticeP,
If you ask for the return of the lost wages of Governor Martinez for this campaign event, when will you ask for the return of the lost wages of Governor Richardson for his eight years of non stop campaign events? Oh yeah, that is different, Richardson was on the correct side of issues and is a Democrat. Different party … different rules. Some things never change.
Heath: How about asking the Spears campaign for documented proof of the payment for this flight. Also did the Spears campaign, or will they, repay the citizens of New Mexico for the wages that Gov. Martinez and DA Chandler will receive for the time they were not doing the job they were elected to do?
It makes you realize why the Lt. Governor is so important. Gawd help us all!
If Governor Martinez and Matt Chandler had been doing their tax payed jobs instead of being puppets in Jay McCleskey’s mud slinging campaign against Woods this incident would not have happened.