Unconscious Pilot, Passenger Pulled From Plane

A Cincinnati couple is in an Indianapolis hospital after apparently being overcome by exhaust fumes while taxiing their aircraft at Delaware County Airport in Muncie, Ind., on Wednesday. Thomas and Marilyn Kroll were pulled from their aircraft by another pilot after the airplane was seen taxiing off the edge of the pavement. Gene Marlin was also taxiing nearby and pulled up beside the Krolls’ plane to see what was going on. “Whenever I got there, the line-boy had the door open but the gentlemen and the lady were still in the airplane and the airplane was running,” Marlin told Indianapolis television station WTHR. “I just shut the engine off and pulled the people from the airplane out.” As AVweb reported in November, the FAA issued a safety bulletin reminding mechanics to be especially careful in checking exhaust systems and heat exchangers as the cold weather approached. In the Muncie incident, Marlin told the TV station he smelled strong exhaust fumes when he pulled the Krolls from their airplane and that the windows were steamed up. Neither of the victims regained consciousness before being taken by helicopter to Wishard Memorial Hospital in Indianapolis, where Thomas Kroll was listed in fair condition and his wife was listed in serious condition on Friday.