Oops is right.  I drive through Prairie View on the way to work.  I heard this story on news radio this morning when I was just a few miles from there, so as I drove on I cast a wary eye for any signs of him off the road.  No luck though.

And actually the AP story was a bit off.  The airport where the plane took off is 20 miles northwest (actually NNW) of Houston.  Prairie View is 30 miles west of there.

Ken

----- Original Message -----

HOUSTON, Texas (AP) -- The co-pilot of a single-engine aircraft plunged from the plane as it made a steep turn 9,000 feet over the Houston area.

The 45-year-old Houston man apparently jumped or fell from the plane Sunday afternoon near Prairie View, about 20 miles northwest of Houston, federal and local authorities told the Houston Chronicle for Monday editions.

An instructor pilot, the only other person on board, was concentrating on a steep turning maneuver when he heard a thump and saw the co-pilot's feet and legs leaving the airplane, Waller County Sheriff's Lt. John Kremmer told the Chronicle.

Kremmer said a search for the pilot in the area's pastures, woods and lakes was expected to resume early Monday.

Officials said the Cessna 152 had taken off 45 minutes earlier from David Wayne Hooks Airport in Spring. The pilot notified authorities about the incident before returning to the airport.

"The instructor and the aircraft landed safely," said Roland Herwig, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Kremmer said the co-pilot -- whose identity was being withheld pending notification of relatives -- had a pilot's license but could not fly alone because of an unspecified medical condition.

The instructor pilot told investigators that both men were strapped in when the small trainer aircraft took off from the airport.

"He just doesn't know at what point that changed," Kremmer said.

There was no indication the man had a parachute, Kremmer said.