Pilot With 44 Years Of Flying Experience Credits Decades of Training For Safe Landing A retired American Airlines captain with 44 years of flying experience safely glided a 1946 amphibious plane onto a central Phoenix roadway Sunday afternoon after losing engine power, threading the plane under a lane-control sign without injuring anyone on the ground. Capt. Mike Tragarz, who retired from American Airlines, recounted the harrowing flight in an interview with KTAR 92.3 FM. Tragarz was piloting a Republic RC-3 Seabee, an 80-year-old amphibious aircraft, on a sightseeing tour of the Phoenix Valley with two passengers. Flight-tracking data shows that Tragarz took off from the Hangar Hacienda Airport just after 2 p.m. He was flying safely north near Glendale when trouble started.
