Off Topic - F4U crash at Oshkosh EAA AirVenture
John Noack
until today it's been great. I'm sad to report that today I witnessed the loss
of a rare WWII fighter and its' pilot, and sigificant damage to another.
My nephew and I were on the flight line watching a formation takeoff of the
warbirdsdemo. Taking off were a Grumman F8F Bearcat, followed by two F4U
Corsairs.
Something happened to the Bearcat that was either a takeoff abort or a
deviation from the takeoff roll. The Corsair behind it attempted to get around
the F8F but ended up tearing the right wing off the Bearcat. The Corsair then
briefly went airborne, rolled inverted at about 20 feet, and hit the runway;
canopy first. The airframe went one way and the engine and propellor another.
All this happened in what seemed to be slow motion directly in front of us at a
distance of perhaps 500 feet. The Corsair burned for about 15 minutes; we did
not see anyone get out. The airshow was stopped for about two hours, but the
wreckage of the F4U was still there when it resumed - a somber reminder of the
dangers inherent in flying old, high performance aircraft.
To end on a somewhat brighter note, we saw a P-47 (Tarheel Hal) fly, along
with a two-seat Spitfire trainer, about 20 P-51s, and numerous other historic
aircraft. We also saw a wingwalking routine done atop a Waco biplane which is
powered by a 450 HP P&W AND a Cessna Citation turbofan engine - until you've
seena biplane in a vertical climb with prop and jet going full bore, you can't
believe it.
Anyway, I wanted to drop a note, say hello, and tell you that my respect for
those who restore and fly vintage aircraft was immeasurably increased today. I
have to believe we lost a pilot doing what he loved best to do.
JN
John Noack
IPMS 23017
President, IPMS/USA
Airbrush4u
>and
>until today it's been great. I'm sad to report that today I witnessed the
>loss
>of a rare WWII fighter and its' pilot, and sigificant damage to another.
Sorry to hear that John. That reminds me of my dad's cousin who was flying a
P-40 in WWII in bad weather and hit a mountain.
Losing any pilot is a tragedy.
Mike V
Al Superczynski
The local Little Rock TV channels are reporting that the pilot was
taken to hospital & is listed in critical condition.
Al Superczynski, MFE
IPMS/USA #3795, continuous since 1968
Check out my want and disposal lists at "Al's Place":
http://www.up-link.net/~modeleral
"Build what YOU like, the way YOU want to,
and the critics will flame you every time."
Joe Hegedus
while the plane was wrecked, and took a fair part of Howard Pardue's
Bearcat with it, the pilot was still alive but in critical condition at
Mercy Hospital in one of the nearby towns. Sorry I can't quote the info
but I already deleted the message. :-( Sorry to see a Corsair wrecked,
but I hope the pilot survives.
Joe
John Noack wrote:
>
> I've been here at the 1999 Oshkosh AirVenture show for the past three days, and
> until today it's been great. I'm sad to report that today I witnessed the loss
> of a rare WWII fighter and its' pilot, and sigificant damage to another.
>
Paul Boyer
Texas. Apparently, the aircraft were taking off to the south on 18 with a
gusty cross wind. I've seen two different videos of the incident. It appears
the Bearcat aborted and the following Corsair pair tried to go around him
and caught gusts. The left Corsair clipped the Bearcat and tumbled, the
right Corsair veered off the runway.
If I find out more, I'll try to post it. I'll be going up on Sunday (should
be 20 degrees cooler!).
AeroServ
by AvFlash as Laird Doctor. Heartfelt prayers go out to him and his family for
a complete recovery.
Scott Germain
John Noack
incorrectly reporting on his demise. Let's all hope he pulls through.
I've been going to Oshkosh for about 5 years, and this was the first time
anything of this magnitude has happened. What really griped me was the
attitude of some of the crowd who viewed the accident, laughed, joked about it,
or complained that the airshow did not immediately continue. There are Roman
citizens amongst us who would apparently still enjoy the Circus Maximus while
slugging done their coke and hot dogs.....