Another Air Show Crash...WWII-era plane pilot dies at W.Va. air show

[rsmith6621]

http://news.yahoo.com/wwii-era-plane-pilot-dies-w-va-air-223044582.html


MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (AP) — The pilot of a World War II-era plane has died after it crashed and burst into flames at a West Virginia air show, the second deadly air show crash in 24 hours.

No spectators were reported injured in the crash Saturday. It came a day after a stunt pilot crashed at a Nevada air show Friday, killing nine.

West Virginia air show officials posted a notice on their website encouraging those who witnessed the crash to seek support if they felt viewing it was traumatic.

The West Virginia Air National Guard said the pilot was a civilian, although they hadn't released his name Saturday evening.

[BeHereNow]

1. That is down right surreal...

I mean, what are the odds on that one?
BHN

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. The joke among EMS folks is that things happen in three

:hi:

Yes it might sound crazee, but...

[originalpckelly]

7. You know what, everything happens in threes.

Just look for it, you'll see.

Everything also happens in twos and fours too. But don't hold me to it. It's only when you count events in fours that they come in fours. It's pretty surreal.

[ecstatic]

22. That's not reassuring to those who will be flying soon :( nt

[taterguy]

23. Just don't fly in a warbird that's over 50 years old

You'll be fine.

[Dennis Donovan]

2. The T-28 made its first flight in 1949... more apt to call it a "Korean War-era aircraft"

The difference being that "WW2-era" can stretch from 1939-1946 (at the latest). Aviation technology advanced so dramatically from 1946 thru the Korean War-era that, to call this aircraft "WW2-era" is like calling the Stealth Bomber "Vietnam War-era".

[Sherman A1]

4. Agreed

even if the Stealth Bomber is somewhat WW2 technology or at least a basic design of the Horten Bros.

[napoleon_in_rags]

5. That is just creepy.

What factors could influence it? Pilots who know how to fly these old planes are getting old and losing their edge? Excessive caution from first plane crash actually creating sense of panic in flight that lead to freeze up in the second pilot? I wonder.

[Old and In the Way]

13. The reno pilot had a mechanical failure of the elevator trim tab.

The trim tab is a movable surface on the elevator that keeps constant pressure on the elevator and frees up the pilot from having to make constant adjustments to the flight controls. The trim can be set to keep the elevator in a up/down/level flight orientation. I suppose a complete loss of the trim would still affect the flight control characteristics....given his speed and low altitude, he probably never had a chance to regain control of the aircraft. I doubt his age had anything to do with it

[napoleon_in_rags]

14. Hmm. I'll be interested to hear what happened with the second plane. nt

[Old and In the Way]

15. Just saw a clip of that accident.....sadly, that was human error.

Looked to be some kind of dogfighting type routine being done between 2 planes. They were closing in on each other - nose to nose. Both planes were probably flying at speeds in excess of 350 MPH (which would be like a single plane flying at 700 MPH). The action requires split second timing execution where both planes break away from each other. One of the planes didn't break quickly enough and hit the other plane. Again, hi-speed/low altitude/loss of flight control = very bad result.

[malaise]

17. Here's a detailed report of the Reno crash

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/sep/17/ntsb-scene-reno-air-crash-killed-3/

[Shagbark Hickory]

6. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that the faa should probably put an end to air shows.

[cherokeeprogressive]

8. When 11 concertgoers died in Cincinatti before a Who concert, did you call for an end to those too?

Should we ban skiing due to the danger of avalanches?

[Shagbark Hickory]

10. Of course there's no government agency that regulates concerts or ski slopes, of course...

of course they do shut down ski slopes when there's a risk of an avalanche and dangerous areas are closed to the public.
I think there's just too many accidents in these air shows. If the FAA won't let passengers fly on an airplane with their cell phones on but will let a pilot fly around in circles and do cartwheels in the sky for entertainment? That's just silly.

[cherokeeprogressive]

11. You're correct about the slopes of course. I'm not willing to tell others what they should and

shouldn't do for entertainment. I would imagine that most people who attend air shows are aware of the danger.

I would ban soccer in a heartbeat though. You bet. Too many fans get hurt at soccer matches. That's not why I'd ban it though; it's just freakin' boring.

[Shagbark Hickory]

16. But again, there's no federal regulatory agency for soccer.

There is however one for aviation.
And they seem to take aviation very seriously.
Except when it comes to flying like a maniac for entertainment purposes. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

[whistler162]

26. We need protective bubbles.....NOW!!!!

Life is unsafe/

[FarLeftFist]

9. Imagine the pilot was Muslim...

[cherokeeprogressive]

12. So what if she was? Why don't you help us imagine?

[kiva]

18. OK, I've imagined it.

The accident still happened, the pilot is still dead...and?

[FarLeftFist]

19. And they would have been calling this a terrorist attack.

Guarantee it. Hope that helped you guys imagine it.

[cherokeeprogressive]

20. So I guess what you meant to say was

Imagine if this pilot was Muslim and showed up at the last minute with a plane no one had ever seen, and demanded to be allowed to race. Demanded to be allowed to race with this group of people who had raced together for decades, knew each other's respective airplanes, and trusted each other with their very lives.

Now imagine that this pilot aimed the aircraft at the stands and due to learning to fly (it was later found) at some second rate aviation school, missed badly and only killed a handful of people.

Lastly, imagine that this pilot's real name as Raji Al Jihadi.

I guess in that scenario, terrorism could be a possibility.

In the real world though, your "what if" makes absolutely no sense at all. You might as well be asking "what if gold nuggets shot out of the asses of bullfrogs?"

[FarLeftFist]

24. Nope. I said what I meant to say. If he was a Muslim the MSM would have tossed around that "theory".

No matter how long he knew his colleagues. Remember FT. HOOD?! The RW'ers are still calling that a terrorist attack. He cleared security, and knew many of his colleagues for some time as well. That didn't stop them.

[cherokeeprogressive]

25. I'd call Ft. Hood a terrorist attack as well.

And you didn't say they would have "tossed around that theory", you said they'd be CALLING it a terrorist attack.

What did you mean to say again?

[FarLeftFist]

27. Trust me, Murdoch and Co. would have been all over that theory.

[ecstatic]

21. wtf. I wonder if the planes have an expiration date

Maybe they're just way too old?