http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-14602900
Sad news, thoughts and prayers go out to his faimily and friends.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-14602900
Sad news, thoughts and prayers go out to his faimily and friends.
Very sad indeed. I am English and the Red Arrows made a great impression on me flying their Gnats over my hometown aged 10 years old. It was a great thrill later in life to have them fly at an air show I was organizing. The video of the accident is reminiscent of the Blue Angels G-LOC accident a few years back.
Exactly what I thought.Quote:
The video of the accident is reminiscent of the Blue Angels G-LOC accident a few years back.
It was a bad weekend for airshow pilots. Also Saturday, Bryan Jensen died at the Kansas City Aviation Expo. Bryan performed at Oshkosh this year in his modified Pitts called The Beast. Link to story and video. It looks like he came out of a left spin, but then went into a right spin instead of recovering.
Edit:
The news keeps getting worse. Todd Greene died today at the Selfridge Airshow in Harrison Township, MI. He was performing a transfer from John Mohr's Stearman to Otto the Helicopter. He slipped and fell about 200 feet to his death. Link.
Personally...I think aerobatics are wonderful. Sad am I that over the years I have lost MANY friends who were "professional" aerobatic pilots. I left one airshow because it was obvious that a USN Blue Angel was going to crash at a specific spot and that is exactly where he crashed the next day. Too often one can predict who will crash and why it will happen. <BR>I have lost so many good friends -and the loss of just one is more than enough - that I can no longer condone low level aerobatics. Yes it is a big attraction. Yes it does bring in money. Yes it does lead to deaths. No matter how good the aeroplane is, no matter how good the pilot is, no matter how good the training is, accidents can and will happen. It is a blood sport and is proof (along with some violent team sports) that the "Roman mob" is alive and well in the modern world. If such things (airshows) are going to continue they simply must be elevated to significantly higher altitudes.<BR><BR>One can have a "perfect" medical but with many older pilots flying a "cerebral incident" can more readily occur...and it can happen to younger pilots too. Such incident only has to happen once -and that life is over.<BR><BR>People talk safety but at what point do talk and rules lead to less safety? It is especially the case when the aerobatics get too low such that pilots cavort too close to the earth.<BR>I for one cannot cheer when such "sport" can lead to ruined families and ruined lives. I suggest we need a far greater amount of sanity in the aerobatic "show" world. Any money made or pulicity gained by the organizers/performers is -in my opinion - just not worth it.