Every year there are people " Aviators" who loose their life traveling to and from OshKosh. Is there a wall of some sort or some other thing that honors these poor souls? There were a couple this year that I know of. One happened in Mo. Two 60 year old women I believe flying a zenith 701 and then there was these two.
I am sure there are others but hope not. R.I.P.
http://videos.lifetributes.com/822151
Tony
P.S. I am told this was another Zenith Stol. The family told me this.
Last edited by 1600vw; 08-05-2017 at 08:06 PM.
you are correct in that this seems to happen every year. I don't think you are going to see EAA advertise that fact with a memorial though. bad for business.
Worth noting in our private prayers but I'd humbly suggest a formal permanent tribute would be like the Indy 500 listing those who died in a car crash while driving to and from the event. Not very likely to happen IMHO.
True statement right there.Originally Posted by mikey
My wife was dismayed when I said that it seems like every year, there is at least one fatal accident related in some way to Oshkosh. (She wasn't at that show, but was the first person to inform me of the multiple arrival accidents, as well as the seaplane accident). Be that at the show (i.e., the seaplane accident), or on the way to/fro. While the number of KOSH operations may make it the busiest airport for the week, the sheer number of ancillary operations around the country in support of or related to Oshkosh has to be incredible... so it stands to reason that, statistically, things will happen.
I'm not sure how I'd be able to handle that as an organizer, knowing that my event is the reason (not the cause... the reason - a very large distinction) for a fatality. I suppose the most appropriate reaction is that ultimately, the PIC is the one responsible for their life and that of their passengers. Perhaps the better question is: how can Oshkosh *improve* the statistics for aircraft operations related to the event?
I think they've addressed this in large part with all of the incredibly educational forums available. From topics like Preventing LOC - Ground and LOC - Air (both very informative), as well as the forum on actually arriving to Oshkosh. It sure sounds like the vast majority of fatal accidents that are in some way related to Oshkosh boil down to one simple thing: pilot error or misjudgment. Case in point: the numerous pilots who seem to think that the NOTAM is optional for them. Or don't even know it exists.
We simply need to be better pilots.
A memorial wall would be bad form, and bad press. GA already has a hard enough time as it is (look at general population comments on Facebook every time a small plane goes down. We have a PR problem). Continued effort at education and reforming bad pilot behavior patterns is the best form of "memorial" that the EAA could build.
There was a smaller event known as "Tannkosh" in Germany. Small compared to Oshkosh, but pretty big for Germany. It was an annual fly-in that was growing every year. I was planning to attend, though I wouldn't be able to fly of course. After 2013 they decided to skip 2014. As I was planning my trip for the 2015 gathering, I saw that they had cancelled it -- and all future events as well. They decided that, rather than risk someone having an accident while attending, they would simply pull the plug and not do it any more. (Announcement here)
EAA has no control over how people fly. They can take every precaution and make every effort to put on a safe event, but anything this large is going to come with some chance of unfortunate incidents. The only way to avoid that would be to stop having the event. I think we in the US have a different attitude about things like risk, personal responsibility and liability than a lot of Europeans.
Measure twice, cut once...
scratch head, shrug, shim to fit.
Flying an RV-12. I am building a Fisher Celebrity, slowly.
Agree, a memorial wall is bad form, bad press, bad for business and just a dumb dumb idea that would bring undesireable and unwanted attention. Hell, we already get too much bad press and negative attention. First thing you learn in Marketing 101 is accentuate the positive, ignore the negative.
Disagree, we don't have a PR problem, we have an ignorance problem and unfortunately no amount of continuing education for the past 114 years has or will change that. The media in their reporting of GA accidents makes sure of that and the general public gladly swallows the sensationalism and resulting ignorance it spews. Media motto: Lead with the red, follow up with the dread!
!!! Exclamation points added! And it takes such little investment. Unfortunately, you'll never get enough on board to make a difference.
Oh, I don't know about that. I think that Nall report is indicative of a trend of decreased fatal accidents per flight hour, and that is a testament to better training for GA. The alphabets (FAA, NTSB, EAA, AOPA, as well as owner groups like COPA) have really stepped up their game.
That said... there are definitely pilots out there who have no interest in attending safety seminars, FAAST meetings, etc. Not a whole lot we can do about those folks (except avoid flying with/around them). But based on the number of experienced pilots I saw in attendance at the Preventing LOC - Ground forum at OSH17 (the room was PACKED), I feel like a LOT of people are interested in becoming safer pilots.
Very well stated!
“It's the greatest shot of adrenaline to be doing what you have wanted to do so badly. You almost feel like you could fly without a plane.”
-Charles Lindbergh
Following up on the sad tribute video posted by the OP of the couple who died in a crash on the way to Oshkosh, here are the facts as published by the NTSB's Preliminary Report:
-Took off at 4:00AM destination KOSH in IMC.
-Plane was a Zenith CH701SP flown by a non- instrument rated Sport Pilot.
-Crashed 4:15AM in a nose down attitude, 2 fatally injured.
I'm not making judgements but I think all of us here know what happened. The only remaining questions are WHY would you leave the ground in darkness and IMC prevailing? Do you think this Sport Pilot ever had a chance of becoming a safer pilot?
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