To All,
It is with great sadness that I read of Cliff's accident and our loss of a
man with such a zeal for flying, especially in his Europa. My wife and I met
Cliff at Arlington last year and enjoyed having him join us for lunch. His
stories and insight into building were an inspiration for my progress. The p
icture
of him and his Europa on our Europa Flyer magazine didn't do his handiwork
justice. He was builder and a true professional, and he will be missed on th
is
side of the pond. Condolences go out to his family.
I added a writeup from the local Oshkosh newspaper.
Mike Duane
Redding, California
XS Conventional Gear
Jabiru 3300
Posted July 23, 2006
Investigation continues in fatal AirVenture crash
BY AMANDA M. WIMMER
of The Northwestern
Federal aviation officials continue to investigate the fatal crash of a
homebuilt airplane as it approached the east-west runway at Wittman Regional
Airport Sunday morning.
The plane=99s two occupants were killed when their small homebuilt pla
ne came
down short of the runway as they arrived in Oshkosh at 8:45 a.m. in advance
of
today=99s opening of the Experimental Aircraft Association=99s a
nnual AirVenture
convention.
The plane went down just short of runway 27, which runs east and west, said
Dick Knapinski, spokesperson for the Experimental Aircraft Association.
The names of the pilot and passenger have not yet been released but they are
believed to have been from Washington, said Winnebago County Corner Barry
Busby.
Busby said it appears that the couple was in their middle 60s. Autopsies are
scheduled for this morning.
Knapinski estimated that the runway was closed for nearly an hour while crew
s
cleaned up Sunday morning=99s accident. However, airplanes were able t
o land on
other runways during that time.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the
crash.
Elizabeth Cory, of the FAA said the couple were flying a single engine
airplane but was not able to provide additional information.
Knapinski said about 800 to 1,000 homebuilt airplanes fly in for AirVenture
each summer.
Officials at the Homebuilt Headquarters on the AirVenture grounds said late
Sunday afternoon that they were not able to help identify the crash victims
because they don=99t have records of people flying in until they reach
the grounds.
The last fatal accident on the airport grounds during an EAA convention was
15 years ago, Knapinski said.
=9CIt was an air show accident on the airport grounds,=9D he sai
d.
About 28,000 homebuilt airplanes are registered in the United States each
year, Knapinski said. The number goes up by about 1,000 each year.
=9CTheir accident record is very close to that of a factory built airp
lane,=9D
Knapinski said. =9CThey are insured at roughly the same rate, as well.
=9D Posted
July 23, 2006
|