# Jane Wicker crash, Dayton Airshow



## GrauGeist (Jun 22, 2013)

Just saw the news that Jane Wicker's aircraft crashed at the Dayton Airshow this morning.

I just saw a video posted at youtube and she was on the lower port wing while the aircraft was inverted. It looks like it partially stalled, diving into the ground. She and her wing impacted the ground first before the aircraft caught on fire.

There is no word yet on if she survived or not, but it did not look good at all 

_* edit *_
Just checked her website and it's been taken offline...

Here's a promotional image of her doing her "top of the world" stunt and is identical to the position she was in at the time of the accident.


----------



## evangilder (Jun 22, 2013)

Hate to see that happen


----------



## Geedee (Jun 22, 2013)

Unfortunately, Jane and Charlie did not survive.

Words fail !


----------



## Marcel (Jun 22, 2013)

Damn.....


----------



## evangilder (Jun 22, 2013)

I saw the crash clip, horrific is all I can say.


----------



## ColesAircraft (Jun 22, 2013)

I wanted to share this from Jane Wicker, who died a few hours ago a few miles from here - doing what she loved to do in the air. 

"Why do I do this? There is nothing that feels more exhilarating or freer to me than the wind and sky rushing by me as the earth rolls around my head. My soul is fed by the air and I get a complete sense of fulfillment by not only the experience, but by challenging myself and doing something so uniquely different. I’m alive up there. To soar like a bird and touch the sky puts me in a place where I feel I totally belong. It’s the only thing I’ve done that I’ve never questioned, never hesitated about and always felt was my destiny. I’m not the type of person that is satisfied by just sitting still and watching Monday night football. I need to be active and see and do new things. 

"What about risk? Everything we do has an element of risk. The media asks this all the time and my answer is always the same. I feel safer on the wing of my airplane than I do driving to the airport. Why? Because I’m in control of those risks and not at the mercy of those other drivers. I think about this all the time when I’m driving down a two lane highway at 55 mph just inches away from cars heading towards me at the same if not higher speed. All it takes is one moment of distraction from the other driver and we will hit at a collision speed of 110 mph or more. Whether they are drunk, texting, or falling asleep it is out of my control and that is what scares me. When I’m in and on my plane I have the ultimate control of my risk factors and am not at the mercy of someone else’s mistakes. A few years ago I was proceeding through an intersection at a green light. My peripheral vision caught something and I slammed on the brakes only to have an 18 wheeler whiz past my front bumper just inches away as he ran the red light. Had I not quickly stopped I would not be here today. But do I stop driving? No. I just know that my risks are greater out there on the roads than up in the air. It’s not just driving either; there are so many facets of my life here on earth that I have little control over. If I were to eliminate the risks that would really take me out, I wouldn’t even walk out my front door. But then again there is a lot of danger at home as well and 'freak accidents' can happen there too. To quote Amanda Franklin 'If you live your life in fear that something could go wrong, you are not living your life'.

"Why airshows? I’ve seen the faces on the kids. I’ve heard the excitement in their voices. I’ve had young girls tell me that after watching me they see opportunities they didn’t before. Not necessarily with the wing walking, but knowing that I fly too they have found that their opportunities are unlimited. The wing walking grabs their attention, but the flying and the fact that I’m a highly rated pilot feeds their appetite for excelling themselves. After 21 years in airshows, I’ve had grown young adults come to me and say that they became a pilot after coming to an airshow as a kid. It is the only place where kids and their families can fully experience aviation and its potential and spark the innovation of our future. You can’t get that at a museum full of static displays. That next child you meet at an airshow could be the next Burt Rutan or Neil Armstrong. We need that spark and innovation or we won’t excel to new things. That is what makes us human. People like to see others 'push the limits'. It’s not the fact that they are watching others risk their lives, but the fact that it allows them to see what we are all capable of and it encourages them to push themselves. That is why there is and will always be a need for airshows and other spectator events such as this. We are the seeds of the future."

- Jane Wicker, 2011


----------



## Gnomey (Jun 22, 2013)

Terrible to hear.

Seen the crash clip, as Eric has already said, horrific.


----------



## GrauGeist (Jun 22, 2013)

Agreed, I was torn between wanting to see what was wrong with the aircraft and not wanting to see the final few moments of Jane's (and Charlie's) life...

Absolute tragedy


----------



## mikewint (Jun 22, 2013)

Not that I know anything, but it seemed to be going well and then suddnly the plane just nosed over into the gound. Would guess something broke in the controls and that close to the gound no time to react. Very sad


----------



## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jun 22, 2013)

Terrible. My heart goes out to those effected, family and friends.


----------



## GrauGeist (Jun 22, 2013)

mikewint said:


> Not that I know anything, but it seemed to be going well and then suddnly the plane just nosed over into the gound. Would guess something broke in the controls and that close to the gound no time to react. Very sad


Not being there fo see the event from start to finish, but seeing the ameteur video, it appeared that the aircraft stalled. This is my observation only, we will have to wait to see what the investigation determines.


----------



## vikingBerserker (Jun 22, 2013)

Tragic............


----------



## Wildcat (Jun 22, 2013)

Just watched the clip on youtube, horrible...


----------



## bob44 (Jun 22, 2013)

Sad news.


----------



## norab (Jun 22, 2013)

terrible tragedy, prayers to the families


----------



## Airframes (Jun 22, 2013)

Just saw this on the BBC Internet News, fortunately without the video. Terrible news.


----------



## GrauGeist (Jun 22, 2013)

This was posted on Facebook a little bit ago by Zinger Aviation Media, I shared it on my page and I'll share it here:


> IF YOU HAVE TAKEN A PHOTOGRAPH of Jane Wicker please read the following message from Kirk Wicker:
> "I am sending out a request to all who have photographed Jane at a show, event, or whatever to please consider letting me have a copy of those pictures to give to our boys. They deserve to remember their mother and I think this would be a wonderful gift that all the fans and friends out there could help give my boys to remember their mother by in years to come. I would like candid shots not wing walking as much if not more than performing shots Once again thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers for Jane, Charlie, and the boys and I."
> 
> If you have any photographs you would like to have sent, please don't hesitate to attach them in a Zinger Aviation Media message and I will be sure to get them over to Kirk. Please also respect their privacy during this time.


Zinger Aviation Media's Facebook page is found at: Zinger Aviation


----------



## Crimea_River (Jun 22, 2013)

A sad loss.


----------



## Wayne Little (Jun 23, 2013)




----------



## nuuumannn (Jun 23, 2013)

Frightfully upsetting for those watching it happen, I'm sure. Very sad.


----------



## Njaco (Jun 23, 2013)

terrible.....................


----------



## GregP (Jun 23, 2013)

Looked like the pilot didn't quite roll enough to keep altitude when he pulled into the last turn.

Some time back Rob Harrison had a similar accident in his Zlinn but lived to fly aerobatics again.

Hate to see anything like that, particularly in an airshow. The event is so public.

Condolances and blue skies to both.


----------



## syscom3 (Jun 24, 2013)

It looked like a control line snapping or something. The change in aircraft position was abrupt. Very abrupt.


----------



## Wayne Little (Jun 24, 2013)

There was a note I read somewhere else where in the lower left corner of the vision a limp flag suddenly straightened from a gust of wind and this gust may have had a bearing on those final seconds...


----------



## mikewint (Jun 24, 2013)

As I posted earlier and as Syscom posted it was VERY abrupt. The wing she was on abruptly drops. You can see her arms go up as the wing drops from under her. For a second I thought she might be thrown clear and survive, then it occured to me that wing-walkers generally are harnessed in place. 44YO, two kids, and just engaged. How terribly sad for all involved. They said that George was 64YO, heart-attack?


----------



## Torch (Jun 24, 2013)




----------



## GrauGeist (Jun 24, 2013)

The aircraft was passing in front of the stands at a low speed...much slower than I have seen in past performances.

A low speed stall can cause the wing to drop quickly and without the benefit of altitude, it's non-recoverable. I honestly believe he stalled the aircraft (this is said with *no intention* to be demeaning to Charlie's skills)...but again, we're all speculating since the only person who knows for sure is no longer with us.

We'll have to wait to see what the investigation turns up...


----------



## mikewint (Jun 24, 2013)

Dave, I bow to your knowledge I've some familiarty with but really don't know Jack Sh*t


----------



## Readie (Jun 25, 2013)

I understand about people really wanting to do things. 
I marvel at their courage, and can't help thinking now, what a waste of two young lives.


----------



## tyrodtom (Jun 25, 2013)

If a control line breaks, you won't have a sudden input, the control surface will streamline itself.
Though it could result in the lack of a input, when it was needed.


----------



## FLYBOYJ (Jun 25, 2013)

A very tragic accident - not wanting to speculate, the odds of a control cable breaking is about 1000 to 1. Almost 35 years in aviation, I've seen many frayed cables but never seen or heard of one on a primary control system breaking, this of course on a TC aircraft.


----------



## mikewint (Jun 25, 2013)

Joe, speculation is tough and unfair, but if not the cable itself what about attachment points? With her on one wing he'd have to have a lot of aileron dialed in to raise the heavy wing and lower the lighter wing. The wing that dropped very suddenly was the wing she was on. You guys know 1000% more than I ever will but sure seemed like a control problem, breakage - heart-attack - ?


----------



## FLYBOYJ (Jun 25, 2013)

mikewint said:


> Joe, speculation is tough and unfair, but if not the cable itself *what about attachment points*? With her on one wing he'd have to have a lot of aileron dialed in to raise the heavy wing and lower the lighter wing. The wing that dropped very suddenly was the wing she was on. You guys know 1000% more than I ever will but sure seemed like a control problem, breakage - heart-attack - ?


Them too - I've seen pulley brackets crack but even then you have enough continunity in the cable run to keep things functioning. One of my co-workers pointed out to me when this was discussed that even at plane crashes, 9 times out of 10 the cables stay in tact.

The wing dropping might indicate a stall, that's just my oppinion...


----------



## mikewint (Jun 25, 2013)

Worth its weight in iridium, Dave stated the same thing. Thanks


----------



## Park (Jun 25, 2013)

Looks like the aircraft's airspeed was too slow entering the maneuver and the pilot tried to roll up right to recover. IMHO 
Horrible.

Ken


----------



## Marcel (Jun 26, 2013)

Just a question from someone who doesn't know (not meant for speculation about this particular accident) but how much will the fact that she's on the wing affect the lift? I can imagine that a human body on that surface makes a lot of turbulence, which affects the lift that the wing can produce. Especially since the wing is not in it's optimal position (upside down).


----------

