Jane Wicker crash, Dayton Airshow

[Njaco]

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

 

[GregP]

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]

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

 

[Wayne Little]

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]

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]

 

[GrauGeist]

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]

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

 

[Readie]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[Park]

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]

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).