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RV, TBM Avenger collide at Oshkosh while taxiing - one dead.

I found this post on another forum by someone who is an announcer at OSH:

Colour me surprised.

Yeah, low rate this year, but still pretty bad. I happened to be just about to come into an interview with the regional director of the NTSB when it happened. I broadcast out of the IFP (International Federal Pavillion). I saw the debris flying as it sliced up from the tail through the cockpit and the NTSB and TSI guys and I bolted out onto the field.

Preliminary statements, which I actually heard, being a trusted (by the Feds) media member, was that the TBM was doing his S turns, clearing the taxiway, when the plane in front of him departed that taxiway to an adjacent intersection. However, the Canadian RV homebuilt slipped in right in front of the TBM and the Avenger pilot never saw him.

The TBM propeller contacted the tail and crawled right up the empennage and fuselage , veering off to the right as it did so. The prop went through the canopy, killing the right seat occupant. Though it went through the seatback of the pilot, he escaped unharmed.

The Avenger pilot and his wife were, understandably, freakin out (to be honest) when they were told of the death.

All in all, a bad deal.
 
Yeah, I was walking by as well when it happened. What a horrible way to end such a great show. Before it happened, I was actually looking at another WWII era bird and wondering to myself if ground/tower was providing them with traffic information due to the poor visibility.

The tail of the RV almost looked like it would have fit underneath the prop, but no such luck apparently.
 
literally run over on the taxiway

As I was taxiing out to 18R today (Sunday at Oshkosh) when the RV behind me was literally run over on the taxiway by one of the big war birds. His prop shredded the RV like it was nothing from what I could see the big war bird prop made it all the way to the luggage compartment as the luggage was strewn all over the place the RV pilot appeared to try and get out of the aircraft but I do not know if he was hurt. Anyone know anything else I would appreciate it as I do not know what happened after we left. We were pushed onto the runway for takeoff so the fire and rescue could get to him. I hope he / she the RV pilot made it out ok but it did not look good? I kind of shook me up. It could have been anyone including me.

Note this happened 2/3 the way up the taxi way, I don?t think anyone slipped in but who knows. I wonder if the large aircraft like these should be escorted or use a different taxi way then smaller general aviation aircraft. I know this will make me think twice before flying to Oshkosh again as I was the next aircraft. (I know #$^*& happens but that could have be me and it was preventable)
 
terrible

huge planes
72906315re3.jpg

72906312mg7.jpg

72906321tx1.jpg
 
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Does anyone publish an accident summary for the entire Oshkosh event? Maybe I'm just paying closer attention this year, but between all the accidents and the weather I am wondering if I really want to fly out there next year.
 
Paul Eastham said:
Does anyone publish an accident summary for the entire Oshkosh event? Maybe I'm just paying closer attention this year, but between all the accidents and the weather I am wondering if I really want to fly out there next year.

Paul .. the FAA posts a 10 day list of all accidents here... listings usually are posted in 1 to 2 days after they occur.

http://www.faa.gov/data_statistics/accident_incident/preliminary_data/

gil in Tucson
 
Quote "Preliminary statements, which I actually heard, being a trusted (by the Feds) media member, was that the TBM was doing his S turns, clearing the taxiway, when the plane in front of him departed that taxiway to an adjacent intersection. However, the Canadian RV homebuilt slipped in right in front of the TBM and the Avenger pilot never saw him." Unquote

You know having been involved in accident reporting, the first reports are normally very inaccurate and later prove to be more from a chain of reporting than from first hand knowledge. I'm waiting for the professionals to provide an unbiased and factual written report. Very sad way to end a memorable event.

Again,

JMHO

:D
 
Paul,
A search of the NTSB accident site between 1990 and present yielded 57 accident/incidents, some fatal, with the majority of the 57 occuring late July/early August (basically during Air Venture). I didn't read any of them, so I'm sure some are just fender benders, check it out for yourself.

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/query.asp
 
Paul Eastham said:
Does anyone publish an accident summary for the entire Oshkosh event? Maybe I'm just paying closer attention this year, but between all the accidents and the weather I am wondering if I really want to fly out there next year.
Out West you have the mountains. In the Midwest, we have the summer weather. It can be awsome and humbling and you don't want to mess with it. However, I wouldn't miss OSH. I fly in every year and although this year was down from some of the previous years, there's still no place like it. IMO, if you build, you HAVE to come out at least once just to say you've been. I know it's quite a trip from the West coast, but you should be able to hook up with other flying RV friends to make the trip.

Just avoid the dark, fast moving, low hanging clouds!! ;)
 
I'll second Randy's comments. OSH is the EASIEST fly-in as far as getting on and off the field in your plane, that I have ever attended. I've flown to OSHKOSH twice now in my RV-4 from California. I won't even go to may local fly-ins because of the crowded airspace and taxi-space. OSH is a whole different animal. They've got traffic management down to a science. Fatalities are extremely sad and disheartening when they happen but they don't keep me out of the sky and they won't keep me out of OSH. I'll be back next year hopefully.
 
Makes my heart ache. That Avenger is huge, and I'll bet the pilot is as devastated as the pilot of the RV. Little to no forward visibility on the Avenger- a tragic accident indeed.
 
oh geez

Ugh -- the pics confirm it. I met these guys on Sunday while I was preparing for my trip back east. We had a nice conversation, chatted about the plane for a while and then parted ways. For some reason this accident is more personal for me because we spent a few minutes chatting. Very sad.
 
Picture Edits

Thanks Doug for editing the pictures. I have not seen any pictures of this accident. I have only read postings about it and news stories. Although it is a macabre type of fascination we have with this type of incident I do not think that the "public has a right to know" everything. If this were me I would not want my picture pasted on a website for the world to gauk over. I am reminded of the "Great Waldo Pepper" movie scene when the guy crashes his plane after attempting an outside loop. Everyone rushed to the crash where the guy was trapped under the plane. If you have seen the movie you know what happened. I for one do not want to be one of the gaukers!
 
Pics for the world

If this were me I would not want my picture pasted on a website for the world to gauk over.

I agree with you! it is a metter of respect for the ones involved.
Doug I second Steve's view on this matter
 
Ditto

RV-10 Trainer said:
I agree with you! it is a metter of respect for the ones involved.
Doug I second Steve's view on this matter

I had the misfortune of responding as a Firefighter to a cargo 747 crash where 7 crew members were lost.A person who should have known better started taking pictures of the deceased for reasons not involved with the investigation. I recall vividly the feeling I had (and still do) of how this violation transcended the bounds of human decency .It remains a proud moment in my career where I persuaded the individual that a continuation of the practice would very quickly become hazardous to his health, although I don't believe I worded it quite the same way.
 
Unmoderated

The home page states the forum is unmoderated. That's False.

[ed. What I mean by 'unmoderated' here is that messages are not placed in a que that has to be approved before being sent out to the forum. dr]

The pictures Doug elected to remove are surely available somewhere on the internet as well as news websites and or newspapers.

The site also states kid friendly... well my kid reads the newspaper and other websites as well as myself. I don't know what he thinks he can hide? The pictures as I saw them were an accident scene, just as you would see in the newspaper. Nothing gross or out of line at all...

Some must not have seen the posted pictures.
 
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LifeofReiley said:
The home page states the forum is unmoderated. That's False.
I think what you are objecting to is the "censorship" of the pictures and not the moderation of the forum. Somewhere in our "we must have total freedom to do as we please" mentality we have this misconception that censorship is a bad thing. All of us censor our lives multiple times a day. If you have kids you censor what they see and hear daily. I think if we did more of it in a public forum such as this we would live in a much better world. Thanks again Doug, I do not need to rubber neck at the car accident on the side of the road.
 
Witness to Accident

Greetings all:
I'm a bit late catching this thread, but I wanted to add my two cents.

I am a witness to the accident and first to arrive on the scene, as I was going to shut down the RV when it appeared the pilot was killed. As it turned out, he survived uninjured and I cleared the area as show personnel arrived.

You can see one of the pictures, and my civilian statement (not the one submitted to the NTSB), at the FlyLow page, at this URL:
http://www.fly-low.com/feat0906/oshcrash06.html
 
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