We Lost a Mustang today

[N3Njeff]

dam that sucks...................my prayers to all of the family and friends.

[RareBear]

Photo of Donnie-Mite last year at Oshkosh.

http://hoglog.com:16080/C503639400/E787645640/

Walt

[Steve T]

Rob--

How horrible. It's not been a good few days, has it. Once again my heart goes out to people I have never met...this time the friends and family of the Mustang's pilot. I remember seeing "Donna-Mite" at St.Paul MN a few years back; beautiful aircraft, a sad loss, but any such thing pales in comparison with the irremediable loss of the pilot.

S.

[Dave Hackett]

I just got off the phone with a friend who is there and had no clue about this. I asked if he was around all day, and he told me he was still there. I am not doubting you, but I am still hopeful you have gotten bad info. As far as my friend knows, nothing fatal today, and nothing warbird. Here is to hoping you are wrong good Col.

dave

[Dan K]

Hi All,

Unfortunately, the information is quite accurate. The evening news is reporting that the crash occured on the east side of Lake Winnebago, near the town of Calumetville.

An eyewitness reported seeing the Mustang as part of a four aircraft flight. It unexpectedly went inverted and did not recover, impacting the ground at high speed. What little debris was visible above ground was consistent with Dick's aircraft.

I can't claim to have known Dick really well, but have met him a few times as he's been a part of the Wisconsin warbird scene for a long time. I'm feeling pretty empty right now.

My prayers for all who are hurting,

Dan

He was just down the road from us
sad day going to miss him
Steve

[Elwyn]

darn that's awful. I didn't here anything about it here at Oshkosh yet but I haven't seen the daily news. Heartfelt wishes for his family and friends.

[B-29 Super Fort]

Very sad news. Was it the P-51 "Donna-Mite" not "Donnie-Mite"?

http://www.warbirdregistry.org/p51registry/p51-4474417.html

[RareBear]

"Donna-Mite" is correct. Gotta get my eyes checked.
Sorry for the bad info.

Walt

[Paul Krumrei]

From EAA.Org


Warbird Pilot Dick James Killed in Fond du Lac County Crash

July 27, 2005 - EAA is saddened to report that a World War II-era aircraft that had participated in our "Warbirds" air show Tuesday afternoon crashed in Fond du Lac County as it was staging to participate in a later segment of the show, resulting in the death of the pilot, Dick James of Fennimore, Wisconsin.
The accident occurred in a rural area in the northeastern part of the county. The Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office and the National Transportation Safety Board, with assistance from the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office, are spearheading the investigation.

The entire EAA family, especially the EAA Warbirds of America, offers our sincerest condolences to the James family.

[bdk]

Hmmm... The Airventure site mentions an RV crash which resulted in minor injuries, but nothing about the fatal Mustang crash:

http://www.airventure.org/

http://www.airventure.org/2005/monjuly25/accident.html

[p51]

Here's the info on that crash:
http://www.wisinfo.com/northwestern/new ... 1971.shtml

,,,and people thought I was nuts to ask every question I could about how to bail from a P-51 whenever I rode in one!

[Randy Haskin]

,,,and people thought I was nuts to ask every question I could about how to bail from a P-51 whenever I rode in one!

I'm not really seeing how someone in the back seat in that situation would have been able to get out of it...

[JohnH]

,,,and people thought I was nuts to ask every question I could about how to bail from a P-51 whenever I rode in one!

I'm not really seeing how someone in the back seat in that situation would have been able to get out of it...

I've been told, if the pilot is slumped over...there's no way out...from what I remember from my one ride you can't reach the handle from the back anyway right?

John

[Randy Haskin]

I've been told, if the pilot is slumped over...there's no way out...from what I remember from my one ride you can't reach the handle from the back anyway right?

Yes, that was my point exactly. If the front seater isn't able to open or jett the canopy, then there's no way for the back seater to get out anyway.

Even with the front seater gone it's still a risky gig. One of the Mustangs that Cavalier owned had this happen...the front seater bailed out with the airplane on fire, but without jettissoning the canopy. The passenger in the back seat, who was wearing a chute, was unable to egress before impact.