Biplane crash at Thunder Over Solano Airshow

[Taigh Ramey]

Eddie did survive the crash only to die in the fire that started after the aircraft came to rest. I watched from the wing of the Harpoon where I had a clear view of the crash and the fire station. There were no trucks or crews stationed out on the flight line near the aerobatic box or air show center. If they had been there I believe that Eddie would be alive. If the ARFF could have gotten to him in a minute had they been positioned out near the runways the fire could have been controlled. The fire trucks were in the station behind the crowd and concrete barriers. They took what seemed like forever to get out of the station and then they had to drive around the perimeter of the spectator area with their horn blowing to get people out of the way. It was about 4 minutes before they got there which was way too late. It was horrible beyond description to see a friend die when he could have been saved.

I can think of a hand full of accidents over the years where the pilot survived the crash only to perish afterwards for a lack of response or inadequate preparations. I would like to see some standards and procedures developed within the air show community to keep this from happening again.

I like that at OSH the fire crew is out on the grass near the runway with their gear all ready to go in a heartbeat. Next to them is a manned grade all, all terrain forklift, that is ready to lift or move anything as necessary to prevent these kinds of things from happening. This should be at every show and some guidelines set up to prepare for quick responses.

It makes me ill thinking about what happened to Eddie because in my mind he should still be alive.

[Forgotten Field]

I'm sorry anybody had to watch that. The positioning of the equipment was wrong and any reasonably-trained fire chief would have known that. Problem is that when air show planners, FAA, local jurisdiction Law Enforcement, Air Operations at a field, Regional Aviation, and any other critical elements of an airshow get together, there is usually little to no depth of experience doing contingency planning. There is so much work to be done just to make the event flow, from performer to fuel operations, parking to vendor power requirements, and thousands of other things to the point that safety, contingency, and emergency planning gets lost or is checked like a block without any real sense of what it takes (like quick field access and equipment/personnel positioning) to mitigate death or injury not only to performers, but to airshow attendees (remember Reno?). I totally agree with Taigh and I'd like to see ICAS, EAA, AOPA Safety Foundation or some other group with clout publish contingency or emergency recommendations for airshow operations. But there is a problem with that as well, and it relates to who gets sued when a published standard for airshow operations subsequently is met perfectly, and somebody still dies or is injured. The onus therefore really falls on the airshow producer to ensure that well-trained, experienced, plan-briefed personnel are working well together. That, and a drill or two before the event (if I was publishing standards, I'd make that mandatory) really tunes in your system, and hopefully prevents things like this from happening.

[pilot06]

This explains my confusion. I haven't been able to find a news report mentioning how he died. Apparently, if you don't mention the details, the public will draw their own conclusions and move on to the next story. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the idea that a pilot who expertly lands inverted on the runaway (imho a walk away and rebuildable aircraft) dies because of a lack of urgency on the part of the ground personnel. Granted not being there in real time it's very difficult to piece it together accurately.

What should have been a wonderful display of piloting, showing the value of experience, instead will most likely be turned back to question Eddie's piloting and decision making ability. darn Monday morning quarterbacks. Thinking back to the books I've read on WWI, the most feared situation a pilot can deal with is a fire on board. Yet, Eddie's is on the ground, albeit inverted, and still perishes.

On a side note, is it possible the fire started at the smoke generator?

One final note, we live in a world of revisionist history. I know for a fact the early headlines were not the same ones we see now. http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/video? ... d=10124233

While I didn't know Eddie personally, i saw a few of his performances at the air shows in Santa Rosa. Makes me angry thinking about.

Eddie did survive the crash only to die in the fire that started after the aircraft came to rest. I watched from the wing of the Harpoon where I had a clear view of the crash and the fire station. There were no trucks or crews stationed out on the flight line near the aerobatic box or air show center. If they had been there I believe that Eddie would be alive. If the ARFF could have gotten to him in a minute had they been positioned out near the runways the fire could have been controlled. The fire trucks were in the station behind the crowd and concrete barriers. They took what seemed like forever to get out of the station and then they had to drive around the perimeter of the spectator area with their horn blowing to get people out of the way. It was about 4 minutes before they got there which was way too late. It was horrible beyond description to see a friend die when he could have been saved.

I can think of a hand full of accidents over the years where the pilot survived the crash only to perish afterwards for a lack of response or inadequate preparations. I would like to see some standards and procedures developed within the air show community to keep this from happening again.

I like that at OSH the fire crew is out on the grass near the runway with their gear all ready to go in a heartbeat. Next to them is a manned grade all, all terrain forklift, that is ready to lift or move anything as necessary to prevent these kinds of things from happening. This should be at every show and some guidelines set up to prepare for quick responses.

It makes me ill thinking about what happened to Eddie because in my mind he should still be alive.

[Dave Hadfield]

Taking it one step further from a pilot's point of view, I have been interviewed at airshows by very admirable fire chiefs who ask me for any specific information about my airplane that could influence their rescue. (Is there a fuselage gas tank? Is the oil tank on the cockpit side of the firewall? Is it common to have a stackfire on start? How does the canopy jettison? Where is the battery(s)? And so on.)

Best to be prepared.

Dave

[b29driver]

This is not unlike the Charlie Hillard accident years ago in that he suffocated.

[Jerry O'Neill]

Or Harry Doan's accident at TICO.

[sandiego89]

So sorry to hear all this. It seems like every show I go to, at least one piece of apparatus is on or near the flight line, or positioned near the active runway- not behind the crowd! Don't want to second guess anyone, but it seems at least a rapid response brush truck or foam truck should be rolling in seconds (like Reno). I realize they need tower clearance, but again this should be nearly instantaneous during an airshow when other traffic is limited.

[Punisher05]

I had heard about the crash previously, but when I did the check today at our ARFF station was the first time I'd heard of the delayed response.

Truly terrible.

Under FAR Part 139, ARFF units must be able to reach any point of the airfield and flow water/AFFF within 3 minutes of the crash alarm. In that sense, it would appear that the 2 1/2 minute window between the crash and response would appear about right. HOWEVER, it should be noted that this regulation is for normal, everyday, operations at a civilian airport, servicing large air carrier aircraft. An airport conducting an airshow, with a number of aerobatic routines occuring at high speeds and angles with large crowds in place would necessitate having an expedited plan, or improved staging area for units, than normal operating conditions.

My $0.02 as someone who's had to plan and train ARFF crews for 8 years, is that someone failed to plan for either alternative locations for ARFF units, and possibly the means to communicate with them as well.

-Brandon

[GARY HILTON]

Isn't the co-ordination of the rescue teams part of the air boss's responsibility? Who was the air boss during this show?

[mustanglover]

I had heard about the crash previously, but when I did the check today at our ARFF station was the first time I'd heard of the delayed response.

Truly terrible.

Under FAR Part 139, ARFF units must be able to reach any point of the airfield and flow water/AFFF within 3 minutes of the crash alarm. In that sense, it would appear that the 2 1/2 minute window between the crash and response would appear about right. HOWEVER, it should be noted that this regulation is for normal, everyday, operations at a civilian airport, servicing large air carrier aircraft. An airport conducting an airshow, with a number of aerobatic routines occuring at high speeds and angles with large crowds in place would necessitate having an expedited plan, or improved staging area for units, than normal operating conditions.

My $0.02 as someone who's had to plan and train ARFF crews for 8 years, is that someone failed to plan for either alternative locations for ARFF units, and possibly the means to communicate with them as well.

-Brandon

I timed the response using several different videos (matching voice cues from the announcer) and it is over 4 minutes from when the airplane stopped sliding to when the first quick attack truck arrived and applied water directly to the aircraft. It was another 10 seconds for the first large ARFF truck to arrive and get water on the aircraft. You can hear sirens forever during the videos suggesting what Taigh said about the trucks having to maneuver around obstacles and people.

[Chris Brame]

In the initial crash video there seemed to be several personnel on the field fairly close to the plane when it stopped, but they didn't approach the wreck. Were they really that close or was a telephoto lens making them look closer than they were?

[mustanglover]

In the initial crash video there seemed to be several personnel on the field fairly close to the plane when it stopped, but they didn't approach the wreck. Were they really that close or was a telephoto lens making them look closer than they were?

He was very close to the people holding the poles for the ribbon cut.

[VintageAviationNews]

News outlets are reporting a Biplane crashed at Travis AFB during the Thunder Over Solano Airshow (I've refrained from posting any links).

It was Eddie Andreini, who i had the pleasure to meet.A real aviator, he started flying at 16. Spoke Italian very well too. He will be missed. Ciao Eddie!

[Taylor Stevenson]

Furthering Dave's point, a lot of the airbosses I've dealt with point out the fire and rescue personnel at briefing and highly recommend, or even require, the pilots to meet with them and show them the best ways to get the pilot and crew out (where fuel/oil tanks are, where fire extinguishers are, how to get canopy open, where the best place to hack metal is, etc. This should be an industry standard IMHO.

Such a shame...

Sorry you had to see that, Taigh.

[mustanglover]

As I told some friends recently, please take a long look at your canopy set up and how it opens. Then imagine any type of scenario in an accident and can you get your canopy open.