Warbird Information Exchange

Came across this story while looking for something else.

Dan

http://www.cbs46.com/Global/story.asp?S=3483575

WILLIAMSON, Ga. (AP) -- Two people were killed today when their single-engine trainer aircraft crashed in a field shortly after takeoff in Pike County south of Atlanta.

Pike County Fire Chief Tom Tyree says the 1943-model PT-26 Cornell was owned by the Commemorative Air Force and was carrying a pilot and a passenger.

The Commemorative Air Force -- formerly known as the Confederate Air Force -- said the plane struck a tree after taking off from Peach State Field shortly before noon. It said both the pilot and passenger were members of the Dixie Wing of the CAF, which is a non-profit group based in Midland, Texas, that preserves World War Two aircraft.

The identities of the victims were not immediately available.

The Commemorative Air Force said in a statement from Midland that its Dixie Wing is based in Peachtree Cit. The plane took off from Falcon Field in Peachtree City about 10:30 a-m and landed in Williamson about an hour later. After landing, the pilot repositioned the airplane and departed, striking the tree.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Very Sad indeed,

the loss of a man, or in this case two fine people, is sorely felt and my condolences to their families. The loss of a Warbird, in this case a trainer, can be a seriously loss, but perhaps can be rebuilt over time. That is if it is repairable at all, and then as tribute to the men who last flew her.

My heartfelt condolences to all in this tragedy.

Paul

By KEVIN DUFFY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/17/05
Two Marietta men were killed Thursday when a restored 1943 plane crashed Thursday in Pike County.

The PT-26 slammed into a tree around 11:30 a.m., just after takeoff from Peach State Airport in Williamson, about 44 miles south of Atlanta. The flight began an hour earlier at Peachtree City Falcon Field Airport.

:( The victims were identified today as pilot James Ford, 67, and 58-year-old Robert Lange.

Both men were members of the Dixie Wing Commemorative Air Force, a Peachtree City-based organization that restores World War II aircraft.

Ford was a former Delta Air Lines pilot, and Lang was a former Air Force pilot. "They had a love of history and World War II history," Dixie Wing spokesman Chris Madrid said at Falcon Field. "They were doing what they wanted to do."

The PT-26 was the first plane Dixie Wing had restored after forming in 1987. Group spokesman Chris Madrid wasn't aware of any other fatal crashes involving Dixie Wing planes.