Marshall Gorby At 10:56 Saturday, July 30, 2011 the Ohio State Highway patrol received a call by a witness who saw a plane flying low and didn't come back up. They responded to find two adults had died in the crash. The plane crashed about 2 miles west of 7391 S. Pitchin Road in a muddy field. All-terrain and 4-wheel drive vehicles were the only ones that could make it out to scene. SGT. Bryan Cook of the Ohio State Highway Patrol Springfield Post could not confirm it was a Wright B Flyer. Coroner and FAA are en route. Green Twp/Husted FD and Ohio State Highway patrol responded to scene.
Ty Greenlees/Ty Greenlees Don Gum (center) was one of the pilots who was killed after the Wright 'B' Flyer Silver Bird crashed in a field about two miles west of 7391 Pitchin Road.
For a look at the crash scene, click here.
GREEN TWP., Clark County — Two local pilots died Saturday morning during a test flight of the Wright ‘B’ Flyer’s Silver Bird.
The plane went down before 11 a.m. in a field about two miles west of 7391 Pitchin Road. Ohio State Patrol Sgt. Bryan Cook of the Springfield Post said a call came in at 10:56 a.m. and troopers arrived at 11:39 a.m. He said all-terrain vehicles were needed to get authorities to the crash site. Media on the ground were not allowed on the property.
The president of Wright B. Flyer Inc. identified the pilots as Don Gum and Mitchell Cary. Phil Beaudoin said both men were volunteer pilots and members of the group’s board of trustees and that Cary was a former president of the organization.
“Wright B. Flyer Inc. and its members extend our deepest condolences to the families of Mitchell Cary and Don Gum,” Beaudoin said Saturday. “Mitch and Don were highly competent pilots with extensive experience flying Wright “B” Flyer airplanes and other experimental aircraft.
“They always observed the highest standards of safety. They made enormous contributions to our organization and to the aviation heritage community. They were good friends and we will miss them dearly.”
The coroner arrived at the scene at 1:45 p.m. and Cook said investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration were on the way. The plane had taken off from Springfield’s Beckley Municipal Airport, where Beaudoin said all test flights occurred for the Silver Bird.
A witness who lives nearby indicated that a small plane was sputtering and flying very low and then he heard the cracking of trees.
Beaudoin said the Silver Bird, call sign N453WB, is a slightly smaller version of the Brown Bird, the Model B replica Flyer that has been flying in shows for the past 25 years.
He said the plane had 25 hours of flight time before Saturday’s flight. Beaudoin said the aircraft received its FAA air worthiness certificate for test flights last fall.
Authorities did not address who was flying Saturday and Beaudoin said he did not know. Gum was quoted in a March 2010 article on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base’s website describing what it was like to fly a Model B replica.
“With other airplanes you have a reference out front, you have instruments,” Gum said during a show at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. “In (the Wright “B” Flyer) there is nothing around you, no cockpit; it’s beautiful, you can see directly below you.”
Beaudoin said the Silver Bird had been built during the past four years by volunteers and that it was constructed to modern standards. A third, non-flying Wright ‘B’ Flyer replica is housed at Hoffman Prairie.
Source: http://www.daytondailynews.com
CLARK COUNTY, Ohio -- Two men are dead after a Wright B Flyer replica known as the "Silver Bird" crashed off South Pitchin Road. The crash was just a few miles east of Springfield Beckley Municipal Airport.
State troopers say the plane went down just before 11 a.m. Saturday in a field.
The president of Wright B Flyer Inc. says the pilots were Don Gum and Mitchell Cary. He says both men were volunteer pilots and members of the board of trustees. Cary was a former president.
The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash.
A witness says the plane, which took off from the Springfield airport, was sputtering and flying very low. He then heard trees cracking.
Wright B Flyer Inc. President Phil Beaudoin says the "Silver Bird" was a slightly smaller version of the "Brown Bird." That version is the one which has been flying for the past 25 years.
A third non-flying Wright B Flyer replica is housed at Huffman Prairie.
For a look at the crash scene, click here.
Source: http://www.newstalkradiowhio.com
CLARK CO., Ohio -- Two people died after a small plane crash in Clark County Saturday morning.
A witness reported a plane was flying low in a muddy field near South Pitchin Road and didn't come back to The Ohio State Highway. They responded to find two adults had died in a crash.
All-terrain and 4-wheel drive vehicles were the only ones that could make it out to scene, OSP said.
The president of Wright B. Flyer Inc. identified the pilots as Don Gum and Mitchell Cary, our partners at the Dayton Daily News reported. Phil Beaudoin said both men were volunteer pilots and members of the group’s board of trustees and that Cary was a former president of the organization.
“Wright B. Flyer Inc. and its members extend our deepest condolences to the families of Mitchell Cary and Don Gum,” Beaudoin said Saturday. “Mitch and Don were highly competent pilots with extensive experience flying Wright “B” Flyer airplanes and other experimental aircraft.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol, Federal Aviation Administration and other agencies are handling the investigation.
Source: http://www.whiotv.com
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — A replica of a Wright Brothers biplane taken up for testing has crashed in rural Ohio, killing the two men aboard.
Mick Lecocq (le-QUE'), manager of Springfield Beckley Municipal Airport, says the men took the plane up around 10 a.m. Saturday. He says he confirmed the deaths with the State Highway Patrol, which is investigating.
The patrol says they received a call shortly before 11 a.m. about the crash, in an area surrounded by cornfields about three miles from the airport.
Lecocq says the men were doing some flight testing of the plane, which he estimated could reach heights of 4,000 or 5,000 feet.
Lecocq didn't have details about the cause of the crash.
Springfield is about 45 miles west of Columbus.
Source: http://www.westport-news.com
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