EDMONTON - After putting on a show for the crowd at the Wetaskiwin Air Show Saturday, a pilot crashed his small plane.
Pilot Kent Pietsch was flying a 1942 Interstate Scout while performing aerobatic manoeuvers. The plane went down just short of the runway at about 5 p.m.
According to those on the scene, he was brought to hospital and emergency crews said he is in stable condition.
Pietsch is a native of Minot, North Dakota. According to his website, included in his “comedy act” are extreme moves like a dead stick in which he shuts the plane’s power off in mid-flight at 6,000 feet.
He said in an interview with QMI Agency a day before the crash that the reason he does his signature routine is to show people in a fun way that airplanes are safe to fly.
“One of the shows that I do, I lose parts of the airplane, like the airplane falls apart in the sky,” he said. “The airplanes are built with a lot of redundancy and that’s what I’m showing here: That you can lost parts of the plane and still fly.”
Transport Canada was contacted but could not comment on whether the crash is being investigated.
Jack Sim, a crewmember working for fellow performer Dave Mathieson, was nearby when the crash happened.
“He tacked in to land. The wing hit the wheat field, ripped the wing off, spun around,” he said. “He hit the dash. He got wounded. He got out of the plane. Wandered around it and laid down in the field.”
While Pietsch was OK, the plane wasn’t so lucky in Sim’s opinion.
“The plane is pooched,” he said.
Wetaskiwin is located 70 km south of Edmonton.
http://www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com
A stunt pilot is in hospital after his plane crashed after an air show in Wetaskiwin.
Ron Vander Dungen, manager of the Wetaskiwin regional airport, says pilot Kent Pietsch was flying his “Jelly Belly” 1942 Interstate Cadet after the show Saturday evening when the small plane crashed.
The plan was reportedly flying low and slowly when it hit the ground.
Pietsch was sent to hospital and is in stable condition, according to Vander Dungen.
No other injuries were reported.
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One of the performers at the Wetaskiwin Air Show is in hospital after his small plane went down just after takeoff.
Kent Pietsch spent the day wowing the crowd with his aerobatic abilities in his 1942 Interstate Cadet.
But Air show president Dean Billingsley says Pietsch decided to go back up after the air show was over, when something went horribly wrong.
"I was just talking to his brother and he said that obviously he (Pietsch) crashed his airplane, but he's in stable condition - - he's fine," remarked Billingsley.
Billingsley says Pietsch is expected to make a full recovery, adding he was alone at the time.
"He was just going to do what pilots do and burn fuel."
A person living near the Wetaskiwin Airport says it appeared the engine of the small plane stopped working right after takeoff, with the plane crashing about 50 feet from the end of the runway.
http://www.inews880.com
Ron Vander Dungen, manager of the Wetaskiwin regional airport, says pilot Kent Pietsch was flying his “Jelly Belly” 1942 Interstate Cadet after the show Saturday evening when the small plane crashed.
The plan was reportedly flying low and slowly when it hit the ground.
Pietsch was sent to hospital and is in stable condition, according to Vander Dungen.
No other injuries were reported.
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One of the performers at the Wetaskiwin Air Show is in hospital after his small plane went down just after takeoff.
Kent Pietsch spent the day wowing the crowd with his aerobatic abilities in his 1942 Interstate Cadet.
But Air show president Dean Billingsley says Pietsch decided to go back up after the air show was over, when something went horribly wrong.
"I was just talking to his brother and he said that obviously he (Pietsch) crashed his airplane, but he's in stable condition - - he's fine," remarked Billingsley.
Billingsley says Pietsch is expected to make a full recovery, adding he was alone at the time.
"He was just going to do what pilots do and burn fuel."
A person living near the Wetaskiwin Airport says it appeared the engine of the small plane stopped working right after takeoff, with the plane crashing about 50 feet from the end of the runway.
http://www.inews880.com
A pilot is in hospital after a plane crash in Wetaskiwin Saturday.
Officials tell CTV News the crash happened around 4 p.m. Saturday at the Wetaskiwin Regional Airport during takeoff.
The lone pilot involved in the crash was taken to hospital. He is listed as in stable condition.
The aircraft involved was an interstate cadet. Witnesses say it was the “Jelly Belly” plane.
The Wetaskiwin Air Show is taking place this weekend but officials say the crash occurred after the show had wrapped up for the day.
Wetaskiwin is located about 70 kilometres south of Edmonton.
http://edmonton.ctvnews.ca