Aerobatics Pilot Killed in Runway Overrun, St. Augustine, 02 March

Tragic! RIP.
 
It happened about 5 minutes after I took off from SGJ. It’s all mud at the end of the runway there… not very forgiving
 
I’m thinking either the pilot couldn’t get the engine to idle down or was keeping the speed up in case it quit?
 
From the report above, plane was trailing smoke and coming in for an emergency landing. Other pilot flying with them said they were coming in fast. Guessing they were trying to get down in a hurry, and I can't blame them. Incredibly sad.
 
This is NOT judgement!

It seems something went terribly wrong LATE in the event. Once you have wheels on a runway in a light civil, it seems you likely have all the super serious stuff handled... I’ve always thought of it that way.

Apparently not. Goes to remind us to keep trying to think ahead until the VERY VERY end.

In my forced landing recently, by the grace of God I made a field. There I am, sliding along in a pasture, sure as shootin I’m headed towards a cow feeder... hrumph... so with a perfectly good airplane I smash the rudder as hard as I can, sure I’m gonna fur ball the little thing, but it seemed better than hittin a 1200lb hay bale in a metal enclosure... Worked out, nothing got hurt. I could have been wrong...

Not to say they didn’t deliberately go off the end, probably looked alright...

Point is, if they deliberately went off the end and it didn’t work, well, they did their best. Doesn’t always work out.

If they got on the ground and relaxed, and missed a better option, that’s truly tragic and something from which we can learn.

Two quotes come to mind:

1. Fly the thing as far into the crash as possible. Bob Hoover I think.

2. Pretty sure my last words are gonna be: well sh@@, that didn’t work out like I planned! Funny tshirt saying...

RIP
 
Tools said:
This is NOT judgement!

It seems something went terribly wrong LATE in the event. Once you have wheels on a runway in a light civil, it seems you likely have all the super serious stuff handled... I’ve always thought of it that way.

Apparently not. Goes to remind us to keep trying to think ahead until the VERY VERY end.

In my forced landing recently, by the grace of God I made a field. There I am, sliding along in a pasture, sure as shootin I’m headed towards a cow feeder... hrumph... so with a perfectly good airplane I smash the rudder as hard as I can, sure I’m gonna fur ball the little thing, but it seemed better than hittin a 1200lb hay bale in a metal enclosure... Worked out, nothing got hurt. I could have been wrong...

Not to say they didn’t deliberately go off the end, probably looked alright...

Point is, if they deliberately went off the end and it didn’t work, well, they did their best. Doesn’t always work out.

If they got on the ground and relaxed, and missed a better option, that’s truly tragic and something from which we can learn.

Two quotes come to mind:

1. Fly the thing as far into the crash as possible. Bob Hoover I think.

2. Pretty sure my last words are gonna be: well sh@@, that didn’t work out like I planned! Funny tshirt saying...

RIP
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Pilots have been killed by head and neck injuries by a plane flipping, even at very low speed; it was goo off the end of the runway.
 
LiveATC recordings indicate it took approximately 35 minutes for rescue crews to reach the accident site, due to the marshy conditions, and that Fox was able to communicate with ATC for all but the last 10 minutes or so. Photos appear show the plane came to rest inverted with the canopy at least partially underwater.

Also... I wouldn't recommend listening to the recordings. You can only hear ATC's side of the conversation after the accident and it's heartbreaking. My admiration and sympathy to the controller ("AJ") who comforted her as best he could.
 
The Flight Aware track was apparently lost just beyond the displaced threshold of Runway 13, at an altitude of 700ft and a ground speed of 178 mph. We all know that these figures can be significantly in error at low altitudes, but it seems that the approach was really high and hot. With that said, to have survived the crash and to have drowned while awaiting rescue ... it just doesn't get much more tragic than that. R.I.P.

There will probably be some criticism of the rescue efforts, but for an airport of that size and classification, EMS will be relatively limited. To have water rescue units on standby would entail considerable expense, which must be weighed against the history and or likelihood of such an event (water rescue) at this airport. Rescues in marsh environments are particularly difficult, since the only viable vehicle is an airboat which has very limited carrying capacity. Rescue swimmers may have been (speculation here) in the water only to encounter a canopy buried in the mud of the marsh. I'll end my speculation here with the observation that water rescue is sufficiently difficult, but swamp/marsh rescue is even more difficult, because such terrain is neither terra firma nor water.
 
Looks like a mismanaged energy profile (per FA track log). Sometimes we just don't get do overs in this flying affair. Even so, sans water she prob would have made it. Real unfortunate about the water proximity.
 
A volunteer fire department around here had someone fall into a frozen lake in swamping terrain years ago, believe it was a girl walking home to her family. They just couldn't get to her over that terrain in time. The family did a fund raising thing after the event, and bought an airboat for the department. Our rangers have some, too. They're pretty incredible. But....it takes time to deploy them, and for the type of rescues they're good at, there's sometimes not a lot of time. Very sad.
 
Her previous two flights that same day were both 20-ish minutes circling over the airport. I wonder if she was trying to troubleshoot an engine issue before continuing onward?
 
mr_happyland said:
Her previous two flights that same day were both 20-ish minutes circling over the airport. I wonder if she was trying to troubleshoot an engine issue before continuing onward?
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Looks like aerobatic training flights. My tracks usually look like that too when I practice.

Very sad.
 
I couldn't imagine being the wingman that had to witness all that and hear her last words on the radio. She had to of been a pretty low time pilot as I think I read she didn't get her private license until 2020. My airplane is one of the only ones of its type with a sliding canopy instead of a clamshell opening type. The previous owner spent a lot of money and time to make it work after another venture pilot was killed in an accident where he couldn't get out. Of course it's unknown if the tail will withstand the impact enough to allow it to slide open but at least there is a chance.
 
^This. As sexy as a tip over canopy is (one piece, nothing blocking your view), if the plane flips over you are often stuck inside. Even on planes I fly with sliding canopies my rule is that they be open during takeoff and landing.
 
From her fiance, Jim Bourke:

On March 3rd
Our family is devastated to report that Marianne Fox passed away early this morning after an airplane accident following a declaration of emergency during a short cross country flight. We are so happy to have known Marianne and to have experienced the joy of sharing our lives with her, yet our grief will never pass. Arrangements are being made for a funeral near her childhood home in Oregon.
Marianne delighted in the close company of her innumerable friends and her amazing family. She was adventurous, charming, intelligent, and caring. Her success in everything she did inspired us, whether she was demonstrating her prowess as a business leader, pushing herself during a morning run, or flexing her muscles as an interior decorator. Everything she touched was made better. I'm attaching two of my favorite pictures of us together, one taken recently at an aerobatic contest and one when we first met 17 years ago. Thank you for all the words of encouragement and love you've sent.

On March 4th

I have received literally hundreds of emails, text messages, and phone calls over the last 24 hours. I have not slept or eaten very much, and I am not going to lie and say I'm ok, but I have all of you to thank for easing my burden as much as you could. I can't count how many people have asked me if I needed anything. I have my family to comfort me right now, but I worry about how it will be once I'm alone.

Marianne Fox and I spent pretty much every waking moment together. She was even better for me than you know. When time passes and my family departs and I am on my own that's when I will need you. I don't know who I will reach out to or when but I will need you. So remember your promise to be there for me.

One thing I can ask for right now: please keep doing a great job of waiting on the accident report and do not speculate or gossip. Also, please don't ask me about it. It is too painful to relive the experience. I believe I know what caused Marianne's accident pretty well and I will share my own version of events when I'm emotionally able, whenever that time comes. I promise I have a great set of close friends and family who I will be spending time with and that I will get good professional help to learn how to accept what happened. Thank you all for the support!

275130197_10221148732579263_7336289659905685372_n.jpg
 
For those not aware, Jim Bourke is the current president of the International Aerobatic Club (IAC), the governing body for aerobatic competition in the US.
 
Spinka said:
Looks like aerobatic training flights. My tracks usually look like that too when I practice.

Very sad.
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This is correct. The previous 2 tracks were at Keystone Heights, which has an active aerobatic box with low altitude waiver. The Extra dealership is at St Augustine.
 
Grum.Man said:
My airplane is one of the only ones of its type with a sliding canopy instead of a clamshell opening type. The previous owner spent a lot of money and time to make it work after another venture pilot was killed in an accident where he couldn't get out. Of course it's unknown if the tail will withstand the impact enough to allow it to slide open but at least there is a chance.
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At least you can open it while still in the air. Not possible for the clamshell. The standard water landing for a sliding canopy is to open it before landing.
 
Do any of the clamshells have the ability to pop off the canopy in the air? Along the lines of hinge pins that detach or something. I'm thinking this wouldn't be trivial, because you wouldn't want to get hit with it, because the airflow might keep it pressed down, and finally because you wouldn't want it taking out the tail.
 
Albany Tom said:
Do any of the clamshells have the ability to pop off the canopy in the air? Along the lines of hinge pins that detach or something. I'm thinking this wouldn't be trivial, because you wouldn't want to get hit with it, because the airflow might keep it pressed down, and finally because you wouldn't want it taking out the tail.
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Gliders have this. I'm told after you pull the handles you have to push the canopy up so the airstream gets under it and takes it away.
 
Extras have a quick-release canopy jettison in both seats.
 
Which is why it would be part of the checklist for an off-airport landing. Unfortunately, in this instance an on-airport landing unexpectedly turned into an off-airport landing after touchdown.
 
I've flown Extras and other airplanes with canopies/doors you can eject. To me, this is the same as Cirrus training pilots to pull the parachute without thinking about it too long. That type of training has reduced fatalities in these planes.

We are human and because of that we think through situations and sometimes it costs us. You're flying a new Extra and if you think you're going to make an emergency landing off-field, you might flip over, but you might land safely and be fine. Do you eject the canopy? It's expensive and you want to make sure it's necessary. You don't want to be the person that pulled a canopy and there was no reason to. It's just human nature.
 
Lowflynjack said:
We are human and because of that we think through situations and sometimes it costs us. You're flying a new Extra and if you think you're going to make an emergency landing off-field, you might flip over, but you might land safely and be fine. Do you eject the canopy? It's expensive and you want to make sure it's necessary. You don't want to be the person that pulled a canopy and there was no reason to. It's just human nature.
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That's why it's useful to think of an airplane as "being owned by the insurance company" when faced with an off field landing.
 
Gliders land out all the time, usually successfully, and without jettisoning their canopies. One of our members landed out and went through a wire fence that almost decapitated him when it sliced through the plexiglass and cut him badly. If the canopy had been jettisoned, it probably would have but, as it was, enough forward momentum had been dissipated that he survived. Sometimes the outcome is a matter of luck or fate.
 
Witmo said:
Gliders land out all the time, usually successfully, and without jettisoning their canopies. One of our members landed out and went through a wire fence that almost decapitated him when it sliced through the plexiglass and cut him badly. If the canopy had been jettisoned, it probably would have but, as it was, enough forward momentum had been dissipated that he survived. Sometimes the outcome is a matter of luck or fate.
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That was a rough one! I remember it.
 
Do planes with clamshell canopies have higher rate of fatal accidents - should be easy enough to answer …
 
Sad to read the part about her last transmissions. Not to be insensitive but I imagine she was flying an airplane that might have been a little ahead of her piloting experience. Hopefully the deeper investigation will reveal what was causing the engine issues.
 
The experienced pilot of the Extra 300, N331FZ, who was flying formation with the accident airplane, noticed smoke coming from the exhaust of the accident airplane and asked if the accident airplane had its smoke generator on. Air show demonstration smoke is almost always white, so can I assume that the smoke coming from the accident airplane's exhaust was white in color? As I recall from my training years ago, white smoke emanating from an aircraft engine is usually from burning oil and can be indicative of a serious problem (cracked rings, failed piston etc.). Black smoke is usually the result of a rich mixture, caused by fuel metering problems or carb icing, so I guess we can rule those out. Preliminary examination of the accident engine revealed no obvious anomalies, so, what caused the white smoke? Smoke of any color coming from an aircraft's exhaust, accompanied by a serious loss of power, is never a happy thing to encounter while in flight.
 
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