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

Posted by Patty Wagstaff on Facebook a few days ago:
On March 4, at the St Augustine Airport, Marianne Fox landed long on Runway 13, went off the end, and then waited 43 minutes for help that came too late.
In a sport where women don’t come along very often, we were excited by Marianne’s talent and enthusiasm. We liked her a lot. She was cool, friendly, no nonsense and could fly the hell out of an airplane.
Women in aerobatics are a mostly a tight, inclusive group. Women in aviation are important to other women in aviation. We appreciate each other. When you’re the “only one,” people make you out to be somehow “extraordinary” and “special.” Sure, we are all unique, but that’s not the point. We’re just here to fly. There aren’t many of us and we inherently know that we need to share our experiences and support each other. Marianne, like the rest of us, just wanted to be a good pilot.
Was she experienced enough to be flying the Extra? She had as much experience as most of the pilots I see coming through the Extra dealership here in St. Augustine, plus she had “paid her dues” in the Super Decathlon and was even the Northwest Regional Sportsman Aerobatic Champion. The Extra is a fairly docile airplane and has a stellar reputation. So, whatever It was that distracted her enough to go off the end of the runway could probably happen to anyone. Hey - join the club if you’ve ever made a mistake.
Making a mistake at a busy airport should not have been a death sentence. A few of us stood helpless by the empty, unstaffed fire station at the base of the tower. We asked to go to the crash site, but the airport told us we couldn’t. I believe we could have helped. We’ve seen this before.
I keep an emergency kit with us at airshows. It contains gloves, a small axe, a knife to cut webbing, and a small halon fire extinguisher. I tell my crew that if I have an emergency and someone tells you not to come to my aid when I need it, the fire bottle should be used to hit them over the head and continue on.
RIP Marianne. We will remember your beauty, spirit and flying skills and know that when other women come along in our sport that you’ll be flying with them.
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Seems odd that everything about the engine that the report mentions was examined showed no evidence of malfunction. One would think that there must have been some sort of problem if there was smoke and there was an rpm issue.
 
I’ve never had a complete engine failure, I have had a few, rough running engines though, 2 seriously so. One was a blown valve, the next an arcing ignition lead. I’d much rather a partial engine failure than complete, nurse it towards a runway or preferred off-field site.

I haven’t delved into a discussion of ‘high key’ & ‘low key’ in a while, but one should have a related position/plan in mind. That would apply with an engine out OR an unreliable engine.
 
Does anyone on this forum know whether the color of the smoke from the engine has been confirmed? Black smoke would indicate possible carb icing, white smoke ... ? Partial power loss with no engine anomalies detected at teardown leads me to think of the possibility of "carb icing". Maybe, maybe not.
 
Capngrog said:
Does anyone on this forum know whether the color of the smoke from the engine has been confirmed? Black smoke would indicate possible carb icing, white smoke ... ? Partial power loss with no engine anomalies detected at teardown leads me to think of the possibility of "carb icing". Maybe, maybe not.
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No expert here but white (perhaps light blue) could be oil burning.
 
Yes, I should have remembered that most, if not all, modern aerobatic aircraft are fuel injected. That said, fuel injection systems can go bad, most commonly with injector problems. Leaking or worn injectors can cause over rich conditions with a resultant loss of power; however, I admit that is a pretty remote possibility for the sudden onset of significant power loss. Then there's the fuel injection pump ... Who knows? I'm just mentioning this, because an engine problem that cannot be diagnosed upon tear down, can be a fuel induction problem. I'm no A&P, just indulging in speculation here.
 
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