Crash at Travis today

What do you guys think could've happened?
 
FloridaPilot said:
What do you guys think could've happened?
Click to expand...

VERY low inverted ribbon cut pass - gusty winds.....
One of his signature moves with the Stearman, been doing it for 20 years or more.
 
Last edited:
It's becoming cliche'. It may seem "cold" but it's happening quite a bit.
 
willywildes said:
Wow! were going to start that already. Your one cold SOB.
Click to expand...

It might be cold but it's factual.

There's a reason there are no athletes still competing at the top level past 40 years-old or so...even in baseball which isn't very demanding. Hell, even golfers are lucky to remain competitive after 50.

I just think it's really dumb that guys who are pushing 80 are competing &. performing in airplanes that are almost as old as they are.

Fortunately no one else was killed this time.

May Eddie rest in peace.
 
Not sure who willy was addressing, but I harbor no ill will toward these guys. It's just becoming relatively common is all. Flying low comes with risks.
 
timwinters said:
It might be cold but it's factual.

There's a reason there are no athletes still competing at the top level past 40 years-old or so...even in baseball which isn't very demanding. Hell, even golfers are lucky to remain competitive after 50.

May Eddie rest in peace.
Click to expand...


That is untrue!

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/i...ris-cloud-become-oldest-boxer-win-major-title

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_Major_League_Baseball_players

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_professional_athletes_by_sport
 
Very sad. I remember seeing him perform at Dream Machines years ago and thinking it looked like so much fun.
 
How old was Bob Hoover when he flew his last airshow?
 
The reactions here to facts are generally more evidence that our society would rather be politically correct than truthful.

That said, many of these older folks with low-level waivers will always out-fly my ass because there isn't enough money, time, or cheap avgas and cheap airplanes to ever get myself enough practice time in something Sierra Hotel enough to fly at their level.

When doing low level stuff there's so little margin between awesome and dead, it's amazing. Even a minor mechanical problem is a life-the eating emergency. You might have one second to do what it takes to survive.

I'm impressed anyone does it, really.

That the demographic of folks with the aircraft, skills learned in a cheaper time, and health to even apply for a low-level waiver, says more about the economy and the (probably necessary) invincibility complex necessary to even attempt it, than anything.

It's always sad to lose a fellow aviator, especially in front of a crowd of numerous non-aviators. No doubt about that.

The generation or two behind these guys probably sees it pretty clearly for what it is, though... the older crowd pushes themselves to keep doing it and sometimes lose their roll of the dice. TV is full of commercials showing 70+ year old boomers wandering around on motorcycles, too. And never-ending commercials for weenie pills.

It's just where our society is at right now.

Most of us won't ever even get to attempt it. Good for them, we say...

We're well into the era of parking WWII warbirds for lack of qualified pilots to fly them and enough of them crashed that people want to preserve them in air conditioned buildings.

I'm glad he was out doing it. Sad he wiped out. Doesn't really change the fact that the human body doesn't get any faster or better after your 20s for most of us.
 
Just got back from HAF where Eddie was based, and somebody told me what happened. First met him a little over two years ago by walking by his hangar, invited us (Kimberly and I) in. Often times I bring a lunch to HAF, and on occasion would be treated to a little airshow when he would practice aerobatics west of the airport over the ocean. Saw him at the California Capital airshow as well.
Rest in peace, Eddie.
 
I don't like low level stuff, simply because the margins are too thin. Also, because I enjoy watching a well flown aircraft regardless of the altitude. Being down on the deck actually hurts the ability of the crowd to see what's going on. I'd be very happy if all acts were held to a 200' hard deck. That extra 200' would have saved a lot of top notch pilots over the years.
 
Are there actually statistics showing aerobatic performance is worse with a certain age bracket.....or are we be just discussing the cause of this one as 'age', without knowing what really happened here?
 
A performer at the show is at least Eddies age and has a low level waiver, in fact he can give low level waivers. If I fly every day for the next 10 years I would never be the pilot he is now and I am in my mid 40's
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Are there actually statistics showing aerobatic performance is worse with a certain age bracket.....or are we be just discussing the cause of this one as 'age', without knowing what really happened here?
Click to expand...

:popcorn:
 
I have lost my taste for air shows because they have become so extreme. Is there really a need for a low inverted ribbon cut? Between the Extras doing extreme tumbles, etc. and the super low level stuff, I feel like the air show circuit is pandering to non-pilots who are used to seeing computer simulations and not understanding the difference. There are still a few doing Bob Hoover/Duane Cole/Julie Clark sorts of stuff, but they are getting few and far between. That sort of grace doesn't appeal to the masses I guess.

Sad.
 
timwinters said:
Okay, replace "no" with "very few". And, I also said "top level".
Click to expand...

It seems like you didn't click the links, Bernard Hopkins just won a Boxing World Title at 48 years old. Boxing is a VERY demanding sport physically and mentally.
 
FloridaPilot said:
It seems like you didn't click the links, Bernard Hopkins just won a Boxing World Title at 48 years old. Boxing is a VERY demanding sport physically and mentally.
Click to expand...

Actually I did. That's why I said "a few". 48 is still a long way from 77.
 
Let me first say that its obviously a very sad day whenever a life is lost, be it aviator or anyone else for that matter.

That being said, i think its imperative that the physical fitness of the athlete match that of the task at hand. As the risk to human life increases, so should the capability level. Weather we like to admit it or not, we do get slower with age.
We all know there is no age discrimination when it comes to pilots making fatal errors in GA, i just have to believe that with the greatly increased demand of concentration, reaction time, etc. when doing aerobatics, that age may be a factor.

Am i saying its the cause, or even a contributing factor here? No, but i am saying its a definite possibility.
 
Last edited:
At that age anything can happen a few feet off the ground, upside down. Stroke, heart attack, black out, etc. etc. I can't recall bob Hoover being upside down that low. I do remember he had some trouble with the Feds with his medical as he grew older. I'm glad he quit when he did and nothing happened to him.
 
R.I.P. I met him a couple of times at HAF. He was a super nice guy and always took the time to talk.
 
Very sad day. Eddie Andreini was a great guy and a legend in the area. This would have been his 50th year performing at Watsonville. It will never be the same again.
 
Sad no matter what age, hopefully he went how he wanted to!

I agree with comment about how airshows no longer seem to be as much as skills. It is obvious the closer to death defying acts you have the more enjoyment the crowd had. I recall watching the Masters of Disaster at Oshkosh when Younkin, Franklin and I can't recall the other famous pilot. It just seemed over the edge even though as professional as they were it had to be tightly choreographed. However all 3 are deceased now!

RIP
 
I saw him last year. It was amazing.

Pretty shocking. And at the exact same time I was watching a partially deployed gear landing at Oakland. Bad day, but that one ended better (jet stayed on its wheels but had to be towed off 28L with four fire trucks, a cop, and an ambulance in trail).
 
I've seen him several times but the performance I will always remember was at Arlington, WA when he flew a routine in a stone stock 220hp Stearman. A masterful display of grace and energy management. RIP. Don
 
47PILOT said:
Weather we like to admit it or not, we do get slower with age.
Click to expand...

But then again, we were born in an age that knew the difference between weather and whether.

Just cracked 70, played world class softball last year, and still can catch a fly in flight between my fingers. Care to match that, whippersnapper?
 
47PILOT said:
That being said, i think its imperative that the physical fitness of the athlete match that of the task at hand. As the risk to human life increases, so should the capability level.
Click to expand...

Are you proposing some new regulatory testing on top of the current system of periodic flight and medical reviews that already exist? Or just a plain ban on flying or aerobatics after a "certain" age?
 
Jim Logajan said:
Are you proposing some new regulatory testing on top of the current system of periodic flight and medical reviews that already exist? Or just a plain ban on flying or aerobatics after a "certain" age?
Click to expand...
Woah. So defensive. I don't think he was proposing either.

Still, we don't know that age / reflexes were the problem. Could have been any number of mechanical failures. And people regardless of age make mistakes, and when you're flying that low, one is all it takes.
 
I'm assuming that Eddie was the guy down in HAF that had the P-51 and other assorted warbirds? I'm assuming that he knew and persuaded the pilot of Dreadnaught to go to that show with tragedy involved. If so, what a terrible week for Nor Cal aviation!!

As to the old vs. young baloney, I agree that age does cause us to slow, but was that really a factor? One has to remember that plenty of younger pilots die at airshows too. What we can really take a way is that these airshow performances can be pretty dangerous. They are operating on the edge of the envelope. Do the routines have to be so close to the edge? That's a discussion for another thread I suppose, but while spectators like to be wowed and amazed, nobody wants to see somebody die.

I can say that the reaction was telling. The Air Force shut the show down and kicked everybody out. Do think there will be another show there?:(
 
Nice response there by the emergency crews. Poor guy probably burned to death after surviving the initial crash.
 
I have had some tell me I am stupid for flying lowing experimental for if I flip I am trapped.

I told these people that folks get trapped in bi-planes just the same as a lowing airplane.

Tony
 
weirdjim said:
But then again, we were born in an age that knew the difference between weather and whether.

Just cracked 70, played world class softball last year, and still can catch a fly in flight between my fingers. Care to match that, whippersnapper?
Click to expand...

Exactly. It wasn't until my Dad was in his 70's that I could beat him in tests of reflexes and dexterity. He was very gifted in that area.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top