New York fertility doctor accused of using own sperm dies when hand-built plane crashes

ElPaso Pilot

ElPaso Pilot

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ElPaso Pilot
Come on, now. How could this not be posted here yet???

YATES, N.Y. — A New York fertility doctor who was accused of using his own sperm to impregnate several patients died over the weekend when the hand-built airplane he was in fell apart mid-flight and crashed, authorities said.​

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...sperm-dies-hand-built-plane-crashes-rcna86954

Also, not the Dr.'s hand-built Buttercup.

WittmanButtercup.jpg


RIP.
 
Steve Wittman died in his airplane, IIRC it was because of the fabric being incorrectly installed.
 
Doc Holliday said:
Steve Wittman died in his airplane, IIRC it was because of the fabric being incorrectly installed.
Click to expand...

You IIRC'd correctly.

Wittman's wing issue: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/35828


Turns out this Buttercup is a copy of Wittman's plane. Was built by a buddy of Wittman's after Wittman crashed his O&O on the way to Oshkosh.

Steve Wittman once told me that he was someday going to make plans for the Buttercup, but never did. When Steve and his wife died in the O&O crash, I knew I had to proceed and keep the project alive. So after a lot of research, help from friends, support from family (especially my wife, Laura) and 3 1/2 years, I took to the skies! WHAT A FEELING!

There I was 1000 feet in the air with a one-off copy of the original, having no idea how it was supposed to fly, thinking to myself “I did it!” Unfortunately it didn't fly so well…​

http://www.luceair.com/replica_buttercup.html

Tragic storyline.
 
Since when has 'I empregnated a women with my own sperm' an excuse for rape?
 
"Hand-built" is an interesting thing to specify here... I'd imagine most of the GA fleet flying today was assembled by hand.

Of course they really meant to say "home-built" and we can't expect journalists to be subject matter experts when it comes to what is, to the general public, a relatively obscure topic, but the use of "hand-built" just feels like awkward phrasing.
 
I say even money hand-built was intentional.
 
"The wings of the aircraft fell to the ground in an orchard, while the fuselage continued west about 1,000 to 1,500 yards before it crashed in a pasture behind a home, the sheriff's office said."

That's from a story in Buffalo News

How can that happen?
 
NoHeat said:
"The wings of the aircraft fell to the ground in an orchard, while the fuselage continued west about 1,000 to 1,500 yards before it crashed in a pasture behind a home, the sheriff's office said."

That's from a story in Buffalo News

How can that happen?
Click to expand...

Catastrophic failure at altitude can cause distances like that. We had a test aircraft failure long years ago, where the debris field was over 75 miles in length.
 
NoHeat said:
"The wings of the aircraft fell to the ground in an orchard, while the fuselage continued west about 1,000 to 1,500 yards before it crashed in a pasture behind a home, the sheriff's office said."

That's from a story in Buffalo News

How can that happen?
Click to expand...
One possibility: If the structural failure was caused by excessive angle of attack, the force on the wings that broke them off the aircraft would have caused them to decelerate more than the fuselage. Also, the ratio of mass to drag was probably greater in the fuselage than the wings, so inertia would have carried it farther.
 
BaltCoFlyer said:
"Hand-built" is an interesting thing to specify here... I'd imagine most of the GA fleet flying today was assembled by hand.

Of course they really meant to say "home-built" and we can't expect journalists to be subject matter experts when it comes to what is, to the general public, a relatively obscure topic, but the use of "hand-built" just feels like awkward phrasing.
Click to expand...
Oh, I don't think you can expect them to be even vaguely educated on any topic. I have never seen accurate reporting on any event I've had personal knowledge of. Ever. Same day, or next day, sure, a few minor-moderate omissions or mistakes are gonna slip by; they have time constraints. Plane hits building? Dog bites man? They get the gross facts reported OK. Then sh*t hammer the "back story", the "reasons", the chronology, etc.
 
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