Pdk Airshow Crash

So very sad. I was sitting down in the hangar when it happened.
 
Saw it live from my hangar on the NW ramp

Brutal to watch it all unfold
 
Kind of looks like he had a problem as he went over the top and on the way down, very sad indeed no one like to see that happen.
 
Oh I was thinking about flying in to that one too. RIP.
 
Never mind, I was told who it was. I'll leave it off of here as they're still notifying family.
 
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Tough to watch , may he rest in peace.
 
Thoughts and prayers to all involved


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At about the 16 sec. mark, when he dips toward the tree line and then climbs - looks to me like something wasn't right with his controls. No way should he have dipped toward the tree line. He barely missed the trees before beginning a climb.
 
ETres said:
At about the 16 sec. mark, when he dips toward the tree line and then climbs - looks to me like something wasn't right with his controls. No way should he have dipped toward the tree line. He barely missed the trees before beginning a climb.
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I'd be far more concerned that it was a medical incident. The good news is that the airshow safety boundaries worked.
 
RyanShort1 said:
I'd be far more concerned that it was a medical incident. The good news is that the airshow safety boundaries worked.
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This certainly could have been much worse if the plane impacted near the crowds. I'm thankful that did not happen, but still sad that this fellow pilot lost his life.
 
Does anybody know who it was? I know Greg Connell from our EAA Chapter 172 in Augusta was supposed to be flying there today. I could not tell from the video if it was Greg's plane. My condolences to the family whoever it was.
 
MickYoumans said:
Does anybody know who it was? I know Greg Connell from our EAA Chapter 172 in Augusta was supposed to be flying there today. I could not tell from the video if it was Greg's plane. My condolences to the family whoever it was.
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Unfortunately yes, it was Greg.

From his airshow team:
Please keep Greg's Family and Friends in your prayers. There are no words to describe what we all are feeling right now. God Bless & Godspeed Greg...

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image.jpeg Oh no! The Connell's are such a nice family. His mom was the president of our EAA chapter for a coupe of years. This is so sad. The attached picture is from one of our EAA meetings.

RIP Greg. You were a heck of a pilot. You will be missed.
 
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MickYoumans said:
View attachment 45415 Oh no! The Connell's are such a nice family. His mom was the president of our EAA chapter for a coupe of years. This is so sad. The attached picture is from one of our EAA meetings.
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Keeping his family and friends in my thoughts. I only knew of him because I've always wanted a Wolf Pitts. In the airshow world, if you're not pushing the envelope, it's hard to get the jobs (not speculating that he was). I've lost two close friends in airshows and watched one of them go in while his wife was standing next to me. Horrible tragedy.
 
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Lowflynjack said:
I've lost two close friends in airshows and watched one of them go in while his wife was standing next to me. Horrible tragedy.
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I shuddered and had chills down my spine when you posted that it was Greg. I can't imagine loosing a friend watching it happen while being with his family.
 
That sucks.

Our local airshow was last Wednesday evening. It's always in the back of your mind.

RIP Greg.
 
ETres said:
At about the 16 sec. mark, when he dips toward the tree line and then climbs - looks to me like something wasn't right with his controls. No way should he have dipped toward the tree line. He barely missed the trees before beginning a climb.
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The other aircraft had to know that there was an accident , why did aircraft #2 continue his routine and not knock it off? He was still performing even though there was a smoke plume.
 
strangebird said:
The other aircraft had to know that there was an accident , why did aircraft #2 continue his routine and not knock it off? He was still performing even though there was a smoke plume.
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I was wondering that too...

RIP
 
strangebird said:
The other aircraft had to know that there was an accident , why did aircraft #2 continue his routine and not knock it off? He was still performing even though there was a smoke plume.
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I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt, because I'm guessing these two guys were likely pals if they were performing together. Maybe he didn't notice the plume until he was too far into his maneuver to abort it safely. Or maybe he was just in shock. Shock does weird things to people.
 
Don't know Mari. Never know what is going through someone's head at that moment. Team Aero Shell had taxied out to get ready to go. They would have wrapped up the show.
 
Maybe to keep some of the crowd distracted and come back over and see what he could see?
 
strangebird said:
Kind of looks like he had a problem as he went over the top and on the way down, very sad indeed no one like to see that happen.
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Watched again, doesn't look like he had a problem on the way down, looked like he was rolling on the way down, maybe an elevator failure of some sort, medical, who knows. Don't mean to speculate, just strange no pull up. Terrible and sad.
 
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Cajun_Flyer said:
I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt, because I'm guessing these two guys were likely pals if they were performing together. Maybe he didn't notice the plume until he was too far into his maneuver to abort it safely. Or maybe he was just in shock. Shock does weird things to people.
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Yes, he and Gary Ward were friends. The following is from one of the news reports;

Gary Ward was the man flying the other plane in the maneuver that killed Connell.
"Greg flew underneath me and I had no idea Greg crashed like a second later. So I pulled off and the plan we had," Ward said, "I came back in the show for the next maneuver. We did individual maneuvers at that point, and I went ahead and did my next maneuver, not knowing that Greg had crashed.
 
Horrible end to an otherwise lovely day. Godspeed, Greg.
 
MickYoumans said:
Yes, he and Gary Ward were friends. The following is from one of the news reports;

Gary Ward was the man flying the other plane in the maneuver that killed Connell.
"Greg flew underneath me and I had no idea Greg crashed like a second later. So I pulled off and the plan we had," Ward said, "I came back in the show for the next maneuver. We did individual maneuvers at that point, and I went ahead and did my next maneuver, not knowing that Greg had crashed.
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RIP

Isn't this where the airboss comes in?
 
RyanShort1 said:
Not an elevator problem. He completed the pull up, rolled back upright. Looked like a dip before the dive - hesitation of some sort - then it looked like a lower roll rate on the downline than before. Looked like incapacitation of some sort.
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Expert analysis from an aerobatic airshow insider. That should do it for the accident investigation/review. :rolleyes:
 
I had a chance to meet him once he was a standup guy and really loved what he did clear skies Greg and may you rest in peace.
 
MickYoumans said:
Gary Ward was the man flying the other plane in the maneuver that killed Connell.
"Greg flew underneath me and I had no idea Greg crashed like a second later. So I pulled off and the plan we had," Ward said, "I came back in the show for the next maneuver. We did individual maneuvers at that point, and I went ahead and did my next maneuver, not knowing that Greg had crashed.
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I can see that now.
 
RyanShort1 said:
Whatever dude... Just calling what it looks like to me, personal opinion only. It just doesn't look like he even tried to pull out and the smoke trail looks odd. And yeah, I have flown more than one airshow.
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You don't know he didn't have an elevator problem. You made a definitive statement on that subject. You don't know if he was incapacitated. And what's your point about the smoke? I thought he was incapacitated? Smoke looked normal to me. Engine was making power. I guess I'm just tired of armchair speculation based on seeing a video. What's the point? From your description of things, you don't seem like you're exactly entrenched in aerobatics.
 
hey, if I wanted to wait 2 years for an over-tasked civil servant to describe the water for me and otherwise carte blanche blame the pilot when all there is is a smoking hole and no data, I'd have ntsb.gov hotlinked already. I come to POA for the witty speculation and colorful exchanges of ideas. If I get to watch a cirri zealot lose his cool or someone up in the classifieds go run to mommy in the process, then twofer! :D
 
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