Worked an Airshow for the CAP Today. (Bad Story)

[JohnKachenmeister]

I was selected to be the OIC of the CAP support to the Titusville, FL Warbird Airshow.  I coordinated with the airshow sponsors, and we had the first day today.  We only had 4 cadets, since its a school day.  (Thanks to Home Schooling, we got the 4 smartest).  We had to control crowds, keeping them from walking or driving onto runways, and we also set up a recruiting tent.

Things were going OK, except we were undermanned and a little overcommitted.  We managed, though.

The airshow was delayed a few hours due to weather.

The first act was a privately-owned recip engine aerobatic show.  The second act was a privately-owned L-39 Communist trainer which also did an aerobatic show.

The L-39 came down in a spin out of a high loop.  He got to within 400-500 feet of the ground, and I remember thinking that the guy is crazy for doing aerobatics that low.  A moment later, before I could even voice that thought to the guys watching it with me, he went into a stall, and disappeared behind trees on the opposite side of the runway.  The fireball confirmed that he had crashed.

The airshow coordinator was on the radio calling for information, and I confirmed the crash for him, since it was right in front of where we had our recruiting display set up.

The fire guys could not get into the crash side, since it was in a dense wooded area.  The airshow coordinator asked that one of two Canadian Forces helicopters overfly the area, and talk the response forces in.

The Canadian helicopters were across the apron from us.  I ordered the cades to establish a 100-foot clear zone, and keep spectators out so the helicopter could start and take off safely.

They re-established the clear zone for the landing.

The rest of the time, we helped clear the crowd from the show.  Then we went home.  The Wing was notified of the incident, and we arranged for our chaplain to talk with the cadets and officers.

We'll be back at the airshow again tomorrow. The decision has been made to keep the show going.

The Canadian Forces captain who piloted the helicopter complimented our cadets.  "We could not have taken off safely without the quick action of your people."  I thanked him graciously, and passed it on to the cadets.  It was well deserved.  The cadets maintained a calm demeanor and gave clear, firm orders to the crowd, but without the excitability that teenagers are usually known for.

Even though our role was small, it was important.  And the cadets made us proud again.

Cadets are flyers, and the death of a flyer is a loss to all of us.  I'm sure I will talk to them more tomorrow. 

   

[Pylon]

A tragic accident, certainly. 

Thank you for sharing.   

[A.Member]

Well done. 

Unfortunately, we had a similar situation a few years ago.  Make sure to take advantage of CISM resources, especially for the cadets.

[ZigZag911]

Nice job, John a shame it happened, of course.

[Earhart1971]

I was thinking the cloud cover might have disoriented the pilot on his loop attempt.

Appeared that he flew into the cloud base.

The video was very poor quality.

If I won the Lottery that would be my first purchase, but would not do aerobatics with it.

[BillB]

Yesterday, 3/19, there was a memorial service for the pilot in Gainesville. Five hundred people attended. I remember talking to the pilot a few years ago, and he mentioned he had been in Civil Air Patrol many years earlier.



GAINESVILLE (FL) SUN STORY

Memorial to a highflier: Friends mourn pilot who died at air show


ALICE WALLACE

Sun staff writer
March 20. 2007 6:01AM

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The roar of plane engines rose and fell outside the airplane hangar, sometimes drowning out the tearful words of one of the many family members or friends who approached the podium to speak about Eilon Krugman-Kadi.

Yet, the chorus of engine noise seemed an appropriate backdrop for the memorial service for the Gainesville attorney and pilot who died Friday in a tragic plane crash at a Titusville air show.

And it was just the way the family wanted it.

"They insisted," said Krugman-Kadi's longtime friend Mac McEachern of the family's wish to have the memorial service in an airplane hangar at the Gainesville Regional Airport's University Air Center.

More than 500 people crowded into the hangar Monday afternoon to pay their last respects to the flight enthusiast who seemed to make friends with everyone he met.

"Eilon was truly a treasure in our midst," said Rabbi Berl Goldman of the Lubavitch-Chabad Jewish Community Center in his eulogy for Krugman-Kadi.

Krugman-Kadi, 58, was flying his L-39 Albatross training fighter jet in the TICO Warbird Air Show in Titusville Friday when his plane plunged to the ground for unknown reasons around 2:45 p.m.

The Israeli-born Krugman-Kadi left behind a family that includes three children - Talia, 26, Shane, 25 and Hana, 3. Krugman-Kadi's long-time companion Lynda McMullen, who is Hana's mother; Krugman-Kadi's ex-wife Susan; as well his mother, Aliza Krugman-Kadi; and his sister, Michal Arad, were also at the service Monday.

The entire family will be flying to Israel this morning to bury Krugman-Kadi near his father in Jerusalem at a famous Jewish burial site known as Har Menuchot, according to Goldman.

[JohnKachenmeister]

[darn], Bill!  I didn't know the pilot was a former CAP guy.  Was he a cadet or an officer?  Or both?

[BillB]

John,  As I understood it, he was a senior member for only one or two years, and quit because of local conditions. I don't recall he ever mentioned what those conditions were, or even where.

[MississippiFlyboy]

I heard about this from my coworker who is a loadmaster in the MS Air National Guard.  They flew a C-17 down to that airshow for a static display.  When he came back I asked him how the airshow was and he told me that he saw an L-39 crash.   That's really sad....but aviation is a dangerous business sometimes even if you're a safe pilot.   

[RogueLeader]

Some things just break w/o warning.