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August 28th, 2004, 19:31
| #1 |
| Moderator  Join Date: May 2003 Location: GRR
Posts: 8,362
|  Sad day for ERAU QXDVR posted this in the ERAU forum. I thought it deserved a posting here as well: [ QUOTE ] Here's the story from AZ Central: Two killed when stunt planes collide AP/The Daily Courier Central Yavapai Fire District firefighters survey the scene of a double plane crash in Prescott, Ariz., Saturday, Aug. 28, 2004. Two stunt planes collided during a practice session in central Arizona, killing both pilots, authorities said. Josh Kelley The Arizona Republic Aug. 28, 2004 03:30 PM Two Vietnam veterans, who were top faculty members at the Prescott campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, died Saturday morning when witnesses said their planes seemed to clip wings in mid-air and then crashed into the ground about three miles east of Prescott Valley. Chief Flight Instructor Mike Corradi, 55, and 64-year-old Bob Sweginnif, chairman of the Aeronautical Science Department, were practicing stunts in aerobatic planes to prepare for an upcoming performance at an air show in Prescott before crashing at 8:31 a.m. Lt. Steve Francis of the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office said archery hunters and an Arizona gun and fish officer witnessed the planes clip wings and crash about 150 yards apart in an open range owned by the Fain Land and Cattle Company. Emergency responders found the pilots dead inside their crushed planes, which never exploded or caught fire, Francis said. "It's a tragic loss," said Gwen Raubolt , university spokeswoman. "They were both fantastic pilots. You couldn't ask for more experience ... they were great friends." Sweginnif flew F4's in Vietnam and retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel. Corradi flew one mission aboard a B52 at the end of the war and retired from the Air Force as a major. Raubolt said they were both flying American Champion Super Decathlon planes, which are single-engine "tail draggers." They were flying in a designated air space for practicing aerobatic maneuvers, Raubolt said. Spokesmen for the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board said investigators have been called to the scene. As chief flight instructor, Corradi oversaw all instructor pilots and helped determine curriculum. Sweginnif oversaw all faculty, curriculum and classes in the Aeronautical Science Department. Both men came to the university in 1991, Raubolt said. [/ QUOTE ] |
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August 28th, 2004, 19:37
| #2 |
| Administrator  Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pinal Airpark
Posts: 6,897
| Re: Sad day for ERAU Tragic news. Knew both men well as both faculty instructors and friends. Corradi taught me the first things about GPS in advanced Navigation class, Sweg was a leader in air safety from both the USAF and USC. Spent much time both knowing them personally and professionally. Would spend countless hours BSing with good hangar talk with the both of them. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] Very sad indeed. Sometimes, it's the price paid in this dangerous profession; a price none of us are immune to paying. Especially with aerobatic ops. Formation work is one of those ops with very very little room for error, and the stakes are very high when performing it. RIP to both gentlemen and friends. |
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August 28th, 2004, 22:02
| #3 |
| Agent Smith  | Re: Sad day for ERAU Damn. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] Corradi taught my global nav class and was an all-around good guy. Not just because he's dead, but he was good #####. I'm not sure if I knew the other guy or not. |
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August 28th, 2004, 22:12
| #4 |
| Banned  Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: USA
Posts: 489
| Re: Sad day for ERAU Here is a link to the article... http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...lision-ON.html A very sad day... A friend of mine who just graduated ERAU-PRC called me this morning, he was very shaken, to say the least... Unfortunately I didn't know either gentleman, as I graduated before their arrival... My thoughts and prayers go out to them and their families... |
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August 28th, 2004, 22:13
| #5 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Prescott, AZ
Posts: 928
| Re: Sad day for ERAU God, what a shocker. I'd just talked to Sweginnis literally yesterday. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] This has me pretty shaken up, having personally known one of them... So sad for both families. |
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August 28th, 2004, 23:19
| #6 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 430
| Re: Sad day for ERAU Mr. Corradi was my advisor. Good man. |
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August 29th, 2004, 00:41
| #7 |
| Big Chief's Woman  | Re: Sad day for ERAU How sad!!! just saw the story on the news and it sounded like they were true and blue pilots of the heart....the wreckage looks like an accordian...just crushed. Haven't classes started already? they mentioned a prescott airshow - is that during Oktoberwest? apparently, there was another plane crash over near payson as well....an experiemental kick box with 2 aboard crashed, and they survived, are at the hospital. |
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August 29th, 2004, 03:42
| #8 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Boulder, CO (anywhere but Fresno)
Posts: 1,477
| Re: Sad day for ERAU Kristie, are you sure it wasn't a Kitfox? |
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August 29th, 2004, 03:42
| #9 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Boulder, CO (anywhere but Fresno)
Posts: 1,477
| Re: Sad day for ERAU Kristie, are you sure it wasn't a Kitfox? |
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August 29th, 2004, 14:01
| #10 |
| Big Chief's Woman | Re: Sad day for ERAU not really.. that's what they called it on the news! and we all know how the news will typically get things wrong! I know nut'ing about experimental planes! |
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August 29th, 2004, 14:21
| #11 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Boulder, CO (anywhere but Fresno)
Posts: 1,477
| Re: Sad day for ERAU D'oh! Sorry for the double post! |
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August 29th, 2004, 22:54
| #12 |
| Old Skool  Join Date: May 2002 Location: Maryland
Posts: 15,165
   | Re: Sad day for ERAU Sorry, guys. It really must hit home when it's someone you know. Sad day. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] |
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August 30th, 2004, 16:26
| #13 |
| Old Skool  Join Date: May 2004 Location: Dallas TX
Posts: 1,557
| Re: Sad day for ERAU [ QUOTE ] Sorry, guys. It really must hit home when it's someone you know. Sad day. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] [/ QUOTE ] In this buisness, "It's not if, It's when" I rember the first time I lost someone I knew. My former roommate was killed in the V-22 crash in AZ. It was deffinatly a tough thing to deal with. Since then there has been two more, and they won't be the last. My prayers go out to their families. |
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August 30th, 2004, 16:27
| #14 |
| Old Skool  Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: New York
Posts: 1,664
| Re: Sad day for ERAU That sucks, bad.. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] |
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August 30th, 2004, 16:52
| #15 |
| Old Skool  Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: DFW
Posts: 7,080
| Re: Sad day for ERAU GOD that sucks!!! Prayers to all. |
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August 30th, 2004, 20:35
| #16 |
| Junior Member  Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Atlanta
Posts: 266
| Re: Sad day for ERAU I know I'm still pretty much a wanna be, but a question comes to mind: How many other professions require this much of the people who work in them? I'm studying my ass off on the civilian route to becoming a less than poverty wage earning CFII/MEI. The military guys go through an intense selection process, and then usually endure a full year of flat out training. Then, once we achieve our goal of becoming the professional pilot, we have long separations from family and friends. All this for a profession that has rules that are (get ready for the cliche that every pilot has heard) 'written in blood'. My prayers and thoughts go out to these aviator's families. |
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August 31st, 2004, 12:48
| #17 |
| Newbie Join Date: May 2004 Location: Hackensack, NJ
Posts: 28
| Re: Sad day for ERAU My heart goes out to the families and friends of the two pilots and all on this board who knew them. This weekend I found out that one of the pilots that died in the NJ midair a few weeks ago was a member of my local pilot's association. He was a good guy with a great sense of humor. I had just spoken with him at our last monthly meeting, about two weeks before the accident. He congratulated me on completing my IR and told me that he was about to resume his training towards that same goal. Dave |
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September 5th, 2004, 20:03
| #18 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: JFK
Posts: 407
| Re: Sad day for ERAU Doing some of the formation flying, stunts, etc. is getting troublesome. I was hearing at ERAU DAB, flight instructors are going out and doing this kind of stuff with little training. This especially worries me because of the amount of people that could be hurt on the ground and in the air in the DAB area. I have heard stories of some the flight intructors getting scared when they are doing these maneuvers. They were even doing this for events like the Wings and Waves 2003 this past fall. This is an accident waiting to happen for these instructors that are not trained at DAB. Sorry to here about the Prescott news, I was wondering what happened, I say a brief picture on the news and recognized the ERAU tail, but didn't here the story. |
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September 6th, 2004, 14:16
| #19 |
| Administrator Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pinal Airpark
Posts: 6,897
| Re: Sad day for ERAU [ QUOTE ] Doing some of the formation flying, stunts, etc. is getting troublesome. I was hearing at ERAU DAB, flight instructors are going out and doing this kind of stuff with little training. This especially worries me because of the amount of people that could be hurt on the ground and in the air in the DAB area. I have heard stories of some the flight intructors getting scared when they are doing these maneuvers. They were even doing this for events like the Wings and Waves 2003 this past fall. This is an accident waiting to happen for these instructors that are not trained at DAB. Sorry to here about the Prescott news, I was wondering what happened, I say a brief picture on the news and recognized the ERAU tail, but didn't here the story. [/ QUOTE ] Agree. In fairness, the PRC accident involved two men with heavy training in formation flying anf aerobatics, but in reference to the average-Joe CFI doing this with no training, I fully agree. More explained here: http://jetcareers.com/ubbthreads/sho...435&Forum=,,,,f35,,,,&Words=formation%20flying&Searc hpage=4&Limit=25&Main=89435&Search=tru e&where=bodysub&Name=&daterange=1& newerval=&newertype=&olderval=6&oldert ype=m&bodyprev=#Post89435 |
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