Florida air show ends in fatal accident
March 30, 2011, 08:13 pm
The Wings Over Flagler air show on Saturday, March 26, ended in the death of William E. "Wild Bill" Walker, according to AVweb.
Walker was a member of the Red Thunder demonstration team, the source says. He was reportedly attempting to pull out of a maneuver with his aircraft when the Yak-52 failed and crashed into the ground. The aircraft was in formation at the time with five other planes when the accident happened.
"He was in a dive when he was supposed to pull, and he didn't pull out for some reason," Roy Sieger, director of the Flagler County Airport, told the Jacksonville News Journal "They did everything by the book, but unfortunately it's one of the drawbacks to this business."
This incident is one of a number of recent air show incidents, including the South Padre Air Fiesta, where Kyle and Amanda Franklin were injured, and a Texas air show, where Anita Perry, wife of Texas Governor Rick Perry, was on an aircraft that experienced an engine fire.
However, of the group, the Wings Over Flagler airshow is the only one to result in a fatality.
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