OH - Stuntwoman wing walker and pilot die as biplane crashes in fireball at air show

wfgodot · Jun 22, 2013

Stuntwoman mother of two and pilot die in air show fireball: Horror as biplane
crashes in a fireball while daredevil rode on the wing in front of a horrified crowd .(Daily Mail)

A woman wing walker and her pilot were confirmed dead after their plane crashed in a ball of flames at an airshow Saturday afternoon.

Terrence Slaybaugh, the director of aviation for Dayton, confirmed their deaths around 2 p.m. The crash occurred at around 12:45 p.m.

Jane Wicker, a mother of two sons, was atop the biplane at the Vectren Air Show near Dayton, Ohio when it plunged to the ground in front of horrified onlookers. The pilot, Charlie Schwenker, also perished in the crash.
---
'All of a sudden I heard screaming and looked up and there was a fire ball, Stan Thayer of Wilmington told the Dayton Daily News.
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more, with WARNING fairly horrific pics and video, at link above

my_tee_mouse · Jun 22, 2013

Oh my gosh! It seemed to happen with no warning whatsoever.

my_tee_mouse · Jun 22, 2013

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57590586/wing-walkers-plane-crashes-at-dayton-air-show/

Snipped:

Ian Hoyt, an aviation photographer and licensed pilot from Findlay, was at the show with his girlfriend. He told The Associated Press he was taking photos as the plane passed by and had just raised his camera to take another shot.

"Then I realized they were too low and too slow. And before I knew it, they hit the ground," he said.

He couldn't tell exactly what happened, but it appeared that the plane stalled and didn't have enough air speed, he said.

TrackerSam · Jun 22, 2013

Just horrible. Nick Wallenda's about to tight rope across a chasm.

CHERIE.T · Jun 22, 2013

Very sad news. Prayers for the loved ones of the deceased.

LadyL · Jun 22, 2013

here's Jane's FB:

https://www.facebook.com/search/results.php?q=Jane%20Wicker&init=mag_glass&tas=0.23673424206441596&search_first_focus=1371955202933#!/wingwalk

danzn16 · Jun 22, 2013

my_tee_mouse said:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57590586/wing-walkers-plane-crashes-at-dayton-air-show/

Snipped:

Ian Hoyt, an aviation photographer and licensed pilot from Findlay, was at the show with his girlfriend. He told The Associated Press he was taking photos as the plane passed by and had just raised his camera to take another shot.

"Then I realized they were too low and too slow. And before I knew it, they hit the ground," he said.

He couldn't tell exactly what happened, but it appeared that the plane stalled and didn't have enough air speed, he said.

Thanks for posting this I have been wondering what exactly caused the accident. They were so close to the ground when it happened. How horrifying.

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lucky181 · Jun 22, 2013

She was going to get married next year at an airshow on a plane.

http://www.wingwalkwedding.com/

my_tee_mouse · Jun 22, 2013

LadyL said:
here's Jane's FB:

https://www.facebook.com/search/results.php?q=Jane%20Wicker&init=mag_glass&tas=0.23673424206441596&search_first_focus=1371955202933#!/wingwalk

So sad. Seems like she was a very nice lady who could see the positive in all things. Prayers for her family and friends. I have a feeling this lady is going to be sorely missed.

Do we know anything about the pilot?

Herding Cats · Jun 23, 2013

Rest peacefully, Charlie and Jane. Love and peace to your boys, Jane...

I will say that I watched the video (I found an unedited copy), and it was a very, very fast accident (and death)...very very quick. No suffering that I could tell; probably not even any real awareness of being in dire trouble, I don't think.

Best-
Herding Cats

CuriousGrace · Jun 23, 2013

my_tee_mouse said:
Oh my gosh! It seemed to happen with no warning whatsoever.

It happened very quickly but prior to the accident it looked incredibly dangerous, I am not sure what air acrobactic tricks you can do on a wing? But it dooesn't appear worth putting your life at such risk.

danzn16 · Jun 23, 2013

CuriousGrace said:
It happened very quickly but prior to the accident it looked incredibly dangerous, I am not sure what air acrobactic tricks you can do on a wing? But it dooesn't appear worth putting your life at such risk.

Jane obviously thought it was worth it. No matter what we think. (I'm uncomfortable just being inside small planes like that lol). Her interview on the day of the show with media said that she had been doing wing walking since 1990 including that exact trick. She was probably very comfortable performing it since she has been doing so for the last 23 years. I'm sure it was more considered about the possibility of her falling, instead of the possibility of a plane crash.

Really? · Jun 23, 2013

I feel kinda weird here, but, I will tell anyway.

I had a dream a few nights ago about this. I think. In my dream I was a passenger in a car and was looking in the side mirror....saw a red bi-plane going down and then a fireball. I told my husband the dream. Then I showed him the headline a day or two later.

This is not the first time this has happened to me. It only evolves planes.

The first was 78ish when like in my dream 2 planes collided in air. The last time one I remember clearly was in the early 90's in PA.

This is freaking me out a bit.

wfgodot · Jun 27, 2013

As with many things in the news, one notices one incident and suddenly more appear.

Stuntwoman and pilot husband died after crashing into a French mountain in low cloud despite his 'aggressive climb' before impact. (Daily Mail)

Donjeta · Jun 27, 2013

FAA spokeswoman Lynn Lunsford said the agency is often asked why wing walking is allowed.

“The people who do these acts spend hours and hours and hours performing and practicing away from the crowd, and even though it may look inherently dangerous, they’re practiced in such a way that they maintain as much safety as possible,” he said. “The vast majority of these things occur without a hitch, so you know whenever one of them goes wrong and there’s a crash, it’s an unusual event.”

Read more: http://nation.time.com/2013/06/23/wing-walker-pilot-die-in-crash-at-ohio-air-show/#ixzz2XRlMKNle

okay... it's an unusual event... so i take it that it's pretty rare that wingwalkers die doing their stunts...?

oh, wait....

Still, there are only about a dozen wing walkers in the U.S., said John Cudahy, president of the Leesburg, Va.-based International Council of Air Shows.

In 2011, wing walker Todd Green fell 200 feet to his death at an air show in Michigan while performing a stunt in which he grabbed the skid of a helicopter. That same year, wing walker Amanda Franklin died after being badly burned in a plane crash during a performance in South Texas. The pilot, her husband, Kyle, survived.

Read more: http://nation.time.com/2013/06/23/wing-walker-pilot-die-in-crash-at-ohio-air-show/#ixzz2XRm4bzZw

3 dead out of a dozen ---how many other professions sport 25% mortality in three years?

danzn16 · Jun 27, 2013

I say if that's what they want to do in life let them do it. They obviously love the thrill. I'm sure they're all aware that it can end badly. No matter how crazy we think it is, its not us doing it. And if you don't want the possibility of your child seeing something bad happen then don't take them to an air show.

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OH - Stuntwoman wing walker and pilot die as biplane crashes in fireball at air show

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