From: tom@math.ufl.edu (Thomas J Gillen)
Newsgroups: rec.aviation
Subject: Re: First Airshow Accident Of The Season
Date: 7 Apr 92 14:19:31 GMT
Organization: University of Florida Department of Mathematics

In article <1406@newave.UUCP> john@newave.mn.org (John A. Weeks III) writes:
>CNN showed footage of Saturday's airshow accident in Titusville, Florida.
>The narration said that a Vietnam era bomber fliped over on landing,
>crushing the cockpit and killing the pilot, but leaving the plane only
>lightly damaged.
>
>The plane appeared to be an A-1 Skyraider, but I could not be sure
>from the 3 second glimpse on TV.  They also did not mention what airshow
>this was, but the EAA's Sun and Fun is the most likely possibility.
>
>-john-


	I might be able to provide more details, being local and
having been at the airshow that day. The airshow was the Tico
(Titusville-Cocoa) warbird show.

	Yes, the plane was an immaculately restored Douglas A-1
Skyraider and was flown by local impressario Harry Doan (of Doan's
Back Pills fame). He owned a few restaurants, a helicopter
service, the Daytona Beach Pier, etc., as well as approximately 40
warbirds and/or antique aircraft. (He kept them, like sardines, in
three hangars.) The A-1 was his favorite plane.

	The plane was flying as part as a Vietnam-era battle
reenactment, which, strangely enough, was taking to the air during the
end of the WWII/Korean War reenactment. The Skyraider made a few
low-and-slow fly-bys, and then, on what I thought was to be another
pass, with gear down, the plane settled to the runway past the 2/3's
point (which was strange, as many of the other Vietnam hadn't even
taken off yet). And from there he just taxied off the end of the
runway where the gear stuck in the soft sand and the plane went over
on its nose and came to rest on its tail, cowling, and one wingtip.
The canopy hood was crushed, but it seemed that, due to the soft sand,
high seat back, low speed, etc., the pilot was safe.

	The plane was so slightly damaged it came as quite a shock to
hear Doan had been killed...which we did only later that evening,
after the airshow had been cancelled, after we had decided the pilot
*had* to be okay (just mad at dinging his beautiful plane), and after
we, in our pettiness, began to complain about the $10 100-warbird show
cancelled after only an hour or so.

	The 62-year-old Doan had been flying since he was 19.
Mechanical problems are a possibility (due to rumours of past neglect
in the Doan collection), although, if he had lost his brakes, we
figure he would have radioed *something* to that effect, and a friend
with a handheld heard nothing. And that doesn't explain the weird long
landing so early in his show.

	In fact, the landing was so lanquid and slow -- in ground
effect for half a mile -- we're thinking that Doan may have had a
heart attack, which would, at least, explain the odd landing and the
lack of braking, but, then again, he was only 62, and very fit, and
his performance didn't include any aerobatics, etc.  Ah, such is the
curious mind in the complete absence of any news followup! :) :(

	The Valiant Air Command (organizers of the show and the group
of which Doan was a member) haven't had the best luck as of late: in
addition, they lost two pilots last year in a mid-air at (I believe)
Lake City, and, in 1988, they lost another pilot when he crashed --
again before a full-house airshow crowd at Titusville -- on the runway
during a too-low loop.

	The Saturday tickets were to be honored for the full show on
Sunday, but, although many one-of-a-kind planes were still scheduled
to fly, our hearts weren't in it anymore, and we went to the beach instead.   
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