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 ]
[ 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 ]
