Wing-Walker Falls To Death at Michigan Airshow

Okie_Pilot

Okie_Pilot

Pitts Builder
Holy Hell. Yet another aviation fatality for this weekend.... :(

A stunt wing walker fell to his death while attempting to cross from a bi-plane to a helicopter during the Selfridge Air Show this afternoon in Harrison Township.

Wing walker Todd Green who was flying on John Mohr's Steerman aircraft, fell off the plane as he attempted to transfer from his aircraft to a helicopter, at approximately 1:30 p.m., according to a news release issued by the 127th Wing Public Affairs unit at the air base.

He fell about 200 feet to the ground.

A number of medical personnel from Selfridge Air National Guard Base and Medstar Ambulance rushed to Green as thousands of stunned spectators sat in silence, some praying. After treating Green on the ground for about 15 minutes, rescue personnel transported him to Mount Clemens Regional Medical Center.

Green was pronounced dead at the hospital, said Diane Kish, a spokeswoman for Mount Clemens Regional Medical Center.

Moments before Green fell, the show announcer on the public address system mentioned winds were becoming a factor in the performance, reminding the audience about the inherent risk of danger in the stunt maneuvers.

Show-goers who saw the accident initially thought it was a stunt as part of the event, but learned from the show announcer that in fact something had gone horribly wrong.

“There were lots of tears,” said Jennifer Bradley of Linden, Mich., who was at the show with her sons, ages 7 and 11. “We sat and prayed together.”

After a 45-minute delay, the show resumed with a number of planes flying before the event was called off early due to rain at about 3 p.m.

After a 45-minute delay, the show resumed with a number of planes flying before the event was called off early due to rain at about 3 p.m.

Capt. Penny Carroll, a spokeswoman for the 127th Wing, said she could had not yet talked to command officials who made the decision to keep the show going and could not comment beyond the news release.

Green, a Michigan native, started performing aerial stunts over a quarter century ago. He is the son of aerial stuntman Eddie Green.

Green leaves behind his wfie, Dawn, his son Tyler and his stepson Derrick.
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source: http://www.macombdaily.com/articles/2011/08/21/news/doc4e5176ebca692065314978.txt

There is a video of the accident at the above link for those who seek it, but I will not post it here.
 
It has been a bad week for aviation, this is just a tragic event, I hope the best for his family.
 
Tom had performed many times with Kyle Franklin in Amandas place in previous years. I can't get over how many people have been taken this year.
 
Tragic.

Wing walking, while entertaining and probably thrilling, is dangerous enough as-is even without the added complexities.
 
I have family in Mt Clemens and when I was told of this, all I could think of was a man I saw performing this same stunt in 2008 at Sun N Fun, and transfering to a Sweitzer helicopter. Is this the same performer? RIP it has truly been a rough year on the airshow circuit.:(
 
I don't know about wing walking. It seems to me to be too dangerous a stunt and probably shouldn't go on. I'm sad it happened, but I don't feel much remorse for this guy. It's like a guy doing wheelies on a crotch rocket with a chick on the back and they wreck. Stupid.
 
I'm usually not one to criticize or bash another's form of thrill seeking or entertainment. But this whole "stand atop a biplane and transfer to a helicopter skid by hanging on to dear life without any security ropes or parachute" seems kinda foolish to me.

I like the whole skydiving, jet dragster, crotch rockets, driving fast, strapping jet engines to biplanes, wingwalking, running from the police and a whole list of other adrenaline fueled activities. But this "act" is even a little too much for me.
 
Kinda foolish? It is downright stupid. I am all for calculated risks. Hell I do aerobatic competitions, teach aerobatics, skydive etc. It is all a calculated risk I am willing to take because we all include certain safety precautions to do these types of things.

Wing walking is just like free climbing the face of Half Dome in Yosemite. If you make 1 mistake, thats it, 1, you are dead. There is no rigging, no parachute, no giant pillow at the bottom there is nothing. This is the same thing, there is no contingency in place if you fall, its plain stupid to me. I have no idea how it gets insured, and I have no idea why it still goes on at air shows.

I too am not trying to kick somebody while they are down or passed away. But COME ON!!!!
 
I liked what Amanda and Kyle did. That seemed safe and acceptable to me. She had a safety cord and was strapped into that stand thing. I actually want to go for a ride up there.
 
Inverted said:
Kinda foolish? It is downright stupid. I am all for calculated risks. Hell I do aerobatic competitions, teach aerobatics, skydive etc. It is all a calculated risk I am willing to take because we all include certain safety precautions to do these types of things.

Wing walking is just like free climbing the face of Half Dome in Yosemite. If you make 1 mistake, thats it, 1, you are dead. There is no rigging, no parachute, no giant pillow at the bottom there is nothing. This is the same thing, there is no contingency in place if you fall, its plain stupid to me. I have no idea how it gets insured, and I have no idea why it still goes on at air shows.

I too am not trying to kick somebody while they are down or passed away. But COME ON!!!!
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But it would seem to me (and maybe I'm wrong) that there have been more fatal accidents involving aerobatic aircraft at airshows than wing walkers. Now granted, there are more aerobatic acts, but it seems to me like most aerobatic pilots are only one blown engine away from a similar fate.
 
Inverted said:
Kinda foolish? It is downright stupid. I am all for calculated risks. Hell I do aerobatic competitions, teach aerobatics, skydive etc. It is all a calculated risk I am willing to take because we all include certain safety precautions to do these types of things.

Wing walking is just like free climbing the face of Half Dome in Yosemite. If you make 1 mistake, thats it, 1, you are dead. There is no rigging, no parachute, no giant pillow at the bottom there is nothing. This is the same thing, there is no contingency in place if you fall, its plain stupid to me. I have no idea how it gets insured, and I have no idea why it still goes on at air shows.

I too am not trying to kick somebody while they are down or passed away. But COME ON!!!!
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Tough part too is that this was a second pass. First pass by crowd aborted due to unstable formation...just couldn't get it done. I imagine there could've been pressure to "make it happen" for the show's sake and possibly personal pride, hence the second pass. If that wouldn't have worked, I'd bet there would've been a 3rd pass. Pure speculation of course.
 
After watching the video, the cockpit audio over the speaker system gives me the impression that the helicopter bailed unplanned, or unexpectedly to the wing walker. The next thing you hear over the speaker in regards to what just happened to his friend is chilling.

Sucks.
 
Murdoughnut said:
But it would seem to me (and maybe I'm wrong) that there have been more fatal accidents involving aerobatic aircraft at airshows than wing walkers. Now granted, there are more aerobatic acts, but it seems to me like most aerobatic pilots are only one blown engine away from a similar fate.
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Blown engine? Are you a pilot at all? When was the last fatal crash at an airshow that involved an engine quitting besides Kyle and Amandas? The amount of aerobatic acts verses wing walking acts is hundreds to one, thats why you never hear about wing walkers being killed. I can even count on one hand the nations wing walker acts.
 
MikeD said:
Tough part too is that this was a second pass. First pass by crowd aborted due to unstable formation...just couldn't get it done. I imagine there could've been pressure to "make it happen" for the show's sake and possibly personal pride, hence the second pass. If that wouldn't have worked, I'd bet there would've been a 3rd pass. Pure speculation of course.
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No doubt. The only pressure put on him was self inflicted. And I am sure there was. Pride, as well as doing what he came there to do. It is very difficult to combat that.
 
Inverted said:
Blown engine? Are you a pilot at all? When was the last fatal crash at an airshow that involved an engine quitting besides Kyle and Amandas? The amount of aerobatic acts verses wing walking acts is hundreds to one, thats why you never hear about wing walkers being killed. I can even count on one hand the nations wing walker acts.
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Call off your dogs man, I just asked a simple question. My point was that we're all one piece of bad luck from being a smoking hole in the ground.
 
Murdoughnut said:
But it would seem to me (and maybe I'm wrong) that there have been more fatal accidents involving aerobatic aircraft at airshows than wing walkers. Now granted, there are more aerobatic acts, but it seems to me like most aerobatic pilots are only one blown engine away from a similar fate.
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No, I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. The ratio of aerobatic performers to wing walkers is quite an astounding difference. I've only met one wing walker in my life. The number of people competing in aerobatic competitions and airshows and that fly aerobatics on a regular basis is quite large. Granted, the glide ratio of a Pitts after a failed engine is that of a garbage truck, it still allows for a dead-stick landing. Most are also wearing a parachute if the altitude allows.

Now, climbing out on top of a Stearman with no safety cord or parachute while trying to grab ahold of a helicopter skid at 200 feet.... No.

MikeD said:
Tough part too is that this was a second pass. First pass by crowd aborted due to unstable formation...just couldn't get it done. I imagine there could've been pressure to "make it happen" for the show's sake and possibly personal pride, hence the second pass. If that wouldn't have worked, I'd bet there would've been a 3rd pass. Pure speculation of course.
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I watched a video of this performance from 2008, I believe. They did like 4 passes before he was able to grab ahold. After that, they went to vertical and did a hammerhead type maneuver with him holding onto the skid. Quite foolish.

But I think some of those "failed" passes are for the spectators. Kind of like the Greg Koontz act where they land the Cub on top of the moving truck. For those "OMG, is he gonna make it?!?" passes. I don't know, but that's what I'm guessing.


Edit: Here's the video I was talking about.

[YT]zd8mQ6RYFW0[/YT]
 
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