On July 28, 2007, two single-engine war planes at the famous Oshkosh air show crashed with each other while landing , one of the pilots died and the other is at the hospital
Federal Aviation Administration said:
The collision with the two P-51 Mustangs happened at 3:17 p.m. after the planes finished a performance at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual AirVenture show.
NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz said one pilot died and the other had minor injuries when the planes clipped wings on landing. He said an NTSB investigator on the scene scheduled a news briefing at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Wittman Regional Airport terminal.
Yup, I was there. It was a heartbreaking day. The pilot that died was Gerry Beck. I had been introduced to him a couple of days earlier by some good friends of his. I was going to interview him after that flight as part of my job, but sadly never got the chance. In the time I spent chatting with Gerry, I can honestly say that he was a really really nice man, very down to earth, and supremely talented. He built his P51A from scratch and he let me climb all over it and take pics the day before the crash. It really was a work of art, but the aeroplane is replaceable, the man is not. After the crash, I found his friends who were working in a hangar and knew nothing about it. I had to break the news to them which left me an emotional wreck. The beer sure went down well that night.
It was a very sad day during an otherwise superb week.
Blue skies Gerry.
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