Photo of the T-6 Texan, credit to the Texas Warbird Museum Facebook page
The NTSB preliminary report on the T-6 Texan that crashed near Oshkosh, Wisconsin the week of AirVenture has revealed little, likely hindered by the fact the plane has not been recovered from the bottom of the lake for examination. On July 29, the North American AT-6D departed from the grounds at AirVenture and crashed into Lake Winnebago, just a few miles away from the event, killing the pilot and passenger.
The report notes that the plane departed from runway 27 at the Wittman Regional Airport (OSH) and made a right turn toward the north for roughly three miles before turning toward the east-northeast. The plane went over the lake outside of the OSH Class D airspace, reaching a peak altitude of 3,900 feet. The plane then descended rapidly into the lake, breaking into pieces and coming to rest at the bottom of about 20 feet of water. The NTSB reports the plane will be recovered for further examination.
Until the plane is recovered, the NTSB will likely not know more about what led to the deadly crash. The current information has been obtained through the Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast data. Without the ability to investigate the plane, the NTSB cannot determine potential mechanical issues.
The EAA released a statement after the crash, naming the two victims on board. The pilot was 30-year-old Devyn Reilly of Guadalupe, Texas and the passenger was 20-year-old Zach Colliemoreno. Reilly was the co-founder of the Texas Warbird Museum and the former general manager of the Texas Aviation Academy. According to HuffPost, Reiley was the daughter of two-time Super Bowl champion Brue Collie. A witness on a fishing trip with his grandfather told NBC he thought the plane was doing a trick at first.
“I heard the plane start coming out of the sky, and it started spinning and I told him, and all of a sudden it just made a big splash,” Brayden Hiebing told NBC.
There was a second crash on July 29 that afternoon involving a gyroplane and a helicopter. The two aircraft collided on the Ultralight/Homebuilt Rotorcraft runway on AirVenture grounds, killing two people and injuring two others. The NTSB report for the collision was released on Friday, revealing that videos and witness accounts noted the gyroplane was approaching the south of the runway when it executed a 360-degree turn. The helicopter was coming from behind the gyroplane and also approaching the runway from the south. About 250 feet above ground level, the gyroplane collided with the left side of the helicopter.
The two aircraft descended in a near-vertical attitude toward terrain and debris fell from both. The helicopter hit the terrain in an inverted position and caught fire, killing both on board. The gyroplane hit an unoccupied parked fixed-wing plane and the two on board were transported to a local hospital and in stable condition. The two deceased in the helicopter were identified as 69-year-old Mark Peterson of Foley, Alabama and 72-year-old Thomas Volz of Amelia, Ohio.
RELATED STORIES:
Pilots eject from MiG-23 before crash during Thunder Over Michigan Air Show
New details in midair collision on AirVenture grounds in NTSB prelim
Victims identified in midair crash between B-17, P-63 at Wings Over Dallas airshow, killing 6
NTSB Preliminary report released on deadly Reno air show crash
The pilots and passengers in the aircraft involved in both accidents were attendees and were not involved in an airshow. On Sunday at the 25th annual Thunder Over Michigan Air Show, two pilots ejected from a MiG-23 and the plane crashed into a nearby parking lot, catching fire. Air Shows, for both performers and attendees, can pose a risk when the airspace is crowded. In November, a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress and Bell P-63F Kingcobra collided in midair, killing all six on board at the Wings Over Dallas airshow. In September an Aerovodochody L29-Delphin crashed on the third lap out of six in a race at an airshow in Reno, killing the pilot.
The NTSB is investigating the two crashes that took place in Oshkosh on July 29. The final report will take between 12-18 months to complete. The investigation will recover the aircraft for examination and more information will be revealed in the final report.
©2023 GlobalAir.com, Haley Davoren. All rights reserved.
