R.I.P. Bobby Younkin

[BlindBrick 0]

This evening, we recieved word that aerobatic pilots Bobby Younkin and Jimmy Franklin of the Masters of Disaster aerial demonstration team were killed in a mid-air collision while performing in Canada.

Bobby's air fleet is based out of KSLG, our dz's home. In the past few months we've gotten squeezed a bit by forces who want to make our airport more "corporate". Bobby bucked this trend and would occassionaly drop by the dz to chat. While I can't say for sure, I always got the idea that he felt we were all kindred spirits.

I didn't know Bobby real well, but after chatting and seeing seeing him put a Lear 23 through paces I'm sure the designers never even dreamed of, I could tell that he was a pilot of a caliber not often seen.

I'm not sure what the pilot's equivalent of "Blue Skies Forever" is, but I wish it to Bobby. The General Aviation community is a less with him gone.

-Blind

"If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

[airtwardo 7]

My prayers go out to their families.


I knew them both well.


Tragic is all I can say.


Jim "Bull Dog" Leroy was the third pilot and was not injured.







U.S. civilian biplanes collide at Saskatchewan Centennial air show, two dead at 23:02 on July 10, 2005, EST.

MOOSE JAW, Sask. (CP) - Nearly 20,000 spectators watched in horror Sunday afternoon as two small biplanes collided then plummeted to the ground in a fireball at the annual air show in Moose Jaw.

Two pilots, members of the Arkansas-based Masters of Disaster civilian aerobatics team, were instantly killed. One of them was Bobby Younkin, his wife confirmed Sunday night by telephone from their home in Fayetteville, Ark.

Some relatives of Younkin and the other pilot, Jimmy Franklin, had been at the air show and were taken to the military base at 15 Wing Moose Jaw while officials tried to notify family members at home in the United States.

Witnesses said three planes were simulating a First World War dogfight, and two of them had crossed past each other when the third came up from underneath and smashed into one of the planes.

"It looked really, really nasty," one man watching the show told a radio station. "As soon as they hit, both burst into flames and just went down to the ground."

"Your first reaction is you're hoping it's part of the show," said witness Brian Hegel. "But a second later you realize it couldn't possibly be part of the show."

The other plane involved managed to land safely.

The 4:20 p.m. accident happened well away from the crowd, but the air show was immediately cancelled.

Witnesses said emergency vehicles were at the crash site within five minutes, spraying foam, but there was nothing that could be done.

"It was a civilian performance that has been practised many, many times and done in a safe manner many, many times," Clive Tolley, executive director of the air show, told a news conference late Sunday.

He said the Transport Safety Board would be arriving Monday to launch an investigation into the crash, adding he had no idea what caused the accident.

"The air show community is a very tight-knit community," said Tolley. "I think you can consider most of the people that perform for a living in the air show industry as family. That's why it's so important for us to take care of them."

Base commander Col. Alain Boyer, who is also vice-chairman of the air show's board of directors, said he had been confident in the practices and procedures involved in the air show.

"Everything was done professionally," he said. "These guys were professional pilots . . . all the safety measures were there."

Tolley said he was sensitive to the fact that the event was also traumatic for the huge crowd on hand.

"The good news out of this terrible tragedy is there was no collateral damage, nobody else was involved with the accident. The civilians attending our performance were completely safe."

Major Ian McLean of the Canadian Snowbirds military aerobatics team had called the Masters of Disasters show "phenomenal," explaining that every show is unscripted.




Airshow link "Masters of Disaster"

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[2fat2fly 0]

I didn't know Bobby, but I've met Jimmy and spoke with him on the phone several times. A very class act and a terriffic pilot. My highest regards for two men who have gone west.

[airtwardo 7]

Quote

I didn't know Bobby, but I've met Jimmy and spoke with him on the phone several times. A very class act and a terriffic pilot. My highest regards for two men who have gone west.

***

I started getting calls about the incident an hour after it happened.

The air show industry is every bit as tight as the skydiving brotherhood.

EVERYONE is in shock, these were two of the best
air show performers ever.

We're all saddened by the loss.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~