Two pilots flying a small World War II-era plane crashed to their deaths near a Father’s Day event that one of them had just spoken at.
The Yanks Air Museum chief of operations, Frank Wright, 67, was on board a twin-engine Lockheed 12A with a co-pilot when it dropped around 12.35pm on Saturday just after takeoff at Chino Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
A witness at a Father’s Day event at the museum located at the California airport was taking pictures and videos at the time of the crash and it ‘happened right in front of his eyes’.
‘There was a shrub or a bush in front of me, a tall one, maybe about 10 or 12 feet high, and I had to move around it, and the moment I came around it, the plane disappeared behind it,’ the witness told KABC.
‘But then when I got around it, the plane started listing to the left… very sharp, and started going down.’
The aircraft ‘took a nose dive and the first part of the plane that hit was the left wing’, the witness said, adding, ‘that’s where the fuel was I guess, and what happened was immediate explosion’.
Both pilots died. They were the only ones aboard the plane and no one on the ground was hurt.
Wright had just taken part in a panel discussion at the event, the witness said. He was on the museum’s flight team.
‘He always had time to sit down and talk planes and flying with me and if I ever had a mechanical question on how to solve a DC-3 issue he would always help,’ wrote Gary Stark on Facebook.
‘He will be missed tremendously in the warbirds community.’
The other victim’s identity was not immediately known.
The cause of the crash is being investigated by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board. An official with the board on Sunday evaluated the plane, which was then set to be moved to a facility for more examination.
The museum’s Pops & Props Event took place from 11am to 4pm on Saturday with ‘delicious food on-site, a one-of-a-kind Aircraft Bar, Prizes like a flight in the UC-40 Electra or T-6 Texan, VIP tours, Photo opportunities, Flight Demonstrations and vendors’, according to its website.
Museum officials stated that the site ‘will be closed until further notice as our family deals with this tragedy, and we appreciate your patience and respect for our privacy as we navigate through this difficult time’.
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