Newsweek
Two people were killed in a plane crash near the EAA AirVenture grounds in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on Monday, the first day of the annual aviation event.
The crash occurred about two miles south of Wittman Regional Airport, temporarily halting operations at the airport.
According to the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, the crash was reported around 12:15 p.m. by the air traffic control tower at Wittman Regional Airport. The plane, a single-engine aircraft, crashed in a farm field near Old Knapp Road and Nekimi Avenue. More
According to the EAA AirAdventure’s own website
But for one week each summer, EAA members and aviation enthusiasts totaling more than 500,000 from 80 countries attend EAA AirVenture at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where they rekindle friendships and celebrate the past, present, and future in the world of flight.
The World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration® has it all when it comes to aircraft. Warbirds. Vintage. Homebuilts. Ultralights. Some you would normally find in a hangar at your local airport, others so unique they are the only one of their kind.
You name it, there’s likely an example of it at Oshkosh.
That’s too bad. I went there several times as a young lad.
Was a mouth dropping experience for me back then. I thought every airplane in the world was there.
This article reminds me that somewhere packed in boxes I have a couple of EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) coffee mugs.
I should find that box. I’ve been drinking out of the same coffee cups for probably 20 years.
If you’re into civilian aviation or aviation in general that is the show.
I’m very sorry to hear about the fatal crash.
My pilgrimage to Oshkosh was about 35 years ago but I still have fond memories of the trip. 2/3 of a million people recently, it felt like that back during my visit. The most astoundingly well-behaved and tidy crowds imaginable. The grounds were always and everywhere immaculate, the people always smiling, and the children (and there were a lot of children) well-behaved.
I’ve read that for the week of high activity there, Wittman is the busiest airport in the world with somewhere upwards of 120 takeoffs or landings per hour. A special hat tip towards the tower crew, they are unbelievable good.
Got my Private Pilot license back in 1974. Got to fly in myself many years ago. Tremendous experience!
Every time I see news about a small plane crash my first thought is it pilot error or equipment failure. When I was a teenager in the 70’s I had an uncle that was a flight instructor. He would give all his nieces and nephews flight lessons for the cost of fuel. The reality of the expense of flying kept me grounded except for a few flights in the early 80. I let my license expire. Some planes like the Cessna 172 are easy to fly. Others, like the Bonanza V-tail, take a lot of concentration.
Just imagine the twenty-four-seven reporting we would be inundated with if they reported every car crash with fatalities….about 117 every day!
Squared: “Some planes like the Cessna 172 are easy to fly. Others, like the Bonanza V-tail, take a lot of concentration.”
Reminds me of the old saying: “The Piper Cub is the world’s safest airplane; it will just barely kill you.”
@Tony R — Another good old saying is that there’s nothing inherently dangerous about flying, it’s simply that flying is totally intolerant of carelessness and error.
sorry for the aviators. from a book of aviator lore: flying is not dangerous, crashing is dangerous. good judgment comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgment.
A pilot friend of mine always called the Bonanza the “Split Tail Doctor Killer”.