# Hillsboro Int'l Airshow Crash Today



## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

A 1951 Hawker Hunter (single pilot super-sonic British fighter jet) was involved in a fatal crash today at the Hillsoboro International Airshow. Hillsboro is a suburb of Portland, Oregon. The aircraft was a part of the 'Static Display', meaning that it was a display aircraft only, not a performer. The crash occured as the aircraft was departing the airshow this afternoon. The plane appeared to loose power, and crashed into a nearby neighborhood. The plane directly impacted one house, which was totally destroyed (there is NOTHING left of it). Four additional houses sustained varying degrees of fire damage, it looks like at least two of those homes will be total losses.

The good news, all but one of the houses were unoccupied at the time. The residents of the one occupied house were able to escape without injury. Sadly, the pilot did not eject prior to impact, and was lost in the crash. One firefighter has also been hospitalized from reported heat exhaustion.

This is the first incident in the airshows 19 year history. I had the good fortune and honor of being involved in the airshow from 1990-1999, my last four years as a member of the Airshow Steering Committee, in charge of the Civilian Static Display. I can assure all, that safety has always been the overriding consideration at the airshow since day one, and I am sure all involved are devasted by the loss.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the pilots survivors, as well as the families that have had their lives completely turned upside down due to this tragic event. Over the next few days, I'm sure this will be in the national media, and I just wanted to get as accurate an early description of the accident as possible out there, as the media often does not get it right.

Doug


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Truely sad to hear about the crash
glad that no others were seriously hurt
Our Thoughts and Prayers go out to all

Don


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

News is saying the pilot did the best he could to control the plane. He just missed an empty parking lot (where he was trying to go) and unfortunately hit the homes and lost his life. Could have been a LOT worse.


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## nonny (Aug 14, 2005)

God will bless him for that attempt and I pray for blessings for his loved ones at this very sad time!


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## usmc03 (Jun 6, 2006)

Is it possible to get more information about this crash? My father in law arranges these for a living in England and know a lot of those pilots. Some of his friends fly the Hawker Hunter and would be sad to hear about this.

You can PM me the info if you like.

Thanks
Lance


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Here is a link to a local news channel that has a lot of details on the crash.

http://www.kgw.com/

They have not released the pilots name at this point.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Lance,

All the info they have released on the pilot so far is that he was an Aviation Attorney out of Southern California.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

Sorry to hear about this tragedy...The pilot sounds like he was a true hero to the end.


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## Camping Fan (Dec 18, 2005)

PDX_Doug said:


> Over the next few days, I'm sure this will be in the national media, and I just wanted to get as accurate an early description of the accident as possible out there, as the media often does not get it right.
> 
> Doug


You're sure right on that Doug. The report I heard on the radio this morning stated that an eye witness said the plane was doing a loop and the pilot couldn't pull up in time. It's pretty sad when you can predict that the media won't get the facts right.


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## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

Aviation is more than an occupation or a hobby. It is a way of life. This is very sad and our thoughts and prayers are with the family.

Reverie


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

Thanks Doug.

I do have to admit to a brief heart skip as I read that it crashed into an unoccupied house ... my house is _frequently _ overflown by aircraft departing the airshow. But, it sounds like this one was much closer to the field and sounds like he might have been attempting a return to the field, as that is on the approach for the main runway if you are coming from the North as he was.

A very sad thing, but luckily more were not injured or killed. For those interested here  is this morning's article from the Oregonian.

It will be interesting to see if this affects the long-term health of the Hillsboro Airshow as so many houses have popped up in the adjacent fields.

Ed


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Crash Update:

To start with, I would like to state that the following is difficult for me to post, and I have struggled with whether it would be better just to let it go. It deals with a situation that will not be what a lot of people want to hear. As was my attempt in my first post, I do so in an attempt to present accurate perspective, that may conflict with what the media is and will be reporting. Additionally, my views are as much speculation as anyones at this point. I have no 'inside' information on the event. I am however, intimately familiar with the airport and it's surroundings. So with that said...

There has been a lot of speculation regarding the heroic 'actions' of the unfortunate pilot in this crash. How he was trying to control the plane, and put it down in a nearby field in order to save lives on the ground, etc. We will never know what was going through his mind, and I'm sure was trying to do all he could, but indications are that his primary concern was attempting a return to the airport.

Below is a diagram of his approximate flight path. The yellow line is the runnway he took off from, the blue line indicates his flight path (more or less), and the green arrow is the point of impact. Additionally, the two magenta lines roughly describe a 'sterile zone' that is in effect during the airshow. The sterile zone is cleared of all people for the duration of the show, and exists for just this sort of situation.










From the above picture, it would appear the pilot was attempting a return to the airport and was on his downwind leg of the pattern.

While I do not wish to speak ill of the dead, witness reports suggest that the pilot was having difficulty as early as his takeoff run. If that is the case, and as his flight path was primarily over open fields and farm land, it would seem he had ample opportunity to put the plane down in an unpopulated area prior to the residential area he ultimately crashed in. It would appear, instead, that his goal was to get back to the airport. I certainly do not condemn him for this. He was trying to save himself and his aircraft. Being in the same situation, how many of us would do any different? But to me, labeling his 'actions' 'Heroic', is premature.

Doug


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## Scrib (Jun 28, 2005)

Hooah. Very unfortunate, but could have been much worse. I hope that this incident does not have a negative impact on future shows at Hillsoboro. It was a sad day when we lost our show in Albany (financial, not safety).


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

Doug,

For those of us familiar with the area and airport, I think you are spot on. You probably noticed in my previous posting that I thought he was probably attempting to return to the field.

It will be interesting to follow-up with this accident. For those who've never looked over NTSB accident reports, they are available to query here. It will, of course, take several months to a year to complete the investigation.

Ed


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## usmc03 (Jun 6, 2006)

Doug,

Thanks for all the info, I to don't take what the media says to heart. Unforetunately, only the pilot knows what he was trying to do. As with any older aircraft there are many variables and it is always prudent to wait and see what the NTSB finds.

I am going to have the wife forward the article to her dad.

Again thanks for your information.

Lance


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## ROO-ING (Jun 24, 2006)

The airshow has been a Portland tradition for many years. I am sad to hear that we lost a plane from the airshow. I feel really bad for the people who live in the house. Can you image you leave your house for a short time and come back to nothing- absolutely nothing. No one would have thought that a plane would be crashing down from the skies and completely wipe out your home, your memories, all of your possessions.

We can be thankful for one thing that no one was killed in the incident.

My prayers and best wishes go out to all that are suffering from this loss from the pilot family to the homeowners.


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

Gearing up for a big Airshow this weekend.

Incidents happen, and we train hard for it. We had a Mass Casualty Incident Exercise last week in 100 degree heat to ready ourselves.
It was a simulated airplane crash into the crowd. We had 80 victims all dressed and acting the part (injured).

All went well in the end...for us that is. The fact is...things will happen. Things can go wrong...and sometimes it's deadly. It's sad when it happens. So far...all our past shows went without major incident.

Condolences.


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## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

First of all I want to say that I think lawyers can be great and noble people and they have a very useful and necessary purpose in our society. That being said, I really think there is a certain irony here...

Aviation Lawyer Perishes In Crash

Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between irony and coincidence. I'll leave it up to you if you see the irony I see...

Reverie


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## outbackgeorgia (Jan 28, 2004)

As a pilot, it is sad to hear of any incident, especially when, predictably, the press do not seem to deal with the facts.
I am saddened by the loss of another pilot and hopefully those surrounding residents who moved into the area, knowing there was an airport nearby, will not have any negative influence in the future of the airport.
Outbackgeorgia


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