RV-8A accident
I knew Dane fairly well. He was such a fantastic person in so many ways!!! His children are just fantastic....just like their Mom and Dad. I keep checking for the final NTSB accident report because I am just grasping at straws as to how we could have lost 2 fairly experienced pilots on this sad day. The preliminary report does mention debris in the oil sump. Also, it looks clear that the engine was not running when they made it to the ground. Maybe we will eventually here what problem led to the forced landing.
It is a painful lesson to me how critically important it is to "fly the airplane all the way through the crash." (Bob Hoover). We must constantly say to ourselves, during a forced landing, "don't stall, don't stall, don't stall"!!!!! Of course, we all hope to never have to face this dire scenario. Dane would want us all to learn some good lesson from his loss. He would want us to be successful...even though unfortunately he wasn't able to in this case. God speed to you my friend Dane. You are missed!!!
Tony Clinton
