[smoore]

RMRFI home page (news will go away)

Rocky Mtn. News Article (should be permanent)

The announcers at the RMRFI died in a 6A Monday about noon near the Greely/Weld airport. My thoughts are with their families. A memorial fund has been set up at 1stBank.

 

[Phil]

Our family's prayers go out to their family and friends.

Has there been any insight into the possible cause?

 

[Ironflight]

Very sad indeed.

I saw this on the FAA's preliminary report site yesterday - the "one liner" said that they hit wires. I see that the news article linked above said the same thing.

 

[smoore]

Hearsay says, "stalled and spun in". I saw that in a preliminary article in the news yesterday. Apparently his hangar faces the crash site and he witnessed it. The wires may have been incidental while crashing. Unknown whether engine trouble caused it.

 

[Phil]

Thanks. I had a feeling that the lines were incidental.

This is the hardest part of an aviation passion. It's a double edged sword. Flying can bring so much joy to all of us, but at the same time it can take it all away in a moments notice.

 

[Ron Lee]

I fly into Greeley for breakfast

Was the accident on approach to runway 27?

 

[GrayHawk]

Final for 34? Since the crash site was south of 8th street?

GXY: Field elevation - 4697', Temp - 104F

This is from my friend AJ who happened to be a witness also:

"I was up at Greeley Airport yesterday getting a new prop flange seal installed. Joe the mechanic said he was wondering what that plane was doing on final. As I looked up the RV6 looked like it was doing a "falling Leaf" maneuver, and crossing my mind at the same time..... Why so low and why so slow! This can't be right, because his banks were at the 60 and 90 degree angle. The plane stalled, went inverted and crashed. The crash sound was sort of eerie, it wasn't a boom or bang it was a loud pow sound with a round brown smoke ring rising in the air.....

I went to the crash scene with Joe, when we got there it was in flames. We couldn't get close to it because of the terrain, and stuck on the north end of an irrigation cannel. It was also very evident that no one live in this crash.

Someone on the news said that the engine was sputtering, but I never heard that, the engine running sounded normal to me. Not sure what problems he had with his RV6 prior to the crash if any. It was a very sobering what a stall can do, when one has lost all lift."