Alert Tragic day two lives lost

[Neal]

I am shocked this evening to learn of an aviation legend and fellow CubCrafters pilot/owner Dooley Vanyo passed away in a crash in Twisp, WA and also learning Richard McSpadden, former commander of the Air Force Thunderbirds and AOPA Senior Vice President died in a Cessna 177 attempting a turn back after engine failure after takeoff. From a Facebook post:

From AOPA:
We are deeply saddened to report that Richard McSpadden, AOPA Senior Vice President, died in an aircraft accident outside Lake Placid, New York, on Sunday afternoon. The Cardinal 177 in which Richard was in the right seat experienced an emergency after takeoff. The airplane attempted to return to the airport but failed to make the runway. Both occupants lost their lives. Richard was a very accomplished pilot, including serving as Commander of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds during his military career, a trusted colleague, friend, son, husband, and father. Richard is survived by his wife, Judy; his son, Grant; and his daughter, Annabel.
Our thoughts are with Richard’s family at this time.
We will provide more details as they are available.
All questions can be directed to Eric Blinderman, AOPA Senior Director of Communications, at [email protected] or 301.695.2196.

 

[Neal]

Air Safety Institute's Richard McSpadden Dies In Crash - AVweb

Richard McSpadden, the senior vice president of the AOPA Air Safety Institute died, along with one other person, in the crash of a Cessna 177RG near Lake Placid Airport in upstate New York Sunday. The other person has not been identified. AOPA spokesman Eric Blinderman told AVweb early reports...

www.avweb.com

 

[Neal]

Accident Cub Crafters CCK-1865 Carbon Cub ,

Fatal accident reported near Twisp, Washington.

aviation-safety.net

 

[Tsquared]

I’ve been a regular listener of AOPA Safety Institutes podcast “There I was” with McSpadden for a number of years and have had a few occasions to speak with him at Airventure over the years. He was a big part of me adopting a safety mindset when it came to aviation.

Both of these losses will be felt in GA for years to come. God speed gentleman..