Pilot Zone > Pilot Zone

Richard McSpadden Dead in Crash

(1/1)

Bamaflyer:
https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/air-safety-institutes-richard-mcspadden-dies-in-crash/

God speed.


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. McSpadden was in the right seat. The other person has not been identified. AOPA spokesman Eric Blinderman told AVweb early reports indicate the Cardinal had “an emergency on takeoff” from Lake Placid shortly before 5 p.m. “They tried to get back but didn’t make the runway,” said Blinderman. The nature of the emergency wasn’t immediately known. He said more information will be available on Monday.

McSpadden was a former commander of the USAF Thunderbirds air demonstration team and joined the Air Safety Institute in 2017. He was well known in the GA community for his analyses of accidents and the safety related content he and his staff created for free distribution. He was also highly regarded by his many friends and colleagues. “We are beyond heartbroken,” said Blinderman. “This is the worst kind of news to process as a friend, colleague and fellow aviator.” He is survived by his wife Judy, son Grant and daughter Annabel.

 

nddons:
I just learned this. Richard gave me my first hours’ instruction at Franklin-Hart airport 18A in northeast Georgia.

I first got to know him when he listed his and his dad’s Navion for sale on Facebook in 2019.  That fell through, but I found another one in Richard’s home airport on Northeast Georgia. He flew a Cessna 180 down from Fredericksburg, Maryland to 18A to meet me and give me my Navion checkout. 

We could not get the left main gear to lock up, and after circling the area for almost an hour, we landed, put the Navion up on jacks, and Richard, his dad, Dick (over 4,000 hours in Navions), his brother, Cliff (also lots of Navion hours and flies 747s for UPS), the seller (flew A-4 Skyhawks off the Oriskany in Vietnam), and an A&P were all underneath the Navion trying to troubleshoot the problem. I was in the cockpit pumping the manual hydraulic pump when ordered. We took another post Mx flight and it still wasn’t working.

I didn’t complete that sale. However, I have Richard’s signature in my logbook.

Since then, whenever I met him at Sun n Fun or AirVenture, he greeted me and treated me like an old friend.

A kinder, gentler man probably doesn’t exist.

Blue skies and tailwinds, Richard.

EppyGA - White Christian Domestic Terrorist:
Second person was SF Super Bowl TE Russ Francis

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38548143/former-pro-bowl-te-russ-francis-dies-plane-crash

nddons:

--- Quote from: EppyGA - White Christian Domestic Terrorist on October 02, 2023, 08:53:01 AM ---Second person was SF Super Bowl TE Russ Francis

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38548143/former-pro-bowl-te-russ-francis-dies-plane-crash

--- End quote ---
He was in the left seat. It’s likely he was PF. 

Navigation

[0] Message Index