Not so much AF related (unless you have been to one of many base open houses), but Sean Tucker Crashed his Oracle Biplane yesterday. The good news is that he got out ok! Sounds like the stick broke off.
Oracle Crash
A nationally known aerobatics pilot had to ditch his plane in Red River Parish this morning after the aircraft's control stick broke.
Sean Tucker parachuted safely -- despite getting tangled briefly on part of the plane after getting out of the cockpit.
The single-engine stunt plane crashed in a field near the Red River-Natchitoches Parish line.
Red River Sheriff Johnny Ray Norman said Tucker was in town to visit friends while on his way to a weekend air show in Florida.
He was making one last run in a practice area when the main steering control began to break.
Tucker switched to a backup control to buy him time and radioed in his situation. The sheriff's office helped him find a place away from any houses before he bailed out.
"When he was just about out of gas, they got a good field picked out -- no people around -- and he jumped out," Tucker spokesman Karl Koeppen said.
Tucker, who was not injured, was not available for comment after the crash.
The single-passenger propeller plane crashed about a mile from the airport and was destroyed.
In 2003, Tucker was named one of the 25 living legends of flight by the Smithsonian Institute.