Takeoff Mishap Claims Wyatt Fuller And "Flying Fossil"
The name, "Flying Fossil," was a jaunty thumb in the eye of the
plane's age, but the F-86 Sabrejet fighter was restored to like-new
condition throughout. Despite that, it remained a 1950s aircraft,
with 1950s technology; and jets of that time had a safety record
unlike their modern descendants.
That safety record is a hair worse today, after the vintage
fighter crashed and burned on takeoff at 11:40 AM Monday, killing
pilot Wyatt Fuller.
The plane, N86FS, crashed on takeoff. Media reports from the
scene indicate that witnesses saw the plane begin its takeoff run
and rotate, but never leave the runway. It went off the end of the
runway at high speed and crashed and burned, coming to a stop on a
road hundreds of feet from the departure end of the runway. Local
firefighters responded quickly, but the plane was fully aflame by
the time they arrived. Despite their efforts, the plane, apart from
its peripheries, was consumed by fire.
Fuller intended to fly to Oshkosh, WI and display the plane
there during AirVenture 2006. The airplane would probably have had
full fuel for cross-country flight.
The F-86 was fully restored, even to the (non-functioning)
machine guns. It was kept polished to gleaming perfection, and
painted in a bright trim scheme with colorful stripes. The F-86 is
important historically as the most significant US fighter of the
Korean War.
Fuller, known as an enthusiast for all kinds of high-performance
machinery, has a full schedule of air shows booked. In the
aftermath of his mishap, the website for his airshow act was off
the air.
He was an experienced warbird pilot, and owner of an AT-6, an
L-39, the F-86, and an A-4 Skyhawk that was a
restoration-to-airworthy-status project. A former Braniff captain,
Fuller has worked as a subcontractor and design consultant for
Harley-Davidson, offered his own line of custom motorcycles, and
was also well-known in hot rod and custom car circles for his
unusual projects.
On April 9th, Aero-News
reported that the same plane and pilot had made
an emergency landing during the River Region Air Show at Maxwell
AFB, IL. In that incident, Fuller expertly landed the plane on two
wheels and the right wingtip after getting only two wheels down and
locked.
According to our sources, Fuller had been working long hours in
recent days trying to get the plane ready for its flight to
Wisconsin.
This report is based on local media reports and on information
phoned into the Aero-News Network; readers are cautioned that
initial information about aircraft accidents is often erroneous or
highly speculative. The accident,ahorrible tragedy in no uncertain
terms, will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety
Board.