Wed, Jul 23, 2014
Air Show Pilot Eddie Andreini Was Fatally Injured While Performing During The Show
The family of 77-year-old air show pilot Eddie Andreini has filed three wrongful death claims in connection with the performer's fatal injury during an air show at Travis Air Force Base in May.
The claims name the federal government as the defendant, and claim that emergency crews did not respond quickly enough after Andreini's Boeing E75 Stearman went down during the show and caught fire.
The Sacramento Bee reports that, according to documents presented to the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis AFB, “Mr. Andreini died as a result of the rescue and firefighting services’ failure to extinguish the fire and rescue Mr. Andreini from the aircraft in a timely or reasonable manner.”
The claims are a precursor to any lawsuit that may be filed. Travis AFB officials declined to comment.
Amateur video captured at the event show as many as five minutes passed before fire crews arrived at the burning wreckage of Andreini's airplane. According to the NTSB's preliminary report, "review of still and moving images indicated that fire became visible just before the airplane came to a stop, and that the fire patterns were consistent with a pool fire of spilled fuel. Within about 50 seconds, the fire encompassed most of the right (downwind) side of the airplane. USAF rescue and firefighting vehicles and personnel arrived at the airplane about 3 to 4 minutes after the accident, and extinguished the fire."
The paper reports that USAF regulations require that emergency equipment be positioned so that it can respond in seconds to any accident.
(Eddie Andreini pictured in file photo)
More News
Inversion to Launch Reentry Vehicle Demonstrator Aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 This fall, the aerospace startup Inversion is set to launch its Ray reentry demonstrator capsule aboard Spac>[...]
"We are excited to accelerate the adoption of electric aviation technology and further our journey towards a sustainable future. The agreement with magniX underscores our commitmen>[...]
"The journey to this achievement started nearly a decade ago when a freshly commissioned Gentry, driven by a fascination with new technologies and a desire to contribute significan>[...]
Aero Linx: OX5 Aviation Pioneers Each year a national reunion of OX5 Aviation Pioneers is hosted by one of the Wings in the organization. The reunions attract much attention as man>[...]
"Our driven and innovative team of military and civilian Airmen delivers combat power daily, ensuring our nation is ready today and tomorrow." Source: General Duke Richardson, AFMC>[...]