Was Scheduled To Perform In Weekend Show
ANN REALTIME UPDATE
06.16.06 1715 EDT: Juan Jimenez, the director of the BD-5 Network
and himself the owner of a BD-5J microjet, issued the following
statement late Friday upon hearing the news of the loss of Scott
Manning in an accident earlier in the day.
I am greatly saddened at the loss of my good friend and
fellow BD-5J Microjet owner, Scott Manning.
Scott was a devoted husband and dedicated law enforcement
officer, and was very passionate about his Microjet. He spent many,
many years working to achieve his dream, and we helped each other
through good times and tough times in our journey to accomplish our
goal of completing our aircraft.
On behalf of myself and the entire worldwide community of
The BD-5 Network, I wish to express our most sincere condolences to
his family and loved ones. Everyone who met Scott could not help
but be touched by the kindness of his gentle soul and his
dedication to everything he set out to accomplish.
He was a good man who will be very sorely missed by a great
many people.
(Editor's Note -- Juan also wrote this article about Scott
for ANN in December 2004.)
ORIGINAL REPORT
ANN REALTIME REPORTING 06.16.06 1500 EDT: Aero-News has learned
that pilot Scott Manning was lost earlier today when his Bede BD-5J
microjet went down during a practice flight, in preparation for a
scheduled performance at this weekend's Air Show Ottawa.
"He was just doing a sort of pre-air-show display," witness
David Morgan-Kirby told CBC. "The engine was still running when he
hit the ground, and it ran for another two or three seconds
afterwards."
The accident occurred near Carp Airport west of Ottawa.
A onetime football player for the Montreal Alouettes and the
Saskatchewan Roughriders, Manning (above) was known as the tallest
BD-5 pilot in the world, standing 6' 3" tall.
Going by the callsign "Kato", Manning was the lead pilot for
Microjet Canada, and flew the BD-5 jet dubbed "The
Stinger" that he built in airshows throughout Canada.
Manning's BD-5J was one of just six BD-5 jets flying in the
world.
CBC reports Manning's death was confirmed by an associate at the
company that handled public relations for the air show. This
weekend's show is still scheduled to go ahead as planned.
It is not yet known what led to the accident.
ANN extends our condolences to Manning's friends and family, and
to those throughout the extremely close-knit BD-5 community.