Passenger Says Pilot Told Him To Jump

The pilot of an experimental biplane was killed Monday afternoon in Florida, but not before ordering his passenger to parachute to safety before impact.

According to WMBB-13, the accident aircraft -- an AcroDuster SA750, a two-seat aerobatic bipe (file photo of type below) -- crashed shortly after takeoff from Panama City-Bay County International Airport (PFN) around 1:00 pm EDT.

Craig Ellis, 48, said the plane's pilot, 31-year-old Kevin Gorham, told him to jump from the plane when it began experiencing problems. Ellis told local media they had just come out of maneuvering flight when the trouble began.

"Kevin did everything a pilot was supposed to do," Ellis told the Panama City News-Herald. "Something in the controls... the rudder or the stick... got screwed up."

After cutting himself free, Ellis called 911 for help. Gorham was killed when his plane impacted a heavily-wooded area in Northern Bay county.

Gorham was an instructor with Precision AvJet, a family-owned FBO based at Panama City. A visibly shaken Ellis credited the pilot with saving his life Monday, at the expense of his own.

Investigators with the FAA and NTSB were expected to be on-scene by Tuesday morning.

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 363J        Make/Model: EXP       Description: ACRODUSTER SA 750
  Date: 06/16/2008     Time: 1946

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Fatal     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION
  City: PANAMA CITY   State: FL   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THERE WERE TWO PERSONS ON
  BOARD, ONE WAS FATALLY INJURED, ONE PARACHUTED TO SAFETY, 8 MILES FROM
  PANAMA CITY, FL

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   1
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   1     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   1     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: 1946Z 2120/08 10SM SKC 30/21 A2990

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Unknown      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER

  FAA FSDO: BIRMINGHAM, AL  (SO09)                Entry date: 06/17/2008

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.precisionavjet.com