Returning From Brunch At Bensen Days
The mood at Bensen Days turned somber Friday, March 31, after
two well-loved gyro pilots perished in a crash. Terry Eiland of
Crystal River, FL, was the owner and builder of the machine that
crashed. His passenger, Bill "Doc" Finnegan of Illinois, was a
student pilot and undertaking construction of a gyroplane similar
to the mishap aircraft.
The gyroplane, an AAI Sparrowhawk, was one of three gyros in a
loose gaggle, which had flown out to brunch and was now headed
back. The pilot of a trailing gyro observed the mishap gyro begin a
descent which then gradually steepened, until the aircraft hit the
ground in an extreme nose-down attitude at approximately cruise
speed, and burst into flames. The aircraft were about eight and a
half miles from their destination and original launch point,
Wauchula airport.
The accident touched off a brush fire that burned, according to
one report, 100 acres. Police secured the wreckage for
investigators; it has been removed to a secure facility for
examination.
Eiland completed the aircraft (shown below) in May 2004, and it
had flown some 300 hours since then. He had previously constructed
an RAF 2000 gyroplane, which was signed off in May 2000. He was a
dealer for AAI and a multitalented pilot, with commercial
privileges in Rotorcraft Gyroplane, and private and instrument
privileges in airplane, single engine land. His son David was also
a gyroplane pilot and builder.
"Doc" Finnegan’s PRA chapter members admired him for his
enthusiasm for flying in general and gyroplanes in particular. He
was also an avid videographer who enjoyed sending his video footage
to gyro buddies worldwide.
Finnegan was one of several passengers, some of them Sparrowhawk
flyers or builders, who arranged rides with Eiland informally. The
next day, the man who had flown before Finnegan, and the one who
was next in line, were left with many questions about life, and
fate.
This is the first fatal
accident in a Sparrowhawk and has dismayed many, as the machine was
designed and has been promoted specifically for its safety
features. The accident has been particularly emotionally
devastating to AAI's executives and instructors, who worked closely
with Eiland and who had the greatest respect for him.
AAI's competitors expressed their sadness and sympathy as well.
The accident will be investigated by NTSB, which has received
assurances of cooperation from several potential parties to the
investigation. At this stage, it's impossible to do anything but
speculate about the cause.
At Bensen Days, flying gradually resumed after the accident took
the wind out of everyone's sails. By Saturday afternoon, the air
was alive with gyroplanes, helicopters, fixed-wing airplanes, and
even powered parachutes and paramotors. After all, if one message
could be taken away from the lives of Terry Eiland and Bill "Doc"
Finnegan, it was certainly this: "Keep flying!"
Aero-News extends our heartfelt condolences to the families of
Terry Eiland and Doc Finnegan.
(Note: Our reporter on scene at Bensen Days
knew Terry Eiland, but not Doc Finnegan. Almost every person at the
fly-in knew one or both well. Accordingly, we went "off the record"
in all discussions, on any specifics about the men or the mishap.
This report was compiled exclusively from publicly available
information, and released only when we could confirm that family
members had been notified).