Pleasure Cruise Ends In Tragedy

FAA investigators are going over what's left of an RV-8 (file photo, below) after it went down about 20 miles northwest of Tyler (TX) Monday. The two people on board were ejected upon impact. Their remains were scattered on the ground 100 yards or more from the crash site.

KLTV News quotes Noel Sexton, who saw the plane overhead, 2 1/2 miles south of the crash site, as saying, "It was backfiring and missing and he revved the motor up real high, and it went back to idling."

Stan May lives right across from the field where the plane crashed. He says he thought the plane was about to hit his home. "He gained altitude a little bit, and then he took a nosedive out into that pasture right there. Just a sudden impact, a loud boom. There was straps from the seatbelts where he appeared to have been buckled up. And then it threw him across the road."

Ernest and Marketta Woodard from Georgetown (TX) died instantly in the crash.

"There wasn't a lot left of it. But, again, the investigation is ongoing," said FAA Aviation Safety Inspector, Michael Hamilton. "We can't determine a cause this early in the investigation. It's going to take a while to filter out all of the causes."

FAA Preliminary Accident Report

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 27JW        Make/Model: RV8       Description: RV-8 VANS
  Date: 10/06/2003     Time: 1750

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

LOCATION
  City: TYLER                       State: TX   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  ACFT WAS FLYING BETWEEN LAYERS AND DECIDED TO CLIMB TO ON TOP. ACFT DROPPED
  OFF WING FORMATION. UNABLE TO CONTACT ACFT AND WRECKAGE WAS FOUND 20 M NW
  OF TYLER, TX. OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES ARE UNKNOWN. THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED AND
  THE TWO SOB'S SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES. TYLER, TX

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   2
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   1     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:    1     Fat:   1     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:          Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: METAR TYR 061853Z 35003KT 1SM RA BA SCT002 OVC017 19/19 A3002              

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Pleasure      Phase: Cruise      Operation: General Aviation

  Departed: GILMER, TX                  Dep Date: 10/06/2003   Dep. Time: 1740
  Destination: GEORGETOWN, TX  GTU      Flt Plan: NONE         Wx Briefing: N
  Last Radio Cont: UNKN
  Last Clearance: UNKN

  FAA FSDO: DALLAS, TX  (SW05)                    Entry date: 10/07/2003

FMI: www.faa.gov