Impacted Ground Upon Approach

Local, state and federal investigators are still sorting out what happened Saturday evening when an FM-2 "Wildcat" suddenly impacted the ground while on final approach to Ellington Field (TX). The pilot of the Wildcat (file photo of aircraft type, right) had participated in "Wings Over Houston," the big airshow at Ellington Field in Clear Lake. The show was over and he was part of a photo mission, along with as many as six other aircraft.

The pilot has been identified as William K. Johnson, 62, of Parkton (NC), a member of the Carolinas Wing of the Commemorative Air Force. The aircraft, built in 1944, was based in Franklin (VA). Witnesses say Johnson was on final at around 6pm when it impacted the ground without warning. The force of the impact sheared the wings from the warbird.

"It (the plane) dug in, it hit hard. It's barely recognizable," said Houston Fire Department District Chief Tommy Dowdy.

Obviously this hit everyone at the show terribly hard. But "Wings Over Houston" went on in Clear Lake Sunday as scheduled. The FAA and NTSB are investigating.

Photo Shoot

"They were part of a five or six plane formation doing a photo shoot," said Bob Rice, Executive Director of the Commemorative Air Force, from his home in Midland (TX). "There was a B-25 that was part of that flight. It was the photo platform. The mission had been completed and the FM-2 was on landing approach. He was about a mile out from the threshold of Runway 35 at Ellington" when the accident occurred.

Rice described Johnson as a "real patriot," someone who was proud to live in and defend his country. After speaking with members of Johnson's family in North Carolina, Rice said Johnson "enjoyed being part of the CAF, enjoyed restoring and flying vintage airplanes. That was his love."

Remembering Bill Johnson

Rice said Johnson had performed last month in Midland (TX) as part of the CAF's home airshow. "I went out on the ramp to see what was going on (the Thursday before the show), and there he was, dressed in shorts with a handful of rags. He was doing what any good pilot would do -- getting his airplane ready for the show."

Johnson was a highly experienced pilot, said Rice. The Parkton resident accumulated approximately 6,000 hours as PIC since learning to fly as a young man. He served as an air traffic controller in the Air Force from 1960 to 1966. From there, Rice said Johnson joined the Civil Service, becoming a civilian controller at Simmons Field, Fort Bragg (NC). He had just retired recently, Rice told ANN. He joined the CAF's Carolinas Wing in 1999, bringing with him experience in an SNJ-6, PT-17 and L-19. He was ATP-rated and had earned tickets for multi-engine birds and rotary winged aircraft. "He was a very pleasant fellow," said Rice. "He was fun to be around."

Since 2000, Johnson had been air boss at the Carolinas Wing airshow each year. He was also into WWII re-enactment, and was a specialist in restoring old Army jeeps.

"It's losing family for us." With the loss of a CAF Heinkel HE-111 from the Arizona Wing earlier this year (ANN: "Pilots Identified In HE-111 Crash" -- 12 July 2003), Rice said, "We're saddened at the loss of our own. It causes everyone to reflect. But the outcome is that CAF members want to continue to acquire, restore, fly and maintain World War II aircraft."

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.confederateairforce.org