Well-Known Test Pilot and Airshow Pilot Lost

The International Council of AirShows reports that Major General Des Barker (South African Air Force, retired) died Wednesday afternoon in an aircraft accident near the city of Gqeberha, about 450 miles due east of Cape Town on South Africa's southern coast.

Barker's wife reported to ICAS that Des was conducting a check-ride in a museum's Patchen Explorer when it experienced a likely engine failure and crashed short of the runway at Swartkop Air Force Base. Both Des and another retired air force officer were killed in the accident.

The Patchen Explorer, belonging to the South African Air Force (SAAF) Museum, went down after a witness stated that the aircraft flew over his house “sputtering badly” impacting short of runway 02. The aircraft was quickly engulfed in flames and left little opportunity for survival. The Explorer was originally developed for pipeline patrol operation, aerial photography and law enforcement agencies.

An occasional speaker at ICAS Conventions, a talented air show and test pilot, and the author of the recently-published Anatomy of Air Show Accidents, Barker devoted much of his post-retirement time to documenting, studying and analyzing air show accidents all over the world. During his 40-year air force career, he was a member of the SAAF's aerobatic display team, the Silver Falcons, and became chief test pilot at SAAF's test flight and development center.

FMI: www.icas.aero