Super Chipmunk Went Down In Monroe County, TN

Jim "Fang" Maroney was fatally injured Sunday when his de Havilland DHC-1 Super Chipmunk went down en route to New Smyrna Beach, FL for the annual Beach Balloon and Sky Fest. Maroney was to have been one of the featured performers at the event.

The 58-year-old well-known aerobatic pilot had been on the air show circuit for 38 years. He had also been a Navy Top Gun pilot, and had advised actor Tom Cruise while making the movie of the same name.

Maroney went down in eastern Tennessee, according to a report from the New Smyrna Beach News-Journal. He had departed French Lick, IN, and his flight plan called for a stop in Canon, GA. An alert was sent out when he did not make his arrival there.

It was to have been Maroney's first appearance at the New Smyrna Beach event, and festival organizer David Burt said that other pilots performing at the festival are planning a tribute to Maroney, which will include a "missing man" formation at the times he was scheduled to fly. The festival had also planned to honor Maroney as a veteran, which Burt said was still going to be part of the program.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov