Sun 'n Fun: Danger And MASSIVE Gate Fraud

Air shows and fly-ins seemed to make a bit of headway in 2003, bouncing back after the shock of 9/11. But ANN continues to watch and worry when it comes to one specific fly-in: Sun 'n Fun at Lakeland (FL).

This year, ANN reported on two issues regarding the event: safety and gate attendance.

In April, we published a six-part series on major safety concerns at the annual fly-in.

The pro-aviation orientation of some fly-ins suffered, as more profit-oriented concerns took their place (even to the point where aviation-oriented attractions, vendors and exhibitors were turned away while non-aviation entities gained access), and aviators grew more and more alienated from the original mission originally -- and recently -- espoused by these events.

The worst example, based on our experience, is the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In, an event that seems to have abandoned any real primary interest in serving the interests of aviation, the truth, or (most importantly) the well-being of those who attend or exhibit at the event.

The saga of the many problems that occur each year, at what appears to be the most consistently-risky aviation event in North America, have long been detailed here on ANN.

However, even we have to express surprise at recent disclosures that further confirm our suspicions that the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In is more than just "poorly run" by a group that seems more interested in ego than accomplishment; and it now appears that SnF may be the most (potentially) deadly aviation event in the country. The foundation of these allegations is growing.

Among the issues aired in ANN regarding Sun 'n Fun:

1. Sun 'n Fun's air traffic environment relies on poorly-planned and dated protocols that have seen little improvement over the years, as well as (some) controllers not prepared/qualified to staff such a high-workload event. Political issues; FAA mismanagement; NATCA's inability to overcome many obstacles; rampant conflicts of interest; the use/appointment of under-qualified/trained controllers; poor working conditions among the controller staff; lack of proper tools, equipment, fixtures and protocols; interference from Sun 'n Fun staffers/management; outdated procedures; an unwillingness to adapt to other (more successful) solutions; and "institutional arrogance" have been cited by several authorities (pilots, controllers, staffers, etc.) as reasons that they believe that the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In contains numerous unnecessary hazards and opportunities for disaster.

2. Sun 'n Fun's ground operations may be the most dangerous, especially to spectators, of any Fly-In. Dozens of  pilots/observers, as well as several experts and insiders have decried the manner in which Sun 'n Fun runs moving aircraft in such close proximity to spectators. Of special concern are operations through well-traveled taxiways, the warbird area, and the proximity of parking and highly-trafficked areas to low-flying arrival and departure paths where troubled aircraft might have to come down.

3. The light plane operations area is simply too confined, bordered too closely by parking and spectators, as well as other obstacles, to allow safe operations. Further, operational supervision of the area reportedly leaves much to be desired: errors have been made that appear to have resulted in hazardous situations. For example, One death and one injury occurred at SnF 2001, when an aircraft was dispatched with a 12 kt downwind component, running off the runway, into a known obstacle (a ditch). No attempt was reportedly made to change the pattern despite the obviously adverse conditions. Worse, had the accident occurred in the opposite direction, the aircraft could have crashed in a populated parking lot and could have harmed spectators.

In that widely read six-part series, we also detailed other fatal flaws at Sun 'n Fun:

In the case of flying to Lakeland, Florida's, Sun 'n Fun, pilots have found the process daunting, confusing, tasking and just plain dangerous… if the swarm of widely disparate traffic over Lake Parker doesn't give you the screaming willies, the bottle-necking of arrivals at one end of the Lakeland's East/West runway (often with a step-over to a smaller parallel runway that isn't really a runway) and the frenzied communications (whatever one can make out through the intense babble, anyway) will do the trick. Veterans of many a fly-in, even the grand-daddy of them all (Oshkosh), readily admit that the amount of traffic is getting out of control, and that SnF procedures that have changed little (if at all) over the years, are an accident waiting to happen… again and again.

Writing in '03, we noted that... last year, the usual rash of fender-benders, close-calls, ground-loops and other misfortunes got a lot worse. Before the Fly-In even got off to an official start, five accidents had occurred involving 7 aircraft -- and the eventual death of one pilot. The worst of these took place on the Friday afternoon before the official opening on Sunday. Two aircraft collided over Lakeland-Linder Regional Airport at 1505 local time. Both aircraft were carrying only a single pilot and no passengers, and were in close proximity to the runway.

The preliminary NTSB report states that, "On April 5, 2002, at 1505 Eastern Standard Time, a Piper PA-16, N5293H and a Betts RV6A, N3333S, registered to a private owners, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, experienced a mid-air collision while landing to runway 27 right at Lakeland-Linder Regional Airport, Lakeland, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for either airplane. Both airplanes sustained substantial damage. The private pilot in N5293H sustained serious injuries and the private pilot in N3333S was fatally injured. N5293H flight originated from Perry, Florida, at 1330. N3333S flight originated from Cross City, Florida, at an undetermined time.

"The air traffic controller working as the local controller in the Lakeland tower stated several airplanes were approaching from the north. The maroon RV6A was in front of the gray PA-16 on the downwind. He called the base leg for the RV6A and he was slow to respond. He called the base leg for the PA-16 and the separation looked good between the two airplanes. A landing clearance was not going to be issued until he was assured that both airplanes could land on runway 27 Right. He observed the PA-16 over taking the RV6A and instructed the RV6A to side step to runway 27 left, but the pilot did not respond to his instructions. He repeated the instructions but the RV6A pilot did not respond to the instructions. He then informed the PA-16 pilot to climb and he did not respond to the instructions. The nose of the RV6A was observed to pitch up violently and both airplanes collided with the ground."

In little more than 24 additional hours, several more aircraft were significantly damaged. Among the reported mishaps were a gear-up by a Mooney that had previously executed a go-around, another in a nose-over, and yet another landing collision in which a German Extra appears to have attempted to mate with a Navion during yet another landing attempt.

Throughout the week, ANN received hundreds of complaints about procedures, documentation and the inability of embattled controllers to keep up with the "swarm" that arrived and departed each day from Lakeland… despite reports that the crowds were much subdued from those seen in years past. A great number of pilots cited inadequate ATC assistance during approaches, the failure of the NOTAM to properly address approach procedures (especially communications), poor ground references/navaids, and a "little-too-close" spacing on arrival. The pilot of the RV-6A involved in the Friday mid-air, Jerry Morrison, 63, of Austin (TX), subsequently died due to the injuries he suffered in the crash, which was actually the second of the day. It occurred just a few hours after an accident in which an experimental aircraft reportedly suffered a "hard landing."

The list of accidents and injuries to occur at Sun 'n Fun grew in 2003. In one instance, a boy walking alongside his parents was hit in the back of the head by the wing of a taxiing Bonanza (in an area that we have specifically pointed out as needing MUCH greater supervision). The boy was knocked unconscious and, for a time, stopped breathing before he was resuscitated. Yet another pedestrian was struck and injured by a taxiing airplane... further proof that the way that Sun 'n Fun moves airplanes in such close proximity to pedestrians needs to be rethought and redesigned.

The other issue that plagues the Lakeland fly-in is an apparent lack of honesty on the part of the show's organizers. We first reported on that YEARS ago and emphasized it again in 2002, with a followup up last March:

In past years, we expressed open incredulity at SnF's claims, on these pages; but the locals in politics in Lakeland and surrounding Polk County refused to examine their own pet project. Heck -- we like big air show attendance! We like big fly-in attendance -- we're aviation press, ferpetesake. What we don't like is being treated like idiots.

Even the Lakeland Ledger, an unabashed cheerleader for the biggest thing in Lakeland, raised an eyebrow. Reporter Rick Rousos did a lot of homework, examining, among other things, SnF's 2001 tax filings. He noted, "Sun 'n Fun claimed an 'estimated attendance' of 645,000 for its weeklong fly-in in April 2001. But Sun 'n Fun's tax and internal records show the attendance was less than 250,000. Of that number, 86,515 actually paid to get in..."

Rousos was liberal in his estimates (and told ANN that he, "gave them every benefit of the doubt") of how many could actually have shown up. For instance, he counted seven days' attendance for each of several identified groups -- volunteers (4000) and campers (12,000) were even counted separately, although it is well-known that a lot of the volunteers are camping. He counted 503 exhibitors six times (each gets six passes), then seven times (seven days), and then added a 65% fudge factor, giving SnF "35,000" exhibitor-person-days. He counted the 1100 VIPs twice. All this "rounding up" still gave him a figure of 242,000 for the show's attendance, about 400,000 shy of the organization's official report.

Then, in October, came word that a major Lakeland Airport honcho (and Sun 'n Fun apologist), Lakeland Linder Regional Airport Manager Charles Gunter, had been arrested:

We reported last October: The melodrama surrounding the Lakeland Florida airport seemed to be cranking into high gear with the arrest of the recently resigned Airport manager, Charles Gunter. Gunter resigned his job as Airport Manager last month, within days of losing his second-in-command (who was about to be fired for OTHER ethical breaches). This occurred as the FL State Attorney's Office began an investigation into (then) undisclosed issues at the airport.

Gunter was charged with four counts, the worst of them 'grand theft,' for modifying and increasing the cost of contract(s) with an  contractor who was doing maintenance on the hangar doors of LAL's Hangar 4. The contractor has also been charged with four felonies. According to the charges against both, Gunter allegedly received a 27-foot fishing boat as a result of the shady deal with the aforementioned contractor. Gunter continues to deny any criminal behavior and has claimed that the boat was actually purchased by his son.

For the danger, for the sham, for the indictments (present and future) and for the record: ANN recommends readers exercise extreme caution at Sun 'n Fun, if you must attend. No fly-in is worth your life and no show is worth this much hassle and BS. A recent survey indicated the 50% of ANN readers thought that Sun 'n Fun managers should be jailed for their frauds, and nearly 30% more thought they should be fired... we strongly agree with the former.

FMI: Lakeland Airport: "Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight" Turning Into Den Of Thieves? Lakeland Airport: "Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight" Still Off The Mark; Sun 'n Fun Insiders' Warning: "Deadly" Conditions At "Messed-Up" Fly-In; Are Sun 'N Fun's Attendance Numbers "Fudged"?