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."