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2011 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

Persistent Pilot

2011 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

73 year old John Morrison of Aurora IL was nothing if not persistent. He was a pilot who loved to build and fly experimental aircraft, but despite misadventures, he would not stop. In June 2008 he was trying out an aircraft when he suddenly lost power. Using a secondary fuel pump to re-start the engine, he succeeded instead in starting a cockpit fire. With the cockpit full of smoke, he lost visibility. Attempting to return to the municipal airport he crash landed hard, but was able to get out before it was consumed by fire.

Not content to learn from this, he built another experimental plane, called an ERacer. Certified by the FAA in July this year, he took it up for its maiden flight from the same Aurora municipal airport that was the scene of his previous adventure. This time when he lost power and altitude (anyone detect a theme here?) he did not squirt combustible into the engine. Instead he maneuvered into some high tension power lines where he not only succeeded in killing himself, but also caused a minor power outage in the area. The electric utility is repairing the damage. Damage to the ERacer and its sole occupant is, apparently, not repairable.

Submitted on 08/03/2011

Submitted by: John Figliozzi
Reference: Chicago Tribune 8/3/11 "Suburban News"

Copyright © 2011 DarwinAwards.com

>> Moderator Scores <<

Bruce said:
Definitely Toss: Lacks Excellence
Thanks, John, but experimental aircraft are extremely commonplace and flown quite regularly by thousands of people. I really don't see enough information here to qualify this guy for a DA. Was the fire in the first case something he could have foreseen and prevented, or did the pump just fail in an unexpected way? And in the second case what was the cause of the power loss, and could he have easily avoided the power lines? I've flown many times with my brother in a wide range of small airplanes including stunt planes and I've met folks who build and fly experimental aircraft. Nothing in these brief descriptions or in my dealings with other folks leads me to believe that there was any blatant stupidity involved here. Thanks just the same.


Candi said:
Definitely Toss: Lacks Excellence
What Bruce said.


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