4 people were killed in separate aircraft crashes before a major air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin

[milestogo]

Four people are dead and two are injured after two aircraft collided in midair and another crashed into a lake Saturday shortly before an air show at a major aviation convention in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, authorities said. Two people died when a North American T-6, a vintage military training craft, crashed around 9 a.m. into Lake Winnebago, according to the Coast Guard, who recovered the bodies of the two people on board Saturday night.

The plane descended rapidly from an altitude of around 3,000 feet, the Coast Guard said. Several agencies, including the Oshkosh Fire Department and the Coast Guard responded to the crash, according to a statement from the Experimental Aircraft Association, which organizes the annual AirVenture convention.

Two people were killed in a separate crash Saturday around noon, when a RotorWay 162F helicopter and an ELA 10 Eclipse gyrocopter collided midair. The accident happened in an area of Wittman Regional Airport designated for the event, organizers said. A gyrocopter looks like a small helicopter with a propeller at the rear. Its rotor, which provides lift, spins freely without the help of the engine.

Two people who were injured in the accident were transported to a local hospital and are in stable condition, the statement said. It is unclear which victims were on which aircraft, but event organizers said the helicopter and gyrocopter belonged to event attendees and were not involved in the air show.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/30/us/oshkosh-crash-air-show-accident/index.html

Daughter of 2-Time Super Bowl Winner Bruce Collie Killed in Plane Crash During Wisconsin Air Show
https://people.com/daughter-of-2-time-super-bowl-champ-bruce-collie-dead-in-air-show-crash-7567497

[Ocelot II]

1. I'm always surprised there aren't more accidents at the Oshkosh airshow.

I've flown in several times (some years ago) and it's pretty hair-raising.

[BlueIn_W_Pa]

6. I really REALLY wanted to go

but having that many planes in the pattern at the same time just had me 2nd guessing - so I took a car :/

I know my limits, but I don't know all those others.

[Ellipsis]

2. Over 10,000 aircraft arrive at Wittman Regional Airport, during the week of AirVenture... it's crazy

[milestogo]

4. I learned early that you can't get a rental car or hotel room in Madison that week...

and its 86 miles away from Oshkosh. Not enough local hotels.

[Ocelot II]

5. I've camped out once, and another time managed to get a UW dorm room.

Usually we just flew there and back the same day since we only came from MN. But it was a zoo, probably even worse now.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. People accept risk and go blythely onward