More detail on this person: One of the VHPA's
founding members and attended most of the
reunions with his family. His foresight and
willingness to travel great distances to be with
his friends and loved ones helped make the VHPA
the outstanding organization it is today. This information was last updated 05/18/2016
Please send additions or corrections to: HQ@vhpa.org VHPA Headquarters
Return to the Helicopter Pilot DAT name list
Return to VHPA web site
Date posted on this site:
03/10/2024
Copyright © 1998 - 2024 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association
He was killed while flying a factory built RV-8 as
a factory demo pilot for Van's Aircraft when the
left wing separated in flight over Blythe, CA.
John was a tech rep with Vann's, and had
volunteered to show the aircraft to a potential
buyer while his wife sat with her comatose mother.
John's widow, Sally, came to the reunion with her
family this year for the first time since John's
death. I gave her a copy of my postings and the
responses to those postings. She has pointed out
some inaccuracies in the preliminary info I was
working with. In addition, her son and
son-in-law, both pilots, had info disputing the
NTSB closeout on the accident. The following info
doesn't change our loss, but out of respect to the
family, I offer the corrected and additional info:
The idea to travel from Oregon to Blythe was
John's. John had voiced his feelings about
Pentecost, and urged his wife to stay with her
comatose mother for the final days.
The aircraft being flown was not John's personally
owned Vann, but a new model just released by
Vann. No aerobatics were being conducted. John
did not know the potential customer's aviation
background, and was not given to scaring
passengers.
John's son-in-law, a duster inbound to pick up a
load, had passed John inbound to the airport 30
seconds prior to the breakup. They both
acknowledged the other by flashing their LLs. Two
ground witnesses both reported that the aircraft
pitched violently upward after 8-10 seconds of
straight and level flight, immediately losing a
wing and then spiraling in. The NTSB final cause
was determined to be the exceeding of the
aircraft's flight envelope by the PIC.
The electric trim was found to be in the full
forward position prior to impact. The trim clevis
had failed. The clevis was noted to have been
machined after original manufacture to provide
additional throat clearance in that particular
model, and had fractured at that point. No
combination of weight and balance requires the use
of full trim, fore or aft, on this aircraft. The
family believes that the accident was triggered by
a runaway trim situation. Considerable back
pressure would be required to maintain level
flight. Unexpected clevis failure COULD have
resulted in a full rearward stick movement, with
the resultant over stressing of the airframe.
The NTSB repeated delayed releasing the findings,
only doing so on the day another Vann's fatality
occurred. "Clearing the deck?"
Finally, John's son was scheduled to enter Naval
flight training when John was killed. At the
reunion, Matthew showed his gun camera footage
from Afganistan. John would be proud of his son,
now an F-14 Tomcat driver who has already seen
combat.
Thanks for letting me take this bandwidth. Dead
pilots should bear full responsibility only when
the evidence justifies it.
From: "Terry Langille"