Former Chapter 2 Member Lost in Crash

PW_Plack

Active Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2003
Messages
8,573
Location
West Valley City, Utah, USA
Our hearts are heavy as officials have identified the victim of a trike crash Wednesday as former Chapter 2 member Allen Speer. Allen was 60 years old. We hadn't seen much of him lately, and he had told us about a year ago he was leaning toward trikes as a less expensive and safer alternative to gyros.

In a posting on a trike forum about a month ago, Allen commented he was still looking for training.

The aircraft involved in Wednesday's accident was N58AS, a Northwing Apache Sport. While reported in the media as an ultralight, it was an experimental. There was apparently fuel on board at the time of impact, creating a spill, but no post-crash fire nor evidence of engine failure in flight. Attempts by bystanders to resuscitate the pilot using CPR failed.

Witnesses said it looked like an attempted landing on a road serving campgrounds at Willard Bay State Park. Willard Bay is a freshwater reservoir north of the Great Salt Lake. The crash site was directly below power lines, but utility crews found no evidence on the lines to suggest the aircraft hit a wire.

Here's a local newspaper story, and coverage from KSL-TV.

It's too soon to know exactly what happened. All of us in Chapter 2 offer our condolences to Allen's wife and other surviving family. I'll post more info if there's an investigation.

IDENTIFICATION
Date: 07-APR-14
Time: 23:40:00Z
Regis#: N58AS
Aircraft Make:
Aircraft Model:
Event Type: Accident
Highest Injury: Fatal
Aircraft Missing:
Damage: Unknown
LOCATION
City: BRIGHAM CITY
State: Utah
Country:
DESCRIPTION
Description: AIRCRAFT, EXPERIMENTAL APACHE SPORT, CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE 1 PERSON ON BOARD WAS FATALLY INJURED, WILLARD BAY STATE PARK, NEAR BRIGHAM CITY, UT
INJURY DATA
Total Fatal: 1
 
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Very Sad!

Very Sad!

It always seems more tragic to me when I have heard their dreams and then they are gone then when it is a stranger.

I feel flying is dangerous and needs to be approached with the greatest caution and respect.

I am grateful for my good training and luck every time I fly.

Thank you, Vance
 
So sad and my condolences to the family.

However I just told my son that I do not wish to die in the hospital and that if they will not let me out you break me out of here. Stick me in a plane, gyro, race car, or motorcycle and let me try the maneuvers I used to be able to do until I failed at one!

Please son let me die while working or playing with my boots on!!! Not in a hospital bed!

He said I know Pop, and I will. You want to go out with your hair on fire at least trying to do the impossible.
 
Sorry to hear this Paul.
Condolences to the family and friends.
 
If you gotta go

If you gotta go

John,

I agree with you. No one wants to go before it's their time, but we are all mortal and death is something everyone of us will experience. I know we don't normally get to choose the way we will go, but if I were given the choice, I can't think of a better way to go that actively doing what you love to do. I'm not saying I want to die in a crash in my Gyro, as I would be very sad to see my Gyro destroyed rather than be able to be used by someone else, but if that's the way it works out, I am OK with it. I just don't want to die in a hospital bed with a prolonged stay where I have no decent quality of life.

I will greatly miss Allen, but I am happy he got to fly before he left this world.
 
Sorry to hear. RIP.
Do you know Paul if he got training. He was recommended Tracy Tomlinson in Colorado for training but then he said he took a few lessons by someone in Arizona and would go to Tracy later. I can find out from Tracy tomorrow if he ever got to him for lessons.

Why was he landing off airport being fairly new? Do you know?
 
Abid, I could only speculate. Any light you could shed would be helpful.

Regarding the off-airport operation, Willard Bay is a popular sightseeing spot for pilots of very light aircraft. I don't know how friendly the campground is to use of its access roads as runways, but this may not have been an emergency or precautionary landing.
 
RIP Allen

RIP Allen

My condolences to his family!
 
I got word from Tracy Tomlinson that he never was called for training from this gentleman. Hopefully he got full training in Arizona. Some people looking at pictures of the crash were commenting that there are power lines right above the crash site. There seem to have been an eye witness who called emergency services. So hopefully we will know more in NTSB prem report
Some of these pictures and the double powerlines right above the road he was trying to land in can be seen here. Its odd because that would not be a place I would attempt landing in with those double power lines like that and he was a new trike pilot on top of that. I wonder if he was forced to land due to engine power loss. The trike structure seemed to be intact all the way to the ground at first glance. It is also possible he intended to land on the dirt road behind the paved road with powerlines but somehow ended up further down
http://www.standard.net/slideshows/2014/04/08/man-dies-crash-near-willard-bay?page=1,6
 
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