Accident Witness

There I was, on my last day at EAAs 2016 AirVenture extravaganza in Oshkosh, Wis. It had been a great week, with a full Oshkosh experience, including camping in the rain, spending some money and catching up with old friends. The airplane was loaded and preflighted, the door was closed and I was strapped in. Id gotten the departure flick from the ATIS and from watching airplanes depart Runway 36L, the threshold for which was about 200 yards east and south of me. I was ready to power things back up, start the engine and get outta Dodge.

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Monday, August 22, 2016 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

While departing EAA AirVenture, the author witnessed a light sport aircraft stall, spin, and crash from about 50 feet AGL near the runway.
Emergency services quickly responded to the scene, leading to a temporary airport closure and subsequent limited runway operations.
An official FAA report later described the incident as the aircraft merely exiting the runway during takeoff, which contradicted the author's observation of a stall/spin, but confirmed no injuries.

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There I was, on my last day at EAA’s 2016 AirVenture extravaganza in Oshkosh, Wis. It had been a great week, with a full Oshkosh “experience,” including camping in the rain, spending some money and catching up with old friends. The airplane was loaded and preflighted, the door was closed and I was strapped in. I’d gotten the departure flick from the ATIS and from watching airplanes depart Runway 36L, the threshold for which was about 200 yards east and south of me. I was ready to power things back up, start the engine and get outta Dodge.