North Dakota warbird restorer and pilot extraordinaire Bob Odegaard was killed on Friday evening when his Goodyear F2G Super Corsair crashed at Barnes County Airport in Valley City, North Dakota, while Odegaard was practicing for an upcoming airshow. No one on the ground was injured in the crash, and Odegaard died at the scene in the horrific crash. One witness, according to a report on grandforksherald.com, said that Odegaard had been practicing loops right before the crash occurred, and seemed unable to pull out of the final maneuver.
Odegaard, 66, was an extremely experienced airshow performer, having appeared in airshows around the country for decades, often in the F2G. His #74 Super Corsair, one of only 10 built as World War II was coming to its conclusion, was one of only two remaining in the world. His second Super Corsair restoration, Odegaard debuted the finished aircraft just last year.
Odegaard, who owned an FBO and aviation business in Kindred, North Dakota, had a reported 17,000 hours of flight time including in just about every imaginable type of aircraft, according to Odegaard’s profile on Duggy.com. A member of North Dakota’s Aviation Hall of Fame, Odegaard was instrumental in the acquisition and restoration of Duggy, the bright yellow DC-3 that tours the nation to encourage enthusiasm for aviation, especially among young people.
The NTSB is investigating the accident.
View our photo gallery of Bob Odegaard flying his Super Corsair.
