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.

Key Takeaways:

• While departing EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, the author witnessed a blue and white taildragger aircraft stall, spin, and crash from approximately 50 feet above the runway.
• Emergency services quickly responded to the scene, resulting in a temporary closure of the airport before operations resumed on a different runway.
• The author later discovered the official FAA report contradicted his eyewitness account, stating the aircraft only "exited the runway while attempting a takeoff," leaving the precise cause of the accident unclear, though fortunately, no injuries were reported.

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