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Stearman Crash En Route to Fly-In Leaves 1 Dead

The vintage aircraft's pilot, who was seriously injured, was pulled from the wreckage site in a steep ravine by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter.

The 1943 Boeing-Stearman PT-17 Kaydet crashed while en route to the Western Antique Airplane and Automobile Museum fly-in at Ken Jernstedt Airfield/Hood River Airport (4S2) in Hood River, Oregon. [Credit: Skamania County Sheriff's Office]
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Key Takeaways:

  • A vintage 1943 Boeing-Stearman PT-17 Kaydet biplane crashed in Washington state while en route to the Hood River Fly-in.
  • The accident resulted in the death of passenger Jed Paul Kelly (45) and serious injuries to pilot Christopher M. Paulson (72).
  • The aircraft, which had separated from a three-plane formation, went down in rugged, heavily wooded terrain, and the incident is currently under investigation by federal and local authorities.
  • The Hood River Fly-in had a somber tone, and pilots honored the deceased with a missing man formation.
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Aviation authorities in Washington state are investigating the crash of a vintage biplane that went down en route to the Hood River Fly-in on Friday, leaving one dead.

The pilot of the 1943 Boeing-Stearman PT-17 Kaydet, 72-year-old Christopher M. Paulson, was seriously injured. Passenger Jed Paul Kelly, 45, was found dead in the wreckage. 

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.

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