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Thread: [IAC-L:950] Larry Weeks' accident
Message: [IAC-L:950] Larry Weeks' accident
Follow-Up To: ACRO Email list (for List Members only)
From: Peter Chapman <pchapman at octonline.com>
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 1997 00:15:39 UTC
As you've heard from Francois Bougie and Karen Diamond, Larry Weeks died on Saturday the 13th in a non-aerobatic aircraft accident in Ontario. The RV-6 was built by someone else. Officially, engine trouble is about all that seems to be said. As I heard it, the engine didn't quit on takeoff, but must have in some way been running poorly not long thereafter. Larry was attempting to bring the aircraft around to another runway, but stalled or spun in. Post-accident news video shows the aircraft laying basically intact, but with the engine compartment bent downward into the dirt of a field, and leading edges of the wings were crushed from one tip to the other (The latter was not absolutely clear on video and can be debated.) Larry, reported as 50 years old, and with 3500 flight hours, had been a long time flight aerobatic flight instructor. His 'day job' was as lead trumpet in the Toronto Symphony. He was also the president of the southern Ontario chapter of Aerobatics Canada, playing a key role in keeping it active over the last 10 years. Recently he had started instructing in aerobatics again, having put together a school with a Decathlon, plus a Fleet Canuck for taildragger training. For those in the area, I have been told that the service for Larry will be held at 2pm on Wednesday 17th, at the Dublin St. United Church, at the intersection of Dublin & Suffolk, in Guelph, Ontario. I don't have full information on visitation, but it is at the Wall Custance (?spelling) funeral home, 206 Norfolk, also in Guelph. Six years ago another Ontario aerobatic pilot was also killed after engine trouble early in the first flight of a homebuilt. It's a tough situation for any pilot to be in... The information here is not official, but is gathered from news reports, my knowledge from being a member of the aerobatics chapter for the last decade, and a talk with Al Hauff, who is involved in handling the situation. Peter Chapman Toronto, ON