News | Two Dead In P-51 Crash After Amelia Earhart Festival
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Our Hearts Go Out To All Those Affected.
Yesterday, July 16th, 2017, a P-51 Mustang called Baby Duck went down at 10:15 a.m., approximately 9 miles from the Amelia Earhart Airport in Kansas. A two seated version of the P-51, both in the cockpit were killed on impact.
The pilot was the famed Vlado Lenoch. At 64, he has accumulated over 11,000 hours flying various aircraft, as he learned to fly at the young age of 17. He earned aircraft related degrees from both Perdue an MIT and spent his whole life flying over a half a dozen different aircraft. All his friends, family and colleagues knew him to be an excellent pilot who could “fly blindfolded” if he wanted to.
His passenger was Bethany Root, the manager of the Amelia Earhart Airport. She helped coordinate the Amelia Earhart Festival over that weekend and was pursuing her own passion for flying.
The cause of the crash is unknown, nor was there any communication of the plane malfunctioning before it crashed. The FAA is conducting its investigation.
We’ll keep you folks posted as more evidence comes to light. The news report below will shed some more light on the incident.
