Jane Wicker had performed in 2012 air show at Pease
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Jane Wicker walks on the wing of a 1941 Boeing Stearman airplane at the Service Credit Union Boston-Portsmouth Air Show in 2012.Rich Beauchesne file photo
June 23, 2013 2:00 AM
CINCINNATI (AP) — An aerial wing walker who performed at the air show at Pease International Tradeport as recently as last June has reportedly died in Cincinnati in a fiery crash that also claimed the life of the plane's pilot.
The crash of the 450 HP Stearman happened at around 12:45 p.m. at the Vectren Air Show near Dayton in front of thousands of horrified spectators, according to The Associated Press.
A video posted on WHIO-TV shows the plane turn upside-down as the performer, identified as Jane Wicker, sits on top of the wing. The plane then tilts and crashes to the ground, erupting into flames as spectators scream. The pilot has been identified as Charlie Schwenker.
Ian Hoyt, an aviation photographer, told The Associated Press he was taking photos as the plane passed by and had just raised his camera to take another shot.
"Then I realized they were too low and too slow," he said. "And before I knew it, they hit the ground."
Hoyt said he couldn't tell exactly what happened, but said it appeared that the plane stalled and didn't have enough air speed. He credited the pilot for steering clear of spectators and potentially saving lives.
"Had he drifted more, I don't know what would have happened," Hoyt said. He said he had been excited to see the show because he'd never seen the scheduled performer — wing walker Jane Wicker — in action.
On the video, the announcer narrates as the plane glides through the sky and rolls over while the stuntwoman perches on a wing.
"Now she's still on that far side. Keep an eye on Jane. Keep an eye on Charlie. Watch this! Jane Wicker, sitting on top of the world," the announcer said, right before the plane makes a quick turn and nosedive.
Federal records show that biplane was registered to Wicker, who lived in Loudon, Va. A man who answered the phone at a number listed for Wicker on her Web site said he had no comment and hung up.
One of the pilots listed on Wicker's Web site was named Charlie Schwenker. A post on Jane Wicker Airshows' Facebook page announced the deaths of Wicker and Schwenker and asked for prayers for their families.
"It is with sad hearts that we announce that Jane Wicker and Charlie Schwenker were tragically killed while performing at the Vectren Dayton Airshow," according to a post on the Facebook page.
Dayton International Airport spokeswoman Linda Hughes and Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Anne Ralston confirmed that a pilot and stunt walker had died but declined to give their names. The air show also declined to release their identities.
The show was canceled for the rest of the day, but organizers said events would resume Sunday and follow the previous schedule and normal operations. The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating the crash.
Another spectator, Shawn Warwick of New Knoxville, told the Dayton Daily News that he was watching the flight through binoculars.
"I noticed it was upside-down really close to the ground. She was sitting on the bottom of the plane," he said. "I saw it just go right into the ground and explode."
Spectator Than Tran said he could see a look of concern on the wing walker's face just before the plane went down.
"She looked very scared," he said. "Then the airplane crashed on the ground. After that, it was terrible, man ... very terrible."
Wicker's Web site says she responded to a classified ad from the Flying Circus Airshow in Bealeton, Va., in 1990, for a wing-walking position, thinking it would be fun. She was a contract employee who worked as a Federal Aviation Administration budget analyst, the FAA said.
She told WDTN-TV in an interview this week that her signature move was hanging underneath the plane's wing by her feet and sitting on the bottom of the airplane while it's upside-down.
"I'm never nervous or scared because I know if I do everything as I usually do, everything's going to be just fine," she told the station.
Wicker wrote on her Web site that she had never had any close calls.
"What you see us do out there is after an enormous amount of practice and fine tuning, not to mention the airplane goes through microscopic care," she wrote. "It is a managed risk and that is what keeps us alive."
In 2011, wing walker Todd Green fell 200 feet to his death at an air show in Michigan while performing a stunt in which he grabbed the skid of a helicopter.
In 2007, veteran stunt pilot Jim LeRoy was killed at the Dayton show when his biplane slammed into the runway while performing loop-to-loops and caught fire.
Organizers of the air show, one of the country's oldest, were presenting a trimmed-down exhibition and expected smaller crowds at Dayton after the Air Force Thunderbirds and other military participants pulled out this year because of federal budget cuts.
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Buy This Photo
Jane Wicker walks on the wing of a 1941 Boeing Stearman airplane at the Service Credit Union Boston-Portsmouth Air Show in 2012.Rich Beauchesne file photo
June 23, 2013 2:00 AM
CINCINNATI (AP) — An aerial wing walker who performed at the air show at Pease International Tradeport as recently as last June has reportedly died in Cincinnati in a fiery crash that also claimed the life of the plane's pilot.
The crash of the 450 HP Stearman happened at around 12:45 p.m. at the Vectren Air Show near Dayton in front of thousands of horrified spectators, according to The Associated Press.
A video posted on WHIO-TV shows the plane turn upside-down as the performer, identified as Jane Wicker, sits on top of the wing. The plane then tilts and crashes to the ground, erupting into flames as spectators scream. The pilot has been identified as Charlie Schwenker.
Ian Hoyt, an aviation photographer, told The Associated Press he was taking photos as the plane passed by and had just raised his camera to take another shot.
"Then I realized they were too low and too slow," he said. "And before I knew it, they hit the ground."
Hoyt said he couldn't tell exactly what happened, but said it appeared that the plane stalled and didn't have enough air speed. He credited the pilot for steering clear of spectators and potentially saving lives.
"Had he drifted more, I don't know what would have happened," Hoyt said. He said he had been excited to see the show because he'd never seen the scheduled performer — wing walker Jane Wicker — in action.
On the video, the announcer narrates as the plane glides through the sky and rolls over while the stuntwoman perches on a wing.
"Now she's still on that far side. Keep an eye on Jane. Keep an eye on Charlie. Watch this! Jane Wicker, sitting on top of the world," the announcer said, right before the plane makes a quick turn and nosedive.
Federal records show that biplane was registered to Wicker, who lived in Loudon, Va. A man who answered the phone at a number listed for Wicker on her Web site said he had no comment and hung up.
One of the pilots listed on Wicker's Web site was named Charlie Schwenker. A post on Jane Wicker Airshows' Facebook page announced the deaths of Wicker and Schwenker and asked for prayers for their families.
"It is with sad hearts that we announce that Jane Wicker and Charlie Schwenker were tragically killed while performing at the Vectren Dayton Airshow," according to a post on the Facebook page.
Dayton International Airport spokeswoman Linda Hughes and Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Anne Ralston confirmed that a pilot and stunt walker had died but declined to give their names. The air show also declined to release their identities.
The show was canceled for the rest of the day, but organizers said events would resume Sunday and follow the previous schedule and normal operations. The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating the crash.
Another spectator, Shawn Warwick of New Knoxville, told the Dayton Daily News that he was watching the flight through binoculars.
"I noticed it was upside-down really close to the ground. She was sitting on the bottom of the plane," he said. "I saw it just go right into the ground and explode."
Spectator Than Tran said he could see a look of concern on the wing walker's face just before the plane went down.
"She looked very scared," he said. "Then the airplane crashed on the ground. After that, it was terrible, man ... very terrible."
Wicker's Web site says she responded to a classified ad from the Flying Circus Airshow in Bealeton, Va., in 1990, for a wing-walking position, thinking it would be fun. She was a contract employee who worked as a Federal Aviation Administration budget analyst, the FAA said.
She told WDTN-TV in an interview this week that her signature move was hanging underneath the plane's wing by her feet and sitting on the bottom of the airplane while it's upside-down.
"I'm never nervous or scared because I know if I do everything as I usually do, everything's going to be just fine," she told the station.
Wicker wrote on her Web site that she had never had any close calls.
"What you see us do out there is after an enormous amount of practice and fine tuning, not to mention the airplane goes through microscopic care," she wrote. "It is a managed risk and that is what keeps us alive."
In 2011, wing walker Todd Green fell 200 feet to his death at an air show in Michigan while performing a stunt in which he grabbed the skid of a helicopter.
In 2007, veteran stunt pilot Jim LeRoy was killed at the Dayton show when his biplane slammed into the runway while performing loop-to-loops and caught fire.
Organizers of the air show, one of the country's oldest, were presenting a trimmed-down exhibition and expected smaller crowds at Dayton after the Air Force Thunderbirds and other military participants pulled out this year because of federal budget cuts.
We reserve the right to remove any content at any time from this Community, including without limitation if it violates the Community Rules. We ask that you report content that you in good faith believe violates the above rules by clicking the Flag link next to the offending comment or fill out this form. New comments are only accepted for two weeks from the date of publication.