[Fair use for education and research purpose only]

Apr 14, 2000

Title: 52P,36 Stunt Plane Crashes at Sun 'n Fun Fly-In

By JILL KING GREENWOOD

A Sun 'n Fun EAA Fly-In pilot who was practicing aerobatics above a neighborhood bailed out of his plane seconds before it crashed Thursday.

The accident was the first of two that marred the day at the aircraft festival Thursday.

Corky Smith, a senior safety investigator for the Miami office of the National Transportation Safety Board, identified the pilot in the first crash as Sergei A. Boriak of Virginia.

Boriak, who suffered minor injuries, was flying at 3,000 feet shortly before 1 p.m. when he heard ``something snap'' when he started to perform a maneuver called a snap roll, Smith said.

The nose of the Velox Revolution II fiberglass aircraft pitched down, and Boriak couldn't level the plane out, Smith said.

Boriak ejected from the red, white and blue plane at 2,500 feet and parachuted to safety.

He landed in a tree about 40 feet above ground and suffered a knee injury and scratches to his legs and face.

Boriak, who was being interviewed by NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration officials, told reporters he was supposed to perform aerobatics at the fly-in at the airport at 4 p.m. during Thursday's daily air show and was practicing his maneuvers.

``I won't be now,'' he said. ``It's too much stress for me today.''

The plane crashed into the front yard of Country Class Realty, just off State Road 60, about four miles south of Lakeland Linder Regional Airport. The aircraft was destroyed.

A church is across the street, along with a convenience store, and the Shady Hammock subdivision is nearby.

The second crash occurred at 6:30 p.m. when a gyroplane, a combination airplane and helicopter, went down near the Choppertown area of the festival, said Lakeland police Sgt. Sam Taylor.

The pilot, the lone occupant of the aircraft, was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center. He was listed in fair condition Thursday night, Taylor said.

No one else was injured, he said, and the name of the pilot was not released.

The cause of the crash had not been determined Thursday night. Investigators with the NTSB and the FAA were at the scene, Taylor said.

Roy Norris, who lives behind the realty business where the first plane crashed, said he has seen planes practicing aerobatics above his neighborhood all week and was afraid one would crash near his home.

``They need to take these planes and do their tricks somewhere else,'' Norris said. ``Too many people live around here, and there are a bunch of cars going up and down [State Road] 60. They're going to land on someone's house and kill someone.''

Smith said the cause of the first crash was determined to be ``component failure of the flight control system,'' and not pilot error.

Leon Graves, who was standing in the front yard of his Shady Hammock home, saw the plane performing when suddenly the aircraft took a nose-dive.

``He was doing loops, it looked like, when all of a sudden the plane headed straight for the ground and the pilot ejected out and went in the other direction,'' Graves said. ``He's lucky to be alive.''

The fly-in is a seven-day event that attracts pilots and plane enthusiasts from all over the world. The event is scheduled to wrap up Saturday.

Today's fly-in events include the daily air show from 2 to 5 p.m., and the A-10 Warthog demonstration at 4:30 p.m.

The grounds are on the southwest corner of Lakeland Linder Regional Airport. From Interstate 4, go south at the County Line Road exit and turn east on Medulla Road to the airport entrance.

Jill King Greenwood can be reached at (863) 683-6538.

http://tampatrib.com/FloridaMetro/MGIN1IYA17C.html

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-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), April 14, 2000