A Louisville pilot was killed Saturday when his L-39 Albatros crashed during a routine at the Wings of the big South Fork Air and Car Show at Scott Municipal Airport near Oneida.Jay “Flash” Gordon has been identified as the only occupant of the Czech trainer. Blake Dunlap, the pilot’s nephew, said the aircraft failed to recover from a maneuver. “I saw him, he was going kind of in a nose dive. First didn’t think anything about it because I figured he would pull up and come on,” he told WHAS News. “When we saw the puff of smoke and he did not come back, my heart dropped and we just started instantly saying some prayers.”
Gordon was well-known in the Louisville area and a longtime performer in the Thunder Over Louisville air show. He was known as a safety-conscious and meticulous pilot and aircraft owner so the cause of the crash is a mystery to those who knew him. He was also a performer at the Kentucky Derby Festival and organizers released the following statement: “More than a performer, Jay was a member of the Derby Festival and Thunder family. In recent years, his flying experience and engineering expertise have helped keep Thunder’s air show going. His passion for flying and love of Thunder will truly be missed.”
