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Kyle and Amanda Franklin, a young husband and wife aerobatic and wingwalking team, were seriously injured after the Waco Mystery Ship they use in their routine caught fire in flight during a performance at the Brownsville/South Padre Island Air Fiesta Saturday. The Brownsville Herald reports Amanda Franklin was on the wing of the Waco “Mystery Ship” when fire erupted from the engine at low altitude, all of which is visible in video shot by a member of the audience. Amanda was able to get into a seat while her husband made the best of a very bad situation as the aircraft came down in a wooded area and burned. Emergency crews responded almost immediately, apparently while the aircraft was still coming down. They arrived and drove through the shorter brush to douse the flames. Kyle’s worst injuries may have been suffered while trying to remove his wife from flames in the forward cockpit. Amanda was more seriously burned. An update on their condition was posted to the Younkin Airhsow Facebook page (PDF) by Amanda’s brother Matt Younkin, who credits Kyle Franklin’s decisions and skill as pilot in saving both their lives.
Their fathers Jimmy Franklin and Bobby Younkin were killed in a midair collision at a show in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in 2005. Kyle was calling the show when the accident occurred. The couple married shortly after the Moose Jaw accident and formed their own air show team.
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