Man Killed In Fall From Stearman

0

image: ABC News

A man fell from the wing of a 1942 Stearman biplane and died on Saturday, shortly after the airplane took off from the inaugural Festival of Flight open-house event at the Tampa North Aero Park in Florida. Marc Curto, 62, was wearing a parachute, but it was not deployed. Curto and another man, also wearing a parachute, and a pilot were on board the aircraft and flying at about 1,000 feet when the accident occurred. The pilot circled the site above a suburban neighborhood where Curto fell and then landed safely back at the airport. Although it was widely reported that Curto was a “wing walker,” John Cudahy, president of the International Council of Air Shows, told AVweb that’s not an accurate term.

Cudahy said the event was not an “air show” in the official sense, since there was no waiver issued. He also said Curto was not known to ICAS and was not a member. He added that wing-walkers don’t wear parachutes.Local news reports said it was unclear whether Curto, who had long been a recreational skydiver, jumped or fell from the airplane.

LEAVE A REPLY