EAA Vintage Aircraft Association Board Member Fatally Injured In An Accident Last November

The Peach State Airport (GA2) just west of Williamson, GA has been renamed Alexander Memorial Airport in honor of the late Ron Alexander, who was fatally injured in an accident last year.

Alexander was aboard a vintage Curtiss JN4D Jenny when it went down shortly after takeoff from the airport. A witness told the NTSB that the airplane departed runway 31, appeared to be in a normal climb, and the engine sounded "as it always did." As the airplane passed the runway end markers, about 110 to 120 feet above the ground, he heard a loud backfire, followed by two "pops" that were not as loud. The airplane seemed to hesitate for an instant, then there was silence. He observed the airplane in a left-hand turn.

After about 90 degrees of turn, he saw a flicker of flame appear from the forward left side of the fuselage that progressed into a "raging fire," with an audible "whoomp" sound. The fire streamed back over the top and left side of the fuselage for about one-half the length of the airplane. The fire persisted until the airplane disappeared behind a tree line and crashed. The witness immediately called 911. Another witness provided a cell phone photo of the airplane on the takeoff leg, with a visible fire near the forward section of the airplane.

An FAA inspector was also on board the Jenny when it went down.

Family, friends and visitors gathered Saturday, March 25 at the Candler Field Museum for a celebration of Alexander's life. A video he had made about his own life was shown, and a flyby of a formation of eight WWII vintage T-6 Texan airplanes began the program, according to a report from the Pike County (GA) Journal-Reporter.

Among those gathered to honor Alexander were Clay Hammond, vice president of the Board of Directors of the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome and Museum in New York State, who announced that Alexander had been awarded their “Spirit of the Aerodrome Award.”

The ceremony ended with four Stearman biplanes flying in a Missing Man formation.

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