Wife Says Pilot Husband Would Rather Fly Than Eat
"If I die tomorrow,
I've had the greatest life and I've conquered more than I thought I
could."
Those were the words Tim Harbison told the Tallahassee Democrat
his neighbor Al Fitzgerald always used to say. Fitzgerald, of
Panacea, FL, and close friend and fellow pilot Al Madiedo died last
week, when Fitzgerald's 1946 Ercoupe 415-C (file photo of type,
right) went down just 150 yards east of the Wakulla County Airport
(2J0).
The Wakulla County Sheriffs department said there were no
witnesses to the June 21 crash that ended the 15-minute late-night
cruise. The FAA's preliminary accident report says the aircraft
crashed under unknown circumstances.
Residents of the Tarpine fly-in community, where Fitzgerald
lived, called in a fire in the nearby swampy woods Wednesday
evening. The Sheriff's Office responded about 10:00 p.m. and by the
time local volunteer firefighters got the fire under control, about
6 feet of the body of the plane were all that remained.
Both Harbison and another friend, Paul Shearer, flew
Fitzgerald's Ercoupe on independent flights earlier in the day on
Wednesday. Neither experienced any problems with the plane.
Fitzgerald had owned it for a little more than a month. The online
FAA registry still shows the aircraft registered to its previous
New London, WI, owner.
Fitzgerald's wife Brenda said her husband died doing exactly
what he loved to do. "He'd rather fly than eat... he'd rather fly
than do anything."
The Democrat reported that autopsies on the bodies were
scheduled for Friday, June 23, and that the Ercoupe's engine was
being examined in Tallahassee for mechanical problems.
** Report created 6/23/2006 Record
1
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IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 99355
Make/Model: ERCO Description: 415
Ercoupe, Mooney A-2 Aircoupe, F-1 Ai
Date: 06/22/2006 Time: 0200
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury:
Fatal Mid Air: N Missing:
N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: PANACEA State: FL Country:
US
DESCRIPTION
ACFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE TWO PERSONS ON
BOARD WERE
FATALLY INJURED, PANACEA, FL
INJURY DATA Total
Fatal: 2
# Crew: 1 Fat:
1 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Pass: 1 Fat:
1 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Grnd:
Fat: 0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
WEATHER: NOT REPORTED
OTHER DATA
Departed:
Dep Date: Dep.
Time:
Destination:
Flt
Plan:
Wx Briefing:
Last Radio Cont:
Last Clearance:
FAA FSDO: ORLANDO, FL
(SO15)
Entry date: 06/22/2006