Custom Sorensen BF9-2 Biplane Impacted Semi Truck While Attempting To Land On I-80

The custom biplane built by Danny Sorenson for his company Golden Age Airshows went down on a highway in Wyoming Thursday, impacting a semi truck. Neither pilot Danny Sorenson or the truck drive were injured in the accident.

According to a Facebook post from the Wyoming Highway Patrol: "at approximately 5:50 p.m., a single passenger biplane was flying from Longmont, Co to Sky Park, UT. For reasons unknown, the plane’s engine lost power.

"The pilot attempted to land the plane on Interstate 80. The plane struck the top of the sleeper berth on a tractor-trailer which was hauling pigs. The impact caused the pilot to lose control of the plane. The plane then struck a variable speed limit sign and crashed on the north side of I-80 near milepost 8. The pilot was not injured in the crash.

"The semi truck came to a controlled stop on the right shoulder of the highway. The driver of the semi-truck was not injured. The plane had severe damage to the wings and the prop. The semi-truck sustained damage to the sleeper section of the cab.

"The FAA and NTSB have been notified and will be taking over the investigation."

Sorensen was enroute to Bountiful, UT for the Skypark Open House, according to the schedule posted on his website. Sorensen BF9-2 airplane is described as "a one-off custom biplane, designed and built by Danny specifically for airshow flying.

"Construction time alone consumed nearly 6,000 man-hours of labor, not including design time. It features 1930's styling with modern day high performance. It is powered by a 360HP Vendenyev M14-P 9-cylinder radial engine turning a three-blade MTV-9 propeller of 8-1/2 foot diameter. This combination produces a static thrust of more than 1,600 lbs.

“Unfinished Business” carries the registration number N81973, the same number that was on the airplane in which Danny learned to fly.

"The BF9-2 truly has an international heritage: The engine is Russian, the propeller is German, the brace wires are Scottish, the airframe is American, and the pitot tube is from a North American F-86 fighter jet."

(Source: Wyoming Highway Patrol Facebook page and Golden Age Airshows website. WySP image from Facebook)

FMI: www.goldenageairshows.com/aircraft.html, www.facebook.com/Wyoming-Highway-Patrol-118611954828240/