Takeoff Mishap Claims Wyatt Fuller And "Flying Fossil"

The name, "Flying Fossil," was a jaunty thumb in the eye of the plane's age, but the F-86 Sabrejet fighter was restored to like-new condition throughout. Despite that, it remained a 1950s aircraft, with 1950s technology; and jets of that time had a safety record unlike their modern descendants.

That safety record is a hair worse today, after the vintage fighter crashed and burned on takeoff at 11:40 AM Monday, killing pilot Wyatt Fuller.

The plane, N86FS, crashed on takeoff. Media reports from the scene indicate that witnesses saw the plane begin its takeoff run and rotate, but never leave the runway. It went off the end of the runway at high speed and crashed and burned, coming to a stop on a road hundreds of feet from the departure end of the runway. Local firefighters responded quickly, but the plane was fully aflame by the time they arrived. Despite their efforts, the plane, apart from its peripheries, was consumed by fire.

Fuller intended to fly to Oshkosh, WI and display the plane there during AirVenture 2006. The airplane would probably have had full fuel for cross-country flight.

The F-86 was fully restored, even to the (non-functioning) machine guns. It was kept polished to gleaming perfection, and painted in a bright trim scheme with colorful stripes. The F-86 is important historically as the most significant US fighter of the Korean War.

Fuller, known as an enthusiast for all kinds of high-performance machinery, has a full schedule of air shows booked. In the aftermath of his mishap, the website for his airshow act was off the air.

He was an experienced warbird pilot, and owner of an AT-6, an L-39, the F-86, and an A-4 Skyhawk that was a restoration-to-airworthy-status project. A former Braniff captain, Fuller has worked as a subcontractor and design consultant for Harley-Davidson, offered his own line of custom motorcycles, and was also well-known in hot rod and custom car circles for his unusual projects.   

On April 9th, Aero-News reported that the same plane and pilot had made an emergency landing during the River Region Air Show at Maxwell AFB, IL. In that incident, Fuller expertly landed the plane on two wheels and the right wingtip after getting only two wheels down and locked. 

According to our sources, Fuller had been working long hours in recent days trying to get the plane ready for its flight to Wisconsin.

This report is based on local media reports and on information phoned into the Aero-News Network; readers are cautioned that initial information about aircraft accidents is often erroneous or highly speculative. The accident,ahorrible tragedy in no uncertain terms, will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.flyingfossilsairshows