A Memorial weekend air race experienced a tragic accident when a racer went down and a rescuer racing to his aid, was killed in a ground accident, enroute.

Race number 59, 'Miss Lynn,' a Formula 1 air racer (shown below), was reportedly involved in an engine failure and went down at Clarence Page airport, just West of OKC, at approximately 1225, local time. The aircraft hit hard, reportedly cartwheeled several times and broke up before coming to rest. The pilot, Steve Mountain of Lincoln, Nebraska, was extricated and airlifted to an OKC hospital where he was listed in critical condition.

The aircraft came to rest at the side of an active runway where OKC FD official, Phil Sipe, said, "The debris field was scattered over a fairly small area, and there was a gouge on the east edge of the runway... (Mountain's aircraft) appeared to tumble; the wings were torn off the fuselage, and it came to a stop within 50 feet of the runway."

The tragedy was compounded when an (as yet unnamed) airport ground crew member, racing to the scene of the accident fell off the back of a pickup truck and was killed.

'Miss Lynn' was reportedly co-built/owned by Fountain and fellow Formula 1 adherent, Lee Debus. The races at Clarence Page were the first to be held at the airport and were a two-day feature at the airshow. The race schedule featured three to four races a day of five planes per race.

Formula 1 Air Racing Background

Far less expensive to pursue than other air racing venues (and NO less exciting), Formula One's rules are simple.

According to the Formula One race organization, all F1 racers must be powered by a 200 cubic inch Continental engine (the same 100HP engine used in a Cessna 150 trainer). The weights and size of every major part must be within stock limits. The cam profile and carburetion are strictly controlled. The racers must have at least 66 square feet of wing, weigh at least 500 pounds empty, and have fixed landing gear and a fixed pitch propeller. International Formula 1 is one of only four organizations in the United States authorized by the FAA to organize and run air races. This is due to our professional approach to technical inspections and pilot qualifications, our outstanding track record for safety, and our demonstrated ability to police ourselves. These racers have evolved over 50 years, and are the only thoroughbred racing airplanes in use today.

The rules were designed to provide a fast and economical racing class. They have succeeded well on both counts. International Formula 1 Air Racing is one of the fastest sports in the world. These racers routinely post lap speeds around a 3 mile oval in excess of 240 mph, and have been clocked on the straightaways at well over 260 mph, all while flying only 35' off the ground. Yet the cost to compete in a world class racing machine is far less than any other sport.

The races start from the ground, with the entire field of 6 to 8 airplanes taking off right in front of the crowd, and racing for the lead at the first turn. The races are generally 8 laps of a 3 mile oval course. Top planes post lap times of about 45 seconds. The class is highly competitive, with the difference between first and third often less than 1 mph.

E-I-C Note: To add insult to injury, one aviation business owner got caught making a quote that was both sensational as well as potentially counter-productive to the interests of aviation, at large. ANN can not emphasize, enough, the care one needs to take when being quoted about aviation stories in non-aviation media. The lack of expertise inherent in non-aviation media often means that mis-quotes and errors will be published without correction and, worse, the most sensational aspects of a discussion are the ones most likely to see publication.

In the case of this crash, local airport business owner, Scott Rayburn, of Aerospace Refinishing, Inc., was reportedly quoted saying, "They're like oversized model airplanes. This is definitely not something you want to fly in from here to Texas... They look like coffins with wings." While ANN has a hard time equating the sleek aerodynamically efficient lines of the typical Formula One racer with a coffin, the connotation delivered with such quotes is negative, misleading, and in light of the above reported accident, harmful to a segment of aviation that probably did not deserves such a characterization. Word to the wise... when dealing with the media, choose your words carefully and think them through.-- Jim Campbell, ANN Editor-In-Chief

FMI: www.if1airracing.com