Four people were killed July 29 in two separate accidents involving aircraft attending the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Fly-In and Convention in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Divers recovered two bodies from Lake Winnebago east of Oshkosh after a North American T-6 Texan crashed into the lake around 9 a.m. local time. The single-engine warbird plunged into the lake after departing Wittman Regional Airport (OSH) in Oshkosh, the venue of EAA AirVenture.
The victims are identified as Devyn Reiley, 30, of Guadalupe, Texas, and Zach Colliemoreno, 20, whose hometown was not immediately available, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) said. Media reports identified Reiley as the pilot and the daughter of former professional football player Bruce Collie, a two-time Super Bowl winner with the San Francisco 49ers.
At 12:24 p.m. the same day, a Rotorway 162F kit helicopter and an ELA Eclipse 10 gyroplane collided in midair at the south end of the AirVenture flight line at OSH. Two people were killed and two injured in the accident. The injured parties, both on the gyroplane, were transported to a local hospital and were each in stable condition, the EAA said. The aircraft landed on top of a parked aircraft, the Oshkosh Fire Department reported.
The deceased were identified as Mark Peterson, 69, of Foley, Alabama, the Rotorway pilot, and passenger Thomas Volz, 72, of Amelia, Ohio.
Aircraft operations at the airport were initially halted while the accident was investigated, but the afternoon air show started at about 2:45 p.m., after a short delay.
Winnebago County Marine Units and rescue divers, the Oshkosh Fire Department, the Winneconne Fire Department, Neenah Menasha Fire Rescue, the Calumet County Sheriff’s Office, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary responded to the scene of the T-6 Texan crash in Lake Winnebago.
Local authorities, the NTSB, the FAA and EAA are participating in the accident investigations.
