Pilots killed in Wright Flyer crash alerted airport authorities

Man, 68, drowns at Caesar Creek Lake
5/26/12
Water rescues prompt warning from health officials
5/25/12
Beach Waterpark sued for failure to deliver
5/25/12
Raleigh Trammell’s defense opens in felony trial
5/25/12
UD to move satellite campus to Dublin
5/25/12
> More headlines

By Everdeen Mason, Staff Writer Updated 12:21 PM Monday, August 1, 2011

GREEN TWP., Clark County — Mitchell Cary and Don Gum knew something was wrong during the fatal test flight of the Wright ‘B’ Flyer’s Silver Bird on Saturday morning.

The pilots made a call over the radio to inform authorities they were making a forced landing, according to Phil Beaudoin, president of Wright ‘B’ Flyer Inc, the nonprofit organization the pilots flew with. The plane went down before 11 a.m. in a field a mile west of 7391 Pitchin Road. Cary, 71, of Yellow Springs and Gum, 63, of Beavercreek were killed on impact.

The pilot who made the call over the tower frequency of Springfield Airport was very calm about the forced landing, Beaudoin said.

Gum’s daughter, Maria Heady, said that two planes were sent out to search for the men.

“It took the EMT almost 40 minutes to find them,” she said. Ohio State Patrol Sgt. Bryan Cook of the Springfield Post said a call came in at 10:56 a.m. and troopers arrived at 11:39 a.m.

The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the crash site and plane and will submit their findings to their Washington D.C. headquarters, Beaudoin said. The results of the investigation may not be released for six to eight months. The wreckage from the accident will be cleared today.

A memorial service or funeral has not yet been planned.

Gum “was a very loving family man, he had a good sense of humor, an excellent sense of humor,” said Janet Gum, his wife.

Cary’s family did not return calls on Sunday afternoon but Heady said her father spoke very highly of Cary.

“I know my dad thought a lot of Mitch (Cary),” Heady said. “He though the world of all the guys in (Wright B Flyers).”

The volunteers of the organization spent four and a half years building the Silver Bird with Gum and Cary.

“The two men were extremely important people in our organization and they will be dearly missed,” Beaudoin said.

Share this article