As I mentioned in a previous post, I was out at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI this past weekend. We had a great time, but this particular AirVenture will be remembered as one of the darker ones. The reason, is that last Friday, during the afternoon airshow, there was a terrible accident involving two P-51 Mustangs. Unfortunately, that accident resulted in the death of one of the pilots, a man named Gerry Beck. I didn’t know Mr. Beck personally, but I knew who he was and I do think I actually met him once. In addition to Gerry’s death, the airplane he was flying, a complete reproduction of the P-51A Mustang was destroyed.

So why is Gerry’s death significant to me? The answer lies in his role in the aviation community. Gerry owned Tri-State Aviation, a shop in North Dakota that was involved in restoring World War II era aircraft. His work was legendary and he was also known as an extremely nice individual to be around. He had a passion for keeping these old airplanes flying, and a passion for flying in general. Gerry’s absence will be keenly felt in the warbird community here in in the Upper Midwest in so many ways.

My prayers go out to Gerry’s family and to the family of Casey Odegaard, the other Mustang pilot involved in the crash. Casey will live to fly another day, but I know that he and Gerry were friends and this accident must be devastating for him as well.

For more information on the accident, follow this link.
For a chance to see what this Mustang looked like before the accident, follow this link.

–Pete