Madras, Ore. – A 61 -year-old aerobatic pilot was killed Saturday afternoon when his stunt plane crashed during the Airshow of the Cascades at the Madras Municipal Airport.
The aircraft was identified as a vintage Stearman biplane and Paine was the only person on board.
The accident occurred while Paine was attempting to perform a loop, according to witnesses.
Footage from the scene showed a plume of black smoke rising from the crash site as firefighters worked to put out a fire that broke out but was quickly extinguished. An air ambulance landed at the airport about 15 minutes after the crash.
“The airplane was piloted by Marcus Bruce Paine who was 61 years old and he died in the crash,” said Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins. He said the plane went down shortly after takeoff. No one on the ground was injured.
The aircraft involved in the crash was registered to Unusual Attitudes, LLC in Tucson, Arizona. Paine, who was originally from Anchorage, Alaska, but moved to Arizona a few years ago, started the flight training business in 2001 to teach pilots how not to crash while they fly low to the ground.
Paine, who was well known in the aviation community, had posted several pictures from the air show on his Facebook account in the hours before the crash.
There was no immediate word on what may have caused Saturday’s crash. “Two FAA inspectors were at the airport observing the air show and are actively investigating the accident now,” said Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Saturday marked the second and final day of the Airshow of the Cascades, and the crash happened about an hour into the airshow performance, according to the event’s official schedule.
The airshow was canceled in the wake of the accident.
