JohnBurke

Has Juan Brown not put an end to this mindless suicide speculation by explaining what happened?



https://latestbollyholly.com/wp-cont...2315_14UTC.jpg

It crashed, it burned, he's dead.

The rumor and conspiracy crowd is really enamored with this one.

PipeMan

Did you see what I just posted? The little details certainly point to a possible suicide. Why would someone be singing on the frequency right before the crash?

If he loved flying these old planes as much as it seems, I can 100% see him going “you know what, F it” type of thing as just cratering it in.

Pilot4000

I guess we found Dan Gryder's screen name.

METO Guido

Free bird, that’s the adios track you’re looking for. How many suicidal impulses lead to what looks like a warbird version of a 1st floor swan dive?

Airhoss

Looking at that picture zoomed in that fuselage is badly wrinkled. He hit the ground hard, flat but hard. I no longer think it was just a dead stick landing. He had some major energy when he contacted the ground.

JohnBurke

It has the marks of vertical impact, including the rudder separation, as well as the way the engine separated at the firewall. The aircraft components remained together, with no obvious deformation folding wings or tail back, or indications of a wing rupture near the active fire.

One notion tossed about involves a failure to secure an oil drain plug, but I see nothing to substantiate that at this point, beyond guesswork.

For those making baseless claims, they'd have a little more credibility than zero if they bothered to provide citations. As it is, it's little more than muddying the waters. At this point in absence of anything concrete, the rumor mill is just that.

That canopy is open, as noted before.

fasteddie800

Imagine making this incredible statement, based on some "reading," and then not including any kind of reference on where you saw it, or, heck, even a link.

fasteddie800

Clearly. To add, not only was Ehlen a "warbird owner," (a very exclusive club by any means). He apparently owned, or at least had interest in a Stearman, a TBM, and a P-51. Dude had access to a warbird fleet, something that very few can say.

I've worked with various business owners over the years, spanning a wide range if fields. In general, success levels are across the board. Some struggling, some making incredible wealth, but most somewhere in the middle, making a good living for themselves, but not setting the world on fire. One exception has been the business owners who are doing something where they're billing Medicare. Whether it's a drug rehab place, old folks home, medical provider, medical equipment distributor, etc. Every single one of those folks was wildly successful, and raking in the money. They're typically very unassuming too, unless they're involved in some high-dollar hobby, like flying warbirds.

As I approach the back half of my career, I sometimes wish I'd pursued this whole aviation thing as a hobby, and instead focused my efforts somewhere in the medical space.

PipeMan

I read it on one of the forums I frequent. It came from someone who flies in the are and had to be on the frequency or know someone who was. When I go back to look at those comments, they were gone. As far as "crazy" rumors go, anything someone claims to have happened are making baseless claims. A mechanical failure or a suicide are both equally likely until we know more about the accident, as far as I am concerned. Based on pilots in the area, the suicide seems way more likely than anyone on here is willing to admit.

Having said all that, you guys should do your OWN research. It's all speculation at this point.

JohnBurke

At least the pilot wasn't afraid to go to the airport.