Pietenpol-List: bad news

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Original Posted By: "Al Latham"
Replica of Howard Hughes plane crashes in YellowstonerwbhopvsYELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) - Federal investigators on Tuesday were calledto the site of a fatal airplane crash.One person was killed Monday evening when an experimental plane crashed north ofOld Faithful in Yellowstone National Park, the Federal Aviation Administrationsaid.The Hughes 1B - the only replica of a record-breaking racer designed and flownby Howard Hughes in 1935 - was en route from Oshkosh, Wis., to Oregon when thecrash occurred, spokeswoman Karen Byrd said.The pilot was the only person on board but was not identified pending notificationof relatives.The plane's registered owners were James and Betty Wright of Cottage Grove, Ore.,according to the FAA's Web site.The crash started a small fire near Midway Geyser Basin, but it was immediatelycontained by park fire crews, park spokeswoman Marsha Karle said.Several park visitors witnessed the crash and phoned 911. The crash was near theFirehole River next to the main park road, which was closed for a period Mondayevening.Hughes designed the original H-1B, which is at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington,D.C. In 1935, he flew that aircraft to a new speed record and for abrief period of time was the fastest person ever to pilot an airplane.The replica was built in 2002 from scratch by a five-man team after hundreds ofhours studying photographs, drawings, test results and measurements of the originalplane.---On the Net:Federal Aviation Administration: http://www.faa.govYellowstone National Park: http://www.nps.gov/yell/Information on the Hughes H1-B: http://www.wrightools.com/hughesAP-WS-08-05-03 1136EDT________________________________________________________________________________

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Original Posted By: "Christian Bobka"
Hi Christian,Sad news indeed, I found out at lunch time today about it. My partner and Iwere supplyingJim with some drawings for what was to be his next project, a LockheedSirius. We lost afantastic man and flying machine yesterday.Al Latham,Lathrop, MO.----- Original Message -----

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Original Posted By: "Al Latham"
Was it Jim Wright that was lost?chris bobka----- Original Message -----

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Original Posted By: "Christian Bobka"
Yes.----- Original Message -----

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Original Posted By: Michael D Cuy