A pilot flying a World War 1 replica plane died at an air show 80 miles from Manhattan when his Fokker D.VIII caught fire over Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in upstate New York.
The Red Hook Police Department said New York airman Brian Coughlin, 60, died Saturday after his plane’s engine appeared to begin burning during a weekend air show. Coughlin was a longtime Aerodrome volunteer and board member, according to a message on the aviation association’s Facebook page.
The Museum of Flight calls the replica aircraft Coughlin was flying a recreation of a “highly maneuverable” and formidable German fighter plane with wing structure problems that led to crashes when it was introduced to combat in 1918.
Coughlin, from Cazenovia, was declared dead at the crash site around 3 p.m. The cause of the apparent mechanical issue is under investigation.
At least one person who witnessed the crash said he thought it was part of the show.
Aviation fans who knew Coughlin remembered him fondly, and several Facebook users said they had the pleasure of speaking to him after some of his exhibitions. “Brian was a great pilot and his passing will be a great loss to antique aircraft owners and pilots,” wrote one flight enthusiast.
According to Syracuse.com, Coughlin escaped death when a replica 1915 Nieuport 11 with its original engine that he was flying lost power 75 feet in the air. He crash landed in a field more than a couple thousand feet from where he’d taken off and was treated at a nearby hospital. His father was also said to have been an airman who served on the battleship New Jersey.
