R.I.P. Mr. Hoover

[kullery]

Robert A. "Bob" Hoover 1922-2016

Robert A. Bob Hoover .JPG (18.75 KiB) Viewed 4061 times

Thank you for your service, your inspiration, your humor and your kindness

Rest in peace Mr. Hoover, we lost a legend today

[rtataryn]

EAA had a wonderful tribute for him at KOSH a year ago. If anyone hasn't seen the movie, Flying the Feather Edge, I highly recommend seeing it, it is excellent. A true legend for sure. Farewell Bob.

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[Justin Lerner]

Blue skies

[svilenv]

A legend:

In 1989 at an air show at Brown Field, San Diego; Bob Hoover took a couple of passengers up in his Shrike Commander.

Just after the aircraft left the runway, at approximately 300 feet, both engines simultaneously failed. Hoover managed to land the aircraft uphill onto the side of a ravine. The aircraft was severely damaged, but he and his two passengers walked away from the crash site.

While waiting on the hillside for the rescue vehicles, Hoover walked back to the aircraft and smelled the fuel... Kerosene! A member of the ground crew had mistaken the piston engined plane for a turboprop and mis-fuelled it, directly causing the double engine failure, and the subsequent forced landing.

When Bob returned to the airfield, he walked directly over to the man who had nearly caused his death and, according to the California Fullerton News-Tribune, said:

“There isn’t a man alive who hasn’t made a mistake. But I’m positive you’ll never make this mistake again. That’s why I want to make sure that you’re the only one to refuel my plane tomorrow. I won’t let anyone else on the field touch it.”

Blue skies!