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Likes: I'm very sad to report that member Richard McSpadden, AOPA VP and head of the safety program was killed in a crash today. We had just spent some great flying days with him here a few weeks ago.
Our thoughts are with his family.
sj
I'm very sad to report that member Richard McSpadden, AOPA VP and head of the safety program was killed in a crash today. We had just spent some great flying days with him here a few weeks ago.
Our thoughts are with his family.
sj
"Often Mistaken, but Never in Doubt"
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This is a devastating loss of a personal friend and a champion of GA. Richard was a great guy to fly with and to be around, and he’ll be missed tremendously. Like SJ said, our thoughts are with his family.
Chip
SJ thanked for this post
What a loss for his family and friends and the entire aviation community. He touched many lives and his thoughtful aviation safety analyses has and will continue to save the lives of pilots.
Last edited by Waldo M; 10-02-2023 at 06:50 AM.
Terrible.
I watched all his safety videos.
There is a group of about 6 of us here in the area, that own Cubs, in which Richard called us the Grass Hoppers that he championed us all to fly together, when he could wrangle us.
Here is Richard, first from the left under my wing at just such an event.
Sir, well done, God speed you are missed…
Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org mobile app
Last edited by NDRII; 10-02-2023 at 08:34 PM.
This is a hard one. I had talked to Richard a few times on the phone and he sought me out at Oshkosh 2022 and we finally met face to face. I enjoyed his approach to safety and education. When the rudder AD got brought up a while back he pulled out all the stops at AOPA to find out what was going on. I feel for his family and hope they take solace in the fact that this world is better for Richard having been in it.
I own Richard's old Super Cub... Under the throttle, is a decal of the number "1" with stars around it just like on the Thunderbirds lead F16. Will post a picture of it soon... What a loss for the Super Cub community and Aviation.
I did not know Richard. I would hope that I could write something as nice as Steve Pierce's above, if one of my friends bought the farm.
There are times when all the skill in the world won't save you, but by golly, we no longer teach engine failure awareness. Out here we raised the pattern altitude, making the last mile of the upwind leg almost guaranteed unsurvivable in an engine failure scenario.
I get early turns, and plan every inch of my flight path as if it will quit. And I practice on Super Bowl Sundays and Special VFR days. Still, there are places where a failure would be disastrous no matter what.
There’s a Youtube clip that says Russ Francis had just purchased a flight service and this flight was to take photos at a local event. The crash happened after a failed “impossible turn.” The impact was into a slope just shy of the runway. It’s implied the 177’s laminar wing may have performed differently than what was expected. Very interesting. Sad, as all fatality accidents are, but their last flight may offer a lesson to other pilots.
Godspeed, gentlemen.
gisli liked this post
It was an air to air (likely for AOPA mag) photo shoot, Richard was the safety pilot for the formation on Dave Hirschman flying the photo ship.Originally Posted by stewartb
While conducting a flight review yesterday, we did some "impossible turns" (improbable turns I call them) and talked about how significant the timing is of making the turn back decision. Even delaying a few seconds (the time it takes to accept there is a problem) can determine if you will make it back or not - no matter what kind of wing you have. We will likely never know how those decisions were made on that day.
Having had the opportunity to work and fly with him some over these last four or five years, the sentiments in this article are spot on: https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/...ed-his-passion
His efforts toward bringing together disparate groups (such as this one) to work towards improving safety in the backcountry safety were ground breaking for a large organization like AOPA to take on. This website is the ongoing result of some of that work: https://www.aopa.org/training-and-sa...resourcecenter
sj
"Often Mistaken, but Never in Doubt"
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May his teaching continue> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFVFKq3QqXo
Gary
I certainly didn’t take it as criticism, it’s a valid point. I do get a bit frustrated with the YouTube vultures that wait for a crash just to make a speculation video as fast as they can to collect on someone else’s misfortune. I have watched way too many of these where the poster knows very little about aviation.
Paul Bertorelli (avweb) reminded me in his post about Richard this morning that Richard had tried to combat this by making his own less speculative videos on YouTube and even TikTok. It’s a good read as well.
sj
A Final Salute To Spad
[mention]SJ [/mention] I just read Bertorelli’s article is as well. A great salute from someone who lost not only a colleague but a friend.
https://www.avweb.com/insider/a-final-salute-to-spad/
RAF had me cross paths with Richard Spad Mc Spadden in a NE Regional meeting in Pennsylvania. Richard was new to AOPA and RAF. Since he was in the room I gave Richard a hard time about not seeing more in the AOPA magazine about Back Country flying. Richard tried to explain away the very light coverage by saying that they try to give coverage to every pilot aspect to be in the magazine. In my ornery Irish attitude, I would not let him off the hook so easy. Within 6 months Back Country Flying became big at AOPA and I contacted Richard to thank him and let him off the hook. He was beyond a gracious man. I crossed paths with him a few more times and always got a handshake and a smile. His handling and interview of Todd Simmons after his Idaho crash was second to none and had a profound impact on my flying and the emergency kit I kept in my airplane. In 6 years Richard made a significant impact on the AOPA ASI. He will be dearly missed.
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention to arrive safely in a well preserved body but rather to slide in sideways, well used up proclaiming "WOW What a Ride"
Folks, there will be a livestream of Richard's memorial on Saturday at 11am EDT. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmeTrQCki8E
sj
"Often Mistaken, but Never in Doubt"
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"Often Mistaken, but Never in Doubt"
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A lot of phenomenal things have been mentioned especially from you Steve and Steve Pierce. I was never blessed to know Richard but knew of him and watched his videos religiously as part of my daily “plane porn” as Nancy likes to call it. As a surgeon my ears will always gravitate and listen intently when someone is discussing a complication in the doctors lounge. You always want to hear something that makes you feel better like “I certainly wouldn’t of done that, or I would of checked this before proceeding”. These scenarios are actually easier in my opinion because hind sight is always 20/20 and YOU HAVE TIME. The movie Scully recreates the FAA questioning of his decision to land in the Hudson sighting how EVERY pilot in the simulators was able to get to a runway. When Scully establishes and reminds people of the couple of SECONDS it takes to realize you have a true emergency and establish/carry out the solution to that emergency THAT makes ALL the difference. Altitude as discussed above REALLY helps. Power off 180’s that you have to demonstrate for your commercial are really good. I am guilty of not practicing them enough as I am sure many of us are. Reciprocating engines with parts moving in all directions at incredible speeds/forces tend to have problems when power management is changing rapidly as it does in the pattern. Either in take off or in landing. My DPE for my single engine commercial was awesome. Not only was he evaluating me but also using the check ride as a learning lesson. Reminded me that not only altitude but staying close to the runway, ie downwind or crosswind, is just as important.
Richard was in the RIGHT seat. His friends plane. Another conversation piece is maybe when discussing pre flight scenarios when the person in the RIGHT seat is clearly more capable and experienced then the owner of the aircraft what do you do when there is a emergency. None of us will know what if any discussion was taking place between the two before it ended the way it did. Steve Pierce told me the pilot was very experienced but clearly not as experienced as Richard. Difficult conversations.
Regardless. Anyway you try to ruminate about it in your thoughts it remains a very difficult one. Especially for the less experienced like myself. If it can happen to Richard it can happen to anyone of us. A reminder of the edge that we are always on in life. I always think of a famous quote by Theodore Roosevelt in times like these when trying to decide how I want to live. My grandfather had a copy in his office when I was a boy and it hangs in my office today. I look at it often especially when I am questioning myself with regards to the “risks” in life that I always seem to insist on taking. God Speed to Richard and blessings to his family/friends. Cant imagine how hard.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
Well said, Jason.
sj
"Often Mistaken, but Never in Doubt"
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We have had the good fortune of seeing Richard here in the Ozarks from time to time including very recently. As has been said and said again, he was such a kind and genuine human being. When he spoke with you (and if you were in the room....he was going to speak with you) you truly did feel like the only person in the room. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family. I can not imagine the depth of their loss when we all feel it so greatly!
cafi
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