Posted on 01/26/2008 1:26:17 PM PST by varina davis
5 dead after crash at "fly-in" community runway
Associated Press - January 26, 2008 2:44 PM ET
OCALA, Fla. (AP) - Florida Highway Patrol says five young men are dead today after a car they were riding in crashed after traveling off an airport runway.
The runway is at the exclusive "fly-in" community of Jumbolair Aviation Estates.
The crash at the community, which is also the home of actor John Travolta, happened at about 3:45 a.m.
According to a preliminary FHP investigation, a 2008 gray BMW with 5 occupants, ages 18 to 20, was traveling at a high rate of speed on the airstrip.
As it neared the end of the runway, the car traveled off the end of an 85-foot high embankment. It became airborne for 200 feet and struck a large tree.
At impact, the vehicle split in half and the car's engine separated from the vehicle, scattering pieces of the car over about a 200 square foot area. FHP says 3 of the five occupants were ejected from the vehicle and all were pronounced dead at the scene.
Definitely Darwin.
Was alcohol involved?
Prayers offered no matter how stupid it was.
“As it neared the end of the runway, the car traveled off the end of an 85-foot high embankment. It became airborne for 200 feet and struck a large tree.”
I wonder if a JATO rocket was involved somehow. :)
Absolutely. Horrible news for several families.
Guess they forgot to stick their arms out during the takeoff roll...
Probably not Darwin...just kids. You never “raced” on empty road,parking lot or run way? When I was a young girl I drove my Dad’s truck ,hours at a time on the run way. Sad for them though.
RIP.
you were never young, eh?
These Darwin posts always sicken me. They are not clever at all.
Amen to that. It is their job to keep young men from doing something stupid that ends life way to early.
Was my dad your First Sergeant?
Point taken. I didn’t mean to offend anyone, but I can see that I may have done so. I’ll ask the mods to remove my post. Thanks.
Google Earth Travolta’s house alongside runway at 29 16 41 North - 82 06 59 West, complete with his own Boeing 720 (ex Quantas) in front yard.
No. They asked bystanders to hold their beer before they crashed.
Just doing a rough estimate, but if they fell 85 feet and traveled 200 feet laterally then they left the embankment about 59 mph and hit the tree at about 77 mph. Any BMW could easily do 120 mph or more. Unfortunately the stopping power does not increase linearly with momentum. It would take roughly 4 times as long to stop at 120 mph as it would at 60 mph. I'm guessing that they were probably driving faster than 100 mph and underestimated the distance it would take to stop the vehicle.
Well, then this needs a “hold muh beer” tagline at the top.
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