Plane crashes ahead of Rexburg air show
A pilot crashed his biplane at the Rexburg airport Friday night as he was preparing for Saturday’s Legacy Air Show.
Buck Roetman of Sharpsburg, Georgia was flying the plane. He was doing barrel rolls as a crowd looked on. However, the plane never leveled out and crashed onto a golf course next to the airport. A friend of Roetman’s said Saturday the plane experienced engine trouble and gave out during the stunt.
“He did a masterful job at getting her right-side-up,” said John Bagley, airshow pilot. “He had a problem with the prop and lost power and he just got in trouble.”
Roetman said he was able to walk away from the crash with only a sprained ankle. He was walking around the air show Saturday with the help of crutches. He spoke to our Stephanie Hale-Lopez briefly and said he was sad he would not be able to perform in the air show today.
“Anytime you can walk away, it’s a good landing,” said Bagley.
Roetman was apparently supposed to cut a ribbon to kick off the air show weekend but drifted off the flight path and crashed.
The plane was significantly damaged. Parts of the plane were tossed in several directions on impact.
Below are a couple of videos submitted to us through YouTube.com by viewers at the air show Friday night:
“Crash at Rexburg airshow practice”
