Renowned Pilot Killed In Plane Crash

Renowned Pilot Killed In Plane Crash

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Story Published: Jan 7, 2006 at 3:09 PM PDT

Story Updated: Aug 31, 2006 at 2:10 AM PDT

By KOMO Staff

BURLINGTON - A small courier plane bound from Bellingham to Burlington crashed Friday night near the Skagit Regional Airport, killing the pilot.

Search crews spotted the wreckage at daybreak Saturday after an all night search.

Eric Beard, 47, died when the twin-engine Piper Seneca crashed through a stand of trees before hitting the ground about 400 yards from the runway.

Tom Peterson, an air search coordinator with the Washington State Department of Transportation, said the pilot for Airpac Airlines, a courier service, was minutes from landing.

"He was on an instrument flight plan talking with Whidbey Island approach," Peterson said. "He was supposed to call once he got on the ground. They did not hear from him and the people waiting for him on the ground reported that he didn't call in or make it."

It was foggy when Beard was approaching the airport about 8 p.m., but that the exact cause of the crash is not known.

"There were no indications of any problems by the pilot as he was making his approach," Peterson said.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were investigating.

Beard was a former NASA engineer who worked on the space shuttle and Titan rocket programs.

He lived in Auburn and had been flying for 34 years, including performances in air shows around the world.

Peterson said Beard was well known in the aviation community and that his recent aerobatic performances were flown in a rare Russian-built prop plane known as 'Russian Thunder.'

The plane was manufactured in Sarotov, Russia, in 1996, as an aerobatic craft and is one of only seven Yak-54 flying in the world.

During the past few years, Beard thrilled Fourth of July fans with a nighttime pyrotechnics flight, in which he fired rocket-type devices in front and behind his plane as a preview to the fireworks show.

"They were like streaming comets or meteors," said Doug Miller, executive director of the Tacoma Events Commission. "It would be about 10 o'clock. The sun had just gone down. It was just getting dark and the sky was just right for showcasing his performance."

Fred Rosenfelder, air boss for the Freedom Fair, Seafair and McChord air shows, described Beard as "one of the top three or four performers" in the buisness.

"He always knew his routine. He was meticulous with the safety of his routine and if it wasn't right, it wouldn't happen," Rosenfelder said.

Beard is survived by his wife, Diane, and four children, Sheena Allison, Tiffany Johnson, Lacey Johnson and Trent Beard.

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