L-39 Flameout Leads To Ejection; Pilot Safe, Passenger Killed

A civilian-owned Aero Vodochody L-39 Albatros crashed at about 5:30 p.m. local time in Granite Falls, Minnesota, Monday, while attempting an emergency landing after an engine failure. The pilot and passenger ejected. According to the local Sheriff’s office, the pilot, Mark Ryan Ruff, 43, of Dallas, survived with minimal injuries, but the medical examiner’s office confirmed that the passenger, David Colin Dacus, 49, of San Francisco, was deceased at the scene. Early reports indicate that Dacus was found still strapped to his seat and there was evidence that the parachute was at least partially deployed.

Bomb-disposal personnel were called to the scene, reportedly due to concern that the passenger seat’s rocket components were potentially still active.

The flight began at in Alpine, Wyoming, according to FlightAware, about 11:30 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time and stopped for fuel in Gillette, Wyoming, about an hour later. The final destination was Fond du Lac Airport (KFDL) in Wisconsin, just south of Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, site of EAA AirVenture. The Czech-built single-engine military jet landed in Watertown, South Dakota, at approximately 5:05 Central Time and crashed in Granite Falls shortly after departure.

FlightAware data shows the Albatros reaching 20,600 feet when the pilot reportedly told controllers there was an issue with the engine. It descended toward Granite Falls Municipal Airport (KGDB) with a cloud deck below. Runway 15/33 at KGDB is 4,357 feet long and 75 feet wide and when the Albatros broke out under the cloud deck, the occupants decided to eject rather than try to land.

In its initial report, the FAA wrote that the Albatros “experienced engine issues, struck power lines and impacted terrain.”