Rhinebeck Board Member Killed In Crash

Fokker D VIII caught fire during airshow demo

Bimmerpost

One of the most dedicated volunteers at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in upstate New York was killed in the crash of a replica Fokker D VII during an airshow on Saturday. Brian Coughlin died at the scene after the biplane caught fire and crashed about 3 p.m. The Sunday airshow was canceled as investigators from local authories, the FAA and NTSB do their work.

Coughlin is well known in vintage aviation and had built several replicas himself including the one he was flying. "Brian’s been involved with the Aerodrome most of his adult life, in many capacities, including flying in our Air Shows," his biography on the Old Rhinebeck Web site says. "He’s built several Fokker Triplane replicas, a Fokker DVIII replica, and restored so many other vintage flying machines that we’ve lost count."

Russ Niles is Editor-in-Chief of AVweb. He has been a pilot for 30 years and joined AVweb 22 years ago. He and his wife Marni live in southern British Columbia where they also operate a small winery.