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 VIII during an airshow on Saturday. Brian Coughlin died at the scene after the monoplane caught fire and crashed about 3 p.m. The Sunday airshow was canceled as investigators from local authorities, 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 website 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.”
