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November 16, 2004 - Air Show Terror Leads to Courtroom

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The fun of an autumn airshow commemorating the airfield's 50th anniversary quickly turned to horror and disbelief when two vintage warplanes collided in midair.  The collision killed both pilots Paulus Kraaijvanger, 67, and George F. Shelton, 68.  The audience remained awed and quiet at a safe distance as the events tragically unfolded.

According to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Kraaijvanger's family in Suffolk Superior Court, the accident was largely Shelton's fault.

Yesterday, a jury began hearing testimony in the suit.  Along with the Shelton estate, the suit names three airshow officials as defendants.

The first witnesses in the case included a certified flight instructor, Brian Lansburgh, who had taught Kraaijvanger in Fernandina Beach, Fla., in 1995. Lansburgh testified that Kraaijvanger impressed him as an above-average pilot.

"He didn't have any bravado. He was humble," said Lansburgh, a commercial pilot who also worked as an air show performer for 14 years. "He just went about the business of learning."

Kraaijvanger's family contends in court papers that he was killed because Shelton operated his aircraft recklessly during a fly-by maneuver over the crowd. Shelton, the plaintiff's family said, failed to yield the right of way to Kraaijvanger despite twice receiving radio instructions that he was flying dangerously close to him.

Shelton's family countered in court papers that the air show boss, William Davidson, had instructed Kraaijvanger and a third pilot to maintain a ceiling of 200 feet, and that Shelton was to fly no lower than 500 feet. Kraaijvanger ignored the instructions, Shelton's family said, and began to climb until he collided with Shelton, who was flying a faster aircraft.

Lansburgh, who had viewed a videotape of the Sept. 12, 1999, crash, also said that Kraaijvanger appeared to be flying properly in the moments before his single-engine L-19 was struck from behind by a double-engine O-2 aircraft piloted by Shelton, of Boston. Both planes were Cessnas.

But under cross-examination by a lawyer for Shelton's family, Lansburgh conceded that Kraaijvanger, of North Stonington, Conn., should have heeded instructions if he had been told to fly at a maximum altitude of 200 feet.

Shelton's family filed a lawsuit in federal court against Kraaijvanger's estate after the plane crash, according to their lawyer. It was settled, and the terms are confidential.

The families of both pilots have discussed a possible settlement in the Superior Court lawsuit, but appear to be far apart, according to court papers filed in June. Kraaijvanger's family demanded $3 million, and Shelton's family has offered $400,000.