Posted on 09/20/2005 11:56:10 AM PDT by BenLurkin
YUKON, Okla. - NASA engineer and champion aerobatic pilot Marta Bohn-Meyer was killed Sunday when her plane crashed during practice for next week's National Aerobatic Championships. The crash occurred shortly before noon near Oklahoma City, where she was piloting her home-built Giles G-300 airplane. She had been joined there by her husband and fellow aerobatic pilot, Bob Meyer.
"Flying and doing things with airplanes is my passion," she once said. "Given a choice, I'll go fly airplanes."
According to the International Aerobatic Club, Bohn-Meyer had pulled into a vertical maneuver when the cockpit canopy came off. The airplane then crashed just off airport property. It is believed she was rendered unconscious when the canopy flew off, according to the IAC Web site.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
Bohn-Meyer, 48, was the only woman to have flown the SR-71 "Blackbird" as a trained crew member, an experience she discussed in her frequent public speaking engagements.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime dream," she said in an earlier interview. "It made a big difference in my life. I considered myself Jane Average.
"I have the distinction of being one of two people (with NASA pilot Ed Schneider) to fly the last Mach 3 flight in the SR," she said.
The novelty of being the only woman trained to fly the Mach 3 airplane was not the draw for Bohn-Meyer, just the chance to play a role in the cockpit.
"The opportunity to fly in a magnificent airplane was the special thing to me," she said.
At Edwards Air Force Base, employees of NASA's Dryden Flight Test Center remembered Bohn-Meyer as an outstanding pilot.
"She made fantastic contributions not only at Dryden but to women as well," Dryden spokesman Alan Brown said.
Dryden director Kevin Petersen called Bohn-Meyer's death is a loss to the center and to aviation.
"Marta Bohn-Meyer was an extraordinarily talented individual and a most trusted technical expert and manager at NASA Dryden," he said. "She committed her life and career to aviation and the advancement of aeronautics and space in the United States. We at Dryden will miss her tremendously."
Through her experiences in aviation, Bohn-Meyer found herself as a role model for other women entering a traditionally male field, a role she didn't seek out but later found she enjoyed.
She was a frequent participant in local and national events geared toward encouraging children - especially young girls - to study math and science.
"You've got to have trailblazers, you've got to have someone to unclog the pipe," she said. "I am the trailblazer. I'm able to prove that it can be done."
Bohn-Meyer began flying at age 14, after receiving lessons as a Christmas present.
When she graduated from high school in 1975, her first desire was to be a test pilot, a field that wasn't open to women pilots at the time. Instead, she attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., studying aeronautical engineering.
She began working for NASA at Langley Research Center in Virginia while a college student, moving to Dryden Flight Research Center in 1979. She eventually worked her way up to chief engineer.
At Dryden, she met husband, now the associate director for programs. He introduced her to the thrill of aerobatic flying and the two spent much of their free time working on their home-built airplane, practicing the intricate maneuvers and competing.
A former aerobatic national champion herself, Bohn-Meyer was manager for the U.S.A. Unlimited National Aerobatic Team
Don't be ridiculous.....Denver was drunk.
Even pro's shouldn't be flying these kit planes.
RIP.
Denver's pilot error had nothing to do with the worthiness of Burt Rutan's design.
Junkyard Wars was a show based on that kind of logic.
Have you seen what the Giles is designed to do?
Condolences for losing your friend.
OTOH, considering this lady's skill, the departing canopy could have damaged the empenage and made recovery impossible.
Only the FAA final will tell the tale, and perhaps not even then.
- Mike (200 hour RV-6)
I would not know a Giles from a Jeeves. Both sound like good names for butlers, though.
Comparing Marta Bohn-Meyer with John Denver is comparable to analogizing a soap box derby competition vehicle with a NASCAR competition vehicle. Both have four wheels but the differences are important.
True, her plane was a "home-built" but built by two of the brightest minds in aviation.
My first flight instructor summed it up when he asked me, on the way to the place, "Son, do you know the price of flying sometimes is dying?"
She extended the envelope so that others could benefit.
I will garan-stinkin-dang-t-ya it was a bigger rush to fly the Blackbird than anything else on Earth.
Understood. I just posed a question in a slightly different reference.
And then there's this which I missed on the first read...
" Don't be ridiculous.....Denver was drunk."
Was he drunk the day he died? People make mistakes and it's not hard to get behind the curve especially when flying.
Your comment certainly expresses your opinion, but not much else. This isn't name calling; I don't know if you're stupid. But, your comment was. And it's not John Denver all over again.
" Even pro's shouldn't be flying these kit planes."
Bullshit! There's absolutely nothing wrong with a well designed kit plane. Many of them are actually sturdier and faster than GA aircraft.
Denver died because he was a stupid pilot, not because of the airplane.
The fuel selector was behind him, and he was low on fuel, and doing practice touch and goes on a sea side airport with rock cliffs below.
The fuel selector had a broken handle, and he borrowed a pair of vice grips from the airport to turn the handle. The airplane ran out of fuel in one tank and the engine stopped just after take off. The engine never restarted, and the assumption is that he couldn't get the vice grips to turn the handle that was behind him in time.
He should have fixed the handle. And he should have not allowed a tank to run dry in the pattern, particularly at such a dangerous airport location.
Stupid pilot, not a problem with the airplane.
"or some union schlock who has no stake other than a paycheck"
For airplanes I'll choose the union guy.
Theres alot that goes into to manufacturing and building. A factory that just builds airplanes is probably pretty good at it; union guys or no union guys.
Our aerospace manufacturing capacity is the best.
Pilots know how to fly but that doesn't mean that they are good metal workers, etc.
No bicycle, but she still qualifies for the vaulted SpankenTruppen hall of fame.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.