PITTSTON TWP. — A pilot practicing for an air show in the Poconos this weekend died Friday afternoon when his WWII-era plane crashed on takeoff at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.
The pilot, Andy “Trav” Travnicek of New Hampshire, was a member of the GEICO Skytypers team scheduled to perform at The Great Pocono Raceway Airshow.
“Our deepest condolences to the pilot’s family and the entire GEICO Skytypers team,” the raceway said in an email. “After much consideration, and with the support of the GEICO Skytypers Air Show Team, this weekend’s airshow events will remain on as originally scheduled for Saturday, August 21 and Sunday, August 22.”
The GEICO team was no longer listed on the airshow’s website as one of the performers later Friday.
The GEICO Skytypers issued a statement saying Travnicek flew the number three plane and was the sole occupant of the aircraft that crashed. Travnicek was a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, served in the U.S. armed forces and was a commercial pilot.
Travnicek, 50, a native of Southbridge, Massachusetts, completed military deployments in Spain, Qatar and Afghanistan and was a staff member at the academy, according to The Associated Press.
“He enjoyed flying warbirds to honor the men and women of all eras and all branches of the U.S. military,” the Skytypers said.
Not far from where the team’s North American SNJ2 airplanes were parked on the tarmac outside the airport’s fixed base operator, Aviation Technologies Inc., airport Director Carl Beardsley offered preliminary details about the fiery crash that occurred around half past noon.
The airport had temporarily closed, but was reopened for arriving and departing flights by the start of the press conference at approximately 2:15 p.m.
“Our hearts go out to the family. I want to make sure that they know,” Beardsley told reporters gathered for a brief press conference.
“It occurred on the north end of the airport, somewhere near where the taxiway and the runway intersect. What we’ve been told is they were taking off,” Beardsley said.
The plane was heading north when it suddenly veered to the left “for reasons unknown,” crashed into the grass and caught fire, the AP quoted Beardsley as saying.
Witness saw smoke, flames
A witness said she came to see the aircraft, including the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds jets, practice for the airshow.
“I got here around 11:30 to watch them,” Carol Paupst, 72, of West Wyoming said.
Paupst said she saw six-plane GEICO team taking off in pairs. “It was two, two and then two,” she said.
Some young children were nearby and she told them to watch as the planes went by, Paupst said. “Now I’m sorry I said that,” she said.
From their vantage point they saw smoke at the other end of the runway. “The flames reached up to heaven,” Paupst said.
The crash brought back memories for Paupst. She said she witnessed the Jan. 12, 1990 fiery crash of a Marine fighter jet near the Willow Grove Naval Air Station in Montgomery County. She said she saw the jet’s pilot, who ejected and survived, hanging in tree branches and the destruction the crash caused to homes.
Beardsley credited airport emergency crews with a quick response and valiant effort.
“They’re going to do anything they can to make sure that whoever’s in that plane will be saved as quick as possible,” Beardsley said.
The airport will conduct its own investigation apart from those done by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
In a press release, the FAA said the crash occurred at 12:36 p.m. “The aircraft crashed on the north side of Runway 28 and caught fire. The pilot was the only person onboard,” the FAA said, adding neither it nor the NTSB identifies people involved in accidents or incidents.
Local police and fire departments, Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce and detectives from his office and county Coroner Frank Hacken were at the scene of the crash.
The Long Island, New York-based Skytypers create aerial smoke messages and perform maneuvers using North American SNJ-2 World War II aircraft, according to the Associated Press.
It was the second fatal Skytypers crash since 2018. That year, a vintage Skytypers plane went down in a wooded area in Melville, New York, killing the pilot, the AP said.