Aviation expert says no one should be behind stick of plane Halladay was flying

Roy Halladay had a love for flying, but it’s a love that his wife eerily feared.

[@squidboii]

"behind the wheel" stopped taking this seriously then

[@removed7534]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the machine. It's just that Roy was witnessed he was practicing stunts by flying it so low like right above the water a few days prior to the accident which was totally illegal to do so, and that later has eventually caused this tragedy.

[@TheSmartodd]

It's astounding how manipulative news really is today. Just finished watching 3 videos before this, which this piece took from and chopped up to paint it's own slanted picture of the company and the plane. These 30 sec sound bites may not be 'fake' news but they are certainly aren't of any value to the public or the industry. Should be called WTF news at 6.

[@panzerfaust5046]

Don't avoid the lovely phrase, This is fake news.

[@zbeast]

From what I've seen and read so far. In none of the crashes it was not the fault of the plane. 1) hard landing.. busting the hull resulting in the sinking of the plane. no one died.. 2) flying into a box canyon.. pilot error... trying to escape resulted in impact with the canyon wall. 3) aggressive flight at low altitude. (this never ends well)

[@N0616JCProductions]

I would like to add that even the aerobatic pilots, those who make a living doing "stupid" things, don't even fly as low as Halladay. I am just saying that his decision making is what costed him his life.

[@getsmarter5412]

It's never said "He died doing something smart"!

[@smaze1782]

Yup. Everyone is so quick to blame the plane while not even considering that pilot error may have been a factor.

[@jcjammer1]

The day and age where no one can take responsibility for their actions. Sad.

[@getsmarter5412]

+Jake Peterson Oh man! Your intellect is outstanding! What's your phone #? I never want to make another decision in my life without consulting you first!

[@chybagus]

Wow, pilot error leads to a company getting a bad rep.

[@omarspost]

Dude was on drugs pulling stunts. 3 of the things in his blood has sensitive effects and impair your judgement. His father had already told him off with regards to flying recklessly.

[@doomsday9973]

100% he had a literal pharmacy in his bloodstream, not to mention a past of doing stupid things with the aircraft like flying it under the causeway.

[@rcbif101]

Chances are this "aviation expert" is just one of those pilots so full of himself he's become an ass and noone wants to deal with him - other than the media with their fear mongering. For him to even source the previous crashes shows his ignorance. Wind shear and flying into a canyon with no way out are in no way related to the aircraft's airworthiness. Yes, Icon's marketing is pushing the limit with the "flying jetski" type marketing, and Icon has a closed door policy with crazy contract of what you can say or do with aircraft, but so far, no proof the aircraft itself is dangerous.

[@mmayes9466]

Please Google the name of said aviation expert!!! Nuff said !!!

[@boleroboy723]

Just a correction to this piece. Halliday spent the vast majority of his career with the Toronto Blue Jays. When he retired he signed a one day contract with the Blue Jays so he could retire as a Blue Jay. When he goes into the Hall of Fame he will go in as a Blue Jay. Toronto loved Doc Halliday and we have been saddened by his untimely death.

[@mausolos8]

boleroboy723 We loved Doc in Philly too !

[@johnhamilton7391]

he's going in with no team cap

[@berniemccann8935]

1. It has been stated, following investigations, by the FAA, that previous crashes were due to 'pilot error'. They have also stated that following a preliminary investigation that 'pilot error' seems to be the cause of this crash. 2. It has been stated that Halladay had 700 hours of flight experience. It must be pointed out that this experience was not in this type of aircraft. The Icon A5 that Halliday was flying (and crashed) was only, initially, registered a few weeks ago. 3. Rare Comment: Float plane pilots are aware of an optical illusion (similar to cloud disorientation) when flying low over water, i.e., when trying to land. 4. Et cetera

[@TolisOnLine]

700 hours of flight experience, can also mean 700 hours of bad habits!! He had it coming.

[@wingsstringsandreallysharp2535]

I’m not sure where they found this “aviation expert” but I would not let him within 100 feet of my airplane either, wouldn’t even think of letting him fly my plane. All three of the Icon accidents were pilot error, details have been shared very well in other replies in this string. IMHO the only thing Icon has done wrong with this airplane is marketing the plane in a way that boasts about the “ragged edge” flying capabilities such as it’s very tight turning radius and stall resistant capabilities. The problem is, if you make these kinds of claims, people are going to go out and test it to see if it is really true. The worst thing an aircraft manufacturer can have happen to them is having people operating their product at the outer limits of its capabilities and finding out exactly where the failure point is. These are pilot failures not aircraft failures. I join all in wishing they would have never happened.

[@The_PaleHorseman]

When I hear "expert" I hear Mr. know it all 🙄

[@boxedfender4810]

Because you devoted your life at something that is valuable to others? Keep wasting your life not excelling at any 1 skillset

[@bert6744]

Extreme sports are dangerous. Sad news. RIP Doc Condolences to the family

[@Oban2006]

Planes are not toys.

[@getsmarter5412]

But, this plane is soo much fun, and it can barely kill you!

[@jimfowler5930]

Grant Christensen....."glad this dummy dies....", really? Schadenfreude should NOT be applied here! A family is grieving-show respect please. Horseplay notwithstanding.

[@petrucioci07]

This aircraft is too awesome. Thats why they want to tear it down. It was pilot error. They play too close to the water. Thats why it crashed

[@williamwhitford3079]

Fake aviation "expert"!

[@ThatRascalMerlin]

All five of the A5 crashes (so far), 2 fatal, have been pilot error. This a great light-sport aircraft. Like any other plane, you have to be familiar with it and its flight envelope ... AND, you can't be hotdoggin' in it. It's not powered for that.

[@turboromy]

Anybody know what Jim Campbell said about why not ? I can't seem to google what he and why he said whatever he said. Extremely poor editing.

[@brandodurham]

Joke of a segment

[@DogDuwer]

After the accident, WFLA gets a call, "Hey, I'm an "Aviation expert", I'll talk trash about the A5 for the right price", OK your hired, perfect click bait.

[@smokingspitfire1197]

Icon A5s are not inherently dangerous. They're just comfortable and give the pilot confidence that they often can't back up with skill. He was high on a concoction of drugs and flying like a lunatic!

[@michaeljo6976]

It wasn't the plane it was him, he was flying it as if it was a stunt plane because of what it can do!

[@TheDormonid]

As I can see... the majority of people agrees that the press is actively trying to blame the manufacturer before real investigation. But why?

[@sblack48]

Luiz Almeida not "the press", it's one idiot who claims to be an expert but he is well known in the industry to be a fraud. Google him and be entertained.

[@sblack48]

They got a guest that had something sensational to say. Good for ratings. Unfortunately they didn’t do any due diligence on him. Those who know aviation know he’s a fraud. He has been badmouthing Ikon every chance he gets so I suspect he wanted to do a « flight test » with them and they said no thanks and he feels slighted.

[@SlyGuy1985]

He’s just a jealous old man that hasn’t done anything with his life

[@MrPowerup2010]

Icon is a great airplane indeed

[@rsattahip]

Seems all 3 crashes were sadly pilot error, but somehow that's still the manufacturers fault.

[@susanurban5920]

I don’t care what that so-called expert says. If I could afford an A5, I’d buy one. The accidents were pilot error….that’s obvious. If flown correctly the A5 is safe. When flown recklessly, any aircraft can crash. He flew the plane under the Skyway Bridge….that’s just crazy. No wonder he crashed….he was reckless. I love that little plane and would love to have one.

[@hillock10]

The "Expert" presents no evidence justifying his conclusion. No genuine expert would make a report or conclusion without study and evidence.

[@jaybrooks1098]

The aviation expert is a hack. The A5 is one of the best light sport aircraft out there.

[@doomsday9973]

Total hack. Halladay had like 3 different drugs in his bloodstream and had a know history of flying like an idiot, unfortunately he got himself killed,

[@susanurban5920]

I love that little plane. Wish I could afford to buy one.

[@johnorabone6112]

Sad to say but pilot error is was caused the crash. don't blame the plane, blame the pilot. Diving as he did and just skimming above the water makes ground effects come in to play. Probably rolled the plane slightly and caught a wing tip and ground looped in. Ad those speeds water feels like cement. Accident caused by careless pilot I'm sad to say.

[@jamesm568]

How is it the planes fault or marketing tactics when Pilots are not even taught to fly like that? It all comes down to the individual flying and his judgment.

[@blablabla1185]

Maybe we need a terrain warning system to alert thrill seekers where the dead line is.

[@JohnDavis-de7xm]

John Denver comes to mind.

[@kenweis2291]

Roy had 15 hrs flight time.... He pushed the plane to far to low with the throttle cut back to 20%... If he wouldve been a few hundred feet higher he couldve recovered the dive

[@dexterw8353]

as far as i know the 3 crashes in the icon a5 have all been found to be pilot error. this guy for high and decided he wanted to fly his plane and got himself killed. what if he crashed into a house and killed a family? would it still be the manufacturers fault?

[@richtrost2676]

From all indications the Icon is a well engineered and safe airplane. It is, however, an airplane not a car and has to be operated that way. The only fault one could lay on Icon is that the videos and promotions make it seem so easy any fool could fly one. You can't just pull over, get out and walk for help. Fly into a box canyon with high walls at low altitude without power to climb vertically and bad things will happen to any aircraft. Same goes for extreme maneuvers at low altitude. Only takeoffs are optional.

[@Warmijak44]

When dreams become a nightmare 😢

[@timothystockman7533]

Wouldn't this airplane require MORE training? Does it not require both ASEL and ASES ratings? Also, why a non-sensitive altimeter? Don't they use a sensitive altimeter in most modern aircraft?

[@ronwalker3726]

So a Holloway reports about a Halladay nicknamed after Holliday who dies near Holiday Florida. A legend died in an Icon. . .

[@CactusDronography683]

Did they mention he had drugs in his system at the time of the crash,morphine and a few others.

[@michaeljo1615]

Why...? There's nothing wrong with the aircraft, it's the inexperienced "pilots" behind the stick that are the cause, people think that it's a stunt plane and its not.

[@mikemortensen4973]

Please be advised that Icon has a lot of competition for this type of aircraft and so some opinions such as this one might be from one of the competitors. If you trash someone else's plane, you might buy one from someone else, right? As a pilot, I think this plane is likely safe if one doesn't do stupid stuff like hang out down by the water at high speeds. If I had more than 300k sitting around I might very well buy one of these.

[@gonzaloluna1989]

I Like the airplane but not the price. I had seen some videos on the plane and I thought that they had a couple of years selling the plane - I guess not. As long as the airplane is not the culprit then let it proceed. I ride dirt bikes . I own a 650 DR Suzuki. I have ridden other more dirt worthy dirt bikes and I am not the type that would go out there and test my limits or the bike's limit. I value my life and my health. There are people that are naturally more inclined to do more daring stuff in whatever sport they attempt. I hear the Rotax 915 engine(130 hp) is now available - maybe this will be the right size engine for it. 20 hours of lessons to fly it, GREAT. I see myself flying around cruising and enjoying the scenery and using it for faster transportation. THere are alot of accidents and deaths involving motorcycles. Nobody is asking for stopping production of crotch rockets. If it is proven that it is pilot error on all three cases then why try to bring down a dream. Just my thoughts.

[@XxepicthunderxX990]

soooo are they going to tell us how he crashed?

[@petrucioci07]

Give me a break. Third crash. How many other brands crashed? If u don't fly it properly of course it will crash. The problem was that they play with it at low altitude.

[@PabloGonzalez-hv3td]

Turns out the plane had nothing to do with the crash. Also if you're trying to blame the design of a certified aircraft you're actually blaming the FAA who certified it.

[@RARenfield]

This is what happens when the news editor never lets facts get in the way of the story. Journalism is dead.

[@myslinski11]

Did anyone see the video. Appears it was way to windy for a water takeoff that day.

[@opinionmatters7119]

Like they always do...blame the plane, not the pilot. Very rarely is it the planes error...operators fault.

[@lola5243]

Get rid at the outset of the idea that the airplane is only an air-going sort of automobile. It isn't. It may sound like one and smell like one, and it may have been interior decorated to look like one; but the difference is - it goes on wings. - Wolfgang Langewiesche, first words of 'Stick and Rudder: An Explanation of the Art of Flying,' 1944.

[@TheGreekPhysique]

Everyone is an “expert” these days. Is that like a social media influencer?

[@JS-ep3sv]

Great aircraft. Pilot error caused all crashes.

[@paulkercher2250]

This is not helpful. Not one REASON was given for the claim that this plane shouldn't be flown.

[@scottfirman]

The truth is,pilot error can and does cause planes to crash. The fact that tiny plane was designed to take off and land on water makes it more likely to crash. Sounds like the pilot knew how to fly the A-5, could have been rough waves. If you cannot get out of a flipped plane,then you will drown,I saw no ease of escape in that plane.

[@dapinoygeek1065]

That AOA indicator will get a lot of people killed. AOA only means that the wings are providing lift but not how much. Temperature, Humidity, Altitude, Speed etc. all affects how much lift is available or needed to keep on flying. Each of those also affects how steep a turn can be made without losing altitude. Just as an example; all fix wing aircraft have a ceiling or maximum altitude it can reach. At that height, it wont matter what that AOA says, green, yellow, blue whatever, that aircraft will no longer go up. The AOA only provides a means to show how much nearer the wings are to a stall. Whatever is shown there does not provide information if the plane going up or down. As i said, relying on that to fly will get people killed.

[@rv9flyer13brotary9]

AOA is simply another tool in a pilot's "kit". You have to know how and when to use it, or it might as well not be there.

[@dalgrim]

You are obviously an armchair pilot. AoA is an amazing tool. There is zero way knowing the AoA could cause an accident. It is only helpful. Obviously it isn't a primary instrument. In this crash just like the other two this year it is pilot error. ASEL, Tailwheel, complex, High performance rated. I'd love to have an AoA in my plane.

[@dapinoygeek1065]

@RV9 Very true, but the company is marketing it as the next big thing in aviation, even giving it the grand position in the panel which is very wrong, specially to those who are new to flying and may rely on it the wrong way. There is the horn and stick shaker that does pretty much the same thing, and really many plane do not have those and has been proven safe to fly.

[@dapinoygeek1065]

@Brian Obviously you can read but can not comprehend. I stand by my previous post. Relying on AOA to fly will get people killed. You have proven it with your own words, it is not a primary instrument but the company is showing it as such even giving it the best position in the instrument panel. Do not get sold into the marketing hype and you know too little of me to judge what i am.

[@ictpilot]

@@dapinoygeek1065 No they're not promoting it as a primary instrument and any body with flight training and a license knows that. If you think an AOA is so bad or worthless please explain that to the Military that uses them.

[@jalbert222]

This 'expert' simply isn't. The Icon is a great aircraft. The problem, is the the pilots. They think this aircraft is a fun 'toy', to be horsed around in and hot-dogged like a jet ski. Every crash of an Icon is so blatantly pilot error and foolishness to anyone who knows anything about airplanes at all. Pulling out of a rapid descent a few feet above the water; flying down a canyon with no escape; taking off crosswind with a super short runway...all recipees for the disasters that followed. Blaming this aircraft is offensive.

[@chikokishi7030]

He crashed because he was on drugs.

[@northernsurferboy]

Scare tactics, trash story

[@AztecRay]

Look at how many good people we have lost to hobby planes. Sad

[@ralex3697]

Risk taking is dangerous Responsible people do not do this Feel sorry for the family, wife discouraged him buying this toy Rich people get what they want, not need

[@utubewatcher360]

So glad someone has it right!!! The ICON5 needs to be grounded - PERIOD. I am a NON-PILOT!! but have flown plenty of hours when I was. SHAME ON THEM for wanting to put recreational flyers or otherwise behind the stick.

[@dalgrim]

Why? give me one solid reason that the aircraft has a fault that needs to ground it.

[@sblack48]

Pretty sure this is sarcasm.