Opinion: Avalon staff saved a man’s life

How would you react after you’d just watched a man die in front of you? That was my thinking the moment after seeing aerobatic pilot Glenn Collins plunge to the ground at Avalon. The accident occurred on the Friday in front of tens of thousands of spectators, ranging from industry executives to aviation enthusiasts and young families. I’d just arrived for an end-of-day drink in a corporate chalet on the edge of the runway, right as the Paul Bennet Airshows team was performing.

I remember watching the aircraft loop before gazing to the side, just briefly. When I looked back, Collin’s Pitts Special was on the ground in a cloud of dust. From what my memory could piece together, he’d all but nosedived.

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