Ill senior dies in jump from birthday biplane flight

Ireton · Post by **Ireton** » Tue Mar 30, 2004 4:16 pm

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/West/03/30/f ... index.html

EL CAJON, California (AP) -- An elderly man recently diagnosed with a brain tumor leaped to his death from a vintage airplane he rented to celebrate his 88th birthday, officials said Tuesday.

Joseph Harold Frost took off his safety belt at 300 to 400 feet, stood up in the open cockpit of the two-seat biplane and went over the side Monday.

The pilot tried but failed to wrestle him back into the plane and nose the aircraft upward to force Frost back into his seat.

"I think that was Dad's idea, to go out in a flash of glory," said Robert Frost, who had helped his father arrange the chartered flight on a biplane similar to the ones the elder Frost flew in World War II.

The man landed on an apartment patio, horrifying those who witnessed it.

"I saw him hit the power lines, heard trees breaking. I really thought it wasn't real," Cynthia Lankford said.

Although Ive never even considered jumping out of a perfectly good airplane, its not a bad way to go out if you ask me.

SplitS · Post by **SplitS** » Tue Mar 30, 2004 4:27 pm

That dude has cojones the size of watermelons!!!!

Way to go old dead guy!!

ndb · Post by **ndb** » Tue Mar 30, 2004 11:24 pm

Gosh, I hope he asked for a second opinion on that diagnosis. It would be annoying if the x-ray technician had just mixed up the plates

just another pilot · Post by **just another pilot** » Tue Mar 30, 2004 11:44 pm

Benine!

. ._ · Post by **. ._** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 12:27 am

Dude's got some balls, but it's too bad the pilot flying the plane has to live with it.

If the suicidal guy wanted to really do it right, he shoulda just bought a timed out Pitts, put on an air show, and slammed it into a field. No one would be affected that way.

Oh well, we all do what we think is right.

-istp

N2 · Post by N2 » Wed Mar 31, 2004 8:22 am

That's why flight instructors should never be allowed to open their paycheck in the air. They might end up doing the same thing.

bandaid · Post by **bandaid** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 9:13 am

My sympathy to the poor pilot that had to witness this. What a horrible experience.

shitdisturber · Post by **shitdisturber** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 9:20 am

From personal experience, for the pilot it probably won't be too bad, since he didn't have to deal with the aftermath. Having been involved in an accident at the drop zone I used to hang out at; I remember the first few weeks as being pretty unpleasant, after that it tapers off. In fact, up until this accident, I hadn't thought about it in years.