[t6dpilot]

A very sad day indeed. I do not know what happened other than what is listed in the reporter's story pasted below. The sad thing is, I do know the pilot and his son. I delivered that P-40 to the new owner after he purchased it a few years ago and also had the previledge to fly formation with his son in the Mustang. I posted pictures of flying it here a couple of years ago. They are great guys and very accomplished pilots in the warbird community. I hate when I hear these events - when you are involved long enough, you inevitably lose friends. Please do not ask me how I know, but I do...

You know, when I patted that -40 on the chin cowling after my last flight thanking her for delivering me safely all those hours, I had a very strong feeling that something bad was going to happen someday. It brought tears to my eyes that I had to hide from the new owner. I just could not explain it, but I felt a profound sense of sadness. I found out that that weekend he had a forced landing that could have been very, very bad, but was not - luckily. Now this. Dammit I hate when this happens. My heart goes out to the pilot's family and especially his son. God speed Bob and may you always have blue skies and tail winds.

A vintage World War II plane crashed in the Atlantic near Fire Island
Sunday, killing its sole occupant, a seasoned aviator who was practicing
for an upcoming air show, officials said.

Robert Baranaskas, 61, of Northport, took off from Brookhaven Calabro
Airport at 1:09 p.m. in his Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, a single-engine
fighter plane. Sixteen minutes later, the olive green fighter spun out
of the sky, crashing into the water 300 yards off the beach at Smith
Point County Park, airport and Coast Guard officials said.

Baranaskas' body had not been recovered but a recovery team continued
the search last night.

The victim's son, Chris Baranaskas, 28, who often performed in his own
vintage fighter plane, saw his father go down, police said. On the
beach, he was serving as his father's spotter - a person on the ground
who communicates with the pilot and warns of any other aircraft in the
area.

Mike Biedenkapp, 30, of Patchogue, was watching the fighter plane from a
parking lot near the beach when he saw the plane take a nose-dive.

"He climbed up, then came down like a corkscrew," said Biedenkapp, who
ran toward the beach when he saw the plane disappear behind the dunes.

Witnesses saw a puff of black smoke, then the plane hit the water,
sending up a 20-foot splash.

"There was a really loud noise," said Bryan Binder, of Sayville, who was
surfing about 50 yards away and paddled over to try to help.

Some locals grabbed boats and hit the water. But amid the debris, they
found no sign of the pilot.

The Coast Guard, the Mastic Beach Fire Department, Suffolk police marine
and aviation bureaus and the 106th Rescue Wing of the New York Air
National Guard were among the responders, said Suffolk police Det. Sgt.
Thomas Groneman.

A strong current and murky waters were hampering the search effort, he
said.

A representative from the Federal Aviation Administration was on the
scene Sunday, and the National Transportation Safety Board is expected
to begin its investigation this morning, officials from those agencies
said.

Jim Peters, an FAA spokesman, said the aircraft was "properly
registered" and "legal in what he was doing."

Personal aircraft must be registered with the FAA, and registration
requires a certification that the aircraft is safe to operate, Peters
said.

Baranaskas and his son, who owns and flies a P-51 Mustang, together
founded Warbirds Over Long Island, an organization devoted to flying and
celebrating World War II-era fighter planes.

A calendar on the group's Web site lists their next scheduled air show
at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, from April 24 to
26.

Baranaskas and his son housed their planes in a hangar at Calabro
Airport operated by Northeast Air Park, an aviation company based at the
airport, Calabro manager Jim Falbo said.

About four vintage fighter planes are housed at Calabro, he said.

"He was a nice guy, a well-liked pilot," Falbo said, pointing to the
Warbirds Web site.

On the site, photos showed Baranaskas soaring in his olive-green
Warhawk, a sharp-toothed mouth snarling on its nose, and his son's
silver Mustang not far behind.

God Speed, Bob. You were a true friend.