Loss of a fellow pilot, Mark Knight

[MattHayes]

Hello all, sorry to be the bearer of this news, Mark Knight of PHX AZ had a fatal crash in his Dragonfly tug yesterday. Possible structural failure, only time will tell. Eye witness report from the tandem glider say's he released the tandem, descended down to drop the tow rope (as it was the last tow of the day), after releasing the rope the nose pitched up violently and then went into a spin. Plane spun three times before impacting the ground. Mark felt no pain. Any that knew him knew he was a very selfless and caring person, a very large player in the promotion of hang gliding in AZ. He was the main tug pilot at the Santa Cruz Flats race in September and now it won't be the same. This is number three for me in the last few years. We must always remember we are not made to be in the air and it doesn't take much for it to go wrong to the point we can't fix it. R.I.P. Mark Knight, you will be missed by many. Fly high and free sky brother!


~Matt~

[Bob Kuczewski]

I didn't know Mark, but he appears to be well-known (and well-liked) by pilots everywhere. For example, there's a topic on the Crestline forum ( http://www.crestlinesoaring.org/node/629 ) which includes this photo:

Mark Knight.jpg (35.45 KiB) Viewed 4900 times

They're taking up a collection to send something to Mark's widow, Maria. With Matt's permission, I've linked this topic to the national forum to give it more exposure. Please feel free to post your stories and remembrances of Mark.

[SamKellner]

What a bummer Matt, I first learned of the tragedy from your post on this forum. Thanks.

All the dragonfly towing I've seen, they landed without dropping the rope.