Crash was a blow to Air Fiesta, but the show will go on

BROWNSVILLE — A fiery crash involving a husband-and-wife aerobatic team at Air Fiesta last month delivered a financial hit to the air show, but not serious enough to keep Air Fiesta 2012 from taking flight.

David Hughston, Air Fiesta chairman, said planning for next year’s air show already is under way.

“We did have an impact, because we just didn’t have the concession sales, after the accident, that we were kind of counting on,” he said. “The crowd was down some on Sunday because of it. The good news is, it wasn’t a disaster from a financial standpoint, mainly because we have such a solid, loyal base of corporate support. We had a good crowd on Saturday, so while there was a financial impact it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.”

Kyle and Amanda Franklin’s vintage Waco biplane crash-landed during their wing-walking act on Saturday afternoon, March 12, after the plane’s engine, spitting flames, quit at low altitude. Kyle Franklin was at the controls and had only seconds to set the plane down, while his wife scrambled from the wing into the forward cockpit.

Amanda Franklin suffered third-degree burns over most of her body as well as severe back and neck injuries. She remains in a San Antonio hospital in critical condition. Kyle Franklin was released March 28 from Brooke Army Medical Center, according to the family’s personal website.

The crash brought an early end to the show that day. While a late afternoon flyover by a B-2 Stealth bomber went on as scheduled, Hughston noted that “nobody was in a mood to enjoy it.” Organizers cobbled together a half-hour or so of flying on Sunday, he said. Matt Younkin, Amanda’s brother, canceled his aerobatic routine in a vintage Twin Beech that was scheduled for Sunday. Hughston estimates Air Fiesta’s net revenue this year will be half what it was last year — the most profitable in the air show’s 20-year history.

“We made over $60,000 last year,” he said. “We don’t know yet what this year’s take is going to be. We don’t have the advance ticket sale money yet.”

Hughston said most of the proceeds from Air Fiesta go to keep the Commemorative Air Force Rio Grande Valley Wing museum open and its fleet of rare planes flying. The CAF’s World War II-era PT-22 trainer, for instance, recently underwent an engine rebuild at a cost of $25,000.

The RGV Wing, which puts on Air Fiesta each year, has no paid staff and depends entirely on volunteers. The cost of putting on this year’s air show, meanwhile, will probably end up being about $100,000, Hughston said. Corporate sponsorship, while vital to making Air Fiesta happen every year, does not cover the whole cost.

Following the Franklins’ crash, after which “you could hear a pin drop,” he said, several spectators came up to the announcer’s stand to express their concern about the injured performers and ask where they were being taken.

“I think everybody who was at the show felt a connection with the Franklins,” Hughston said. “I was real proud of our crowd for that. It was a classy thing.”

A fundraiser to help defray the cost of the Missouri-based couple’s medical bills is being planned for June 4 at CAF RGV Wing headquarters at the Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport.

“We haven’t ironed out all the details,” Hughston said. “We’re not sure what all we’re going to have, but it’s going to be important to get the word out. I think a lot of people would like to take part in helping the Franklins.”

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Steve Clark is a reporter for The Brownsville Herald.