Stuntwoman mother of two and pilot die in air show fireball: Horror as biplane crashes in a fireball while daredevil rode on the wing in front of a horrified crowd
- - Jane Wicker, wing walker, and her pilot, Charlie Schwenker, have been confirmed dead
- - Their plane crashed at the Vectren Air Show near Dayton, Ohio
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A woman wing walker and her pilot were confirmed dead after their plane crashed in a ball of flames at an airshow Saturday afternoon.
Jane Wicker, a mother of two sons, was atop the biplane at the Vectren Air Show near Dayton, Ohio when it plunged to the ground in front of horrified onlookers. The pilot, Charlie Schwenker, also perished in the crash.
Witnesses reported hearing screams as the plane dived to the ground.
'All of a sudden I heard screaming and looked up and there was a fire ball,” Stan Thayer of Wilmington told the Dayton Daily News.
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Smoke rises form a stunt plane as it is consumed by fire after crashing at the Vectren Air Show in Dayton, Ohio. The crash killed two, the pilot and winger walker Jane Wicker
The bi-plane, seen here as a flaming wreckage, hit the ground and burst into flames, instantly killing the pilot and performer on the wing
Smoke engulfed the stunt plane after it crashed at an airshow in Dayton, Ohio killing two people on board the plane
Shawn Warwick was also at the event and watching the crash through binoculars.
“I noticed it was upside down really close to the ground. She was sitting on the bottom of the plane,” he said. “I saw it just go right into the ground and explode.”
Terrence Slaybaugh, the director of aviation for Dayton, confirmed their deaths around 2 p.m.
The crash occurred at around 12:45 p.m.
The airshow stunt plane lost control as horrified on-lookers saw it turn upside down and crash into the ground. Wing walker Jane Wicker, who was killed on impact, can be seen at the bottom of the picture hanging on to the plane's wing
The stunt plane wreckage smoulders after it crashed at an airshow killing wing walker Jane Wicker, and pilot, Charlie Schwenker
Before: Stunt woman Jane Wicker sits on the wing of the bi-plane performing tricks for the crowd below minutes before the plane fatally crashed into the ground
After: This photo from WHIO TV shows the plane on fire after it crashed, killing the pilot and stunt performer at an Ohio airshow
'I'm never nervous or scared because I know if I do everything as I usually do, everything's going to be just fine,' Wicker said.
Fatal: Wing walker Jane Wicker and her pilot Charlie Schwenker were confirmed dead at the scene
Blaze: The crash created a massive explosion. No one on the ground was injured
The air show was cancelled for the rest of the day, and tomorrow's activities have been cancelled as well.
Wicker was well-known as a wing walker after being introduced to the daredevil activity through a Flying Circus ride she received as a birthday present.
Tragically, a picture on Facebook seems to indicate that she had recently become engaged.
Crash in Dayton: Wing walker Jane Wicker pictured in her plane. Wicker died Saturday afternoon when her plane crashed at an air show near Dayton, Ohio
Pilot confirmed dead: Wicker's pilot, Charlie Schwenker, also perished in the crash
Mother: Wicker was the mother of two sons. She met her now ex-husband through flying and for a while he was her pilot until the marriage dissolved
According to her website, Jane was a full-time budget-analyst at the FAA, a freelance writer and had recently returned to school to earn a degree in finance.
She first got interested in aviation after taking a ride with a friend in 1988. After her first flying lesson she was hooked and continued to pay for all of her flying lessons until she received her pilot's certificate in 1989.
Wicker went on to get her several other pilot's ratings, all while working full-time.
Wing walker: Jane was in the middle of one of her wing walking performances when her plane crashed
Air acrobat: Wicker mid-performance
For a birthday present in 1989, she was gifted with an aerobatic plane ride. She loved it and a year later applied to be a wing walker after seeing a classified ad in the Washington Post.
The first time she walked on a wing was also her first air show.
Wicker met her now ex-husband Kirk Wicker at a wing-walking audition. Jane and Kirk joined up and they created 'Beauty and the Beast Wing Walking' together. She would walk on the wings while Kirk would fly the plane. When their marriage dissolved in 2002, Wicker took a break from wing walking. The couple had two sons, one of which - Ben Wicker - just recently graduated high school.
She got back into wing walking in 2009 when she bought a new plane, Aurora, and re-entered the Airshow Circuit.
Sad day: Another photo on Facebook seems to indicate that Wicker had recently become engagedd
Plane down: Witnesses wrote on Twitter that Wicker seemed to be sitting atop the plane when it crashed
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