LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) – A beloved Louisville pilot has died in a Tennessee air show Saturday afternoon.
According to WBIR, Jay "Flash" Gordon's aircraft crashed at the Wings Over Big South Fork Air Show in Oneida, Tennessee.
Gordon was the only person on board the single-engine plane.
"I saw him, he was going kind of in a nose dive. First didn't think anything about it because I figured he would pull up and come on," he said. "When we saw the puff of smoke and he did not come back, my heart dropped and we just started instantly saying some prayers," Blake Dunlap, the pilot's nephew said.
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Dunlap says Gordon keeps up with his plane's inspections and adds that if he feels conditions aren't right, he won't fly.
He was a longtime performer in the Thunder Over Louisville air show.
Officials with the Kentucky Derby Festival released the following statement:
More than a performer, Jay was a member of the Derby Festival and Thunder family. In recent years, his flying experience and engineering expertise have helped keep Thunder's air show going. His passion for flying and love of Thunder will truly be missed.
The FAA and NTSB are investigating the crash.
