Phillies Icon Roy Halladay Was Among 1st to Fly Model of Amphibious Aircraft He Died In
Roy Halladay died when he crashed his ICON A5 aircraft in the Gulf of Mexico near Tampa, Florida
By Andrew Dalton ••
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the plane crash that killed Philadelphia Phillies legend Roy Halladay. Noreen Price, an NTSB Aviation Accident investigator and lead investigator on the crash that killed Halladay, spoke to the media Wednesday afternoon.
The tiny sport plane Roy Halladay was flying when he fatally crashed into the Gulf of Mexico was made for entry-level pilots like him, though the plane's chief designer and test pilot died while flying one earlier this year, officials and experts said.
Halladay, the 40-year-old former Phillies and Blue Jays pitcher, had been the proud owner for less than a month of his ICON A5, and was among the first to fly it, with only about 20 in existence, according the website for ICON Aviation.
In one of many enthusiastic tweets about the plane, Halladay said it felt "like flying a fighter jet."
Can’t begin to explain all the breathtaking views I have seen thru the open windows of demo’s & now my very own Icon A5! Thx to all at Icon! pic.twitter.com/BZsXqcHFmt
Rolled out in 2014, the A5 is an amphibious aircraft meant to be treated like an ATV, a piece of weekend recreational gear with folding wings that can easily be towed on a trailer to a lake where it can take off from the water.
"The way that a lot of people described it is a Jet Ski with wings," Stephen Pope, editor-in-chief of Flying magazine, told The Associated Press. "It's really a play thing."
The man who led the plane's design, 55-year-old John Murray Karkow, died while flying an A5 over California's Lake Berryessa on May 8, in a crash the National Transportation Safety Board blamed on pilot error. The NTSB also will investigate Halladay's crash to determine the cause.
In other tweets, Halladay said he had dreamed about owning one of the planes, and said in video on the company's website that he had to talk his wife into letting him get one. The son of a corporate pilot, Halladay had been forbidden to take up aviation until he retired from baseball at the end of 2013.
Roy Halladay, a former pitching great for the Philadelphia Phillies, died when the small plane he was piloting crashed into the Gulf of Mexico off Florida.
Pope said "the plane itself is great," but he had concerns about Halladay, a new pilot with little flying time, taking the craft out over water at low altitude, though the plane was marketed as a craft that could do that.
"They still think that that's the way the airplane should be flown, and there are people in aviation who completely disagree with that," Pope said. "They think you should not have a low-time pilot flying low over water. That's a recipe for disaster."
Low flying was part of the problem when Karkow, the designer, crashed, according to federal investigators. Karkow was killed along with passenger Cagri Sever, the company's newly hired director of engineering.
The NTSB blamed pilot error for the crash, saying Karkow mistakenly entered a canyon while flying too low, causing the plane to strike the canyon wall.
Another A5 crashed in April, making a hard landing in the water off Key Largo, Florida, injuring the pilot and his passenger. The pilot told investigators the plane descended faster than he expected.
Halladay's ICON A5 went down around noon Tuesday off the coast of Florida, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said.
The sheriff's office marine unit responded and discovered Halladay's body in shallow water near some mangroves. No survivors were found.
Video posted to TMZ reportedly shows the plane flying low to the water in the moments before it crashed. (Warning: content and language may be disturbing to some.)
Police said they couldn't confirm if there were additional passengers on the plane or say where it was headed.
ICON Aviation said in a statement that the company would assist the NTSB in every way possible with its investigation, and that its executives and employees were "devastated" by Halladay's death.
"We have gotten to know Roy and his family in recent months, and he was a great advocate and friend of ours," the statement said.
Associated Press Writers Robert Jablon in Los Angeles and Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this report.
Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images
Author Sue Grafton attends the 2013 Book Expo America on day one at Jacob Javits Center on May 30, 2013 in New York City. She died Friday, Dec. 29, 2017, after two-year battle with cancer.
Getty Images
Actress Rose Marie, best known for her role as Sally Rogers on "The Dick Van Dyke Show," poses at a launch party on March 25, 2004, in Los Angeles. Marie died Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017, at her LA-area home. She was 94.
Ron Galella/WireImage
In this March 26, 1976 file photo, actress Heather Menzies-Urich attends the screening of "Robin and Marian" at the Academy Theater in Beverly Hills, California. Menzies-Urich, who played one of the singing von Trapp children in the 1965 hit film "The Sound of Music," died Sunday. She was 68.
Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Vanity Fair
San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee speaks onstage during A World of Cities at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on Oct. 8, 2014 in San Francisco, California. Lee, San Francisco's first Asian-American mayor, died at 65 on Dec. 12, 2017, leaving San Francisco Board of Supervisors President London Breed to become acting mayor of the city.
AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, File
In this file photo, David Cassidy performs at at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Cassidy died on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017, his family confirmed. He was 67.
Harry Langdon/Getty Images, File
This 1996 file photo shows Mel Tillis posing for a portrait. The country music legend's spokesman said on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017, that Tillis died at the age of 85.
Yui Mok/PA via AP
This March 3, 2003, file photo of AC/DC co-founder and guitarist Malcolm Young at an event in London. The band announced Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017, that 64-year-old Young died.
Hank Walker/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
Red Sox player Bobby Doerr hits a ball during a game in July 1946. He died Monday, Nov. 13, 2017, according to a statement from the team, calling him a giant among baseball giants.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Roy Halladay, an eight-time All-Star pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays who retired from baseball in 2013, died in a plane crash on Nov. 7, 2017. He was 40.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Music legend Fats Domino performs on the NBC "Today" television show in New York, Friday, Nov. 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Comedian Ralphie May performs at KROQ Presents Kevin & Bean's April Foolishness at The Shrine Auditorium on April 4, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. He died on Oct. 6, 2017, at the age of 45.
Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File
This Sept. 17, 2017, file photo shows Tom Petty performing in San Diego, California. The rock star died Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, at the age of 66, his manager said.
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
Monty Hall arrives at the 40th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards on Sunday, June 16, 2013, in Beverly Hills, California. He died Sept. 30, 2017. He was 96.
AP Photo/Kristian Dowling, File
In this Oct. 13, 2011, file photo, Hugh Hefner poses at his home at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif. Playboy Enterprises announced that Hefner died Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017, of natural causes. He was 91.
Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images
Actor Harry Dean Stanton poses for a portrait for the film "Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction" at Dan Tana's Restaurant on Aug. 22, 2013, in West Hollywood, California. He passed away Sept. 15, 2017, at the age of 91.
Ryan Miller/Invision/AP
In this May 23, 2014 file photo, Bernie Casey appears after a performance of "The Tallest Tree in the Forest" in Los Angeles. Casey, the professional football player turned actor, died Sept. 19, 2017, in Los Angeles after a brief illness. He was 78.
Bryan Bedder/Getty Images (File)
Actor Frank Vincent attends a party to celebrate the release of his book, "A Guy's Guide To Being a Man's Man," at Capitale, Mar. 8, 2006, in New York City. Vincent, a veteran character actor who often played tough guys, including mob boss Phil Leotardo on "The Sopranos," died Sept. 13, 2017. He was 80.
AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews
This 2008 file photo shows poet John Ashbery at his apartment in New York. Ashbery, an enigmatic genius of modern poetry whose energy, daring and boundless command of language raised American verse to brilliant and baffling heights, died Sept. 3, 2017, at age 90. The Pulitzer Prize-winning artist died of natural causes at his home, his husband, David Kermani, said.
Getty Images
Walter Becker died Sept. 3, 2017. He was the guitarist, bassist and co-founder of the 1970s rock group Steely Dan, which sold more than 40 million albums and produced such hit singles as "Reelin' In the Years," "Rikki Don't Lose that Number" and "Deacon Blues." He was 67.
Getty Images
Jay Thomas, a radio talk show host and actor with recurring roles on the sitcoms "Murphy Brown" and "Cheers," died on Aug. 24, 2017. He was 69.
Rich Fury/Invision/AP, File
In this Aug. 24, 2016 photo, comedian Jerry Lewis reacts during an interview at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles. Lewis died Aug. 20, 2017.
AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez
Activist and comedian Dick Gregory died Aug. 19, 2017, nearly two weeks after he was hospitalized for an unknown serious medical condition.
Getty Images
Vocalist/musician Glen Campbell performs in concert in 2012 in Austin, Texas. He died on Aug. 8, 2017, after a long battle with Alzheimer's.
AP
French actress Jeanne Moreau starred in Francois Truffaut's love triangle film "Jules and Jim" and had an award-winning, seven-decade career. Moreau is seen here as "Mata Hari, Agent H-21," in Paris, Oct. 1, 1964. She died on 31 July, 2017.
Michael Buckner/Getty
Barbara Sinatra, widow of Frank Sinatra, at the Seventh Annual Rick Weiss Humanitarian Award Gala at the Westin Mission Hills Resort on April 9, 2005 in Rancho Mirage, California. She died on July 25, 2017, at 90.
Getty Images
Actor Sam Shepard poses for a portrait during the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. He died on July 31, 2017.
AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File
In this Sept. 12, 2011 file photo, actor John Heard arrives at Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Producers Peer Group celebration of the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. Heard, best known for playing the father in the “Home Alone” movie series, has died. He was 71. His death was confirmed by the Santa Clara Medical Examiner’s office in California on Saturday, July 22, 2017.
Getty Images
Singer Chester Bennington visits Music Choice at Music Choice Studios on February 21, 2017 in New York City. The Linkin Park singer was found dead on July 20, 2017 at the age of 41, according to the Los Angeles County coroner.
Joel Ryan/Invision/AP, File
This Oct. 12, 2012, file photo shows Martin Landau in London, England. The Oscar-winning actor died on July 16, 2017, at the age of 89, his publicist said.
Amy Sancetta/AP, File
This Jan. 21, 2008, file photo shows director and writer George Romero in Park City, Utah. Romero died July 16, 2017, at the age of 77, his family said in a statement.
AP Photo/Matt Sayles
Nelsan Ellis arrives at the premiere for third season of HBO's "True Blood" in Los Angeles on Tuesday, June 8, 2010. Ellis passed away on July 8, 2017, after complications with heart failure, according to his manager Emily Gerson.
Getty Images for HBO
Rapper Prodigy of Mobb Deep attends the Cinemax screening, panel and reception for "The Knick" on July 23, 2014 in New York City. Prodigy, born Albert Johnson, died of complications from sickle cell anemia at 42.
Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
Stephen Furst, who played naive fraternity pledge Flounder in the hit movie "Animal House," died of complications from diabetes, his family said Saturday, June 16, 2017. Furst was 63.
Jon Furniss/Invision, File
In this Oct. 18, 2012 file photo, Anita Pallenberg poses at London Film Festival American Express Gala The Rolling Stones - Crossfire Hurricane After Party in London. Pallenberg, a model and actress who had children with Keith Richards and served as a muse for The Rolling Stones, died Tuesday, June 13, 2017, at St. Richard's Hospital in the city of Chichester, located in southeast England. She was 75.
AP
In this Sunday, Jan. 27, 1989, file photo, actors Adam West, left, and Burt Ward, dressed as their characters Batman and Robin, pose for a photo at the "World of Wheels" custom car show in Chicago. On Saturday, June 10, 2017, West’s family said the actor, who portrayed Batman in a 1960s TV series, died at age 88.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for AFI
Actress Glenne Headly arrives at the 36th AFI Life Achievement Award tribute to Warren Beatty held at the Kodak Theatre on June 12, 2008 in Hollywood, California. Headly was reported dead on June 9, 2017. She was 62.
Boris Spremo/Toronto Star via Getty Images
This July 2, 1968, photo shows actor Roger Smith, star of "77 Sunset Strip," in Toronto. An agent for his wife, actress Ann-Margret, said that the actor died Sunday, June 4, in Los Angeles at the age of 84.
Rick Diamond/Getty Images
Gregg Allman speaks to the press on December 11, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee. Allman passed away on May 27, 2017.
AP/Getty Images
Jim Bunning of Philadelphia Phillies in an undated photo (left) and Jim Bunning on July 24, 2016 in Cooperstown, New York. Bunning passed away on May 27, 2017.
AP
British actor Sir Roger Moore, playing the title role of secret service agent 007, James Bond, is shown on location in England in 1972. Moore, who played Bond in seven films, passed away after battling cancer, according to a post on his official Twitter account posted on May 23, 2017.
AP
Frank Deford, editor and publisher of The National Sports Daily, holds a proof of the final front page of the newspaper after a news conference at the paper's offices in New York City on Wednesday, June 12, 1991. He died Sunday, May 29, 2017, in Key West, Florida, his family said. He was 78.
Jim Cooper/AP
In this Sept. 29, 2006 file photo, former Fox News CEO and Chairman Roger Ailes poses at Fox News in New York. Ailes, who resigned from Fox News in 2016 after numerous reporters and anchors accused him of sexual harassment, died on May 18, 2017, at the age of 77.
Jonathan Short/AP, File
This file photo shows Chris Cornell from the band Soundgarden in London's Hyde Park, July 13, 2012. His representative confirmed that the musician had died May 17, 2017, at the age of 52.
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File
In this Sept. 23, 2012 file photo, Powers Boothe arrives at the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. Boothe, the character actor known for his villain roles in TV’s “Deadwood,” and in the movies “Tombstone,” “Sin City” and “The Avengers,” died May 14, 2017. He was 68.
Getty Images for SHOWTIME SPORTS
Television personality Christopher "Big Black" Boykin arrives at Showtime's VIP prefight party for "Mayhem: Mayweather vs. Maidana 2" on Sept. 13, 2014, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Boykin died May 9, 2017, at age 45.
Getty Images for Tribeca Film Fe
Director Jonathan Demme attends the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. Demme, a prolific director who won an Oscar for "The Silence of the Lambs," died on April 26, 2017 at the age of 73 of complications from esophageal cancer.
"Happy Days" actress Erin Moran passed away at the age of 56, on April 22, 2017, according to Harrison County Sheriff's Department.
Getty Images
Steelers owner Dan Rooney holds the Vince Lombardi trophy after the Steelers won Super Bowl XL at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, on Feb. 5, 2006. Rooney, who succeeded his father and Steelers founder, Art, as team president and rose to become one of the most influential and beloved owners in sports, died at the age of 84.
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Comedian Charlie Murphy appears at "Eddie Murphy: One Night Only," a celebration of Murphy's career in Beverly Hills, California, on Nov. 3, 2012. Murphy, older brother of actor-comedian Eddie Murphy, died Wednesday, April 12, 2017 of leukemia in New York. He was 57.
Getty Images
John Warren Geils Jr., guitarist of the rock group The J. Geils Band, died at his home in his Groton, Massachusetts, on April 11, 2017.
Associated Press
Emmy-Award winning comedian Don Rickles died at age 90, his publicist confirmed on April 6, 2017.
Richard Hartog/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Chuck Barris at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills. Barris, whose game show empire included "The Dating Game," ''The Newlywed Game" and that infamous factory of cheese, "The Gong Show," died at 87 on March 21, 2017.
Author-columnist Jimmy Breslin, the Pulitzer Prize-winning chronicler of wise guys and underdogs, at New York Magazine's 20th Anniversary Party at Cloud Club in New York City, New York, United States. Breslin died March 19, 2017.
Getty Images
Legendary rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry on stage at the Fox Theater in St. Louis, with and Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, for a performance filmed as the "Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll!" concert movie on October 16, 1986. Berry died March 18, 2017, according to police in Missouri.
AP
In this Wednesday, April 26, 1989 file photo, Norma McCorvey, Jane Roe in the 1973 court case, left, and her attorney Gloria Allred hold hands as they leave the Supreme Court building in Washington after sitting in while the court listened to arguments in a Missouri abortion case. McCorvey died Feb. 18, 2017.
Phillip Faraone, Getty Images for Guitar Center (File)
Clyde Stubblefield takes a bow onstage during Guitar Center's 28th Annual Drum-Off Finals Event, Jan. 14, 2017, in Los Angeles, California. Stubblefield, a drummer for James Brown who created one of the most widely sampled drum breaks ever, died Feb. 18, 2017. He was 73.
Getty Images
Actress Mary Tyler Moore receives the Groundbreaking Show Award on stage at the 2nd Annual TV Land Awards held on March 7, 2004 at The Hollywood Palladium, in Hollywood, California. Moore, an iconic actress and advocate, died Jan. 25, 2017, at the age of 80.
Lefteris Pitarakis/AP
Actor John Hurt poses for the photographers as he arrives for the 19th annual Women in Film and Television Awards, in central London, Dec. 4, 2009. Hurt, a prolific actor, died at the age of 77.
