INTERNATIONAL
A Memorial Tribute to 13 pilots by Bill Lavender
The mission for ag-aviation is no fatalities. There was only one year in recent history that this was accomplished in the U.S. This year was not good in that respect. With a total of ten ag-aviation fatalities and no less than three SEAT fatalities, it leaves a large hole in the ag-aviation community.
A 16 | agairupdate.com
April 7— Thad Cooper
June 16— Eddie Charles Gideons, Jr.
The first agaviation fatality accident for 2020 happened on April 7 per the NTSB report. The pilot, Thad Cooper, was fatally injured when his AT-502 crashed near Pecan Gap, Texas. Cooper is survived by his wife, four children and parents. He was 46 years old.
On June 16, Eddie Charles Gideons, Jr. was fatally injured when his AT-502B crashed in Atmore, Alabama. According to the NTSB report, Gideons called his wife to say he was making a fly-by. Per the NTSB, “... the airplane flew over the house before making a climb straight up. The airplane then banked to the left, rolled right, descended straight down...” Gideons is survived by his wife, his mother, six children, three siblings and nine grandchildren. He was 56 years old. ➤
