Wing Walker Dies After Fall at Michigan Air Show

Graphic Content: Air Show Tragedy

Aerial wing walker falls more than 200 feet to the ground in Michigan

DETROIT – A stunt wing walker died Sunday after falling 200 feet at an air show in southeastern Michigan, officials said.

Technical Sgt. Dan Heaton, a spokesman at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, said wing walker Todd Green was trying to move from a plane to a helicopter when he fell at the base in Harrison Township, about 20 miles northeast of Detroit.

A video posted by The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens (http://j.mp/pq6X7t ) shows Green falling through the air as spectators gasp in shock.

Heaton said in a news release that the accident happened about 1:30 p.m. while Green was flying on a Stearman aircraft during a stunt. He said an ambulance rushed Green to Mount Clemens Regional Medical Center.

Hospital spokeswoman Diane Kish told The Associated Press that Green died from his injuries. Authorities did not give Green's age or hometown, although The Macomb Daily said he was from Michigan.

The air show began Friday and ended Sunday.

Some spectators who saw the fall thought it was part of the performance, but quickly learned from an announcer that something had gone wrong, the newspaper reported. Jennifer Bradley of Linden was at the show with her sons, ages 7 and 11, when the fall happened.

"There were lots of tears," Bradley told the newspaper. "We sat and prayed together."

U.S. Rep. Candice Miller also was watching as Green fell. The Republican who lives in Harrison Township told the newspaper she watched Green perform Saturday, too.

"It was very surreal," Miller said of the fall. "It takes a moment to get your mind around what just happened. I know he was a big part of this show, a lot of people came just to see him."

According to the website for the Silver Wings Wingwalking Team, Green was the son of prominent aerial stuntman Eddie Green.

"During his 45 year career as a stuntman, Eddie performed with pilots Harold Krier, Bill Barber, Bob Barden and Jimmy Franklin," the group said on its website, adding that Todd Green "continues the tradition his father founded."