Page 1 of 1

Fallen friends

Posted: November 9th, 2020, 9:13 am
by FV80
It is with great sadness that I report the passing of Jim Averett on Nov 6, 2020. Past FV, SRF and FC racer as well as a fine steward for SCCA. Jim was Chief Steward for the Runoffs in past years and this year was present as a member of the SOM Appeals board. Jim raced in FV in the 80's and finished 2nd at the 1987 Runoffs at Road Atlanta. He was an airline pilot for Delta before retirement and was an active member of Lone Star Region in Texas.

Jim and his wife, Madeline, moved to the Silver Wings Fly-In community near Fredericksburg, TX and owned 2 airplanes - a 1958 Beechcraft Bonanza and a newer 2 seater RV-8 'kit plane'. Jim was participating in some 'formation flying' (fairly common in fly-in developments) in his Bonanza when he and another touched in the air. Jim's plane was damaged badly enough that he could not maintain control and crashed heavily to the ground resulting in his death. The other plane was able to make an emergency landing on a nearby road.

SCCA has an article about him at
https://www.scca.com/articles/2009017-t ... -weekends

The NTSB has investigated the accident and posted a report at
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/244719

Although we weren't really CLOSE (living several states apart), Jim was a good friend and I saw him many times over the years at events where he was stewarding. The thing I remember most was that I NEVER saw him without a smile on his face. He was also an outstanding pilot, but there were indications of a problem with his plane before the accident.

My condolences to his wife and family. SCCA has lost a great man.

Steve, FV80