Nobody believed that we walked away

Extracted from Houston Chronicle, 19 Oct 2007.

The small home-built plane that uses a Chevrolet car engine was
featured last month on the cover of Contact, a magazine that
spotlights experimental aircraft.

On Thursday night, Bud Warren, of Conroe,TX, was flying his creation
to the West Houston Airport. He was to give a presentation to the EAA
group on his invention that regulates how fast the chevy engine turns
a propeller.

With years of experience as a pilot in Houston air shows, soaring in
formation with replicas of historical aircraft used in the movie Tora,
Tora, Tora and as a National Hot Rod Association race car builder --
showing off the plane he'd flown since 2003. But then, a short time
after take-off and enroute, he noticed the oil temp rise slightly and
the engine sputtered.

A ground observer said the engine was coughing and sputtering like a
lawn mower engine does.

Soon, he and his two passengers were forced to make an emergency
landing in a hay field with the plane ablaze and clipped a fence post
rupturing a wing fuel tank. Billowing flames were licking the outside
of the craft as the three jumped out the plane's door to the ground --
and 45 seconds later the entire cockpit was engulfed.

Buds daughter said "Nobody believed that we walked away".

Bud had the back of his calves, some hair and his fingers singed
slightly. All had a few bumps and scratches.

The plane was valued at $150.000.

Bud believed an oil line must have ruptured as they smelled oil
burning right before the problems began.

Bud isn't going to let the accident set him back and is already
talking about building another plane and getting back in sky.

End of extract


Pictures with article in paper showed everything (including wings)
burned down to nothing from just behind the trailing edge of wing
forward. Only rear bit of fueslage and tail survived as shown in
pictures.

Good pilot and lots of luck.

Big John