Vincent Nasta dies at air show

Veteran Pilot Dead After Crash in New York Air Show
Monday, August 18, 2008



RHINEBECK, N.Y. — A veteran pilot and flight instructor died after crashing a World War I replica biplane during a Hudson Valley air show.

Vincent Nasta of Wading River, N.Y. was flying a single-engine French plane in a simulated dogfight Sunday afternoon with a German plane when it crashed about 1,000 feet from the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, authorities said. The plane landed in a wooded area and caught fire. Nasta, 47, was the sole occupant.

"The biplane broke away and nose-dived," 43-year-old spectator Robert Spanburgh of Saugerties told the Daily Freeman of Kingston. "Then it disappeared behind the trees and never came back up."

The replica 1917 Neiuport 24 biplane belonged to the aerodrome, which is about 85 miles north of New York City. The facility holds regularly scheduled exhibitions that include dogfights and barnstorming flights in vintage planes.

The Federal Aviation Administration is assisting the National Transportation Safety Board in the investigation, FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac said.

Nasta was an art teacher at Riverhead High School and illustrator of children's books who flew planes recreationally.
go here for more
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,405721,00.html