UPDATE: The de Havilland DH-112 Venom FB54 jet that crashed in Sheboygan Falls on July 20th 2018 was last registered as N747J. The jet’s serial number was J1747 (CN 917) and it was built in 1957. Previous registrations were G-BLIB and N5174V. Records indicate the aircraft was owned by the World Heritage Air Museum in Michigan. Their website indicates the aircraft served with the Swiss Air Force until 1983 before being brought to the United States in the 1990s. The pilot killed during the crash was 50 year old Marty Tibbits, who was the museum’s co-founder and executive director. He was taking off for a formation training flight when the crash occurred.
ORIGINAL STORY: On July 20th 2018 at approximately 1600 local time a de Havilland DH112 Venom jet aircraft crashed just after takeoff from runway 13 at Sheboygan County Memorial Airport (KSBM) in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. The aircraft came to rest on a dairy farm located on County Road O just west of Meadowlark Road less than a half mile from the airport. The pilot of the Venom was reportedly killed on impact. Two farm workers at the site were also injured, one of whom was airlifted to a Sheboygan hospital. Authorities also said that between 40 and 50 calves on the farm were injured and had to be put down. These news stories were uploaded to YouTube by Today’s TMJ4
Witnesses discuss what they saw before the crash:
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The original reporting of the story:
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Fourteen fire departments were called out to the scene, including the Ada, Cascade, Cedar Grove, Greenbush, Haven, Howards Grove, Johnsonville, Kohler, Oostburg, Plymouth, City of Sheboygan Falls, Town of Sheboygan Falls, Waldo and Wilson fire departments. The Sheboygan Falls and Kohler police departments, Wisconsin State Patrol, and Wisconsin DNR also responded. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is expected to release more information after 1000 local time on Saturday July 21st. An investigation into the cause of the crash is expected to begin as soon as the NTSB arrives.
At this time Sheboygan County Memorial is hosting the annual Great Air Clinic. The Clinic takes place the week before the start of EAA Airventure at Wittman Field (KOSH) in Oshkosh- about 50 miles from Sheboygan. The Great Air Clinic puts on an airshow each day and trains pilots to fly in a large formation flight of North American T-28 Trojan warbirds at EAA AirVenture, which begins on Sunday July 22nd. The Trojan formation flight is one of the highlights of the Fly-In each year. This time of year the entire state experiences several times the aircraft movements normally seen any other time of the year- or anywhere else for that matter.
As more information is made available we will update this story as appropriate. For now we pass along our prayers for the pilot, heartfelt condolences to family and friends, and speedy and full recoveries for the injured.
