An apparently deranged man shot two hang glider pilots at the popular Ft. Funston launch. One is reported in critical condition. The shooter then turned the gun on himself. Story here:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f ... KMPP86.DTL
According to the Oz REport, the critically injured victim is the pilot in this video. It is a curent video, he stills flies this bowsprit glider.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qA6pN1aeZ4&eurl=
Be careful out there.
Hang Glider Pilots Shot at Ft. Funston
Moderator: Chip
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SHGA Communications
- Posts: 106
- Joined: Sat Jul 15, 2006 11:20 am
- Location: Hang Gliding Capital of the World
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Lynn McLaughlin
- Posts: 297
- Joined: Mon Sep 12, 2005 3:08 pm
Hi Friends,
I am very sad to report that Dan Murphy will not make it. He has been a
member of the HG community for many years. From what I have learned,
Dan was a former comp pilot and highly regarded. On days he did not
fly, he would come to the LZ to hang with his buddies...
Everyone is trying to find Dan's father in Florida, while life-support
systems are keeping him barely alive. The bullet entered in the cheek
and went into the brain. I hope he felt little pain from the impact and
thankfully, he's not suffering at this time. If he passes before they
find a family member, the HG community will handle the affairs.
News reports I've seen locally, convey the HG community as a stable and
welcome presence at Ft. Funston Park. Our gliders bring color and
beauty to the area where a non-violent pilot was a victim of violent
crime.
The other pilot, Kurt is recovering. I am including the below update
that has a link to the local Pilot Forum. One of the pilots included
some great footage of Dan flying Funston.
I think reaching out to support Fellow Feather HG community would be welcome.
Lynn
-----Original Message-----
From: FlightPlans@yahoogroups.com [mailto:FlightPlans@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of Daniel Pifko
Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 10:18 PM
To: FlightPlans@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [FlightPlans] Funston shootings
(further updates at http://www.flyfunston.org/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=333 )
So in case everyone hasn't picked up on it, the two pilots were Dan
Murphy and Kurt Schmitz (affectionately, one of the "weird brothers"). I saw Dan and Kurt at the hospital this evening.
The news reports have it pretty much right. Someone just walked up to
Dan, Kurt and Larry, pulled out a gun and started shooting. Dan was hit
first, point blank to the face. Kurt was hit next, and twice. The shooter let
off one additional shot then killed himself. Many of the Funston regulars
were close by, including Raffy, Marcos and others on the ground and Bob and at least one other person in the air. None of the pilots had ever seen the shooter before.
Kurt was in relatively good spirits this evening. He has an amazing
story to tell about how he very narrowly averted being killed. I'll do him the honor of letting him tell you himself when he's up and around. His condition is pretty serious, in that he still has a bullet lodged in his neck near his spine and another fragment in the back of his head where he was shot the second time. As of about 7 pm he was being prepared for surgery to explore and possibly remove the bullet. He spoke to his dad in New York while we were there explaining how positive the prognosis is - which is true. He has full feeling and movement. He'll be out of surgery by sometime tomorrow but will still be groggy for much of the day at least. I don't know if he's going back into the same room, so if you go, just confirm with the desk clerk as you enter the hospital.
Dan is not doing well. "Grim" is right. He had just arrived and was
sitting on his motorcycle, so he couldn't duck or otherwise get out of the way. He's in the ICU, and it's not looking good.
This is all so surreal and tragic. Dan was responsible for me getting
into my first shear. He looked at the air and said I should take off
right then, head straight for the north end as quickly as possible, and just
hang out there going straight up. He was right on. I'm glad I took the
opportunity to thank him, newbie that I was.
Daniel Pifko
I am very sad to report that Dan Murphy will not make it. He has been a
member of the HG community for many years. From what I have learned,
Dan was a former comp pilot and highly regarded. On days he did not
fly, he would come to the LZ to hang with his buddies...
Everyone is trying to find Dan's father in Florida, while life-support
systems are keeping him barely alive. The bullet entered in the cheek
and went into the brain. I hope he felt little pain from the impact and
thankfully, he's not suffering at this time. If he passes before they
find a family member, the HG community will handle the affairs.
News reports I've seen locally, convey the HG community as a stable and
welcome presence at Ft. Funston Park. Our gliders bring color and
beauty to the area where a non-violent pilot was a victim of violent
crime.
The other pilot, Kurt is recovering. I am including the below update
that has a link to the local Pilot Forum. One of the pilots included
some great footage of Dan flying Funston.
I think reaching out to support Fellow Feather HG community would be welcome.
Lynn
-----Original Message-----
From: FlightPlans@yahoogroups.com [mailto:FlightPlans@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of Daniel Pifko
Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 10:18 PM
To: FlightPlans@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [FlightPlans] Funston shootings
(further updates at http://www.flyfunston.org/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=333 )
So in case everyone hasn't picked up on it, the two pilots were Dan
Murphy and Kurt Schmitz (affectionately, one of the "weird brothers"). I saw Dan and Kurt at the hospital this evening.
The news reports have it pretty much right. Someone just walked up to
Dan, Kurt and Larry, pulled out a gun and started shooting. Dan was hit
first, point blank to the face. Kurt was hit next, and twice. The shooter let
off one additional shot then killed himself. Many of the Funston regulars
were close by, including Raffy, Marcos and others on the ground and Bob and at least one other person in the air. None of the pilots had ever seen the shooter before.
Kurt was in relatively good spirits this evening. He has an amazing
story to tell about how he very narrowly averted being killed. I'll do him the honor of letting him tell you himself when he's up and around. His condition is pretty serious, in that he still has a bullet lodged in his neck near his spine and another fragment in the back of his head where he was shot the second time. As of about 7 pm he was being prepared for surgery to explore and possibly remove the bullet. He spoke to his dad in New York while we were there explaining how positive the prognosis is - which is true. He has full feeling and movement. He'll be out of surgery by sometime tomorrow but will still be groggy for much of the day at least. I don't know if he's going back into the same room, so if you go, just confirm with the desk clerk as you enter the hospital.
Dan is not doing well. "Grim" is right. He had just arrived and was
sitting on his motorcycle, so he couldn't duck or otherwise get out of the way. He's in the ICU, and it's not looking good.
This is all so surreal and tragic. Dan was responsible for me getting
into my first shear. He looked at the air and said I should take off
right then, head straight for the north end as quickly as possible, and just
hang out there going straight up. He was right on. I'm glad I took the
opportunity to thank him, newbie that I was.
Daniel Pifko
-
Lynn McLaughlin
- Posts: 297
- Joined: Mon Sep 12, 2005 3:08 pm
A video of dan's famous accident at Telluride: http://www.thoughtequity.com/video/clip ... do?flash=8
Here's an updated story that focuses on Dan:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... FSHOOT.TMP
Here's an updated story that focuses on Dan:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... FSHOOT.TMP