Man, 71, dies when his experimental aircraft crashes in Groveland

GROVELAND — An unregistered experimental aircraft crashed at the Groveland airport at 1:30 p.m. April 19, killing the pilot, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The pilot was Bob Bailey, 71, according to his friend of 40 years, Eric Williams, who is also the airport manager.

Bailey was the designer of the Bailey Dragonfly, Williams told the Daily Commercial.

The plane was delivered to Bailey for its initial test flight by a man from California, said Williams, who aided investigators from the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.

“The plane was not assembled correctly,” said Williams, who is intimately familiar with the structure of the plane.

There was a bolt missing where the wing spar joins the fuselage, according to Williams. “He [Bailey] could not have seen that.”

He described the Dragonfly as a step up from an ultralight, capable of aerobatics.

He said the plane was about 350 above the field and in a crosswind when the wing broke off.

“It’s very unfortunate. It was not his fault,” Williams said.