Driver and pilot Carl Edwards relieved to see Jack Roush walk away, wonders what happened at busy Wisconsin airstrip
Carl Edwards would like to know exactly why Jack Roush crashed his airplane. // Jim Fluharty, NASCAR Illustrated
LONG POND, Pa. – Carl Edwards put Jack Roush’s plane crash from Tuesday in fairly simple perspective when addressing the media Friday at Pocono Raceway.
“That’s the greatest thing in the world to see him walk out of that airplane,” Edwards said about his car owner. “It’s like they say: Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing.
“So we’re just glad he’s OK.”
Roush, co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing, was injured when he crashed while landing his plane at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wis.
Photos showed the plane tumble on its side as it landed with the landing gear down. Exactly what happened to Roush as he crashed his small Raytheon Premier jet is still unclear. The plane was ripped apart at the fuselage and is considered destroyed in the accident, which occurred at about 7:17 p.m. EDT.
The 68-year-old Roush, who exited the plane with a bloodied face and clothes, has had facial surgery and was moved Wednesday to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., where he is being treated.
According to tapes of the air traffic controllers and Roush that were available through aviation websites, Roush told the controllers he was not comfortable with the flow of air traffic at the busy airstrip.
“Is 6JR going to be OK with this?” he asked the controller in referencing his plane.
The controller then asked him to affirm he was and Roush responded, “I don’t think so.”
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating and should have a preliminary report issued early next week.
“I have flown into Oshkosh a couple of times in my jet and it’s amazing,” said Edwards, who also is a pilot. “They get more planes in and out of there than anywhere I’ve ever seen, so it’s very tight quarters and there are a lot of planes stacked up one behind the other, all at varying speeds, so it’s a high-pressure situation for the guys controlling from the ground and for the pilots.”
Roush is an aviation buff and an experienced pilot, although this was his second crash.
“Flying is inherently dangerous,” Edwards said. “You’re defying gravity and it’s complex, but I think until we really know what happened – I mean, I don’t know what happened. I’ve flown in there. I’m as close to the situation as anyone. I’m a pilot and I still don’t understand exactly what happened.
“I think it’ll be really interesting to see what Jack has to say and how what went down went down.”
Roush nearly lost his life while piloting a small plane near Troy, Ala., on his 60th birthday on April 19, 2002. He hit a power line and landed upside down in eight feet of water. The longtime NASCAR team owner was not breathing when he was rescued and sustained a broken leg, a collapsed lung and head injuries.
“Jack’s a very, very, very good pilot,” said Richard Childress Racing driver Jeff Burton. “I think it is easy to say, ‘Well, he doesn’t fly for an airline so maybe he’s not a great pilot,’ but let me tell you, he takes a lot of pride in being a great pilot.
“I’ve flown with Jack a lot and I’d fly with him again today. It’s sad to see what he is going through. But he is tough and he’ll be OK.”
For the Roush drivers and the entire garage, it was strange not to have Roush in attendance.
“We know that he’s got some surgeries to probably go through and it’s gonna be a little bit of a road to recovery, but we know he’s gonna be all right and back at it,” said Roush Fenway driver Greg Biffle.
