RENOWN AIRSHOW PILOT DIES.

[flyguy]

Renowned airshow performer Greg Poe died suddenly on Sunday from an apparent heart attack, his team announced early on Monday. "It was completely out of the blue," spokesman Greg Gibson told AVweb. He said there had been no prior suspicion of health problems for Poe, who was 57, and his death was "very sudden." Poe was not riding motorcycles at the time, Gibson said, contrary to some rumors that have circulated online. He had been riding earlier in the day, but was a passenger in a truck when he died, Gibson said. Poe, of Boise, Idaho, had flown professionally as an airshow pilot for over 20 years, and acquired over 10,000 flight hours in more than 100 types of aircraft in his career.

Poe had flown at EAA AirVenture in the past, but was not scheduled to be here this week. Poe recently told a reporter for the St. Joseph News-Press that he hoped to be remembered as a pilot, an entertainer, and someone who gives back to the community. "If they remember me as a daredevil, then I've failed," he said. "Because I'm not." Besides his airshow performances, Poe was known for his "Elevate Your Life" youth-outreach program, which he created in 2002 after the drug-related death of his son, Ryan. Greg Poe Airshows issued a statement that it intends to continue operations in both the airshow arena and the Ryan J. Poe Foundation, and will be making decisions toward achieving that goal in the near future.

RIP Greg . . .