re: 30 years ago today we lost Davey Allison

quote:

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he was well into his thirties and had never won a single championship. his best final standings finish was third.... if he had been 22 when he died then sure, but he was 32 and had nine seasons under his belt.

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All of the "Alabama Gang" was overrated.

Bobby probably had the most talent but he was also great at torpedoing his own career by pissing off everyone around him.

eta-NTSB report on the crash.
LINK
Mr. Allison's flight experience in the Hughes 369HS consisted of 2.8 hours of flight instruction. Mr. Allison's flight instructor stated that during the flight training in the 369HS, take-off and landings, autorotations to power recovery, and quick stop procedures were practiced. He stated that at no time during the training, had they practiced down wind landings. He stated that at the completion of the two training sessions, Mr. Allison had stated to him that he intended to fly the helicopter to his(Mr. Allison's) residence and park it until after the race at Talladega. At that time, Mr. Allison, would make an appointment with the flight instructor to complete a thorough check out in the helicopter prior to conducting any flights with passengers.(See Record of Conversation With Mr. John Corley Attached to this Report.)

Insurance companies were contacted on behalf of Mr. Allison, and asked to provide a quotation of premium for coverage on the Hughes 369HS helicopter. One company who offered a quotation, would have required Mr. Allison to complete 25 hours of flight training in the Hughes 369HS prior to solo flight, and 25 hours of solo flight prior to carriage of passengers.(See Insurance Quotation from Aviation Insurance Managers Attached to this Report.)