Magician Died In Halloween Stunt: The Life Of Joseph "Amazing Joe" Burrus

At 32-years-old, Joseph Burrus had made a name for himself as an amateur magician. Specifically, the name was “Amazing Joe.”  On October 31, 1990, Burrus planned on performing a stunt so spectacular that it would move him from working small crowds of children to a spot as a big time illusionist.

Looking more like someone from the 1920s, he set up his stunt at Blackbeard’s Family Fun Center in Fresno, CA.  His plan was to be handcuffed, enter a clear coffin, lowered into a “grave,”  and allow himself to be buried under three feet of dirt topped with four feet of cement. He would then free himself from the chains, burrow up through the dirt and cement, then appear to the wonderment and applause of his fans.

So, in front of an audience of 150, including his wife, two children, and parents, Burrus smiled and joked before being put into the box and lowered into the ground. Sadly, though Burrus was buried alive, he was pulled out of the grave dead.

After the workers had finished topping up the hole with cement, the level of whole slab sunk about two feet. Realizing the stunt had gone wrong, people rushed the grave and tried to dig Burrus out. He was eventually pulled out, but paramedics on the scene were unable to revive him. His death was due to asphyxia.

He had preformed a similar stunt before using only dirt. Reports state that he did not do enough testing or calculations for his equipment before deciding to add the cement to the act.

For more information here is an article from Ain't No Way To Go.

Also, here is a report on Burrus from "A Current Affair" :

Race Car Driver Dan Wheldon Dies After Las Vegas Crash

The 33-year-old IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon died after a crash today, one in which more than a dozen cars were involved. The crash occurred on lap 12 (some are reporting lap 13). Wheldon was air-lifted to a hospital after the accident. Fellow IndyCar drivers Pippa Mann, J.R. Hildebrand, and Will Power were also sent to hospitals with various injuries.

Here is one article on the crash. Here is an earlier one, reported before Wheldon's death, with a lot of detail of the crash.

Naturally, YouTube has video of the crash, which can be disturbing for some viewers. This was the live video from ABC of the accident:

Chinese Pilot Confirmed Dead

The pilot who couldn't escape from the jet crash at the Beijing airshow has been confirmed to have been killed in the crash. One other pilot was able to eject, and no spectators were injured. Here is one article about the incident.

Jet Crashes At Chinese Air Show: One Pilot Feared Dead

AP is reporting that a jet crashed at an air show in Beijing. One pilot was able to eject, but the other is missing and presumed dead. More information here.

Sea World Traner's Death The Subject Of OSHA Hearing

Here's an article from Reuters about some of the testimony in the hearing concerning the death of Dawn Brancheau last year. She was killed when she and an orca were preparing for a Sea World show. The article is here.

Dancer Yoshiyuki Takada: 1985 Death From Fall

September 10 was the 26^th anniversary of the death of Japanese dancer Yoshiyuki Takada. He was a member of the Butoh-style dance troupe Sankai Juku, and perished when he fell off the side of the Mutual Life Building during a performance of a “hanging dance" in Seattle, Washington.

The dance involved Takada and three of his troupe-mates being suspended from the roof of the building, then slowly being lowered down the outside of the building while in a fetal position. It was a dance performance that Takada and his group had performed many time around the world, but on this occasion, Takada’s rope broke just seconds after starting the descent. The 31-year-old dancer fell a reported 80 feet to the pavement below, never releasing from his fetal position.

After the accident, Takada’s rope was examined and was found to be incapable of holding his weight, which caused the fall. The rumors were that, while some tests on the ropes and the rigging had been done, they had not been a thorough as usual, and it was possible Takada’s rope had not been tested with sandbags to see if it could hold a person’s weight.

The Los Angeles Times reporter Lewis Segal wrote an excellent article on the tragedy two days after it happened, which can be found here.

Reno's Air Race Pilot Was Lifelong Aviator

Air Racer Jimmy Leeward had skill and experience behind him. A May 2011 article in EAA Sport Aviation states that his father taught him to fly as a child and was at the controls by age 11 or 12.

Leeward has appeared in several Hollywood films as a stunt pilot. The 74-year-old pilot even developed a gated community with its own airpark, simply so others who shared his passion of piloting and working on planes could live near each other.

Leeward died Friday, Sept. 16 when his P-51 Mustang plane crashed into the VIP section at the National Championship Air Races, held at the Reno Stead Airport. At this time, nine spectators are reported dead, and six remain in critical condition.

While the investigation into the accident is it the early stages, reports seem to be focusing on a part of the plane, named "The Galloping Ghost," which may have fell off just before the plane went out of control. This piece, called an elevator trim tab, which assists the pilot with stabilizing the pitch of the plane.

Much is being made of the other modifications Leeward and his crew made to the plane to turn it into a racing machine, which include taking five inches off of the length of each wing and other modifications that, to the layperson, sounds a lot like taking important things off of a working plane.

There is even an interview posted on YouTube, the June 2011 National Championship Air Races Podcast, where Leeward makes a chilling-in-hindsight statement: "I know the speed. I know it will do the speed. The systems aren't proven yet. We think they're going to be okay."

This quote is getting some press. However, without knowing much about Leeward or his personality, it almost sounds to me like he is teasing his competition with the possibility that the plane won't be ready to race in time. It seems impossible that a racing professional such as Leeward would enter a race in a plane without having thoroughly tested all changes and modifications to his craft. Leeward, of all people, would know the risks of flying at the aircraft's limits without making sure the changes were safe. I certainly hope that the investigation proves that.

You can view the entire podcast here:

Pilot Identified In West Virginia Air Show Crash

The pilot who died in this weekend's second fatal airshow crash was named. He was John "Flash" Mangan, a father of three and 13-year serviceman in the Air Force. He died in front of the crowd at the Thunder Over The Blue Ridge airshow Saturday, Sept. 17.

His accident and death seems to be getting overshadowed by the crash in Reno, admittedly a harder crash to comprehend since spectators' deaths were involved, so I thought I'd take the time to look into Mangan's accident here.

The AP has and article up interviewing Mangan's son that gives insight into this pilot. You can find it here: AP interview with Sean Mangan.

West Virginia Air Show Crash, Sept. 17, 2011

After Reno's air crash, another heartbreaking accident happened Saturday at an airshow in Martinsburg, WV. The pilot was the only fatality in this accident. Again, video of the accident is already showing up on YouTube.

Video From Reno Air Race Crash: Sept. 16, 2011

As of this writing, there are reports that the pilot and at least 8 spectators have died in the Reno, Nevada air race crash that is all over the news. Video of the crash, from several different angles, is showing up all over YouTube. Here are just a couple of them:

Close up video of the impact:

HD video of the crash

Video Of The Station Nightclub Fire

Need to see just how quickly a nightclub can go from a party to a death trap? This video was taken by WPRI-TV cameraman Brian Butler. It's visual documentation of the Feb. 20, 2003 Station fire that claimed the lives of 100 people, including White Lion guitarist Ty Longley. Warning: Disturbing images lie within.

How To Survive A Nightclub Fire

In doing some research into deaths at nightclubs, I’ve stumbled upon some disturbing trends concerning fires that too often kill both performers and audience members. People who enjoy their nightclubs may want to keep these things in mind, since many pop up in more than one disaster

1. Don’t lock the fire exits. Many nightclub owners and managers seem to hate their emergency exits and either lock or chain them to keep people from getting in the club without paying. The majority of deadly nightclub fires have this element. In the case of the Rhythm Club, windows hand been boarded up to keep anyone from being able to hear the music outside, and in the case of the Ozone Disco Club, a new building had magically sprung up to block the fire exits.

2. Don’t use pyrotechnics if the building can’t handle it.. The Lame Horse fire in Russia, Republica Cromanon fire in Argentina, the Wuwang fire in China, and The Station fire that took the life of Great White lead guitarist Ty Longley were all started by pyrotechnics.

3. Don’t rush the front door. Unless, of course, it truly is the closet door to you. It seems to be human nature to try to go out the same door you came in. What seems to happen in a nightclub fire is that people rush the door, cause a stampede or otherwise block the door, causing many deaths from trampling and trapping others inside to be killed by the smoke and flames. Provided the fire exits actually work, try heading out one of them.

Robin Munis: Tragic Murder Of A Singer

Robin Munis had a clear, deep, soulful voice, dark long hair, and a warm and sincere smile that showed the world her inner peacefulness. She had four beautiful children whom she loved. She also had a troubled marriage that was blowing up. Munis had just separated from her husband, David Munis, whose constant telephone calls were beginning to upset her.

She contacted police on Friday, July 13, 2007, about harassing calls from her husband. Still, the calls didn’t seem threatening, and Robin planned to keep her appointment for that evening, a gig with her band, Ty and the Twisters, of which she was the lead vocalist. They were to play at the Old Chicago restaurant in Cheyenne, Wyoming, a familiar stage for the group.

Robin Munis was on that stage, singing, in front of a large crowd when, just after midnight, a pop sounded from the parking lot of Old Chicago. A glass door shattered, smoke filled the room, and Robin fell to the stage floor. She’d been shot by a single bullet from a high-power rifle, killed sniper-style in mid-song.

A manhunt began almost immediately, for the police had only one suspect in mind: Robin’s husband. David Munis was a staff sergeant in the Wyoming Army National Guard, and before that, a member of the U.S. Army, where he had attended a sniper school. Helicopters from his National Guard unit were used to help police try to track down their suspect.

Three days later, David Munis was found, still alive but with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his chest. He was airlifted to a hospital, but died within hours.

Sources:

Cameron Mathews, “Gunshot Echos Remain,” WyomingNews.com, July 17, 2007.

Becky Orr, “Manhunt Under Way, WyomingNews.com, July 15, 2007.

Cameron Mathews, “It’s Over: David Munis Dead Of Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound To Chest,” WyomingNews.com, July 18, 2007.

Lee Morgan: Interview with Billy Hart

Here is an mp3 interview (warning--sound file with bad language) I found from jazz drummer Billy Hart, where he describes the circumstances surrounding the on-stage murder of trumpet player Lee Morgan. I found this thanks to a Groove Notes article called "The Most Famous Murder In Jazz." Both article and
interview are worth checking out.