CAMERON, Mo. — Families expecting to have a fun day at the Cameron AirShow instead experienced tragedy, as a pilot crashed into the trees in front of them.
The Mosby pilot, Steve O’Berg, died shortly after the crash.
One fan of his just happened to be taking video of what he thought was a stunt, but then realized something went horribly wrong.
“He had gone through most of his routine already. I was thinking I’ve got enough, I might just sit back and watch,” said Donovan Kundiger.
But instead he kept recording. He was a fan of Steve O’Berg’s air show. An ex-pilot himself, Kundiger enjoys taking videos of the stunts.
“At first I thought, ‘well he’s just playing. He’s trying to make it sound like part of the show,’” said Kundiger.
Then he and hundreds of others realized something wasn’t right, as O’Berg’s plane disappeared from view.
“It was very eerie. I wasn’t sure if it was some kind of gag. I’ve been to air shows before and I thought that plane would somehow come back up from there eventually,” witness John Durrett said.
But it never did and as emergency crews rushed to O’Berg, families realized they had witnessed a tragedy.
“Everybody was shocked. It’s not something to expect to see at an air show. I’ve never seen that before. It’s something I’ll never forget,” Durrett said.
“I know for me personally, it hurt me and I don’t even know the guy,” Kundiger said.
But witnesses say there were people in the audience who did. They say O’Berg’s wife was in the crowd and saw it all.
“She was quite devastated. She was scared for him to fly in the first place. She knew the dangers. This has got to of been a terrible experience for her now. I just can’t imagine,” said Kundiger.
O’Berg’s website shows he had been flying since 1983 and served 23 years in the military.
His last Facebook status details his excitement for the day.
“I loved flying. I know he loved flying. There’s always people who say well he went the way he wanted to go. But nobody really wants to go,” Kundiger said.
An eerie silence remained for the day and an image witnesses say they will never forget.
“It’s pretty sobering,” said one witness.
The FAA is investigating the crash.
Earlier coverage:
