On the evening of August 19, Aberdeen mayor Travis Schaunaman crashed his powered parachute near Westport. His eight-year-old son and ten-year-old daughter were on board with Schaunaman. The boy died; the girl suffered minor injuries; her father had to be treated in the hospital.
The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report on the fatal crash. According to the NTSB, the boy was riding on his father’s lap:
Initial reports revealed that the pilot was seated in the front seat with passenger 1 seated in his lap and passenger 2 was seated in the rear seat as seen in figure 1 [National Transportation Safety Board, Aviation Investigation Preliminary Report: Accident # CEN26LA296, posted by KELO-TV 2026.09.18].
…and Schaunaman was flying without the necessary license:
The accident aircraft does not meet the requirements as outlined in Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 103 to be considered an ultralight vehicle. The aircraft fuel capacity exceeded 5 gallons and is configured for operation for more than a single occupant. The pilot holds an FAA remote pilot certificate for small unmanned aircraft systems.
The powered parachute was retained for further examination [NTSB, 2026.09.18].
Ultralight aircraft may be flown without a pilot’s license. With two seats and fuel capacity greater than five gallons, Schaunaman’s powered parachute had to be flown by a licensed pilot, which Schaunaman is not. Flying that vehicle without a license may prevent Schaunaman from piloting any aircraft in the future. This deadly infraction may also lead to a fine of up to $250,000 and three years in prison.
My goodness…
Such a sad story but Republican is not just another word for Earth hater; it’s another word irresponsible asshole.
Is he married?
Will he stay married?
Willfully, illegally endangering the lives of your children should cause anyone to question his fitness as a parent. This was not an ‘accident.’ This was negligence.
If he wanted to threaten his own life in such an unsafe manner, that is one thing. To involve young children puts it in an entirely separate category.
It’s a dark time we live in. Consider the comments made about this dreadful tragedy. The venom. The hate. And why? Why publicly express such mean-spiritedness? And of course they write their comments under the cover of anonymity. I understand pointing out a politician’s shortcomings, but what happened to a reasonable level of civility? What has happened to our shared sense of humanity?
Peter, as an author you surely know what happened. Donald Trump happened. Such a blaggard we’ll not see again, soon.