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Posted
On 2/10/2025 at 12:09 PM, Hagbard Celine said:

BAY AREA ALERT

SAN DIEGO ALERT

 

THE LAST MARTIN MARS FLEW FROM VANCOUVER TO ALAMEDA YESTERDAY

IT IS SCHEDULED TO FLY TO SAN DIEGO TOMORROW (TUESDAY)

THEN IT WILL FLY TO AN "UNDISCLOSED" LAKE IN ARIZONA where it will be taken apart and trucked to pima

 

THIS IS THE LAST TIME A LARGE SEAPLANE WILL TAKE TO THE AIR

if you live in the bay area, especially if you have kids, pack a cooler and get to the alameda seaplane pier before sunrise TOMORROW!!!!!  - departure time is not announced

7 were built - the 2 survivors were delivered to the US Navy in 1946 - others at bottom of ocean or broken up

 

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/re-engined-philippine-mars-ready-for-final-flight/

https://vintageaviationnews.com/warbirds-news/philippine-mars-takes-flight-again-embarking-on-its-journey-west.html

https://skiesmag.com/news/philippine-mars-lands-in-san-francisco-bay-en-route-to-final-resting-place/

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/wwii-flying-boat-20157568.php (visible in read mode)

https://www.scimag.news/news-en/112365/marooned-in-maintenance-the-philippine-mars-epic-journey-to-an-arizona-museum/ (stupid ai graphic)

 

 

I’d never heard of a Martin Mars before, but I can see from your post it’s a pretty big deal. We took off out of Oakland yesterday and I guess the FO was looking straight down at that airplane on our climb out.  He mentioned seeing a really big seaplane right down there near Alameda. I couldn’t see it from my side I didn’t think much of it until I saw this post.  

Posted

Someone on here may know him. 

Quote

An experienced aviator from Dallas has been identified as the man killed in a plane crash in Arizona this week. 

Joe Vitosky, 78, was piloting the jet owned by Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil when it crashed, killing him.

The pilot's daughter says she heard the majority of the information through the news Monday. She learned the plane belonged to Neil, and she knew immediately.

What we know: 

Joe Vitosky was piloting a jet on Monday from Austin, Texas, to Scottsdale, Arizona.

Video from the runway shows the Learjet colliding with a parked Gulfstream Jet.

Officials say the Learjet's landing gear failed.

Vitosky was killed. Three others on the plane were hurt.

 One person on the parked Gulfstream was injured.

"If there would have been anybody there who could have done anything in this situation, I wholeheartedly believe he did it, and he saved their lives," said Jane Schertzer, Vitosky’s daughter.

Multiple investigations into the crash are still underway.

Debris was still being cleared from the Scottsdale Airport on Wednesday.

Schertzer says at 78, her father was still mentally and physically fit.

"You still have to go through all these physicals and other things," she said. "They won’t let you fly if you can’t pass them. Well, he passed with flying colors."

The backstory:

Joe Vitosky spent his life mostly in the air.

The seasoned aviator flew choppers and fighter jets in the U.S. Marines, serving in Vietnam.

Vitosky worked for American Airlines and then went on to become a longtime flight instructor at Southwest Airlines.

In addition to time with commercial aviation, Vitosky flew private charter planes.

Dallas was his home for 25 years.

Schertzer, who lives in Mississippi, wants her father's life to be remembered with deep ties to North Texas. 

"My dad lives there, and he is married. His wife lives there and overseas between the two. He always travels back and forth.  He's literally a world traveler," she said.

What's next: 

Schertzer is still working on her father’s funeral plans.

Vitosky's body is still part of the ongoing NTSB investigation. 

Posted
6 hours ago, CycleTex87 said:

Well it’s Laredo, so…..

You should see how many car wrecks they have on a daily basis.  Dad has more or less stopped going there for stuff.  Now he goes to Roma or Mission. 

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