You don't have clearance, Clarence...

[Sweetheart]

OCALA, Fla. — A car traveling at high speed down a private airport runway ran off an embankment and was airborne for 200 feet before smashing into a tree early Saturday, killing all five young men in the vehicle, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Investigators did not know whether the BMW was alone or was racing another car on the air strip at the exclusive "fly-in" community of Jumbolair Aviation Estates, where pilot-actor John Travolta has a home, officials said.

According to the preliminary investigation, the car ran off the 85-foot-high embankment at the end of the runway. When it struck the large tree, the car split in half, scattering wreckage over an area of 200 square feet.

Three of the five occupants were ejected, said Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Mike Burroughs.

"It's too early in the investigation to determine a speed and also to determine whether seat belts were in use at the time of the crash," Burroughs said.

Two of the five men — ages 18 to 20 — were from Ocala, two were from Fairfield and one was from Anthony, but it was not clear if any of the men lived within the gated community.

Police identified all five victims, but only released the name of two of them, according to The Ocala Star-Banner.





Linky

[z740]

Sounds like something off of Snopes, or Mythbusters. Sad to see this happen.

-Chris

[Brad1711]

Wow. I always wanted to take my girlfriend's Acura on the runway some night, but never got around to doing it.

[pkonowrocki]

Wow. I always wanted to take my girlfriend's Acura on the runway some night, but never got around to doing it.

What model and year ?

[DAL767-400ER]

Darwinism at work :rolleyes: . Doesn't Jumbolair's runway have a displaced threshold? You'd think that once those guys passed that mark they would have attempted to brake.

[Spike]

If one is drunk or stoned enough, one might actually believe a beemer could fly if it got going fast enough. One supposes.

[Brad1711]

What model and year ?

That was back in high school, but I think it was a 99 or 00 3.2TL. The Sedan. Not overly sporty, but faster than my 4cyl Grand Am that topped out at 90mph.

[ptbodale]

Still it is tragic. Five young men dead because of a stupid decision.

[ASpilot2be]

German engineering goes out the window when you have an idiot behind the wheel.

[ZilogMan]

Actually, any technology is cr@p when an idiot controls it.

[ASpilot2be]

Actually, any technology is cr@p when an idiot controls it.

True. It seems like alot of people seem to say that if you have a German engineered car, you can do anything and survive. I was making the point that that is not true at all.

[einesellesenie]

...if you have a German engineered car, you can do anything and survive...

Yep, Diana begs to differ...

[Joey]

Tragic and unnecessary accident.

Weren't there some issues with the pavement on this runway vs Mr Travolta's 707?

[DAL767-400ER]

Weren't there some issues with the pavement on this runway vs Mr Travolta's 707?

Well, after handling JT's 707, late last year the owners suddenly claimed that runway couldn't handle the 707 anymore and shouldn't have to handle it to begin with. Don't know how that story ended, though.

[equal]

Investigators did not know whether the BMW was alone or was racing another car on the air strip at the exclusive "fly-in" community of Jumbolair Aviation Estates, where pilot-actor John Travolta has a home, officials said.

good to know.