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Steven O’Berg, 50, from Smithville, MO died Saturday when his biplane crashed while performing stunts at an air show at Cameron, MO shortly before 2 pm.
Rescue crews transported O’Berg to a hospital. No one else was injured, and spectators were never in danger, according to a statement on the show’s website page. The show was canceled after the crash on Saturday but resumed on Sunday.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.
Steve O’Berg’s brother read the following family statement on Sunday afternoon:
Steven Carl O'Berg, 50, my brother was killed while piloting his Pitts S2-B bi-plane at the Cameron Airshow yesterday. Steven was a husband, father, grandfather, son and brother and his loss is devastating to our family and friends.
Steve's passion was flying. In fact, one of his earliest childhood memories was of flying with our father and brother when he was a very small boy, over 40 years ago. Steve was a skilled pilot with more than 30 years of flying experience in both military and private aviation and flew both fixed and rotor wing aircraft. Steve loved to share his passion for aviation, which is why performing at local airshows gave him great pride.
As you can imagine, this sudden loss is extremely difficult for our family to absorb. While the FAA and NTSB are conducting their investigation, we ask that members of the media respect our privacy as we grieve the loss of our beloved family member. Please accept this statement as the only comment our family wishes to make at this time. Thank you for your understanding in this most difficult matter.
End of statement
