Wing Walker, Jane Wicker of Bristow, Dies in Plane Crash

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Wing-Walker, Jane Wicker, 44, who died in a plane crash at the Vectren Air Show at Ohio’s Dayton International Airport, was a resident of Bristow. Wicker died in the plane crash at 12:45 p.m. Saturday, June 22.

Wicker was a solo aerobatics wing-walker recognized by the International Council of Airshows, Inc.

Wicker’s death was announced nationally via the media, but on her The Jane Wicker Airshows Facebook page, there was a personal message.

It read, “It is with sad hearts that we announce that Jane Wicker and Charlie Schwenker were tragically killed while performing at the Vectren Dayton Airshow. We ask for your prayers for the families and privacy of all involved to allow them time to grieve and work through these events.”

No spectators were hurt in the crash.

One of Wicker’s last updates on Facebook said, “In Dayton, ready to rock this town. Had a great drive. Must get to bed if I want to be fresh for those 6:40 and 7:10 a.m. interviews.”

In her last television interview, with Dayton’s News Station, WDTN, Wicker seemed enthusiastic as she explained her profession.

“I actually climb out of the airplane while its in flight and walk all over it and climb all over it and entertain the crowd that way,” Wicker said. “I don’t do it for the money. I do it because it’s just so fun, and I get the opportunity to show people something they have just never seen before.”

Responding to an ad in a Fauquier County newspaper, Wicker decided to try a daring profession.

“I thought it would be fun to try,” Wicker said.

In the interview, she also tells news reporters how she walks along the wings with no safety line, harness or parachute. One of her signature maneuvers involves hanging underneath the wing by her feet, which she said no one else does.

Wicker said she’s a budget analyst by day, but much like Wonder Woman, has a second, more exciting profession that helps her to ward off boredom.

National news sources say they do not yet know the cause of the crash.

Pilot Charlie Schwenker was also a Northern Virginia resident who lived in Oakton.

Attendees of the air show told the Associated Press they noticed that something had gone wrong and the plane was flying too low.

When Wicker spoke to WDTN-TV in an interview, she told them, "I'm never nervous or scared because I know if I do everything as I usually do, everything's going to be just fine."

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