When Roy Halladay’s Icon MY2018 A5 crashed in the Gulf of Mexio, killing him, on Tuesday, it became the third plane of its kind to crash – and the second to do so fatally.
Halladay, the former award-winning MLB pitcher, had become infatuated with flying since his retirement in 2013, and was one of the first in the world to pilot the A5, which is marketed as a plane that anyone can fly.
But concerns have been raised about representing the unique $389,000 seaplane as a ‘toy’ – especially one that can skim the surface of the ocean.
‘It’s a very new design,’ aviation journalist Stephen Pope told Yahoo! Sports, ‘but what we know about the airplane is, the plane is safe, but marketing the airplane designed to be a flying toy… seems like a recipe for disaster.’
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Roy Halladay (pictured) died when his Icon A5 plane – of which only 23 have been constructed – crashed into the Gulf of Mexico, around 10 miles west of St Petersburg, at 1pm on Tuesday
The ex-MLB pitcher had been given the first in a special series of A5s (pictured) and was promoting it for the company. But his became the third to crash this year
Halladay’s plane is seen here in the water. The amphibious plane has been marketed as a ‘flying sports car’ by Icon’s founder, and is promoted as a plane for people with little flying experience
Much of the marketing around the Icon – an amphibious plane that can be folded up and towed by a truck – is based around it being easy for even non-pilots to fly.
The company’s website promises that ‘Flying the A5 has never been more accessible’ and that ‘Icon’s innovative flight training and available rental program make it easy and fun.’
It offers a pair of flight centers on either coast, saying that ‘Whether flying is something you’ve dreamt of your whole life or something you never seriously considered because you thought it was out of reach, Icon and the A5 will show you that it’s easier than you think.’
The company’s founder, Kirk Hawkins, claimed to be ‘democratizing’ flight in an interview with Forbes last year, adding that the A5 is a ‘pure lifestyle product’ more akin to a sports car than a plane.
And much of the marketing on the company’s website plays up the plane’s handling on and over water.
Photos show A5s speeding over the glimmering surfaces of lakes and oceans, and kicking up spray as they come into land.
And on October 31, Halladay – who was selected to promote the A5 – tweeted: ‘I keep telling my dad flying the Icon A5 low over the water is like flying a fighter jet! His response….. I am flying a fighter jet!!’
Halladay’s was the third A5 to crash this year. In April, another A5 (pictured) crashed off Florida. Neither the pilot nor co-pilot were hurt in the ‘hard landing’ that damaged the hull
In May, the plane’s lead designer and another Icon employee died when this A5 flew into a closed-off canyon was water maneuvers. Unable to exit, the pilot crashed
That has led to people viewing the A5 as ‘a toy,’ claimed Pope, who is the editor-in-chief of Flying Magazine and describes the plane as seeming like a ‘Jet Ski with wings’.
‘They see it as a pleasure craft, used for flying on water, which it seems what Roy was doing,’ he said. ‘It’s to play around in and have some fun.’
But although only 23 of the tiny planes have been made thus far, three have already crashed, including Halladay’s – and all occurred while flying over water.
On April 1, an A5 crashed on water in a hard landing near Miami. Neither the passenger nor pilot were injured, Flying Mag reported at the time.
However, the plane’s hull was damaged and it sank up to its wings. Flying Mag noted at the time that the A5 was ‘marketed by the California manufacturer to nonpilot thrill seekers’.
On May 8, a second crash occurred during ‘water maneuvers’ in a California canyon – killing two Icon employees, one of whom was the lead designer of the plane.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the pilot – designer John Murray Karkow, 55 – had flown into the wrong canyon.
Unable to make the 180-degree-turn needed to escape, the plane crashed into the banks of the canyon’s lake, killing both people on board.
It’s not yet known what caused Halladay’s crash, but the plane was seen in photographs broken and twisted, and floating in shallow water. It will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Many of the plane’s promotional images emphasize its ability to fly close to the water – something that one expert says is highly dangerous, especially for inexperienced pilots
Flying Magazine editor-in-chief Stephen Pope said that marketing the A5 as a ‘flying toy’ was ‘a recipe for disaster’. Icon’s founder claimed he is ‘democratizing flying’
Just a week ago, Halladay had boasted that he had been flying ‘low over the water’ and that the experience was ‘like flying a fighter jet’. Halladay got his pilot’s license in 2014
Pope stressed that the plane is ‘great’ but had concerns about people attempting low-level flying over water.
‘They still think that that’s the way the airplane should be flown, and there are people in aviation who completely disagree with that,’ he told the Boston Herald.
‘They think you should not have a low-time pilot flying low over water.’
He also told Yahoo! Sports that three crashes in less than a year would ‘raise eyebrows in the aviation community and surely… the FAA’.
On Tuesday evening, Icon said in a statement that it was ‘devastated’ by Halladay’s death.
‘We have gotten to know Roy and his family in recent months, and he was a great advocate and friend of ours,’ the company said.
‘The entire Icon community would like to pass on our deepest condolences to Roy’s family and friends. Icon will do everything it can to support the accident investigation going forward and we will comment further when more information is available.’
Halladay, 40, was a keen pilot who had shown off new his A5 on Twitter several times prior to his death.
Police said the former Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, who lived in Florida with wife Brandy and sons 13-year-old Ryan and 17-year-old Braden, came down around 10 miles west of St Petersburg at around 1pm.
Investigators initially had trouble locating a flight plan that could confirm the number of people in the plane, WFLA reported.
Halladay received the ICON A5 on October 12, and was one of the first to receive the special ‘Founder’s Edition’ version of the plane, according to a tweet from the company.
Authorities are seen here investigating Halladay’s small plane crash in the Gulf of Mexico. The cause of the crash is still under investigation
Halladay is best known for pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies (left in 2013) and Toronto Blue Jays. He posted up several videos and pictures (one right) taken in his Icon A5
High-school baseball player Nolan Hudi (left) posted this video of himself and Halladay in Halladay’s plane over Florida on Saturday
Icon posted up a now-removed interview with Halladay on its site in which he enthused about his love of flying – and remarked on its safety.
‘I’ve been dreaming about flying since I was a boy but was only able to become a pilot once I retired from baseball,’ he said.
‘I’ve owned other aircraft, but no aircraft embodies the adventure or captured the dream of flying like the A5. Not only is it the safest and easiest aircraft I’ve ever flown, it is hands-down the most fun.’
He continued: ‘The beaches, lakes, and waterways my family and I get to explore around Florida are mind-blowing. Words don’t do justice to what the A5 allows us to experience.
‘Even my wife, who used to be uncomfortable in small planes, now asks where we should take the A5 for the weekend. I’m honored to own the first A5 Founders Edition.’
In a promotional video released by Icon prior to the crash, Brandy Halladay does indeed complain that she’s not comfortable with flying.
‘She fought me the whole way,’ Halladay said in the video, while stood next to his wife.
‘Hard. I fought hard. I was very against it,’ she responded, later adding that she never grew up around small planes like Halladay.
Later, she says, ‘I looked over [at him] and said “I get it, I get it. This is amazing.”‘
Icon has removed several of the Halladay-related videos and articles from YouTube and its own website.
Halladay ‘loved to fly,’ Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said in a press conference shortly after the death. ‘He would talk about flying, he would talk about refurbishing planes.
‘He talked about how he grew up doing it. He talked about his family, he talked about baseball and he talked about flying.’
Icon announced on October 12 that it had delivered the A5 – the first of a series of special ‘Founders Edition’ models – to the player
Roy Halladay’s wife Brandy (left) said she was against her husband flying just one month before he was killed in a now- haunting video that has since been removed from YouTube
She said she finally understood her husband’s passion after taking a ride in the plane during a training flight near St Petersburg, Florida
Halladay played for the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies from 1998 to 2013, and was one of just six MLB pitchers to win the Cy Young Award in both the American and National Leagues.
In 2010, at the age of 33, he pitched a pair of no-hitters, including one against the Cincinnati Reds in the first game of the National League Division Series.
He is one of only two players, along with former New York Yankees hurler Don Larsen, to ever throw a no-hitter in the playoffs.
From 2001 to 2011, Halladay was second in the MLB in wins, ERA (the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher) and WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched). His 64 complete games – played without a relief pitcher taking over – were 30 more than any other pitcher in the league.
After retiring, he moved to Tampa Bay with Brandy. He got his pilot’s license in 2014.
He also worked in his retirement as a pitching coach at Calvary Christian school, where Braden is a relief pitcher.
And he was nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award several times for his work with underprivileged children.
Halladay and Brandy (pictured in December 2009) met as kids but lost touch in high school when her family left Colorado. The pair reconnected when Brandy’s family moved back in 1996
Halladay (middle) poses for a photograph with his sons Braden (left) and Ryan during Toronto Blue Jays batting practice at the Rogers Centre in April 2014
Halladay graduated from Arvada West High School in Arvada, Colorado, where he played on the basketball team (Halladay seen left in his senior year in 1995, and right on the team)
Roy Halladay (back row, center) on the Arvada West High School varsity basketball team
In the press conference announcing his death, Pasco County Sheriff Nocco recounted times the former baseball player helped the station, such as donating the funds for a department canine.
To show their gratitude, the officers named the dog K9 Doc. In a photo on the office’s Facebook page dedicated to its K9 unit, the dog is seen sitting in a office chair ‘reviewing his search patterns.
As news of Halladay’s death spread, tributes poured in on social media.
The Philadelphia Phillies issued a statement saying ‘We are numb over the very tragic news of Roy Halladay’s untimely death.
‘There are no words to describe the sadness that the entire Phillies family is feeling over the loss of one of the most respected human beings to ever play the game,’ it read.
‘It is with the heaviest of hearts that we pass along our condolences to Brandy, Ryan and Braden.’
Former Phillies teammate Shane Victorino wrote: ‘Gone too soon my friend!!! Blessed to have shared the field with you as a teammate, competitor, friend and more importantly a brother. Praying for Brandy, Ryan and Brayden’
Roy Oswalt said: ‘Heart is broken to hear about Roy Halladay .great friend, teammate, father and husband. One of the best teammates ever! You will be missed!’
And Ian Shantz, editor of the Toronto Sun, posted up a picture of Halladay with his family that he could only describe as ‘heartbreaking’.
Halladay pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1998 to 2009 and for the Philadelphia Phillies from 2010 to 2013.
Ian Shantz, editor of the Toronto Sun, posted up this picture of Halladay with his family, which he could only describe as ‘heartbreaking’
The Philadelphia Phillies said in a statement that they were ‘numb’ over Halladay’s ‘untimely death’ and that the whole team was sad over the loss
The Toronto Blue Jays also shared a statement on Roy Halladay’s passing saying the organization is ‘overcome by grief’
One of Halladay’s teammates, Shane Victorino, said that Halladay was ‘gone too soon’ and that he was lucky to have him as a ‘brother’
Baseball players such as Justin Turner and Mike Trout took to Twitter to express their condolences over Halladay’s death