Show Denver Dies in Plane Crash By Andy Crow F Writer John Denver singer on avid pilot crashed into the ocean off the coast of Monterrey CA Police said Denver 53 died on impact His body was identified by fin fin- Results from Mondays Monday's tests found no substance abuse or foul play were involved in the crash A pilot for more than 20 years Denver crashed while testing an experimental plane In the many small plane makers were involved in lawsuits that caused their eventual shut downs As a result of those shut downs the popularity of the smaller lighter and funner fanner experimental planes rose considerably The Long-EZ Long model that Denver was flying was one of experimental planes currently in use Experimental planes have not met strict Federal Aviation Administration safety standards But the planes do meet the FAAs FAA's minimum minimum minimum mini mini- mum safety standards About 25 of the accidents is experimental planes occur in the first 10 hours of flight The FAA doesn't allow in passengers in until pilots have flown and tested the plane at least 25 to 40 hours Some experimental planes crashed last year On Saturday Denver spent the day testing the plane He performed landings rolled down the runway and lifted off again He did some of the same tests on Sunday before leaving on a one hour test flight the last test flight would make Denver became known for his popular folk songs in the and Since his early music days Denver has been active in environmental environmental environmental environ environ- mental He helped found a nonprofit environmental group t. t called the Foundation He also helped found Plant-it Plant Zoo a reforestation project Denver combined his social awareness ideals and his music when he performed performed performed per per- formed in the 1995 Wildlife Concert In 1985 Denver was the first American to tour and in the USSR in almost 40 years He also made similar trips to China 1992 and Vietnam 1994 |