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Birth:          21 Jun 1957 
Death:          28 Oct 1991 
Cause of Death: flying accident
Burial:         Woodlawn Cemetery, Urbana, Champaign Co., Ill.

Notes
!PUBL
http://www.news-gazette.com/living/2015-07-05/getting-personal-rudy-frasca.html
Joe Frasca, 34
of Fayetteville, Arkansas
Champaign stunt pilot had thrilled thousands
Herald & Review (Decatur, IL) — Tuesday, October 1, 1991
MATTOON -Joe Frasca received the Excellence in Performance award at last 
year's Coles County Air Showcase. 

"He was a performer's performer. He got more out of an airplane than anyone I've ever 
seen," said Joe Ethridge of Charleston, coordinator of the annual air show. 

Frasca, 34, of Champaign, died Saturday morning near Fayetteville, Ark., when his 
plane crashed. Frasca was flying his single-engine Astrocraft back from Texas, where 
he had just won a spot on the national aerobatics team.

The 320-horsepower engine on the single-seat aerobatic plane reportedly puttered and 
died just before the crash. Witnesses said Frasca got out of the lane before the crash, 
but slipped out of his parachute. 

Frasca had flown the Astrocraft to the recent Decatur air show. His brother Tom flew a 
replica of a Japanese Zero at the air show. 

Friends were bewildered at the accident. 

"He was an excellent pilot. That's one of the things that we're waiting for this 
investigation to show," said Tod Williamson, line supervisor at Frasca Air Service in 
Urbana. 

Ethridge believes the problems with the plane had to have been worse than simply a 
stalled engine. "He's a good enough pilot that he could have brought it down with a 
dead engine," Ethridge said. 

Earlier Monday Ethridge went to the printer to change the program for this year's Air 
Showcase. The page that told about Frasca and his achievements is now a memorial 
to the pilot. 

The show Saturday and Sunday at the Coles County Memorial Airport is being held in 
conjunction with the annual convention of the Professional Airshow Pilot's 
Association. 

Williamson said the Frasca family has asked that any memorial donations be sent to 
the Joe Frasca Aviation Scholarship at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. The 
donations can be sent to Busey Bank, 201 W. Main St., Urbana, IL 61801. The 
primary business of the Frasca family is building and selling flight simulators up to jet 
airliners. 

The family also runs an airport north of Champaign-Urbana, and an aviation museum. 

Williamson said Frasca did not have a family of his own, but was engaged to be 
married. 

Ethridge said accidents at air shows are rare. "These guys are professionals and they 
know what they are doing and they don?t take chances," he said.
Herald & Review (Decatur, IL) — Tuesday, October 1, 1991
findagrave

Parents
FRASCA Rudolph (19 Apr 1931 - 11 May 2020)
----- Lucille A. ()

Siblings
FRASCA Mary ()
FRASCA Tom ()
FRASCA Joseph Peter (21 Jun 1957 - 28 Oct 1991)
FRASCA John ()
FRASCA Bob M. ()
FRASCA Margaret A. (Peggy) ()
FRASCA Elizabeth (Liz) ()
FRASCA David ()

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