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Billy Mays dies after US Airways flight — is there a link?

June 28, 2009

Billy_maysBelieve it or not, the latest celebrity death has a travel angle. TV pitchman Billy Mays, who was found dead in his Tampa home this morning, was a passenger on a US Airways flight yesterday. His son first reported the news on Twitter.

And here’s where things get a little weird.

The highly respected TV Newser blog connects the dots.

Mays was on board a US Airways flight yesterday that made an emergency landing in Tampa after its front tires blew out. It is unsure whether Mays’ death was related to the incident.

Here’s what’s known about the emergency landing, courtesy of the AP:

A Tampa International Airport spokeswoman says a runway was closed after a US Airways jet apparently blew its front tires while landing.

Airport spokeswoman Brenda Geoghagan says no passengers or crew on flight 1241 from Philadelphia were hurt when the jet landed Saturday afternoon. The passengers were taken to a secure area and then released to claim their baggage.

The incident left debris on the runway.

Mays was quoted after the landing by a Tampa FOX affiliate:

All of a sudden as we hit you know it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping. It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head.

(TMZ is reporting that Mays wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.)

Mays also commented about the landing on Twitter.

Just had a close call landing in Tampa. The tires blew out upon landing. Stuck in the plane on the runway. You can always count on US Air.

A US Airways spokesman told CNN there were no reported passenger injuries from the flight, and that it would “cooperate fully” with authorities in the investigation.

Is TV Newser speculating that the stress caused by a blown out tire somehow killed him? Or that something hit him on the head, leading to an untimely, Natasha Richardsonesque death?

Sounds a little far-fetched to me. But in a week when death is very fashionable among celebs, I wouldn’t rule anything out.

Let’s wait for the autopsy.

Update (6/28, 4:33 p.m.): US Airways spokesman James Olson has responded to my inquiry:

Yes, I can confirm that [Billy Mays] was on flight 1241 from PHL to Tampa yesterday. We were obviously very sad to learn of Mr. Mays’ passing this morning and have him and his family in our thoughts and prayers today.

The 737-400 blew out its two front tires during its scheduled landing at TPA. There were no reports of injuries by any of the 138 passengers or 5 crew onboard.

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25 comments

  • http://cestbeth.com Beth

    I agree, let’s wait and see. But what a coincidence, huh?

  • http://www.tourgolfblog.com Tour Golf Blog

    Possible bleeding on the brain from trauma caused by a falling piece of luggage? Seems to be a popular way to die lately. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

  • MER

    most likely a subdural hematoma, if he was hit on the head, very unfortunate because this can be treated!

  • Mike

    Well, if in fact he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt during landing, I would not say US Airways killed him. Things can happen during takeoff and landing.

    Any trauma to the head should be checked by a doctor.

  • Charlie Z

    Chris – The connection may very well be there, but don’t you think the headline for this posting is a bit sensationalistic?

  • Charlie Z

    My other questions is how an FAA spokesperson conclusively state the following at this point: “The passenger needs to wear a seat belt during landing and he didn’t.”

    Has there been a report to this effect by an authoratative witness?

  • Christopher Elliott

    @Charlie Z, on reflection, no. I note that my good friends at FlyerTalk asked the same question at exactly the same time I posted this:

    http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/newsstand/969550-did-usairways-kill-billy-mays.html

    Also, it was TV Newser connecting the dots. I’m just reporting this.

    My opinion, clearly stated at the conclusion, is that I think it’s a stretch. But we’ll have to see …

  • BRIAN

    YES. US AIRWAYS DID KILL BILLY MAYS AND I AM BOYCOTTING THEM. THIS IS WORSE THAN MICHAEL JACKSON. HE WAS A LEGEND.

  • http://www.pitchmanbillymays.com/ Charles

    Wow this is too sad. I love watching Billy work his magic on the screen. Guess Pitchmen is canceled now? :(

  • John

    It’s amazing to me how many blogs have the: “The passenger needs to wear a seat belt during landing and he didn’t” – and it’s attributed to the FAA. Maybe the FAA should find out what happened during the landing? Isn’t that what they’re paid to do? That’s way out of line – instead of commenting on the actions of a passenger who had nothing to do with what happened – they should be focusing on what matters. The “FAA” wasn’t on the plane. The “FAA” didn’t see what happened.

  • Charlie Z

    Chris – In fact, I do think that there may well be a connection, ala Natasha Richardson’s tragic case where her seemingly minor head injury turned out to be fatal.

    My main concern was with the original title of your post, which has now been changed to something I think is more representative of the situation. It’s better to question whether there was a link between events from the flight and his death, rather than whether an airline “killed” someone, which many might interpret as implying possible criminal negligence (or worse, intent).

  • flyr4life

    Brian your an Idiot if you think us air killed him. Your prob one of the nutcases that are talking away while the saftey notices are going on in the airplane then first to sue when u dont know what to do. Any buddy remember valuejet now that was a crappy airline full of mistakes. Airtravle is dangerous why dont u stick to the ground dip^&^&@##

  • Amanda

    I still fail to see why Mays wearing/not wearing a seatbelt would make a difference in this case. Couldn’t something have fallen on his head if e was safely strapped and sitting in his seat?

  • mike

    FAA got caught with their pants down. Injuries in a plane accident and NTSB probably wasn’t called in by the FAA.

  • Tom

    If US Air has so little money that they’re landing planes with bald tires, can’t imagine there’s going to be much for Billy Mays estate to sue for.

  • Barbara

    I was shocked to see what had happened to Billy. Everytime I’ve been on a plane the attendants always check to make sure you have your seatbelts on before take off and landing. And what diffenence would it make if you did or not when sometime falls and hits you in the head? The seat belt isn’t going to help you then. My son and daughter-in law just flew on US Air and they also had very ROUGH landing coming and going. Maybe the pilots need a little more training in that area. Thank mine children are ok and alive. My prays go out to the Mays family

  • Sully Sullinberger

    It is obvious to me that my landing went so good due to the massive computer network found on the Airbus 320 but other piulots fling older 737 aircraft that have far less electronic aides have to rely on their own abilities. USAirways – America West should be sued out of existence I can say this since I no longer work there.

  • Liz

    CNN is currently reporting that he had heart disease and was likely killed by a sudden cardiac event in his sleep. At this point, I’d say the air travel connection is a strange coincidence, but not a factor.

  • Pingback: tripso.com | FAA official: “There was no mention whatsoever of the possibility that Billy Mays wasn’t wearing a seatbelt”

  • James

    Shouldn’t we wait until all the evidence is in before making accusations and speculating? We may all have our gripes against airlines, but let’s be fair here.

  • http://paciftravl@aol.com Douglas

    Really strange how some people make all these pronouncements
    before anyone knows anything. This morning’s news reported
    that the man had an enlarged heart, a condition that can, and in
    this case was, fatal. Coincidence that he had something fall on
    his head the day before? Maybe. But the night before my father
    passed away he stubbed his toe. We can speculate from now
    until the cows come home that his stubbing his toe caused his
    demise. Let’s get a grip, folks. Let autopsy results be broadcast
    before going off half-cocked on subjects not full understood.

    Second, ‘Sully’, you’ve betrayed yourself. You cannot possibly be
    the pilot of US Air 1549. Pilots can spell and write English
    correctly and grammatically. Your use of the language is an
    absolute disaster. And no airline pilot, no matter what airline
    he flies for or used to fly for, would EVER make a remark in
    public that it should be sued out of existence.

    DS

  • ed

    Uh…what was Billy Mays doing flying on a commercial plane anyway? Billy and Sully have a fractional ownership through Avantair which was made quite obvious in several episodes through product placement! This just goes to show…if you own a plane (even fractional ownership) then fly it!
    Ed

  • Kevin M

    As a follow-up since things have obviously changed a lot on the ground since this story ran: I think now we know that Billy Mays’ death had nothing to do with being a U.S. Airways passenger and a lot to do with being a cokehead.

    As much as I despise US Airways (and they’re very, very high on my list of despicable companies), for once I think we can say “not their fault.”

  • BucksterSF

    I’m guessing God blew in a sudden wind shear in a subtle way of saying “Enough of the screaming infomercials…”

  • BucksterSF

    But seriously, probably had more to do with cocaine than a rough landing.

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