Infamous Indy Car Racer, Reno Air Racer Bill Whittington Killed In Metro III Crash in Winslow, AZ

[FlyingElvii]

All I can say is... WOW.....
Had the opportunity to meet him a few times through the years, let's just say he lived a "Colorful" life. Look it up, it is well detailed.

Won the 24 hours of LeMans
Raced P-51's and an F8F Bearcat at the Reno Air Races.
Ran 5 Indy 500's, NASCAR Daytona, and many other races...

Had apparently taken a friend with terminal cancer up for a ride, and was doing aerobatics in a Swearingen Metro SA226-T(B).

From the Article:
"FlightPath shows the plane made several loops and a figure 8 before crashing at 5,700 feet. Winslow is over 4,800 feet in altitude. At times, the plane flew higher than 15,000 feet, and speeds in excess of 300 mph before the one-hour, seven-minute flight ended. Speed was 100 mph when it crashed."

Tweet from Chip Ganassi:
"
RIP Bill Whittington. You had your crosses to bear but you checked every box in life my friend. We will miss you. #Lemans24winner #renoairracewinner #indycardriver #father #husband #friend"
1:04 PM · Apr 24, 2021"

The Aircraft:

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

In 1986, Bill pleaded guilty to income tax evasion and conspiracy to smuggle marijuana into the USA from Colombia and was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison and ordered to surrender $7 million in property and other assets. A year later, Don pleaded guilty to money laundering in association with his brother’s activities.

Bill served five years in jail before being released in 1990 and Don spent 18 months behind bars.

Then, in 2018, Bill was charged with tax evasion for failing to report a $10 million investment generated through two off-shore bank accounts and also under-reported income from a Colorado resort owned by his daughters. He paid $1.8 million restitution to the IRS as a condition of his plea bargain and was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

Upon his release, Whittington’s name and his Florida-based World Jet Inc. company appeared last year after it was awarded nearly $20 million in purchase orders from the state of Oklahoma to provide masks and PPE needed during the height of COVID-19. With World Jet’s failures to provide the PPE, the purchase orders were cancelled.

And

https://www.madcowprod.com/2013/12/12/fort-lauderdale-florida-is-a-protestant-palermo/

And other things I've heard second hand that I can't prove 100%.

Doesn’t seem like low moral character to me. Illegal activities yes.