Darrel Dazz Whittaker Obituary, Death; – Cheatham County officials have confirmed the identity of the individual who perished in a small aircraft accident as local aviator Darrel “Dazz” Whittaker. Whittaker, who was originally from Australia, was 51 years old.
Emergency responders from Cheatham County were dispatched to the crash site shortly after 2:15 p.m. on Monday, located along Chapmansboro Road. The aircraft, classified by the Federal Aviation Administration as an Aviat Pitts S-1-11B with tail number N5111B, was found inverted in approximately three feet of water in the Cumberland River, as reported by EMA Director and County Fire Chief Edwin Hogan.
On Tuesday afternoon, Cheatham County EMS Director B.J. Hudspeth confirmed Whittaker as the pilot involved in the incident. The aircraft, manufactured in 1998, was registered to Whittaker, according to FAA records.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) indicated that Whittaker’s flight originated from Whifferdill Airport in Cheatham County at around 1:45 p.m. This airport is situated in a community established by Ray Williams, an aerobatic pilot, who developed the area partly to provide a designated aerobatic practice zone, as detailed on the community’s website.
The Aviat Pitts S-1-11B is a fixed-wing, single-engine biplane specifically designed for aerobatic maneuvers. Commonly referred to as the “Super Stinker,” this model was created by Curtis Pitts for competitive aerobatics.
According to data from the plane tracking service FlightAware, Whittaker’s aircraft circled the vicinity, executing what appeared to be circular maneuvers over the Cumberland River for approximately 12 minutes before its flight path ceased.
This incident marks the third small aircraft crash in Middle Tennessee this year. In March, a tragic accident claimed the lives of a family of five when their single-engine Piper PA-32RT-300T went down.
