George "Buzz" Beurling was Canada's top ace in WWII, serving with both RAF and RCAF, he survived the war only to die in a crash in 1948 en-route to Israel to serve there. Along with other top pilots, he took his craft very seriously, continuously refining techniques and escape man-oeuvres maintaining a more independent style of fighting. DSO, DFC, DFM & Bar, RAF & RCAF.
by: Red Leaf Flyer
Beurling - KIA?2015-09-17 05:46:21
Hi. Having read the entry for F/L George Beurling on the Pilots page, I have to ask, is "status: kia" appropriate? In the words of Wikipedia.org, "In 1948, Beurling was recruited to fly P-51 Mustangs for the Israeli Air Force. En route, after a test flight, Beurling fatally crashed his Noorduyn Norseman transport aircraft while landing at Aeroporto dell'Urbe in Rome." This has been reported by many sources. There was no combat. There was an accident. He wasn't in a theatre of combat.
I look forward to a reply and/or an edit to reflect this information. Thanks. Have a nice day.
reply
reply: kurtisThankyou, yes, issue is missing code2015-09-17 06:21:34
You are correct -- and you've hit on a BETA issue with the site -- kia was used temporarily until 'kifa' (killed in flying accident) could be added to the status codes. The notes do point out the death was accidental, so you tripped over an ALPHA / BETA issue that was on the list, there may be a few more yet :)
