Pilots fly their aircraft in formation in July 2008 over the annual show in Oshkosh, Wis.

Enlarge By Mike Paschal, AP Two planes collide while landing July 27, 2007, in Oshkosh, Wis. Accidents don't deter air show aviators Flying enthusiast Roger Bock spent months planning to fly his "home-built" plane to the world's largest air show. His flight came to a tragic end a few hundred feet short of the runway in Oshkosh, Wis. As Bock and fellow pilot John Linden prepared to land at the 2008 AirVenture show, Bock's small plane got too slow, rolled violently and slammed to the ground, according to a federal accident report. They died instantly. About 10,000 aircraft will converge on Oshkosh this week, along with several hundred thousand fans, for what aviation devotees consider a trip to mecca. If the past decade is any indication, there is a strong likelihood of tragedy. Since 2000, there have been 59 crashes associated with the show and at least one fatality each year. "I think Oshkosh is very dangerous," Bock's widow, Karen, said at their Carnegie, Pa., home. "I really think that if he had been landing anywhere else, he would not have crashed." A USA TODAY review of dozens of accident reports reveals the crashes are a microcosm of what plagues general aviation pilots every weekend: running out of gas, flying too slowly and getting caught by bad weather. The accident data show a host of other problems. The Oshkosh show, which is sponsored by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), draws thousands of planes built at home by hobbyists. Accident data show that such planes have about a five-fold higher risk of crashes. To accommodate the huge increase in traffic, the airport adopts unusual procedures, landing as many as three planes at a time on the same runway and crowding taxiways with streams of planes. The conditions have occasionally led to problems. Flurry of flying Starting last week, the landing strips at Oshkosh's Wittman Regional Airport began rumbling with activity in preparation for Monday's air show kickoff. Last year, Wittman was the busiest airport in the world over two days, recording as many as 3,554 landings and takeoffs during daylight hours, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The airports that typically handle the most flights, Atlanta's Hartsfield and Chicago's O'Hare, do not come close to that during a full 24 hours. FAA controllers compete for temporary assignments to work the show, where the thicket of traffic is a test of their skills. Planes line up for landing miles away, and pilots must follow the staccato bursts of instructions from controllers. Radio channels are so overburdened that pilots must remain silent, wagging their wings instead to acknowledge instructions. Every last bit of pavement is utilized. Some planes land on what are normally taxiways. The airport's longest runway is divided into three parts marked by color-coded dots, so more than one plane can land at a time. Aircraft ranging from seaplanes to a fleet of historic DC-3s to a giant C-5 military transport jet will visit the area for this year's show, EAA spokesman Dick Knapinski said. Washington aviation lawyer Mike Pangia flies his 1943 Navy fighter to Oshkosh every year. "It's a wonder of the world," he said. "It must be one of the largest conventions of any kind." Amid the festive atmosphere of thousands of pilots camping beneath their planes and the daily acrobatic displays, there is another side to the show. From 2000 through last year, an average of nearly six aircraft at the air show, or headed to or from the event, were involved in accidents or incidents, according to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) case files. In that time, 30 people died in accidents associated with the show, an average of three a year. Some of the accidents are to be expected. The shear volume of flights increases the odds something will go wrong, said the NTSB's Jeff Guzzetti, head of the division that investigates small-plane accidents. Though he has never conducted a formal study, Guzzetti suspects that at least some of the accidents happen because pilots are flying longer distances outside their comfort zone. Records suggest he is right. Four people headed to Oshkosh died in 2001 when a pilot who was not certified to fly in poor weather hit a patch of dense fog. A man flying home with a newly purchased plane died in 2006 after running out of fuel after he failed to make sure the plane's gas cap was on. Investigators found he was not qualified to fly the plane. Still, Guzzetti, like several safety experts interviewed, did not see the crashes as an indictment of the show. He has attended the past 19 years and plans on "going until I die." Safety advice Tom Poberezny, president of the EAA, said the group emphasizes safety in advisories and courses it offers pilots but can't control what pilots do outside the show. "What happens in Colorado and California ... it's something we can't impact," he said. For pilots planning on attending the world's largest fly-in, Bruce Landsberg, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's Air Safety Foundation, offered some advice in a 2002 article. After describing a series of mishaps he witnessed at a similar air show in the spring, the Sun 'n Fun Fly-in in Lakeland, Fla., Landsberg said, "Expect the unexpected." "A touch of paranoia doesn't hurt," he added. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. 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