Man who died in Wis. air show crash was longtime pilot

Pilot performing stunts at Stevens Point Municipal Airport

STEVENS POINT, Wis. (AP) — The pilot who died when his aerobatic plane crashed at a Wisconsin air show was an experienced commercial aviator who also flew in the military.

Police say 47-year-old William Cowden, of Menomonie, was performing aerial stunts at the Stevens Point Municipal Airport Sunday afternoon when he crashed in a wooded area. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

Cowden told a Stevens Point Journal Media reporter before he began the show that he flew F-16s in the U.S. Air Force and later became a commercial pilot for Delta Air Lines. Cowden said he started flying aerobatic planes because it rekindled the thrill he got from flying F-16s.

Police say the crash scene has been turned over to federal investigators.