Major Scott Douglas Anderson (May 2, 1965 – March 23, 1999) was an American aviator, engineer, inventor,
football player
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
, musician,
outdoor adventurer, and award-winning author. He flew
F-16s
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...
and
instructed pilots for the
Air National Guard
The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...
, and was a
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
test pilot
A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...
and
flight operations officer. In 1998, he completed the flight-testing of the first
certified
Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...
whole-plane
parachute recovery system, which is credited with saving over 200 lives as standard equipment on
Duluth, Minnesota
, settlement_type = City
, nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City
, motto =
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
-based
Cirrus Aircraft
The Cirrus Design Corporation, doing business as Cirrus Aircraft (formally Cirrus Design), is an aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1984 by Alan and Dale Klapmeier to produce the VK-30 kit aircraft. The company is owned by a subsidia ...
's line of single-engine
light aircraft
A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997.
Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft c ...
.
In 1999, Anderson died in a plane crash near the
Duluth International Airport
: ''For the United States Air Force use of this facility, see Duluth Air National Guard Base.''
Duluth International Airport is a city-owned public-use joint civil-military airport located five nautical miles (9 km) northwest of the centra ...
while conducting tests of the first production model
Cirrus SR20
The Cirrus SR20 is an American piston-engined, four- or five-seat composite material, composite monoplane built since 1999 by Cirrus Aircraft of Duluth, Minnesota. The aircraft is the company's earliest type certificate, type-certified model, earni ...
. He was posthumously inducted into the
Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame
Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation, recognized by the State of Minnesota as a means of honoring aviation pioneers (both living and deceased) within the state.
The Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame collects and maintain ...
in 2010 for his contributions to the development and advancement of aviation in the state. The Scott D. Anderson Leadership Foundation was created in his honor.
Early years and education
Scott Anderson was born in
Boston, Massachusetts. He and his family moved to
Duluth, Minnesota
, settlement_type = City
, nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City
, motto =
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
when he was six years old. He graduated from
Duluth East High School
East High School is a public secondary school in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It educates students in grades nine through twelve. It first opened its doors in 1927 as a junior high school. In 1950, it became a senior high school to serve the ...
as a star football player and went on to attend the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
. As an undergraduate engineering student-intern and a member of Minnesota Power's Research and Development team, Anderson earned recognition as co-inventor on a
U.S. patent
Under United States law, a patent is a right granted to the inventor of a (1) process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, (2) that is new, useful, and non-obvious. A patent is the right to exclude others, for a limited ...
. He continued his college career later at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, where he led an undergraduate team to build a two-person
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
. Anderson graduated from Stanford in 1987 with degrees in
mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...
and history.
[
]
Career
In 1987, the summer after graduating college, Anderson and his friend Steve Baker planned a marathon canoe trip from Duluth to York Factory
York Factory was a settlement and Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) factory (trading post) located on the southwestern shore of Hudson Bay in northeastern Manitoba, Canada, at the mouth of the Hayes River, approximately south-southeast of Churchill. Yo ...
on the Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...
. After completing the 1,700-mile-long exploit, he wrote his first book, ''Distant Fires'', published in 1990, an autobiographical adventure story based on their experiences during the journey. ''Distant Fires'' was widely received by the local community at the time of its release—the ''Duluth News Tribune
The ''Duluth News Tribune'' (known locally as ''The Tribune'' or ''DNT'') is a newspaper based in Duluth, Minnesota. While circulation is heaviest in the Twin Ports metropolitan area, delivery extends into northeastern Minnesota, northwestern Wisc ...
'' describing it as a marvelous "voyage of discovery"—and went on to win Anderson the American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...
Best Book for Young Adults Award in 1991.
Anderson was known to have been a talented saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
, playing for multiple jazz bands around Duluth in the late '80s and early '90s. He then moved from the United States to Salzburg, Austria
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the ...
to play professional American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
, before returning to become a pilot flying F-16s
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...
for the Air National Guard
The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...
and flight instructing with Duluth's 179th Fighter Squadron.[ His second publication, and first novel, ''Unknown Rider'' (1995), was a fictional manifestation of his experience achieving the title "Fighter Pilot". He summed up his writing process saying, "When I was training to fly the F-16 at Kingsley Field in Oregon, each evening, after a day of flying fighters, I sat down and typed a little bit of this book… All I had to do was invent a few characters, put them in an airplane, and make them the heroes of the stories that filled the air."
]
Cirrus Aircraft
In 1996, Anderson's career path led him to Cirrus Design
The Cirrus Design Corporation, doing business as Cirrus Aircraft (formally Cirrus Design), is an aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1984 by Klapmeier brothers, Alan and Dale Klapmeier to produce the Cirrus VK-30, VK-30 homebuilt aircraf ...
(now called Cirrus Aircraft), a newly Duluth-landed general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
startup
A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend t ...
founded by two brothers, Alan and Dale Klapmeier, hailing from a rural southern Wisconsin farm. He was named Director of Flight Operations along with Chief Test Pilot
A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...
for the company, contributing his efforts to the early developmental stages of the Cirrus SR20
The Cirrus SR20 is an American piston-engined, four- or five-seat composite material, composite monoplane built since 1999 by Cirrus Aircraft of Duluth, Minnesota. The aircraft is the company's earliest type certificate, type-certified model, earni ...
single-engine four-seat composite
Composite or compositing may refer to:
Materials
* Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances
** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts
** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials
...
aircraft. In addition to all-composite construction, the SR20 introduced the light aircraft
A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997.
Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft c ...
manufacturing industry to a number of innovative new designs, including a single power-lever that adjusts both throttle and propeller RPM, a side-yoke flight control system
A conventional Fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing aircraft flight control system consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction ...
, a spin-resistant wing design, and a large LCD screen
A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers. Liquid crystals do not emit light directly but in ...
for the avionics
Avionics (a blend word, blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, ...
. In 1997, Anderson became the lead test pilot on a ground breaking safety innovation by Ballistic Recovery Systems
Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc., doing business as BRS Aerospace (and commonly referred to as simply BRS), is a manufacturer of aircraft ballistic parachutes.
The company was formed in 1980 by Boris Popov of Saint Paul, Minnesota, after he su ...
and Cirrus Aircraft. The feature was titled the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System
The Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) is a whole-plane ballistic parachute recovery system designed specifically for Cirrus Aircraft's line of general aviation light aircraft including the SR20, SR22 and SF50. The design became the firs ...
(CAPS), and acted as a parachute recovery device installed on the SR20 that was designed to lower the entire aircraft safely to the ground after a loss of control or structural failure.[
Anderson worked closest on the project with fellow Cirrus test pilot Gary Black,][ who also formerly flew jets for the military, as well as the company's Chief Engineer, Paul Johnston, who played a crucial role in the design process of the CAP system.] CAPS testing began by the summer of 1998. The Cirrus team went out to the high desert of southern California where Anderson would make the first flight. He deployed the parachute multiple times during dives and spins, to simulate recovery after a midair collision or after spatial disorientation
Spatial disorientation results in a person being unable to determine their position or relative motion, commonly occurring during periods of challenging visibility, since vision is the dominant sense for orientation. The auditory system, vestibular ...
, and from level flight to resemble engine failure. At this time Cirrus only had two SR20 prototypes, so in order to test the parachute repeatedly Anderson would restart the engine mid-air while descending under the parachute, cut the chute loose and land the plane normally for it to be tested again (ground-impact testing took place with a mockup that would be dropped at the calculated descent-velocity and measured based on sustained damage to the fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
).[ Anderson successfully made all eight of the company's in-flight test deployments of CAPS.][ The SR20 became ]FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
approved and typed certified in October 1998, making Anderson the first pilot in history to successfully test a certified aircraft equipped with a ballistic parachute
A ballistic parachute, ballistic reserve parachute, or emergency ballistic reserve parachute, is a parachute ejected from its casing by a small explosion, much like that used in an ejection seat. The advantage of the ballistic parachute over a co ...
.
Death
The following year, on 23 March 1999, Anderson died while putting the first production SR20 through experimental test flights before it went on sale. The purpose of the flight was to perform routine torture-test maneuvers and assess changes to the aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
if there were any issues. The incident occurred after the plane's aileron had jammed. Anderson was about 4 nautical mile
A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today ...
s out from the Duluth International Airport
: ''For the United States Air Force use of this facility, see Duluth Air National Guard Base.''
Duluth International Airport is a city-owned public-use joint civil-military airport located five nautical miles (9 km) northwest of the centra ...
at the start of the flight when he radioed the control tower
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...
that he was returning due to a problem. At about 1.5 nautical miles from the airport, he declared an emergency. Less than 400 meters out, Anderson crashed into a vacant exercise yard on the federal prison grounds located off the airport’s south side. He died later that day in the hospital at age 33.[ The plane Anderson was flying had not yet been equipped with the standard ]CAPS
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
that would come on every aircraft.[ Due to Cirrus being in very early production phase, the company was 10 days away from receiving production model chute systems at the time of Anderson's death. Cirrus has never test-flown an aircraft without a parachute since.][
]
Posthumous recognition
18-term Minnesota Congressman Jim Oberstar
James Louis Oberstar (September 10, 1934 – May 3, 2014) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2011. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, he represented nor ...
paid tribute to Anderson shortly after his death, calling him a "hero" and a "pioneer in general aviation". Oberstar went on saying, "Scott made a profound difference to the State of Minnesota and to the national aviation community".[ ]Cirrus Aircraft
The Cirrus Design Corporation, doing business as Cirrus Aircraft (formally Cirrus Design), is an aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1984 by Alan and Dale Klapmeier to produce the VK-30 kit aircraft. The company is owned by a subsidia ...
co-founder and former CEO Dale Klapmeier spoke at Anderson's induction into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame
Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation, recognized by the State of Minnesota as a means of honoring aviation pioneers (both living and deceased) within the state.
The Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame collects and maintain ...
on 24 April 2010, stating, "Scott was an exemplary pilot and person. During his tenure at Cirrus, he made considerable contributions to the company, the industry, and aviation safety that many people still benefit from today… To date, 17 CAPS deployments have saved 35 lives due to Scott's pioneering work."
Anderson has been referenced multiple times in national articles and columns such as ''The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' and ''The New York Times Magazine
''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...
'' by journalist, author and former speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
, James Fallows
James Mackenzie Fallows (born August 2, 1949) is an American writer and journalist. He is a former national correspondent for ''The Atlantic.'' His work has also appeared in ''Slate'', ''The New York Times Magazine'', ''The New York Review of Book ...
,[ who in a 2007 article called him a "]Renaissance man
A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
" and "beloved, charismatic figure in Duluth". Anderson was also a supporting theme in Fallows' 2001 book, ''Free Flight: Inventing the Future of Travel.''[
]
Legacy
In the months following his death, Cirrus continued on to redesign the aileron in order to prevent the problem that killed Anderson, and sold their first SR20 in July 1999.[ The SR20's successor, the ]Cirrus SR22
The Cirrus SR22 is a single-engine four- or five-seat composite aircraft built from 2001 by Cirrus Aircraft of Duluth, Minnesota.
It is a development of the Cirrus SR20, with a larger wing, higher fuel capacity, and a more powerful, 310-horsep ...
, became the world's best-selling general aviation airplane in 2003 and has held the title every year since, with a combined overall production of more than 7,000 examples from 1999–2018, something that hadn't been accomplished in the aviation industry for decades. As of October 27, 2020, there have been 115 CAPS deployments saving 203 lives.
The Scott D. Anderson Leadership Foundation (SALF) was established in late 1999 and is a fund of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation. It allows a group of high school students each year to receive scholarships dedicated to the delivery of high-quality, value-based leadership training.[
Anderson is memorialized by the "ANDOE" waypoint for the outer marker on ILS runway 27 approaching Duluth International Airport.
]
Personal life
Anderson was a practicing Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
throughout the entirety of his life.[ On the SALF organization's website, it lists several of its "Guided Values and Principles", focusing mostly on promotion towards the common good, community, affirming the dignity of individuals, encouraging creativity, mentorship, pursuing goals, and strengthening one's character, stating:
He is survived today by his wife Laurie, their son Evan (born 1999), his siblings Catherine and Todd, and parents Paul and Carol.] Scott's father Paul Anderson serves as the president of SALF.[
The Anderson family resides in ]Duluth, Minnesota
, settlement_type = City
, nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City
, motto =
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
.
Bibliography
*''Distant Fires: From Duluth to Hudson Bay'' (autobiographical outdoor recreation book with Les Kouba
Leslie Carl Kouba, also known as Les Kouba, was an American artist, author, outdoorsman, and businessman. He specialized in waterfowl paintings but is also known for his early sculpture of Dakota chief Little Crow, which was commissioned by the ci ...
as illustrator, 1990)
*''Unknown Rider'' (fictional aviation novel with Andrea Dwyer as illustrator, 1995)
*''The Mosquito Book'' (entomological
Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...
self-help book with Tony Dierkens as co-author, 1998)
See also
*''Canoeing with the Cree
''Canoeing with the Cree'' is a 1935 book by journalist Eric Sevareid, recounting a canoe trip that he and friend Walter Port embarked on in 1930.
History and title
Prior to the trip, which took place during the summer of 1930 and was sponsored ...
'' - 1935 book that served as the inspiration for ''Distant Fires''
References
External links
Scott D. Anderson Leadership Foundation website
* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-n9nTUj-5k Video about Anderson and his namesake foundationbr>1999 article in ''The New York Times''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Scott Douglas
1965 births
1999 deaths
Accidental deaths in Minnesota
American male canoeists
American test pilots
Aviation pioneers
Aviators from Minnesota
Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States
Christians from Minnesota
Military personnel from Massachusetts
Military personnel from Minnesota
National Guard (United States) officers
People from Boston
Stanford University School of Engineering alumni
University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering alumni
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1999
Writers from Duluth, Minnesota