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Elizabeth MacKenzie

@GPJohnston , I wonder if he had some kind of medical issue.

8 June at 0:45 | Wall-to-wall | Open on mastodon.social
7 comments
Greg Johnston

@Dr_Elizabeth97 I hate to speculate, but the film looks like he was doing a roll and misjudged, because it appears he was close to coming out of the dive. But like I say, I'm not an expert and it's all speculation at this point.

8 June at 0:51 | Open on mastodon.social
Elizabeth MacKenzie

@GPJohnston , I am going to assume that he died doing what he loved, though his family is heart-broken.

8 June at 1:04 | Open on mastodon.social
Stu Duerson

@GPJohnston @Dr_Elizabeth97

He was coming over the top of a loop, and lost it in the recovery. Hard to say exactly what happened without knowing stuff like the aircraft make. But he was inverted, started pulling into the dive...and seemed to hesitate. That could have been something to do with him, or it could have been mechanical. The sound didn't feel like he was at idle, either. In any event, once you're in that nose down attitude, there's only one way out. He was pulling, but either not enough, or he'd already g-stalled it.

Sad. But I can guarantee he was trying, all the way to impact. All in all, a true pilot's death. Salute.

@GPJohnston @Dr_Elizabeth97

He was coming over the top of a loop, and lost it in the recovery. Hard to say exactly what happened without knowing stuff like the aircraft make. But he was inverted, started pulling into the dive...and seemed to hesitate. That could have been something to do with him, or it could have been mechanical. The sound didn't feel like he was at idle, either. In any event, once you're in that nose down attitude, there's only one way out. He was pulling, but either not enough,...

8 June at 1:19 | Open on sfba.social
Greg Johnston

@skydog @Dr_Elizabeth97 I think one of the two stories above said it was a Beech A45, TV guy here said he thought it looked like a P-51.

8 June at 1:21 | Open on mastodon.social
Stu Duerson

@GPJohnston @Dr_Elizabeth97

I knew it wasn't a Mustang, totally different sound. Seems it was a T-34 Mentor, a WWII Beechcraft trainer. I've seen most of the historic stuff, I think, and I'd never heard of one, but I guess they favored the Navy. It looks like a mini T-6 Texan. It was his private aircraft.

Early '40's construction. I'd put an initial guess at a cable control or elevator problem.

8 June at 1:31 | Open on sfba.social
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