P-51 Mustang crashes in the USA. Many killed at airshow.

[Richard Farrant]

News just come in of a T28 Trojan, part of the Trojan Horsemen display team, has crashed at an airshow at Martinsburg. Not a good weekend.

[Mike K]

A news report I heard stated the pilot was aged 74 ...
Seems rather old to be flying a high performance aeroplane in that environment. But the BBC said it was possibly a mechanical fault and they have started a investigation ..but what is left of the Mustang to investgate .
Mike

[Ryan]

News reports are saying part of the tail came off possibly causing the Mustang to crash.

Some pics.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14957637

[Mike K]

They just showed a detailed report of the crash on TV. The Mustang was highly modified for racing . In an old interview the now dead pilot said 10 feet has been shaved off the wings . He said Jet aircraft type speeds were wanted. They were talking about 500 mph speeds . Reports indicate that the tailplane brokeup ..photos support this . One large, clear photo taken an instant before in hit the ground shows the pilot isn't visible..he is slumped and just isnt seen.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Very sad news indeed. As Hanno pointed out the media were not that accurate....at least here in Holland, where they mentioned the plane had just been serviced, but they used a different term for that as if someone had done it with a screwdriver and hammer in his own garage.

The P51 was highly modified indeed, as can be seen here
http://www2.leewardairranch.com/racing

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Alex van de Wetering

The P51 was highly modified indeed, as can be seen here
http://www2.leewardairranch.com/racing

This sums it all up!?!

No margin for error here! These guys are always on the edge knowing one wrong move, in one split second, could mean the end.

[Marc Montgomery]

here is a detailed account and analysis of the tragedy..and not sensationalist either

an added part of the theory about the trim tab, is that the abrupt upward G-force caused the seat to break and the pilot to fall backward, with him possibly hitting the landing gear lever beside him, (tail wheel only deployed due to high pressure under wing at speed preventing main gear deployment) and explaining why he is not visible at all in the cockpit which theoretically he should even if slumped over in the seat if it were still in place.

http://thecritical-post.com/blog/201...sh-tcpchicago/

watch the video of it arriving..beautiful plane..beautiful sound... The smoke coming from the plane is steam..because they removed the belly rad, (reduce drag) they had a unique kind of "boil off" cooling system