Wing Walker , Pilot die in Ohio crash

[likeitfast55]

CJ, I believe that momentary movement is the pilot correcting for loss of lift on the wings. As the pilot you feel things in the yoke way before it is visible on the outside of the aircraft.. He was too low and too slow for sufficient airflow over the wing. When the wing stopped producing lift (even inverted,symmetrical wing) the elevator had no effectiveness from that point on. Since he was way too low for recovery, gravity took over.


It is hard to tell from a grainy vid. Do not want to Monday morning q-back. It could have been mechanical failure. Cable failure, engine quit(inverted, starved for fuel) etc..... When you are that low and slow, also inverted anything out of the ordinary happens............. your dead.

[Binky]

I think you are seeing the rear stabilizer.

He was way too low, too slow and inverted when it he stalled the aircraft. He dropped the wing she was on when the it stalled and probably realized it was irrecoverable. Either she falls off or he rolls out and loses some altitude to recover. Neither was an option.

[likeitfast55]

I think you are seeing the rear stabilizer.

He was way too low, too slow and inverted when it he stalled the aircraft. He dropped the wing she was on when the it stalled and probably realized it was irrecoverable. Either she falls off or he rolls out and loses some altitude to recover. Neither was an option.

The horizontal stabilizer is the portion in front of the elevator. It is stationary on most non high speed aircraft. The elevator is the portion of the empennage that moves up and down.
On many aircraft, the tailplane assembly consists of a fixed surface fitted with a hinged aft surface which is called an elevator. Trim tabs are then often used to relieve pilot input forces; conversely in some cases (small aircraft with all-moving stabilizers), anti-servo tabs are used to increase these forces.

[stevo]

As mentioned, wing tip stall, probably from her body affecting the airflow just enough to cause the roll. It doesn't take much when you are going too slow.

Stevo

[Binky]

Famous last words... "Sitting on top of the world..."

http://vimeo.com/43648534

[Big A]

High res pic from the moment of impact, linked for a reason.

http://www.bestgore.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/jane-wicker-fatal-dayton-air-show-crash-high-res-photo-01.jpg

[Rreemo]

Damn that's rough...probably just the angle but she looks ripped in half.

[DON SVO]

Damn that's rough...probably just the angle but she looks ripped in half.

She probably did get cut in half, or severely mangled. There's a handful of the high-res pics from the same photographer Big A linked that pic from, she was on the wing all the way down and the wing hit behind her.

[CJ]

Yeah that graphic pic shows her head coming apart, she definitely died instantly.

[ceyko]

Is it me, or are airshow crashes happening more often than they used to?

Personally, I think it is a damned shame and tragic. People trying to provide entertainment and education - and end up dead and a lot in those crowds are going to be bummed out for awhile.

[Rreemo]

Is it me, or are airshow crashes happening more often than they used to?

Personally, I think it is a damned shame and tragic. People trying to provide entertainment and education - and end up dead and a lot in those crowds are going to be bummed out for awhile.

Seems to be the fault of a bunch of old rickety pilots too....same as early indications in this case. We had some old 70-something year old dude plant one out here at a little private airport by our house a few years back....nothing other than his own fault for killing himself and his passenger.

[SS Junk]

Yeah that graphic pic shows her head coming apart, she definitely died instantly.

Pretty sure you can see her body bouncing off the ground in the video. Definitely dead when that hi res pic was taken (before head kind of exploded).

[CJ]

Seems to be the fault of a bunch of old rickety pilots too....same as early indications in this case. We had some old 70-something year old dude plant one out here at a little private airport by our house a few years back....nothing other than his own fault for killing himself and his passenger.

I wouldn't disagree with that. The P51 that augered in was an old 70+ guy as well. I don't have any issue with senior citizens flying planes, but if they are going to perform over crowds of spectators maybe bi-annual physicals should be performed.

[SS Junk]

Was it ever found out what happened with the pilot of that P51? Last I heard is either his seat broke or he was slumped over out of sight?

[CJ]

Was it ever found out what happened with the pilot of that P51? Last I heard is either his seat broke or he was slumped over out of sight?

Well the FAA and NTSB always do an accident report post-crash. I'm not sure if it's been released yet or not.

edit:

The NTSB thoroughly investigated the extensive modifications made to the airplane. The modifications had made the aircraft lighter and reduced drag, but decreased stability. Leeward took the plane to 530 mph during the race, about 40 mph faster than he had ever gone before.[24] There was evidence of extreme stress on the airframe demonstrated by buckling of the fuselage aft of the wing and gaps appearing between the fuselage and the canopy during flight (clearly visible in high resolution photographs taken by spectators). However, the investigation (released in August 2012) found that the probable cause of the crash were old reused locknuts in the left elevator trim tab system that loosened. This led to a fatigue crack in an attachment screw and allowed the trim tab to flutter. This flutter caused the trim tab link assembly to fail which led to loss of control of the aircraft. Untested and undocumented modifications to the airplane contributed to the accident. Particularly, the right trim tab had been fixed in place. Had both trim tabs been operational, the loss of the left trim tab may not have alone caused loss of control. When the trim tab failed, Leeward was exposed to 17Gs which quickly incapacitated him and likely rendered him unconscious.[25]