Texas Raiders B-17 crash today

The KVUE article above has one of the better videos from the spectator area that shows a wider view of what all the planes were doing, not just the two involved in the collision.

In the video, you can see smaller planes running a faster, tighter inside path and larger planes flying a slow, wide outside path. Pretty common for air shows.

By design, those two planes should not have been near each other. Either the B-17 was encroaching on the inside track or the P-63 ran wide of his inside path.

Armchairing it, I'd say the P-63 left his designated course. The Air Boss is the guy that'd know for sure, though.
 
The KVUE article above has one of the better videos from the spectator area that shows a wider view of what all the planes were doing, not just the two involved in the collision.

In the video, you can see smaller planes running a faster, tighter inside path and larger planes flying a slow, wide outside path. Pretty common for air shows.

By design, those two planes should not have been near each other. Either the B-17 was encroaching on the inside track or the P-63 ran wide of his inside path.

Armchairing it, I'd say the P-63 left his designated course. The Air Boss is the guy that'd know for sure, though.
My friend is an air boss and told me they are supposed to be at different altitudes.
 
Too many crashes at air shows.

I do not go to many but I have seen at least 3 fatal crashes myself caused by people not knowing what they were doing, screwed up or exceeding limits.

P51 mustang, RAF Nimrod, RCAF Snowbird.

It’s extremely disturbing ( even more so in person ) watching a pilot get killed at an air show.

They push things too far in many situations if you ask me.
 
By design, those two planes should not have been near each other.
Due to the P39/P63's unique design Larry Bell placed the engine over the wing and the pilot forward of the wing which in level fight affords a clear of the ground or if you are a fast mover in a bank a clear view of a slow moving bomber under your belly... safe air space is assured when the fast movers are responsible to the slow movers...

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Fascinating video. Is he the P-63 pilot who was killed in the collision? This is just heartbreaking. His passion for the history of this airplane is evident.

Such a tragic accident.

It is bittingly bitter to witness such a tragic loss of Airman and War Birds...

The P63 in the video is reported to be the one that cleaved the B17 in half... however the pilot is reported to be Craig Huton not Mark Allen...
 
Not an aviation guy so had no idea about a mid-engine airplane. Have there been many of this design?

Its super rare during the piston powered era to think mid engines held an advantage... however there was the 1938 Bugatti Racer which is one my all time favorite aircraft... Two mid engines... Two prop shafts... Two counter rotating props... To me it's pure sex with wings that never flew thanks to WW2...

Piston powered will give way to the jet age that will adopted mid engine design as a clear advantage...

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My heart sank when the news on TV showed it. A double tragedy, loss of human lives and loss of flying history that future generations will not get to see.

I hope somewhere that people are restoring aircrafts that can take the place of the ones that were lost. But I know that that is not likely considering the age.
 
Blancolirio respectively covers situational awareness... formation basics and when its safe to pass another aircraft... crowd dead line and much more...

 
I read that in the 40's when Boeing was producing these things for the war effort, they cost in the neighborhood of $200,000.00 each... Or right around $3 MILLION in today's dollars.

I'm sure that restoring one to pristine condition runs many times that. Especially when you include the man hours of labor involved. And it's not like you can just run out and buy parts for one either.
 
There were only 9, B-17's in the world that are certified as airworthy. (8 now that this one has been lost). The rest are in museums, or are in static displays. Or else are in the process of being restored to airworthy condition.

Thank you for posting that list. It is interesting the B-17 from Bomber Gas in Milwaukee, OR is being restored. It was always interesting driving past that in the 70s and later. I rode in the Aluminum Overcast in February 2017 when it was here in Kingman. It was almost a religious experience for me. The pilot, who took two days talking me into the flight, let me ride in the cockpit behind the co-pilot. Smoothest landing I ever experienced.
 
It would be interesting to know how many were lost, through the decades after the war. When the James Bond Movie, "Thunderball" was released in 1965, they must have been a lot more common.

Here is a B-17 used at the end of the movie, demonstrating the Fulton Recovery System. So there still had to be several in service at that time.

 
I'm sure that restoring one to pristine condition runs many times that. Especially when you include the man hours of labor involved. And it's not like you can just run out and buy parts for one either.

Parts are indeed a problem... so in the spirit of keep'em flying I do
my part and offer my Lathe and Mill to any Warbirds stationed here or
just passing through McClellan...

I've machined a set of custom canopy screws out of Stainless Steel for
the Collins Foundation... they were small but important enough to
effectively ground P51 Betty Jane...

I've machined a custom universal joint for Collins Foundation B17 bomb
doors Nine-O-Nine when the 1994 LoveJoy universal broke... nothing
sadder than a B17 pilot (Mac Cauley) that can't operate his bomb bay
doors...

In appreciation for my custom machine work I was awarded 2nd pilot seat in gaggle of
Collins foundation Warbirds departing McClellan AFB enroute to Minden Nevada...

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B17Universal (6).JPG

P51BettyJane (078).JPG
 
Faced with this peace time preventable tragic mid air collision it maybe hard to
understand how during WWII the Luftwaffe created a unit called
Sonderkommando Elbe which was tasked with deliberately ramming Allied
Bombers from their air space over their lands...

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P63B17Elbe.JPG

P63B17Elbe5.JPG

 
Preliminary NTSB report is out on the incident:


The preliminary report notes that the air boss directed both formations (the fighters and the bombers) to maneuver SW of the show area, the fighters were to transition to a trail formation, fly ahead of the bombers, and they would swap line, with the bombers moving to the 1000' line and the fighters to the 500' line.

It also notes there were no altitude deconflictions (separation) between the groups briefed pre-flight or during the flight.

Basically, the air boss called for the groups to swap lines, with the bombers moving to the inside line and the fighters moving to the outside line during the SW approach. With the P63 in a left bank (likely following the two P51 ahead of him), moving out to the 500' line and the B17 moving in to the 1000' line, at the same altitude, they crisscrossed at just the wrong moment.
 
The "Air Boss" was basically an idiot who inherited the job from his father through political influence within the CAF. He had zero warbird or air show experience. His only qualification was he held a pilots license.

This video explains the MANY mistakes that were made, none of which were questioned by the pilots themselves in the preflight briefing. Again due to politics and structure within the CAF. This whole thing was a total disaster waiting to happen....

Sadly it finally did. I suspect there will be lawsuits coming from this aimed at the CAF, from the families who lost people. All due to this guy's gross negligence and inexperience.

The video gets into the meat of this at the 22:15 mark.

 
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