At Least 51 People Dead After Monstrous Oklahoma Tornado, 120+ Injured

Watch Live Local Coverage of Tornado Aftermath

See the Frightening Moment a Stunt Pilot Crashed Into a Field During Air Show Practice

Jun. 17, 2012 9:04am Madeleine Morgenstern

Image source: YouTube

A stunt pilot in Idaho walked away with nothing more than a sprained ankle Friday after his plane made an unexpected crash landing during a run-through of his air show routine.

Buck Roetman was piloting his biplane through a series of barrel rolls ahead of the Legacy Air Show in Rexburg when the aircraft started experiencing mechanical trouble and gave out during the stunt, KIDK-TV reported.

Video of the incident shows the plane tumbling through the air, ultimately crash-landing in a field of grass.

“He did a masterful job at getting her right–side–up. He had a problem with the prop and lost power and….he just got in trouble,” John Bagley, a pilot and show organizer told KIDK. “Anytime you can walk away, it’s a good landing.”

Watch below:

Benghazi, IRS, AP...What's next? Only TheBlaze TV offers the truth from Glenn Beck, Andrew Wilkow, and Real News from TheBlaze. Get instant access and a free trial here.

Back to The Blaze »

Comments (41)

Atlantis737
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 7:48pm
Looks like at just the last second he was able to get some thrust from the engine/prop (notice the smoke) and get enough control to stop the roll. He also seemed to be able to slow down the rapid rate of descent quite a bit which most surely eased the impact he hit the ground with. In any case that was a pretty outstanding outcome considering what could have happened. So much has to go right and in split seconds, that’s the difference between life and death and a mediocre and great pilot. He did an awesome job!!!

As he appeared to arrest the role I wonder if he held that nearly 90 Deg bank angle on purpose to avoid the trees verses righting the plane and landing on the belly as he had time to do that it seemed. Hard to tell from the camera angle but sure would like to hear his account of what happened and if indeed he did get some power back right before he hit.

I’ve had a few close calls as a private pilot and at those moments you are so intensely focused on flying the aircraft you don’t really have time to let fear get the best of you. I was actually more calm in those moments than at other times flying.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
SKR8PN
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 5:44pm
A landing is nothing more than a controlled crash. He was just a wee bit out of control, that’s all. LOL!

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
blikird1
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 5:09pm
Unbelivable, this was not a landing or even an attempt to land nor was it a malfunction of equipment. It was a late attempt to recover from continued snap roll that went into a spin. Just prior to the crash you can see where he managed to stop the spin a recover airspeed. Maybe I should not here that just because he was moving forward does not mean he has air speed since the aircraft is actually stalled.
If you notice his high sink rate the only way to arrest this is to unstall to aircraft, gain airspeed, and attempt to pull out of the dive. Even if he didn’t auger in he probably would have hit the trees. He broke one of the most important rules of flying… He ran out of airspeed and altitude at the wrong time… To close to the ground. He screwed up and would probably have made it if he stopped 1 or 2 turns earlier. For those thinking aircraft malfunction the fact that he was able to stop the spin just prior to impact shows everything was working. Well except the pilot!

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Atlantis737
  Posted on June 17, 2012 at 8:04pm
  Could be, would be nice to see the NTSB report when it’s out. If it wasn’t a malfunction, he seemed to recover and add thrust (notice the smoke) right before hitting. Was the engine under his control or not till that moment? His fault or not he still is quite fortunate to have lived through that with just a minor injury.
  
  Report this comment
- IndySportPilot
  Posted on June 18, 2012 at 4:32pm
  I agree completely BLIKIRD1, he was counting on hanging the bird on the prop and simply didn’t have enough air speed to keep his sink rate from catching up to him. I fly a plane that has a low stall, but the 5mph between stable and stall speed, the sink rate increases quite a bit. This was dizzy pilot error.
  
  Report this comment
LeadNotFollow
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 3:58pm
…
Good landing. Glad the pilot and everyone on the ground are okay.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
woodyl1011fl
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 3:46pm
Some of these comments are obviously from non pilots or just idiots. A bad time to have prop, engine or control surface problems is close to the ground in any maneuver. He did a great job of reactive flying in saving his own life.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- The-Monk
  Posted on June 17, 2012 at 4:43pm
  Look at the bright side; at least all the RP supporters aren’t here posting how Ron Paul would prevent this if elected.
  
  I’ve flown a 42 Stearman, read Stick and Rudder several times, my best friend flew P-51′s in Korea and I have a friend that owns 2 P-51′s. I’m no pilot though, just love planes and the art of flying. : )
  
  Report this comment
Arizona 9-12
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 3:33pm
CHIPS1 you hit the nail directly on the head!

Have a good friend I have known for years who is a Small Airframe Mechanic and he has shared that most all the parts they can get are made in China. He has said they show up with all the correct paperwork, quality ratings and so on, but I have seen way too many sub-par Chinese products to believe the best quality control measures are always in place.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
KickinBack
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 3:31pm
Scary stuff, glad he’s ok. Had that been me, I would’ve been splattered all over that field, and then some Mexican would be voting in my name for Obama come November…

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
The-Monk
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 3:16pm
Looks and sounds like a Pitts. A friend of mine was killed doing stunts in one of these in Texas. Glad this guy was able to walk away from this one.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
The-Monk
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 2:58pm
“Maintain thy airspeed least the ground arise and smite thee.”

So says Silas; The Sagacious Sage from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
TSUNAMI-22
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 1:31pm
I love it – “an unexpected crash”.

Are you kidding me? Really? There’s no such thing.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
SageInWaiting
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 12:01pm
Sprained ankle – he hobbled away which means the landing was a BIT rough.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
zupwidat
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 11:41am
Thankfully the ground was there to stop his descent.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- paperpushermj
  Posted on June 17, 2012 at 12:37pm
  Hahah
  
  Report this comment
freeberty
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 11:30am
That’ll buff out.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- 4xeverything
  Posted on June 17, 2012 at 2:07pm
  A little duct tape and bondo. No biggie:0)
  
  Report this comment
LongRange
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 11:20am
I agree any time you walk away it was a great landing!

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- corbecket
  Posted on June 17, 2012 at 1:15pm
  Try using that line with an airline’s Chief Pilot and see how it helps your career in the cockpit. What surprises me, is how complimentary non-pro/non-pilot folks seem to be as evidenced by their statements regarding this accident.
  
  This was a disaster. The only redeeming feature was that the pilot was LUCKY enough to survive. He should seriously consider other lines of recreation/work before what’s left of his luck runs out. God is only going save your **** so many times, before he just throws up his hands and lets you exterminate yourself.
  
  Report this comment
- Belchfire V-8
  Posted on June 17, 2012 at 5:04pm
  A great landing is one that you can reuse the plane.
  
  Report this comment
Gates
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 11:12am
i can tell you that was an amazing piece of flying regardless of what you non-pilots may think.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
RodT82721
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 11:11am
One of the things stressed in any pilot’s training, is how to survive a crash. While it may seem silly if you don’t think about it too much, but when trouble strikes in flight, usually there are not too many air fields to land on. So a big part of any pilot’s training, is to survive when disaster strikes. It does become second nature to those who fly.

Flying in a private aircraft is 99% joy with 1% pure terror! Murphy lives in every airplane.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Belchfire V-8
  Posted on June 17, 2012 at 5:02pm
  Murphy lives in the OTHER GUYS CAR. There are a h*** of a lot more automobile “accidents”. Most of the are caused by STUPIDITY and amateur drivers.
  
  Report this comment
FarmSpy
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 10:50am
“A stunt pilot in Idaho walked away with nothing more than a sprained ankle Friday after his plane made an unexpected crash landing during a run-through of his air show routine.”

Really? The crash landing was UNEXPECTED?? I guess this differentiates this crash landing from those where the pilot files a flight plan which ends in the words…. “… and then at the end I will be corkscrewing the plane into the open field”.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- politicianssuck
  Posted on June 17, 2012 at 11:12am
  lol! I had a guy once tell me on here that he always expects to be hit while driving a car. Thats why he looks both ways. I asked him after he gets hit are the first words out of his mouth”whered he come from?” . He then called me a troll. hehehehe.
  
  Report this comment
daxbrady
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 10:34am
its ridiculous to say this guy did a masterful job…. he was lucky and thats it…

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
RRFlyer
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 10:15am
someone screws up and survives and everyone says “he did a masterful job”

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- db321
  Posted on June 17, 2012 at 10:34am
  That was great! One less spin and you nailed it. Now get back out there and try it again.
  
  Report this comment
- Taldren
  Posted on June 17, 2012 at 10:39am
  So an aircraft having a mechanical failure is the pilots fault now?
  
  Report this comment
- fldammy
  Posted on June 17, 2012 at 11:34am
  That was no screw up, that was an incredible save on the pilot’s part after having a critical aircraft malfunction at the worst possible point in the routine he was flying. Simply amazing that he survived with only a sprained ankle.
  
  Report this comment
- chips1
  Posted on June 17, 2012 at 12:18pm
  TALDREN:
  I guess the plane parts were made in China.
  
  Report this comment
oicu814me2
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 9:54am
Is that how they do a text book crash landing in Idaho? They should teach when crash landing not to use some many spins.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
skippy6
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 9:53am
Do what you love,then you die happy….It wasn’t his day….With that said will he keep flying???

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
lukerw
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 9:46am
In Michigan… a 77 year old woman, who uses two canes to walk… landed her plane in a bean field, today… after running out of gas!

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Baddoggy
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 9:43am
When you have freedom, sometimes you crash. Without freedom, he would not even be able to fly…I see new regulations coming to stop air shows because they are more dangerous than a 32oz. soft drink.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- lukerw
  Posted on June 17, 2012 at 10:16am
  There is a little desire to be Fascist in each one of us… and you must kick it the rear anytime that it shows up!
  
  Report this comment
salvawhoray
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 9:29am
He did the right thing by Tucking And Rolling; it works every time.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Bronco II
Posted on June 17, 2012 at 9:15am
Thank GOD FOR THIS MIRACLE.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply

It appears that you have Javascript Disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser preferences for a better user experience on TheBlaze. You can not comment without Javascript enabled.