Dispatchers Say Pilot Killed in West Virginia Air Show Crash Saturday (Updated With Video)
- Posted on September 17, 2011 at 4:37pm by
Christopher Santarelli
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A West Virginia Air National Guard spokesman says a World War II-era plane has crashed at an air show. CBS 13News had this photo of the crash:
Lt. Nathan Mueller says the T-28 aircraft crashed during a routine Saturday at a Martinsburg airfield. Mueller did not have any details on the pilot’s condition. 13News reports that dispatchers say that the pilot was killed in the crash.
Officials said they did not immediately know of any injured spectators.
A Trojan Horsemen aircraft, T-28 Trojan Horsemen Warbird Formation Acrobatic Team, explodes into flames as it crashes during Saturday Thunder Over the Blue Ridge open house and airshow in Martinsburg. The crash occurred during a stunt where two Horsemen were flying belly-to-belly. After the aircrafts split, the plane that was heading west out of the maneuver lost control, rolled and crashed on the runway in front of the hangers. (Journal-Ron Agnir)
The plane was performing during the Thunder Over the Blue Ridge air show. The Journal of Martinsburg reports the aircraft lost control during a six-plane stunt formation and then crashed on a runway.
The crash comes a day after a stunt pilot lost control of his World War II-era plane at a Nevada air show, crashing near a VIP section in a wreck that killed nine and sent dozens to the hospital.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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Linz
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 8:38amI know this is an old article and everyone has moved on to other news items, but I just found this while searching for any new updates on the cause of the crash. I, along with my parents, sister, friend, and her parents, were at this air show. We were having an amazing time, despite the rain, right up until the crash. While it didn’t happen right in front of us, we were pretty close and saw the whole thing. I just wanted to say in response to a few of the comments I’ve read – no, the planes did not hit each other as they were doing the opposing pass. They’re much farther apart than they look. Therer are a few better videos than the one posted here on YT that better show what happened – they passed, did an aileron roll, and while he was rolling, the plane went down. He had almost leveled out again when the wing clipped the grass near the runway, but SOMETHING ELSE made the plane start loosing altitude while he was rolling. The plane didn’t crash *near* the ball of fire, it crashed and then exploded *into* the ball of fire, which only burnt for a very short time. I assume this is because they don’t carry much extra fuel when performing in case of a crash like this. Terrorism? I doubt it. It was a tragic accident, pure & simple. Also last night I read that the crash in Reno may have been caused by the plane’s seat coming loose. I don‘t think it was anything other than a horrible accident I wish I hadn’t had to witness. A funny feeling, realizing you’ve just watched a ma
Report Post »Linz
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 8:40amMust have run out of characters and didn’t realize it – I was saying that it’s a funny, as in sobering, feeling realizing you’ve just watched a man die.
Report Post »mikee1
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 10:28am“One time is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.” – Ian Flemming Why are all these air show accidents happening now?
Report Post »Cate
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 2:37pmPay attention. The latest threat from Al Quada, Hamas or whoever our enemy is was about using small planes as missiles. Was this sabotage? Terrorism? Surely air shows are a good place for masses of people to gather as targets of destruction. Obviously the pilots were victims and not suicide bombers; yet whether it’s the World Towers, Israel buses or whatever, the focus is usually on killing innocent people. We will probably never know.
Report Post »hojo
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 7:35amI think the TSA had a “HAND” in it.
Report Post »Liberal Basher
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 11:58pmYou religious freaks are embarrassing. Knock off the Jesus bulls*h*t! No wonder the Left finds you so ridiculous!
Report Post »JJ Coolay
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 2:39amSomeday man… the freaks will look a lot less freakish.
Report Post »ZJD92
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 7:31amI love you… It‘s so awesome to hear another Conservative that isn’t a crazed religious extremeist. I believe in God but some of these people are whacked out beyond the telling of it.
Report Post »teresa2010
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 9:35am.We need God to fend off you loser liberals
Report Post »Black Manta
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 10:42pmDo we ever think about our own death?? Those people didn’t see death coming that day..How many of those people that died trust Jesus with their lives??Do you trust Jesus with yours??
Report Post »EddieGin
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 8:41pmYou know what they say, Things happen in three’s.
Report Post »GTH
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 7:17pmAirplanes SUCK!
Report Post »Avi8or
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 7:50pmAh, they’re not so bad. Been having an unusual amount of bad stuff happening to them lately, I’ll admit that.
This is really sad, after the tragedy in Reno. We manage risk every time we fly, and sometimes it gets the better of you. But as any pilot will tell you, once you get bit by the aviation bug, you’ll always look upward.
Report Post »GTH
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 8:53pmI’m a licensed commercial instrument rated pilot and a&P for the past 20 years.
Report Post »Believe me when I tell you. Airplanes suck.
demsaredumb
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 9:29pmGTH
I’m a licensed commercial instrument rated pilot and flight instructor my guess you suck as an A&P many of you do.
Report Post »GTH
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 6:36amFlight instructor? Give me a break! Flight instructors are the pussiest pencil necked geek wanna bees I’ve ever known. Most are spoiled little brats that daddy gave his credit card to for fly boy lessons.
Report Post »Besides that…I make one hell of a lot more money than you do boy and always will, so move on.
demsaredumb
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 10:36amGTH
I rest my case. LOL your comment just shows you are a idiot. No free lunch or credit cards here, I earned every penny for every hour of instruction I took. I will compare my income to yours any day.
Probably some guy like you that forgot to put a bolt in right.
Report Post »The-Monk
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 3:47pm@GTH
Could you answer these for me?
How do you make a plane go up?
Report Post »How do you make a plane go down?
How do you make a plane go fast?
How do you make a plane go slow?
GTH
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 5:58pmHere ya go….Heres a day in my life dealing with you F&^%*%g bus drivers.
Report Post »http://youtu.be/e7Xq2KEDAnY
GTH
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 6:04pmMONK.
Report Post »A plane will go up all by itself if you add enough forward motion, or power.
It will come down if you pull back on the power or, push the nose over. which will also make you go faster. (ask the guy in Reno) Ooops! you can’t. And if you wan’t a plane to go slow, really, really slow. Drop the flaps and gear, pull all the way back on the power and pull the nose up as high as you can. That’ll slow you down for sure. Until the stall and spin that is.
Any other questions?
The-Monk
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 7:57pm@GTH
Report Post »Nope… I have asked these 4 questions of many pilots and about 85% of the time I get these answers.
(Mind you, I’m talking about small plane pilots, jumbo jet pilots and instructors for both).
How do you make a plane go up? Pull back on the stick.
How do you make a plane go down? Push forward on the stick.
How do you make a plane go fast? Increase throttle.
How do you make a plane go slow? Decrease throttle.
I meant no disrespect to you. I was just curious. After asking about 300 people these questions and about 85% giving the answers above I sometimes wonder what’s going on the aviation world. I have a 5th question also but did not include it. Again, no disrespect. I just wanted to know whose post I was reading. Try it sometime. The questions that is… you’ll be surprised. Ask each one in that order and wait for the answer before going to the next question. Thanks for taking the time to reply.
GTH
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 8:10pmMONK: If you line up on the runway and push the throttle to the stop, you will fly without touching the controls. You may exceed VY but you will climb out. Are you a pilot? What am I missing here?
Report Post »The-Monk
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 8:23pm@GTH
Report Post »Thanks for the video clip. I repair a laptop, when it needs it, for a friends brother who flies an A320 Airbus. That’s about how he treats me. I’m seriously considering telling him the same thing the next time he calls.
The-Monk
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 8:53pm@GTH
Report Post »I understand what you saying about takeoff. Having spent 14 years with a P-51 pilot for a best friend he’s told me about that many times. He calls it the finger and thumb takeoff. Am I a pilot? No. I have flown a 42 Stearman several times but I’m no pilot. I’ve read “Stick and Rudder” many times with my friend questioning me on everything imaginable about areodynamics and acrobatics. He told me to ask those questions before I go up with anyone or if I wanted to see how bad things are in the training of pilots. Being a computer tech, I‘ve worked on many PC’s from pilots to NTSB officals. I probably know more about flying than most people. What got me started asking questions about flying was a client with a really badly scared face. This person was a student pilot who was involved in a crash in which the instructor was killed. The engine died and the instructor pulled back on the stick to “go up” according to this student pilot. Of course the plane stalled and started to drop. He got the engine started again and it ran for a little bit but it failed again, this time at a much lower altitude. He pulled back on the stick, stalled the plane and they nose dived into the ground. That’s when I started asking my P-51 pilot friend about flying. He took it as his personal mission to make sure I knew about flying. So when I want to know what kind of pilot I’m talking to or about to post to I sometimes ask these little questions. No disrespect intended and thank you.
GTH
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 7:05amAll I know is that I have over 100K of my own money into flying airplanes and all I have to show for it is a little brown book called a “Pilots Log Book”
Report Post »I’d trade that back for my 100k plus money back any day of the week.
Hell! It would be cheaper to be hooked on heroin than hooked on an ego trip like flying planes.
Sorry for the negative vibs but I see young kids max out their credit cards all the time flying these tin cans and all they end up doing is playing big shot pilot and going broke, or getting killed, or killing someone else along for the ride with them.
TSUNAMI-22
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 1:43pm@ GTH
It’s your attitude that determines your altitude, not your aptitude.
I agree with many things you said, but not all.
As an instructor I see run-away ego constantly within other instructors. I see reckless flying and chances taken that are unnecessary. I see aggressive attitudes and machismo denial that is transferred to the student as a result.
I call it the “frustrated Chuck Yeager syndrome”. Too many pilots have it. I see it all of the time and it’s getting worse. Where this kind of egoistic issue usually shows its wrath is near benchmark flight hour marks. For example: 500, 1000, 1500, etc…..
You say that “airplanes suck”. Obviously this is subjective. I will say however, that from my experience with aviation, it has been the most satisfying AND the most disappointing thing I have ever been involved with.
It’s my attitude that keeps me pushing the envelope forward.
Fly safe.
Report Post »The-Monk
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 8:17pm@TSUNAMI-22
Report Post »@GTH
Thank you both for the time you have spent posting to me. I value any comment or tips from “real” pilots and/or instructors. Back in about 2003 I watched a small twin engine prop plane spin-out-over- the-top while practice landing at Clearwater Executive Airport. Because of pilots like my friend I knew what was happening even when the pilot did not. You might have heard about it. A Father and Son and the Son’s friend were in the plane. The Son was operating it. The first two passes were bad and the 3rd try killed them all. The NTSB report was all wrong. I saw it live and my Heart stopped for more than a few moments.
As for Chuck Yeager, my P-51 friend called him, “Up-Chuck Yeager”. And yes. he met him in person.
As for the macho pilot thing…. fighter pilots are very macho. That’s why they sit at a round table and if someone asks, “Who’s the best pilot?” they will all say, “I am” in unison. If you ask, “Who’s the 2nd best pilot?” they will all point to another pilot.
Perhaps some of these “student pilots and instructors” want that macho fighter pilot attitude? I don’t know. I do know that I like going to Fantasy of Flight and dropping $200 to take their 42 Stearman up for a while. I feel so…. free and all my little problems seem to vanish for a while. I thank both of you.
Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 7:14pmThe the T-28 aircraft was a post war trainer,I am sure many great pilots trained in them.I hate to see an enthusiast loose his life,just know he was doing what he loved to do.
Report Post »kralspaces
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 8:48pmI stand with the pilots. They died for their love. I would do the same, but mine is not flying or anything near as risky.
Report Post »BurntHills
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 6:49pmSad comments by all the obamaite armchair pilots who have most likely never even been to an AMERICAN air show [or air race] in person. always ready to jump on the injured or deceased person [pilot].
IL reported 2 wks ago that obama hired more ”social media writers” [obamaites] to post pathetic insults about Americans on conservative websites. well he sure did, it’s not hard to tell which posts are theirs.
Report Post »motherof18
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 7:07pmThis is more a story about human beings than it is about American human beings. I doubt american pilots are superior to all other pilots.
Report Post »BurntHills
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 6:43pmheartbreaking, but like humans, these glorious warbirds were never meant to go on Forever.
Report Post »God bless that pilot who flew West.
motherof18
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 6:20pmIs it pure coincidence that he crashed right next to that big fireball or is there perhaps more than meets the eye.
Report Post »The-Monk
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 3:52pmDo you really have 18 Children? Or are you just a Soros/Obama poser poster?
Report Post »mrsclark
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 6:14pmThis is just up the street from my house and I was invited to go today and had been looking forward to it. I decided to go to a baby shower instead. I am SOOO glad I didnt go. I think it would have messed me up watching that live. My heart aches for all the people there watching and the pilot and their family.
Report Post »The Gooch
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 11:35amSunday’s show was cancelled. I had my vacation planned around this airshow and today (9/18) was the day I planned on going. Such is life. RIP, pilot. I hope there’ll be a show next year. That plane was clipped from the video my wife showed me. Guess I can finish some house chores today.
Report Post »ktmrider1
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 5:57pmit looks to me maybe the two planes made contact and caused the crash
Report Post »sissykatz
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 5:57pmWow…. It seems the Airplane accidents are happening more frequently at these Airshows…. Usually with the older Aircraft.I know the planes are well maintained and the pilots are experienced… what is happening??? There have been more accidents than the two reported on here today.
My heart and prayers goes out to all the ones affected by these crashes.God bless the piots and the
Report Post »victims or these incedents.
The-Monk
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 3:57pm@sissykatz
Report Post »There are a lot of things we see now in this techno driven World that we never got to see in the past. With all the cell phones able to take pictures and movies and the Internet and cable TV; we can now see things minutes after they happen. No need to take in the 35mm film and get it developed. By that time most people would lose interest and it never made the news. I don’t know if there are more accidents now. I do know that with today’s technology we can see a school yard fight minutes after it happened that would never make the news of past years.
orionreplay6607
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 5:51pmIt is a sad day. We just saw these fine aircraft and pilots two weekends ago.
Report Post »jackbauer
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 9:04pmI’ve watched the Trojan Horsemen do the Warriors and Warbirds show here in N. Carolina, the last two yrs. Those are some high performance machines. If memory serves me right , they have something like 1600 horsepower engines. A lot of of get up and go for a piston engine prop. plane. If the guy who the plane was registered to was flying it that day, he lived just 30 miles up the road from here. I’ll have to watch the local news and see if I can get more details.
Report Post »Rob
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 5:43pmGood thing they told us he died, because I was SURE he walked away from that….
Report Post »Xkiller
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 7:04pmIdiot…
Report Post »TSUNAMI-22
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 5:35pmI wish we could retire the rampant ignorance and politically correct nonsensical emotion-laden irrationality and begin to return to the great nation we once were.
There’s a difference between existing and living life to the fullest.
Curl up into a fetal position if you want to when things go wrong. I choose to take any challenge straight on – with a goal to attain the highest level proficiency and professionalism.
Speculating things like “If” this, and “if” that, is utter nonsense. If my Aunt had balls, she’d be my Uncle.
Grow up America, and remove the tail from between your legs.
Report Post »Moonrunner69
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 5:48pmI took exception to the pilot being framed as a stunt pilot in the article. I happen to agree with you 22 that people that have hobbies do it because of the challenge and the enjoyment of the act. I think anyone that’s been to an air race will agree this is no stunt and the machines perform at the limits of capabilities of man and machine. I love to shoot but it doesn’t compare to the thrill you get when flying a high performance aircraft. My thoughts are with a man that died what he had a passion for and the family left behind. Living life is mans responsibility and the results are God’s.
Report Post »Cat
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 6:44am@MOONRUNNER69
As with powerful machines at high speed on water, death will happen one day as the love grows stronger each day … The sky is the limit.
Report Post »Rest in peace comrade.
The-Monk
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 4:11pm@TSUNAMI-22
Report Post »Keep up the good fight!
TANK3584
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 5:24pmI’ll keep my feet on the ground…Thank you.
Report Post »Rick16803
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 6:00pmWhy? Were you planning on flying in Air Shows soon? Or do you stop driving your car everytime a Nascar driver crashes, or a Formula One car crashes.
Report Post »same thing, just different risks in the same transportation modes.
The-Monk
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 4:24pm@TANK3584
Report Post »More pedestrians are ran over by cars than people who die in plane crashes. People who love to fly or just like planes are doing their thing. Man has been infatuated by flight forever and that’s never going to change. Granted, a lot of pilots only know the basics and in those cases “I rather be down here looking up than up there looking down”.
AJAYW
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 5:13pm@RANDY How so???
Report Post »randy
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 4:51pmWell, that’s 2 one more will happen very soon, since they always come in 3′s
Report Post »navydoc2008
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 5:00pmYou know Kettle it‘s funny you called the Pot’s statment idiotic.
Report Post »Vet with Vendetta
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 5:05pmHey Navy Doc… a fellow Corpsman!
Report Post »He’s right, I’m not a plane engineer or mechanic, I’m only commenting on what seems to be the common attribute in these stories, but he feels arrogant enough to call names on a simple forum. That’s fine.
I feel terrible for the families affected by the crashes though, and don’t want to take away from them. They should be the focus of thought here.
Moonrunner69
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 5:38pmI have to agree normally 3‘s atleast that’s what I saw over 20 years of maintaining aircraft. I’m not certain of this but the pilot that crashed at Reno had flown the race for 30 something years and having seen a race or two it was very very far from being a stunt. When things like this happened to maintainers we never said anything and walked on razor blades till there were 3. I enjoy this site for the variety, keep it coming.
Report Post »Vet with Vendetta
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 4:48pmIt would appear that now is the time to retire these planes… when will enough be enough already?
Report Post »randy
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 4:52pmThat’s an idiotic stament. These planes are safer today than they were when they rolled off the production line.
Report Post »Vet with Vendetta
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 4:54pmObviously
Report Post »Sherlock_Watson
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 5:33pmThe planes are not what are causing the crashes. T-28′s are truly good planes, as anyone who has ever flow one will testify. In this case, the pilot, Who was a friend of my family, didn’t get enough altitude before going into the next part of the manuver. You get that large of an airplane going 250 mph going pretty much staright down and not enough altitude, you can’t pull up fast enough. That’s true for all new planes as well. Prayers go out to the family of the pilot, He shall be surely missed.
Report Post »chazman
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 5:40pm… pilot error, or incompetent maintenance, doesn’t make the aircraft a bad thing …
Report Post »BOMUSTGO
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 6:04pmIt is not the planes fault.It is pilot error in this case. Looks like a wing got clipped.Look at the old DC-3′s,designed in the late 30′s. They were built strong and are still going today. The T-28 Trojan which crashed in this air show was a training plane. It was built to handle the stress of a ham fisted pilot trainee and capable of doing aerobatics.
Report Post »BurntHills
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 6:55pmfor Warbirds that are 70 years old, these have been glorious. these pilots know it’s between them and God every time they go up. we retired our BT-13A a few years back, for Family safety. it was in the family since 1949, Houston TX.
no, sadly these warbirds are NOT any safer than they were when they were rolling off the assembly lines in 1942. look at the Liberty Belle, the B17 that just went down in May, she had been “fully restored”.
Report Post »