Plane crash at Spanish airshow

[knight]

http://news.sky.com/story/1087241/spain-plane-cras...

[Eric Mc]

Oh dear.

Looked to be flying awfully slowly before he entered into that final manoeuver.

A Hispano Saeta - one of the last planes designed by Willy Messerschmitt.

[Mr Noble]

[dr_gn]

Let the speculation begin!

High speed stall?

[davepoth]

My guess would be insufficient altitude for that manoeuvre - sadly quite common for displays.

[jonnyb]

davepoth said:

My guess would be insufficient altitude for that manoeuvre - sadly quite common for displays.

That would be my guess too. Low level aerobatics are not something to be messed with.

[dr_gn]

davepoth said:

My guess would be insufficient altitude for that manoeuvre - sadly quite common for displays.

It looked almost like it pancaked in after he pulled up too sharply at the last second, but yes obviously too low in the first place. It does seem like this kind of thing is the fatal error of choice for display pilots.

[bertieg]

i have seen a very similar crash happen before, and it's truly chilling to see

RIP

[Dr Jekyll]

Do we know what manoeuvre he was trying to do?

It looked like the first half of a very slow barrel roll followed by the second half of a loop. I can't help wondering if it was meant to be a barrel roll but he simply fell out of it, a bit like the Hurricane at Shoreham a few years back.

[Eric Mc]

I would hazard a guess that failed barrel rolls are the single biggest cause of air display crashes.

[EdBarrett]

Low and slow - Two things that will put a big downer on your day

[Ginetta G15 Girl]

Not enough pitch up before entering the wing-over, resulting in a far too nose-low attitude halfway through the manoeuvre, with a predictable result.

When doing low-level aeros you need to remember that the ground has a pK = 1

[Eric Mc]

pK?

(Jargon Alert)

[bigbubba]

Another view of the crash here;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02yXwvAcVws&lis...

[knight]

bigbubba said:

Another view of the crash here;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02yXwvAcVws&lis...

Christ, that was close!

[markmullen]

Eric Mc said:

pK?

(Jargon Alert)

Probability of kill

ETA Although usually expressed as Pk rather than pK

[Simpo Two]

I'd dispute that, it depends what angle and speed you hit it at. In fact I'm on the ground now; it seems quite safe!

[Eric Mc]

Jargon Usage = Pk1

[Turbodiesel1690]

No ejector seat I presume

[Simpo Two]

Eric Mc said:

Jargon Usage = Pk1

I think 'Pj1'

(Not to be confused with pH1 which is acidic...)