MARTINSBURG - Digital images, security camera video recordings and a high-definition video recording of last month's fatal airshow crash in Martinsburg revealed that no parts of the victim's plane separated prior to impact, according to a preliminary report on the crash published by The National Transportation Safety Board.
The preliminary report doesn't contain a cause of the Sept. 17 accident that occurred during the Thunder Over the Blue Ridge open house and airshow, but it does provide additional details regarding the ongoing investigation. Pilot John "Flash" Mangan, 54, of Concord, N.C., was killed in the crash.
The cause will not be determined by the NTSB until the completion of a final report, which is expected to take between six and nine months.
The footage of the accident, which occurred after an opposing pass involving Mangan's plane and a second plane, was provided to the NTSB for review and analysis. The video image recordings were sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders laboratory for evaluation, the report says.
Preliminary examination of the HD video recording revealed it captured both airplanes at about the point where their paths crossed, and continued recording the flight of Mangan's plane from that point to ground impact.
"The video recorded the accident airplane pitching up and rolling left thru (sic) approximately 270 degrees; however, from about the inverted position, the airplane began a nose-low descent, which continued to ground impact on airport property," the preliminary report stated.
"Further review of the video revealed no parts separating from the accident airplane before ground impact. Additionally, video and still digital images provided to NTSB depicting the bottom of the airplane immediately before the accident did not reveal any open panels."
The fatal crash occurred at about 2:34 p.m. when Mangan's North American T-28C collided with the ground during a low-altitude aerobatic maneuver being performed by the Trojan Horseman, a civilian aerobatic team, at the airshow held at the Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport by the West Virginia Air National Guard's 167th Airlift Wing.
The intended 15-minute airshow routine consisted of six airplanes.
The second pilot involved, who was flying in the No. 5 position, reported that he and Mangan were laterally displaced and flying toward each other. Their flight paths were to cross at 300 feet above ground level, and then both were to perform an aileron roll.
"The pilot of N28XT reported that after crossing and before the next pass, he radioed the pilot of the accident airplane because he did not observe him in the air, but there was no response," the report stated.
Another member of the team also tried to communicate with Mangan's plane but was unsuccessful. The pilot who was performing the maneuver with Mangan then flew over the airport and noted the movement of fire and rescue vehicles, but initially thought they were responding to a grass fire until he observed the wreckage of Mangan's airplane, the report says.
He informed the pilots of the other four airplanes of the crash, joined up with them in formation and then were diverted to a nearby airport.
"The pilots of the other four airplanes later reported they did not witness the accident sequence prior to ground contact," the NTSB report stated.
A military pilot who witnessed the accident reported seeing a clean separation of the eastbound and westbound aircraft during the opposing pass.
"The witness noted that the pilot of the accident airplane initiated a roll to the left, which he described as more consistent with a slow barrel roll rather than an aileron roll," the NTSB report stated.
It also appeared to the witness that the roll slowed as it approached the 90-degree point and appeared to stop at that point, crashing soon after.
No one on the ground was injured in the crash. The recently filed report contains no additional information and is subject to change once the final report on the accident is filed.
http://www.journal-news.net
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board accident report says nothing broke off a 1950s-era plane prior to it crashing into the ground during a West Virginia air show last month and killing the pilot.
The preliminary report doesn't contain a cause of the Sept. 17 accident that occurred during the Thunder Over the Blue Ridge open house and airshow, but it does provide additional details regarding the ongoing investigation. Pilot John "Flash" Mangan, 54, of Concord, N.C., was killed in the crash.
The cause will not be determined by the NTSB until the completion of a final report, which is expected to take between six and nine months.
The footage of the accident, which occurred after an opposing pass involving Mangan's plane and a second plane, was provided to the NTSB for review and analysis. The video image recordings were sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders laboratory for evaluation, the report says.
Preliminary examination of the HD video recording revealed it captured both airplanes at about the point where their paths crossed, and continued recording the flight of Mangan's plane from that point to ground impact.
"The video recorded the accident airplane pitching up and rolling left thru (sic) approximately 270 degrees; however, from about the inverted position, the airplane began a nose-low descent, which continued to ground impact on airport property," the preliminary report stated.
"Further review of the video revealed no parts separating from the accident airplane before ground impact. Additionally, video and still digital images provided to NTSB depicting the bottom of the airplane immediately before the accident did not reveal any open panels."
The fatal crash occurred at about 2:34 p.m. when Mangan's North American T-28C collided with the ground during a low-altitude aerobatic maneuver being performed by the Trojan Horseman, a civilian aerobatic team, at the airshow held at the Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport by the West Virginia Air National Guard's 167th Airlift Wing.
The intended 15-minute airshow routine consisted of six airplanes.
The second pilot involved, who was flying in the No. 5 position, reported that he and Mangan were laterally displaced and flying toward each other. Their flight paths were to cross at 300 feet above ground level, and then both were to perform an aileron roll.
"The pilot of N28XT reported that after crossing and before the next pass, he radioed the pilot of the accident airplane because he did not observe him in the air, but there was no response," the report stated.
Another member of the team also tried to communicate with Mangan's plane but was unsuccessful. The pilot who was performing the maneuver with Mangan then flew over the airport and noted the movement of fire and rescue vehicles, but initially thought they were responding to a grass fire until he observed the wreckage of Mangan's airplane, the report says.
He informed the pilots of the other four airplanes of the crash, joined up with them in formation and then were diverted to a nearby airport.
"The pilots of the other four airplanes later reported they did not witness the accident sequence prior to ground contact," the NTSB report stated.
A military pilot who witnessed the accident reported seeing a clean separation of the eastbound and westbound aircraft during the opposing pass.
"The witness noted that the pilot of the accident airplane initiated a roll to the left, which he described as more consistent with a slow barrel roll rather than an aileron roll," the NTSB report stated.
It also appeared to the witness that the roll slowed as it approached the 90-degree point and appeared to stop at that point, crashing soon after.
No one on the ground was injured in the crash. The recently filed report contains no additional information and is subject to change once the final report on the accident is filed.
http://www.journal-news.net
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board accident report says nothing broke off a 1950s-era plane prior to it crashing into the ground during a West Virginia air show last month and killing the pilot.
The board also says a review of video and still digital images depicting the bottom of the airplane immediately before the accident did not reveal any open panels.
Thursday's report did not specify a cause for the Sept. 17 crash in Martinsburg.
Pilot John Mangan of Concord, N.C., was killed in the crash of his North American T-28 C during an acrobatic roll. There had been no sign of trouble before the plane plunged to the ground and exploded.
The NTSB's final report is expect to take up to nine months to complete.
The show was hosted by the West Virginia Air National Guard's 167th Airlift Wing and the Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport Authority.
The Journal reports video captured Mangan's airplane and another airplane at about the point where their paths crossed. The routine consisted of six airplanes.
The video continued recording the flight of Mangan's plant from there until it hit the ground. The video was sent to the NTSB for analysis.
"The video recorded the accident airplane pitching up and rolling left thru approximately 270 degrees; however, from about the inverted position, the airplane began a nose-low descent, which continued to ground impact on airport property," the preliminary report said.
The second pilot involved reported he and Mangan were laterally displaced and flying toward each other. Their flight paths were to cross at 300 feet above ground level, and then both were to perform a roll.
The second pilot indicated that "after crossing and before the next pass, he radioed the pilot of the accident airplane because he did not observe him in the air, but there was no response," the report said.
No one on the ground was injured in the crash, which occurred a day after an air race crash in Reno, Nev., that killed 11 people.
http://wvgazette.com
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