20070907021689A

(-23) SEVERAL PERSONS WITNESSED THE ACCIDENT WHICH OCCURRED DURING A SCHEDULED PRACTICE WITHIN THE FAA WAIVER TIME OF THE AIR SHOW. WITNESSES INCLUDED A FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) INSPECTOR, AND A NAVY AIR OPERATIONS OFFICER. THEY BOTH PROVIDED WRITTEN STATEMENTS WHICH DEPICTED A SIMILAR SERIES OF EVENTS. THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE WAS ONE OF FIVE AIRPLANES PARTICIPATING IN A FORMATION AERIAL DEMONSTRATION. FOR THE FINAL MANEUVER OF THE DEMONSTRATION, EACH OF THE FIRST FOUR AIRPLANES PERFORMED A "POP UP BREAK", WHILE FLYING IN A SOUTHWESTERLY DIRECTION, IN ORDER TO RETURN TO LAND ON RUNWAYS 14R OR 14L. THE FIFTH AIRPLANE, HOWEVER, CONTINUED STRAIGHT AHEAD IN A SLIGHT DESCENT, AND DID NOT PULL UP OR "BREAK." THE AIRPLANE CONTINUED IN A CONSTANT DESCENT, WITH THE WINGS LEVEL AND IN A SLIGHT NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND AND ERUPTED IN FLAMES. PRIOR TO IMPACT, THE ENGINE APPEARED TO BE FUNCTIONING, AND NO ABNORMAL SMOKE WAS VISIBLE. A PORTION OF THE ACCIDENT WAS ALSO CAPTURED ON VIDEO BY A LOCAL NEWS STATION. A REVIEW OF THE VIDEO SHOWED THAT FIVE AIRPLANES APPROACHED THE VIEW OF THE CAMERA, TRAVELING FROM RIGHT TO LEFT, WITH THEIR SMOKE SYSTEMS ON. THEY THEN SIMULTANEOUSLY TURNED OFF THE SMOKE GENERATORS FOR A MOMENT, BEFORE THE FIRST AIRPLANE AGAIN ACTIVATED ITS SMOKE SYSTEM, AND BROKE AWAY FROM THE FORMATION IN A CLIMBING RIGHT TURN, THREE AIRPLANES SEQUENTIALLY FOLLOWED SUIT. THE FIFTH AIRPLANE, IDENTIFIED AS THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE, ACTIVATED ITS SMOKE SYSTEM, BUT CONTINUED STRAIGHT AND DID NOT BEGIN A CLIMBING RIGHT TURN. THE AIRPLANE INSTEAD BEGAN A SHALLOW, WINGS LEVEL DESCENT BEFORE IT DISAPPEARED FROM VIEW BEHIND AN OBSTRUCTION. THE INITIAL IMPACT POINT WAS LOCATED ABOUT 1,200 FEET BEYOND THE DEPARTURE END OF RUNWAY 23R. THE WRECKAGE PATH WAS 360 FEET LONG AND ORIENTED IN A DIRECTION ABOUT 230 DEGREES MAGNETIC. THE AREA OF THE INITIAL IMPACT WAS MARKED BY TWO GROUND SCARS ORIENTED PERPENDICULAR TO THE WRECKAGE PATH. A LARGER GROUND SCAR, ABOUT 12 FEET WIDE AND 20 FEET LONG, WAS LOCATED JUST BEYOND THE INITIAL GROUND SCARS. FLATTENED AREAS OF GRASS, CONSISTENT IN DIMENSION WITH THE LEFT AND RIGHT WING, EXTENDED FROM THE SIDES OF THE LARGE GROUND SCAR, AND CONTINUED THROUGH ITS LENGTH. VARIOUS PIECES OF WRECKAGE WERE DISTRIBUTED ALONG THE WRECKAGE PATH, INCLUDING BOTH AIRFRAME AND ENGINES PARTS. GRASS AND BRUSH LOCATED ALONG AND AROUND THE WRECKAGE PATH, IN ADDITION TO PORTIONS OF THE WRECKAGE ITSELF, WAS ALSO BURNED. BOTH WINGS WERE LOCATED ON THEIR RESPECTIVE SIDES OF THE WRECKAGE PATH, ABOUT 280 FEET BEYOND THE INITIAL IMPACT POINT. THE MAIN WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED ABOUT 300 FEET BEYOND THE INITIAL IMPACT POINT, AND WAS COMPRISED OF THE FUSELAGE, EMPENNAGE, AND ENGINE. THE FUSELAGE, FROM THE EMPENNAGE FORWARD HAD HEAVY FIRE AND IMPACT DAMAGE. IT WAS ORIENTED 050 DEGREES MAGNETIC. CONTINUITY OF THE PRIMARY FLIGHT CONTROLS COULD NOT BE ESTABLISHED DUE TO THE IMPACT DAMAGE. THE PROPELLER REMAINED ATTACHED TO THE ENGINE CRANKSHAFT. THE REAR ACCESSORY CASE WAS FOUND SEPARATED FROM THE ENGINE, LAYING A FEW FEET FROM THE ENGINE. BOTH PROPELLER BLADES EXHIBITED TWISTING AND LEADING EDGE GOUGING. SEVERAL CYLINDERS OF THE RADIAL ENGINE EXHIBITED SIGNATURES CONSISTENT WITH A POST IMPACT CONTACT WITH THE PROPELLER. IT WAS REPORTED BY THE FLIGHT LEADER EACH AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN FUELED WITH 60 GALLONS OF FUEL AND EACH AIRCRAFT WOULD LAND WITH ABOUT 40 GALLONS. THERE DID NOT APPEAR TO BE EVIDENCE OF A CATASTROPHIC STRUCTURAL FAILURE OR CATASTROPHIC POWERPLANT FAILURE. (-23 AMENDMENT) INTERVIEW OF SKYTYPER TEAM MEMBERS DETERMINED THE DEMONSTRATION TEAM FLEW THIS PRACTICE SHOW WITHOUT THE SLOT POSITION BEING UTILIZED IN THE FORMATION DUE TO AN UNAVAILABLE AIRCRAFT. THERE WAS A LEAD SOLO AIRCRAFT AND A WING SOLO, WHICH WAS THE PILOT'S ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ POSITION, TO COMPLETE THE FIVE AIRCRAFT FORMATION THAT DAY. TEAM MEMBERS STATED THE AIRCRAFT SMOKE SYSTEM IS ACTIVATED BY PUSHING AND HOLDING A SWITCH LOCATED ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE CONTROL STICK. NORMAL ACTIVATION OF THIS SWITCH WOULD BE CONTROLLED BY THE RIGHT THUMB. AS PREVIOUSLY STATED, VIDEO FOOTAGE SHOW EACH AIRCRAFT'S SMOKE SYSTEM BEING ACTIVATED AT THE APPOINTED TIME DURING THE FINAL MANEUVER, INCLUDING THE ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT. THE SMOKE APPEARS TO REMAIN ON AS THE PLANE IS OBSCURED FROM VIEW IN THE VIDEO. FROM THAT POINT, THE PLANE IS OBSCURED AND ONE CANNOT DETERMINE IF THE SMOKE SYSTEM REMAINED ON. A SKYTYPER TEAM MEMBER REPORTED AFTER HE COMPLETED HIS POP-UP AND BREAK MANEUVER, HE OBSERVED THE WING SOLO SMOKE SYSTEM ACTIVATED AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME, AND THEN IT WENT OFF JUST PRIOR TO THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTING THE GROUND.