Jack Roush Crashes Plane in WI

[Tommy]

Nearly all of my flying experience was in the Air Force and much of that was as in instructor in the T-38 supersonic trainer. As a result, I flew, taught and watched thousands of landings and practice stall recoveries. The dangers of low and slow were ingrained in me. But I wonder how often civilian pilots who own their own jets practice stall recognition and recovery. If most of his flying was takeoff-cruise-normal landing, his lack of practice in coping with abnormal situations might have contibuted to the crash.

One more thing. I've long been opposed to the military doing aerial flight demonstations at airshows. I've seen too many good pilots crash and die rather than suffer the embarrassment of abandoning a bad approach in front of an audience.

[Tommy]

Originally Posted by Tommy

One more thing. I've long been opposed to the military doing aerial flight demonstations at airshows. I've seen too many good pilots crash and die rather than suffer the embarrassment of abandoning a bad approach in front of an audience.

Sadly, my point was made again yesterday when a C-17 crashed in Alaska while practicing for an airshow. It appears that all four crew members died. What makes the tragedy even worse is that the generals who pick crews for airshow demos generally pick from among the best aviators in the unit.

[Tommy]

The accident report for the Roush crash has not yet been released, but a news story I read today took me back to something I said in my first post on this thread.

Originally Posted by Tommy

.... One more thing. I've long been opposed to the military doing aerial flight demonstations at airshows. I've seen too many good pilots crash and die rather than suffer the embarrassment of abandoning a bad approach in front of an audience.

News Story:
December 11, 2010
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A pilot's overly aggressive maneuvering and overconfidence were blamed in an investigative report on a C-17 plane crash at an Anchorage military base that killed all four airmen on board.

Besides pilot error, the crew on board was also faulted for failing to notice the dangerous situation that culminated with the plane stalling and crashing into some woods July 28 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

"The mishap pilot violated regulatory provisions and multiple flight manual procedures, placing the aircraft outside established flight parameters at an attitude and altitude where recovery was not possible," the report's executive summary says.

Bob Hall, a base spokesman, said Friday evening he didn't know which of the three pilots was at the controls when the massive $184 million plane crashed during a training demonstration for an air show.