Lou IV Crash

[Lockheed Bob]

Re: Lou IV Crash

Todays latest update in the Ventura Star Press gives his name & the fact he had a private pilots license. He had 30 hours in the P51 with a CFI & was doing his 1st solo in the plane. The CFI was there and witnessed the accident. They have a photo of the plane after the accident & a few not so nice comments to the newspaper about it all.

[Cloudchaser427]

Re: Lou IV Crash

The new ower of Lou had been doing pattern work at Van Nuys on Saturday With an Instructor who we all know well but will remain nameless and is faultless. They went to Camarillo Sunday morning, did more dual time. The instructor stepped out. On his first solo landing he bounced it and applied full power to go around, slow & dirty it torqued over and went in. Not much anyone could have done to help.
Sorry for the loss both for pilot and 51.

Solo

[spinner]

Re: Lou IV Crash

How sad.

[MRussell]

Re: Lou IV Crash

The newspaper did a horrible job reporting on the incident.
They deserved the negative comments.

Agreed. I thought Tyson TVRPhoto's comments to the paper were the best.

[De Camara]

Re: Lou IV Crash

Top News

P-51D Mustang Down In California
Mon, 16 Jul '07

Pilot Lost In Takeoff And Landing Drills
ANN REALTIME UPDATE 07.16.07 1720 EDT: Officials have released the name of the pilot of a P-51D Mustang who died in a Sunday morning accident at Camarillo Airport.



John McKittrick, 42, was at the controls when the warbird crashed at 0815 PDT Sunday morning. Sources tell ANN McKittrick had "several hundred" flight hours in other types of aircraft, though this was his first time soloing the P-51.

Eyewitnesses tell ANN the accident occurred during McKittrick's first landing attempt, when the aircraft began porposing on landing, and the pilot tried to stop the plane before running off the runway.

FAA spokesman Mike Fergus told the Fresno Bee the McKittrick's flight instructor "told the tower that the student pilot was going to make patterns" before the accident.

The accident occurred Sunday morning at 0820 local time.

IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 51TK Make/Model: P51 Description: P-51, F-51, A-36 Mustang
Date: 07/15/2007 Time: 1505

Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Substantial

LOCATION
City: CAMARILLO State: CA Country: US

DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT ON LANDING, CRASHED AND CAME TO REST INVERTED, THE ONE PERSON ON
BOARD WAS FATALLY INJURED, CAMARILLO, CA

INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 1
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:

WEATHER: NOT REPORTED

OTHER DATA
Activity: Training Phase: Landing Operation: OTHER


FAA FSDO: VAN NUYS, CA (WP01) Entry date: 07/16/2007

Original Report
An early Sunday practice flight at Southern California's Camarillo airport has ended tragically for the new pilot of a P-51D Mustang. According to media and eyewitness reports, the aircraft was engaged in takeoff and landing transitions when the aircraft went down just after 0815, Pacific time.



The as yet unidentified Thousand Oaks California pilot, 42, was reportedly killed on impact. ANN News-Spy and media eyewitness reports seem to agree that the aircraft had apparently attempted a landing, and either bounced or ran into some issues therein and thereafter added power to either go-around or extend the landing when the aircraft appeared to roll-over and impact the ground, and come to rest inverted.

Impact forces were severe, causing the aircraft airframe to come apart, with the powerplant coming to rest several yards away from the rest of the airframe. Media reports indicate that the aircraft took most of the impact force along its left hand side as it rolled over while a fair amount of the right structure appears fairly intact.

The aircraft is identified as "LOU IV" and had recently been seen in the air during a Camarillo Fly-In. A P-51D Mustang nicknamed LOU IV originally served with the US 8th Air Force's 375th Fighter Squadron of the 361st Fighter Group in the UK.

Reports indicate that the pilot had been flying with an instructor just prior to the accident. According to Captain Mark Taillon, Ventura County Fire Department, the instructor disembarked from the aircraft and notified the tower that the pilot "was doing his first solo flight" in the aircraft. The FAA's Mike Fergus, reported that the instructor "told the tower that the student pilot was going to make patterns."

ANN is researching this accident and will have more information available shortly.

FMI: http://www.ventura.org/airports/cmamain.htm

[fenceliner01]

Re: Lou IV Crash

Cutting and pasting is hard work.

Crayons and scissors and paste....

Yeah, but how well does it pay?

[Fly-By Knight]

Re: Lou IV Crash

Thoughts and prayers with the McKittrick family.

At the risk of sounding shallow, (that's not the case and I REALLY don't want to be portrayed that way!!) is the Mustang rebuildable?

One tragedy in an accident is too many. Permanantly losing another fine warbird would only make this story worse.

FBK

[MRussell]

Re: Lou IV Crash

Thoughts and prayers with the McKittrick family.

At the risk of sounding shallow, (that's not the case and I REALLY don't want to be portrayed that way!!) is the Mustang rebuildable?

One tragedy in an accident is too many. Permanantly losing another fine warbird would only make this story worse.

FBK

Well, although the human loss is sadly not rebuildable, these days with enough $$$ you can rebuild a mustang from nothing more than a data plate.

[Air Race Addict]

Re: Lou IV Crash

Thoughts and prayers with the McKittrick family.

At the risk of sounding shallow, (that's not the case and I REALLY don't want to be portrayed that way!!) is the Mustang rebuildable?

One tragedy in an accident is too many. Permanantly losing another fine warbird would only make this story worse.

FBK

I am sure you were just stating the same thing that I would be willing to bet is a question in many of our heads . I don't think it was shallow at all. You just said it. Your entire commentary said what everyone is thinking. Don't feel too bad. We all feel some loss when this happens in one way or another.
Bill

[rwflyboy]

Re: Lou IV Crash

Article in the Sun Valley Newspaper with help from Bill Rheinschild

http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005116115

[Skyracer]

Re: Lou IV Crash

Well done. Kudo's to Bill R for setting the public perception straight.

[52tele]

Re: Lou IV Crash

Clearly, this is a terrible situation. I saw the airplane on it's back just past Bravo at CMA that morning. What a sick feeling seeing that leaves one with.

I've been told by numerous people that the pilot had no tailwheel time until getting into the 51. If this is true, then I think the whole situation is even more messed up, as it sure would suggest to me that his lack of tailwheel experience made him far more at risk of something bad happening than would have been the case if he had more experience. Seems to me that tailwheel airplanes are just quite different than nosedraggers (when landing and taking off), and certainly one with a V12 hung on the front is even more so. What a shame.

[shadow]

Re: Lou IV Crash

He did have time in a tailgear aircraft. I don't think it was much though.

[MRussell]

Re: Lou IV Crash

I've been told by numerous people that the pilot had no tailwheel time until getting into the 51. If this is true,

In the Bill R. article a few posts up, it was stated that he "owned a T-6," which I'd imagine he had a lot of time in, given that a) he was a 1500-hour pilot, and b) he needed to meet some insurance requirements to solo the Mustang.

[BellCobraIV]

Re: Lou IV Crash

I've been told by numerous people that the pilot had no tailwheel time until getting into the 51.

Knowing the instructor as well as I do, I can guarantee you that he was quite thorough in his assesment of the pilots readiness. They are called accidents because that is what they are. The opportunity for tragedy is always there, things happen quickly in the P-51 and it is not a forgiving airplane. Unfortunately it takes experience and more experience to master this caliber of airplane, but one micro-second of self doubt, or the first panic reaction that leads to application of power, well, it ends the game we call life.

I have known many over the years that have not made it through the early hours of mastering these planes. It does not mean they were not good enough, it doesn't mean they shouldn't have been doing what they were doing, sometimes it just meant there number was up.

Dave Zeuschel died while bellying in an F-86, something a Navy friend of his had done about a month earlier at China Lake, and they had discussed. Bob Guilford crashed a P-51 into house not long after and walked away.

Dave is the one that told me when your number is up, it is up. I give out my prayers to the family of the pilot, and also to the instructor who is suffering now as well. I know you did your job well, you always do.

John Slack