[jogiba]

Music playing was Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" from the movie Top Gun !

The crash is around the 3:13 mark :

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

You Tube

You Tube

[Nowhere Matt]

Damn Kenny Loggins to Hell!

[LeDave]

Soooo saad... =(

[Rupert]

Hate to see that.......someone is heartbroken. Life is not all winning and fun, it is too often death and destruction.

Regards

[jogiba]

Hate to see that.......someone is heartbroken. Life is not all winning and fun, it is too often death and destruction.

Regards

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

[dmort]

Terrifying.

[adwb]

I dont know for sure but it seems more pilots are killed at air shows then in normal every day work flying, it shows how dangerous display flying is and the respect we should have for dispaly pilots.

very sad to see ,

do we know what went wrong and which pilot is was?

[jogiba]

"It appears that nearing the completion of the final loop in his privately owned L-39 ZU HIT following another L-39 in formation he got into the wake turbulence of the lead aircraft and encountered a compressor stall, quickly followed by a high speed wing stall before impacting the ground at a 50 degree downwards angle. His plane literally blew up in a massive fireball, fortunately well away from the crowd so no spectators were hurt in the accident."
A Miserable Weekend -- Two Pilots Lost In Int'l Airshow Accidents | Aero-News Network

Even after 25 years as South Africa’s only full-time air show commentator, Brian Emmenis, who was an eyewitness to the weekend’s plane crash at the Klerksdorp Air Show, said it was an emotional day of firsts for him.

Gianfranco Cicogna, 49, who had been a pilot since 1986, died after his Aero L-39 Albatros trainer/light strike aircraft plunged into the ground at the end of the runway near the Klerksdorp cemetery in full view of thousands of spectators.

Recalling events leading to Saturday’s tragedy Emmenis on Sunday said: “The air show started with all the razzmatazz that you would normally have. The sky divers were jumping with the national flag, there was the salute by the mayor, and there was an opening prayer by the preacher”.

“The two L-39 Albatros’s, piloted by the leader Charles Urban and his wingman Gianfranco, took off in the second slot of the day and flew for approximately three minutes when they pulled into a very high loop.

“All we saw was them going up and coming out of the loop with Gianfranco following number one (Urban). It was so fast. His plane just plummeted to the ground. It hit the ground hard and there was a huge explosion. The huge crowd were stunned and shocked. I was overwhelmed by the reaction of the people,” said Emmenis.

Within seconds of the crash, he called for calm and people remained behind the fences. This was unlike other air shows where people normally pushed down barricades and rushed the crash site. Following the crash, a preacher was called to deliver another prayer, marking the first time in his career that a double prayer session was held at an air show.

The trauma of the crash resulted in a woman suffering a heart attack at the scene, with others suffering from asthma attacks and hysterics. Emmenis called for assistance from any off-duty medical personnel to assist spectators and the heart attack victim was revived and stabilised at the scene.

Air show crash horror | The New Age Online

[Docrwm]

Very tragic. Isn't that the same aircraft that the Breitling marketing air team flies?

[ChrisPlatt]

This happens all too often at air shows. It's an even bigger tragedy when spectators are harmed, too.

Here on Long Island air demonstrations are often held just offshore, over the ocean.
It's not quite as thrilling for the spectators but it does minimize the danger.

Chris

[jogiba]

Very tragic. Isn't that the same aircraft that the Breitling marketing air team flies?

YES

The Breitling Jet Team is the largest civilian aerobatic display team in Europe. Based in Dijon, France, it flies seven Aero L-39 Albatros jets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breitling_Jet_Team

13 September 2007 Air race pilot Brad Morehouse of Afton, Wyoming, USA, was killed when his L-39 crashed in a race at the Reno Air Races. According to newspaper reports, it appeared that pilot lost control when the plane was caught in wake turbulence generated by other racers.

Aero L-39 Albatros - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia