AT-6 LOST

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Member for

17 years 5 months

Posts: 236

Just seen this on ASN ,sad news-:

Date: 06-MAR-2010
Time: 12:45pm LT
Type: North American SNJ-6 Texan
Operator: Herbert E. Zeiger (rgd. owner & pilot)
Registration: N47LF
C/n / msn: 121-43186
Fatalities: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: Into Gulf of Mexico near Miramar Beach, FL - United States of America
Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature: Private
Departure airport: Tuscaloosa Regional Airport - KTCL
Destination airport:
Narrative:
The North American T-6 Texan was flying together with for other aircraft when it crashed into into Gulf of Mexico near Miramar Beach. Eyewitnesses say five WWII airplanes were doing stunts over the Gulf, when they saw a big splash. They say the fifth plane in line hit the water after it came out of a loop. Both occupants were killed and the aircraft was totally destroyed.

Sources:
http://www.waltonsun.com/news/destin-4398-guard-planes.html
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/06/1516274/small-stunt-plane-crashes-off.html
http://www.wkrg.com/alabama/article/uscg_mobile_dispatched_to_plane_crash/773622/Mar-06-2010_8-07-pm/

http://www.airliners.net/photo/North-American-SNJ-6/0937348/L (photo)

G-ANPK

Original post

Member for

15 years 1 month

Posts: 648

Sad sad news, my prayers are with their friends and family.

Member for

20 years

Posts: 3,902

Low-level loops over the sea are a tricky business, with an absence of visual clues to help orientation and height awareness. The L39 that went into the sea at the Eastbourne display some years back during hazy conditions was a victim ( according to the AIIB ) of these circumstances.

The pictures in one of those links indicates that the formation was operating at heights as low as 150 feet over the water.

Member for

16 years 11 months

Posts: 832

Or a bit like the Red Sales accident when 4 RAAF Vampires all crashed after doing a formation roll without enough altitude.

Member for

14 years 1 month

Posts: 5,088

Whatever happened, it's always sad to lose a classic aircraft, far more so when lives are lost too.