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