P51 crashes at air show

[Highbury]

Originally Posted by Oberon

It's clear that Jimmy Leeward is a hero. At that speed and altitude if an elevator came off...well...it's difficult. Particularly inverted which it looks like he was at the time.

Actually, after the elevator detached the plane became inverted and the transition is estimated to have reached approx 10 Gs. The pilot would have been unconscious as photos of the incident suggest (Example. That is taken shortly before impact and the pilot is clearly out of view due to being passed out.)

It is a sad incident, but it looks again like the media's urge to brand people as "Hero"s has been premature.