I am a pilot. Got my license at 60 years old, 7 Yrs ago, I love flying. I have done a few acrobatic maneuvers with a training instructor in an acrobatic Citabria airplane. It was fantastic. Another reason to wish I had worked for my Pilot License in High School instead of after all my children were grown and my wife asked me to fulfill MY dream! You do dangerous thing for fun and to entertain others and you can die, like Steve, BUT you can really live, and Steve O’berg really lived! RIP Steve! Blue Skys!
Steve was a "good stick" and an all-around great guy - and a good friend. I flew with Steve often when we were both flying jumpers in South Dakota. God that was fun! The world lost a good man. His smile, which he was almost never without, would light up a room, a hangar, a day. I've never seen this video until today. Was it good? I cried. Yeah, it was tough to watch all these years later, but I'm glad it's available. Condolences to all his family and friends. RIP my friend, until we meet again.
Buggsy 51 - we’ve never met, but I’m sincerely sorry that you lost a great pal. I can’t tell you what mine mean to me, but I can say that the bonds are everlasting. I also had a tough time with the Missing Man T-6s, though I’d never met Steve, the O’berg Family or You. I’m often SixFourAlphaCharlie, so if we ever share a frequency, let me know...I’ll come grab your wing for Steve.
what actually happened during that final maneuvere? Did he lose consciousness or was it simply a case of P1 error? That application of power in the vertical descent surely confirms he was conscious and trying to regain control, possibly hoping engine torque would assist the recovery ??? Any info appreciated on this terrible loss. RIP captain
@@JackerNo2 It could be count-error. Reduced consciousness causing a count error. One (spin?) turn to much? Have heard from a guy who made numourous rolls and is half loop at the end was down instead of up.. ended in the lake. Besides that, it looked that his performing altitude slowly degraded during the show... and degraded a little more.. so he was flying lower than he expected. Is there any official cause known?
"The sky is not the limit ; the ground is ." After 45 years of professional flying , including aerobatic aircraft, and lots of pre - airshow briefings, this was quoted many times to us all to remind us of our limits. My condolences to his family and friends.
As you know doesn't always work out the way one thinks it will do one spin and somehow get stuck spins a few more times too low to recover that is the airshow business he knew the risk.
@@Mike-01234 he was starting to straighten out too. If he would have had 300 more feet of altitude he would have been able to straighten it back out and recover. But unfortunately at that high up there ain't much of a show to be seen from the ground
Pilot error it seems (did not look up the crash report). Getting wrapped up in the event forgetting safety is so easy to do. Every pilot makes mistakes, not all are fatal. RIP, he was doing what he loved.
Thank you for watching and commenting. Because so many comments questioned why this accident occurred, it induced me to make an evaluation video. I hope to have it uploaded to RU-vid soon. If interested, watch the evaluation video once I have uploaded it, and I welcome any additional comments you may have.
As a fellow pilot myself, i must say that this is indeed a sad sad day to lose a pilot with such great skills. My heart aches to watch this video. Deepest condolences to the family and friends.
@@robertortiz3345 That's just not what happened. It was a planned Lomcevak at way to low altitude. It went awry (which can easily happen to the best) and the ground was to close already. Moral of the story: perform those stunts with height to spare.
Glad to see the respect given to him with the missing man formation at the end. That was a class act on the organizers part. It's hard to witness stuff like this but I feel it helps give closure to the fans and family.
Very sad to watch this knowing that pilot's life is about to end. My respects to the family, and to the pilot: blue skies and clear horizons forever! 😔
However these guys know what they are doing! They forget they are human and can make huge life sucking mistakes even tho this guy obviously knew what he was doing! A mistake is a mistake!
This is great flying and i like all fly hobby 11:25 11:25 big, mid sice and litle catecorias. My best recards From Finland and 11:25 good luk Markku Kallionpää Hämeenlinna Finland
@@charlesfoster141 I agree with misjudgment, but I don't believe it was the result of overconfidence. Respectfully, It would take being inside his thoughts at the time to make that assessment.
@@MrFreshbreeze50EnjoyLife Not so sure about that. It is being overconfident or very confident to fly aerobatics in the first place. I mean no disrespect but to perform that manuever that low is either ignorant, stupid or both, also overconfident. I have been a pilot for 43 years and a prolific aviation writer for ten years. I know overconfidence when I see it. When performers push the edge to the point of death they are and were overconfident. The evidence of overconfidence is when an act is attempted beyond the capabilities of the performer which the NTSB concluded in this case, "failure to maintain control". Sorry if I hurt your feelings but just stating the obvious truth supported by the facts. Think hard about it without bias and you will see what I am preaching.
@Craig Williams Yes, I read the NTSB findings. There was no problem with the engine whatever. The NTSB found the cause of the crash to be the pilots failure to maintain control of the aircraft.
@@charlesfoster141 I wonder if the NTSB watched this video.? I'm not a pilot, ( but mechanics background ) and what I saw was the pilot went on edge, then performed a roll and spin. It sounded like it sputtered a bit and even a flash of white smoke ( may have been the smoke bottle ) and by then he was fallen almost straight down through ground effects area ( like it had no lift or couldn't power out ). But to me it sounded like it sputtered or he was having an issue with the plane. *I did NOT read the report but just my observation* God bless the pilot, his family and friends.
Really sad News!! Awful. A piece of me, also died in my heart!! So, sorry! Charlotte, The Netherlands. A lot happened, in ww-2 here in the netherlands. I adopted, two graves here on cemetry:navy, and a pilote Who died, both English. Fought for our free dom. Last what, i can do for them.
I lost my best friend and two of my instructors in a Lake Buccaneer, out training for seaplane ticket, it is part of our life. We cherish what we love and the friends we have lost. God Bless..
Steve, you know who this is brother. I’ve watched this a few times and finally decided to post. I was on one of my last deployments years ago when I pulled up one of your air show videos to show the boys in Afghanistan and that’s how I found about about this accident. Until we meet again my friend.
Godspeed Steve. I miss the days of you making fun of me for being from a "para-military" organization otherwise known as the United States Air Force and I'd make fun of you for being a helo guy trying to fly a jet, but make no mistake, you were good at it. It was shocking the day the company sent the message that you had passed away, and it still shocks me 5 years later. Rest In Peace my friend.
To leave this world and roar into the next free as an eagle at the top of his game giving a stellar performance. We are all blessed to have seen Steve at his best. RIP.
Thanks for sharing. As painful as it is for friends and family to share and remember, aviation accidents serve as beneficial cautionary tales to the community at large. I saw an old time auger in during an airshow at 7-Bar when I was kid. That accident was very similar to this one - unrecovered spin. As a result, to this day, I am very uncomfortable watching any kind of spin maneuver during an air show. Loops, Immelmans, Cuban 8s and rolls - any maneuver where the airfoil is still flying - is fine by me. I am very sorry for your loss.
This kind of stuff is heart wrenching to watch - no disrespect Mr. Breeze for posting. Two observations: 1) classic stall spin at low altitude as the plane departed flight of the aircraft's ability to recover from the maneuver performed. 2) the maneuver was entered down wind and the plane appeared to me to lose the forward energy to recover from the maneuver which was much more violent than the day before; departure from flight was inevitable. The day before the plane came out of the maneuver with a 1/2 spin and flew off in the direction of flight. The day of the accident it spun twice nose down and went in - the plane never recovered from the maneuver.
I’ve never heard of Steve O’berg, I just enjoy watching aerobatics. Since I was diagnosed with MS, physically, I am unable to do some things. Traveling to small airports, on my Harley, and watching these ‘middle of nowhere’ shows. Motorcycle stunts. ‘Worlds biggest…(whatever)’. Was my favorite escape. But, watching this was heartbreaking because you could tell Mr. O’berg was well respected. RIP Mr. O’berg, respect. I always wanted to be a licensed pilot, but, my legs don’t work too well.
Such a sad ending for an obviously skilled and experienced pilot. As the owner of an avionics shop and a keen pilot, I attended all air shows held in Western Australia with one exception. I had intended to attend a show at the town of Beverley in the early 1980s but woke up quite ill on the day and stayed home. During the afternoon, I had a sleep during which I had an extremely vivid dream in which a Pitts Special plane crashed during an aerobatic display. Both the pilot and passenger were killed. When I watched the TV news that evening, I was shocked to see that it had really happened! I knew both of the occupants from different walks of life. I can't explain why I had the dream but I have never forgotten it!
That had to have been a very unsettling experience. l can't imagine what would be worse,, actually being at the airshow or discovering that your nightmare actually happened.
Ive flown ultralites/powered parachutes for 3 decade's and don't even consider myself a pilot, pilot-of-sorts maybe..... These guy's with multiratings and thousands of hour's air time are my hero's..... And it's a Heartbreaker.... RIP.....
Hello, thank you for sharing this footage. As an enthusiast of airplane aerobatics, airshows and RC pilot myself I can imagine how difficult it might be for you to deal with this. It is probably the biggest fear as an spectator to witness a fatal accident. I hope the comments remain respectful enough for you to keep them open but I think it is valuable to share this content at least to rise awareness of the risks and possible outcomes of such an amazing yet unforgiving activity. He seems to have been a very talented pilot indeed. Rest in peace.
Thanks for posting this video. I hope it helps you and his family heal the pain in your hearts. I almost didn't watch the video, but something told me to. A month after this on July 31, 2015 I witnessed my Dad's death in a motorcycle accident. He was following me as we came to a very dangerous blind curve that wasn't clearly marked. As I miraculously made the turn, I turned around and saw my dad go off a cliff! For years I tried to analyze what happened and think about all of the "what ifs". Now I believe God just wanted to bring my dad to heaven that day. In your case, I believe that writing the description and posting the video helps you emotionally. We will always miss our loved ones. Just remember the happy times we had with them. They would not want us to suffer with sorrow the rest of our lives. Thanks again.
Sorry for your loss, sir. I hope your dad is resting peacefully. I plan on riding with my father soon and I'm all too aware that life is short. I hope you cherish those great memories of the good times. God bless.
@@randyrawdingii5135 Thank you very much for the positive comment. My dad had two motorcycles. He crashed on the Yamaha 650 VStar. He also had a BMW RT 1100. I am still riding my dad's BMW in his honor. You can see the bike on my channel in the Blessing of the bikes video. My dad and I rode dirt bikes together when I was 12 years old. I have many fond memories.
@@paulkrappYou're very welcome! Wow, that's crazy man. Awesome that you can still ride his other bike. I actually have a Yamaha VStar 650 myself and a BMW (coupe lol). You know what they say about BMW drivers hahaha. If you don't mind, what do you think about the riding experience of the RT 1100? I keep looking at them. Happy and safe riding!
@@randyrawdingii5135 Hi Randy, This is Paul Krapp. To answer one of your questions, The BMW is a 2000 RTP 1100 Police bike from The California Highway Patrol. It is an awesome bike that corners like a sport bike yet can cruise very comfortably all day! We live in Michigan, my dad bought it at the Grand Rapids dealer. I used to follow dad on my Ducati SuperSport 900. I'm going to be straight with you and tell you what happen to my dad because you have a 650 V Star. We didn't know that the curve was a decreasing radius, it went from a 55 mph curve to 25 mph curve suddenly with no warning! This was dad's first ride on the Yamaha so he took the corner like he was on his BMW. As he leaned the Yamaha, the frame contacted the road and prevented him from turning in sharper. There is no guard rail on the outside of this curve just a 12 foot drop strait down to a guy's driveway. I don't know how aggressively you ride, just be careful on twisty roads! What kind of bike does your dad have?
Thank you so much for sharing. This kind of thing is very sad to see, but unfortunately it’s just the sober reality. So it’s extremely important to not sweep it under the rug, but instead learn from tragic events like these. That’s how we become better/safer pilots.
So what do we learn here? Don't perform gyroscopic maneuvers close to the ground. There is zero safety margin. What do spectators want to see? Gyroscopic maneuvers close to the ground. The beatings will continue until morale improves.....carry on.
As a fellow pilot that almost died in an inverted flat spin it appeared that his aircraft developed too much side pendulum momentum during his manuever that prevented a pull out before impacting the ground. This was a skilled pilot. With hindsight it seems that applying full power earlier may have pulled him out of it and back to normal flight. Altitude was everything in this tragedy. Incidentally, I do not believe that he had engine trouble. Throttle jockeying is typically heard during recovery attempts because the pilot often panicks and is not sure what to try in recovery. Power back in the rotational recovery attempt then power on to try to power out of it, also to blast the elevator to level the aircraft.
My friends 65 yr old Dad got into an inverted flat spin in his Pitts. Not intentionally, he screwed up a hammerhead. He tried everything he could think of and eventually had to jump. All he could think about was “my wife is gonna kill me”. When he walked in the door he was immediately banned from future aerobatics. She said “you’re too fat”, which I thought was unkind. He since passed due to complications from a liver transplant. His son still has the rudder. Recovery from these types of departure maneuvers, based on all the footage on youtube where the recovery altitude was greater than the aircraft altitude, seems to be a variable thing. You do one thing a bit differently and it will take you another couple of turns to regain control, which might be too much. I hope to one day conquer the nausea I get with loops and rolls, up high, and that will be enough risk for me.
@Thunderbolt You do not fly level and straight at air shows ;) And remember in Aerobatics you fly within a 1 km3 box that is only 100 m above the ground. When that is said, it is a good rule of thumb to always fly 3 mistakes high...
@@Zzrdemon6633 No, the accident was not related to a loss of power or sputter whatever as verified by the NTSB and their testing labs. As a pilot I know those sounds intimately which was the pilot jockeying the power trying to decide his best remedy; no power to let gravity pull him out of his spin, or brute power to pull himself out of the spin/oscillating.
The main problem was he stuck with it too long. Your solution of power would have worked if he had reacted about half way through this manoeuvre. But if he had applied full power when ‘he’ reacted the torque of the engine would have just tightened up the spin even more. What he should have done was skipped the manoeuvre all together due to the strong tail wind and low altitude.
@@Zzrdemon6633 The smoke is generated by pumping smoke oil into the hot exhaust and has no relationship to the throttle position whatsoever. The other thing of note here is that sound travels; by the time you hear the engine rev on the recording - it had already happened two seconds or more before you hear it. At that distance, you can not put what see and hear together. The revving of the engine is probably from the fact that the plane had departed flight causing the prop to also stall; the prop quite biting the air and unloaded and the engine revved up. Yes, the prop is also a wing and can stall too.
I was stunned when I saw this Video. It was a good Video and very respectful and I watched it over and over again. He was truly a professional through and through. My heart goes out to his Family and friends who all knew him. Reading the comments below was encouraging to me and I can see he had a lot of friends. He'll be back again someday rest assured. RIP Steve.
Flying fascinates me although my knowledge of it is very limited but is it fair to say he was pushing his plane to its limits? Much respect to this pilot.
Thank you for watching and commenting. Because so many comments questioned why this accident occurred, it induced me to make an evaluation video. I hope to have it uploaded to RU-vid soon. If interested, watch the evaluation video once I have uploaded it, and I welcome any additional comments you may have.
Thank you for your kind comment. This video was difficult for me to make emotionally and it was 5 years before I could do it. I still get the same shocked, empty feeling if for any reason I watch it again, and wish somehow for a different ending. I tried to make it a nice tribute, and I apologize for my amateur video skills - no tripod and losing focus due to having my camera on automatic.
When she said "Blue skies Steve, Blue skies". As someone who spent most of his life sponging aircraft and aeronautic info. That has always been what pilots would say to each other. That hit me like a ton of bricks. I shed a tear for the loss of him and his little machine. RIP Steve, They'll never find another you.
thank goodness for technology where we can capture these precious moments in time when he was at his best and where we will always remember who he was just before he passed onto the next life.
My favorite flying figure is a soft, beautiful landing. This time I didn't see her. A tragedy happened, and in my opinion it was not a mistake in piloting and not a risky choice of the height of the start of the trick. I am not a pilot, and not an expert, but my purely spectator's vision was that there was some kind of failure in the engine speed. You have made a wonderful film, do not reproach yourself, it was God's will to get a video epitaph for a courageous pilot virtuoso. We are not in control of the plot of the documentary. My deepest condolences to everyone affected by this tragedy. I am also very worried.
My dad was a Private pilot ,had a Piper Cherokee 180. I flew with him any time he went up. So sad to see a fellow pilot loose his life under Any condition. Steve did put on one hell of a show! Thanks for the vid
My heartfelt condolences to the family and friends on the tragic loss of a great and daring soul, Steve. May the Almighty in His mercy give Sadgati to the Jiwatma and the strength to the family and friends to bear the irreparable loss 🙏
Over 6000 hours in gliders including a ton of aerobatic training and experience and then got a couple rides in a Pitts. Did some rolls and loops and....thank you, that's fine. I'm good. You guys are nuts!! I want my long, pretty wings back, thanks!!
I am not a pilot nor anything close but have been always facinated with flying. I have been to many airshows and although the aerobatic pilots are fascinating to watch, I can't help but think aren't they sometimes pushing the limit of what these aircrafts were built to do?.......This video was so sad from the first moment you see Steve checking his plane knowing this talented man will be gone in a few hours. I don't know if it brings the family some level of comfort or tremendous sadness, or perhaps both, to see a video of their loved one in their final hours. I can understand your struggle whether or not to post this. RIP Steve. ✈️
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds, - and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there, I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air… Up, up the long, delirious burning blue I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or ever eagle flew - And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. Rest easy friend
I'm Steven nd my heart felt sympathy to his family a great pilot lost, but his great fly skill as a aerobatic pilot will alway be remembered in aviation history.
this is so terribly sad - incredible pilot - he had just got control back but ran out of room :-( My heart goes out to friends and family - I witnessed a crash at Biggin Hill in the UK and will never forget the moment when I realised he had done the loop too low and stalled at the top with the plunge to earth a few seconds later - RIP dear Steve
Beautiful flying! Crisp, on the numbers. One of the "rules" that was drummed into my head flying demonstration for the Navy as well as civilian aerobatics is, "Don't improvise!" Really sad to see this. Thank you for posting.
Thank you for watching and commenting. Because so many comments questioned why this accident occurred, it induced me to make an evaluation video. I hope to have it uploaded to RU-vid soon. If interested, watch the evaluation video once I have uploaded it, and I welcome any additional comments you may have.
Robert, with what you wrote, you are being absolutely illogical and very unreasonable, wishing him to REST IN PEACE after he died, where he can do no more than remaining motionless and stiff, which goes against his own dreams while he lived! Also, you described him as " You lived more in a day than some people do in years", (actually it was nine minutes) an expression with which you tried to offend your own loved ones who still live and the majority of people around you, and in this world!!! If you had advised this pilot to REST in peace while he lived and trained for his flying, he would have taken it easier and rested enough and he would have corrected his fatigue accumulated during his training, regained his energy, and would have been more alert, and he would have lived longer, which I am sure that he would have prefered to live, than die and rest, in peace, after death. Please stop describing his love for "great risk-taking" as " Having lived", as that is not living but that is just dangerous high risk, what he loved and wanted to do, and he had every right to do it AS LONG AS HE DOES NOT KILL OTHER PEOPLE ON THE GROUND WHILE CRASHING OR OTHERWISE, including heavily polluting the air we breathe. Please Stop advising young people that it better to live dangerously for a day than living happily for 100 years, unless there are intolerable circumstances. Those people who want to appear ten meters taller than they are when naked, through wearing an engineered prosthetic aid to amplify their own weak muscles, as in the case of taking steroids, viagra, or wearing an aircraft or fast cars or fast boats around their bodies, then they are taking voluntary risks to live in a world of their own imagination, using engineered prosthetic aids as the artificial amplifiers of their pretentious abilities. That pilot was no more than a child born without wings or limbs who wore a misused an engineered prosthetic aid to be able to fly. He should have used his engineered prosthetic aid more wisely, like these children in the video. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KH8zPr-1AeA.html and from whom he was no different, going solo using engineered prosthetic aids, rather than his own naked facilities. You and I, my forefathers, my grandfathers, my parents my wife, and my children and their grandchildren are still alive and we live well using all sort of prosthetic aids as, shoes, socks, knives and forks, and spoons and washing machines and tools and cars, and schools and universities and aircraft and boats and make all sort of wooden toys and we made boats and microlights of our own design and painted and sculpted and read and sang and acted on a stage and played and danced and stayed together enjoying each other's company and we learned to be self-sufficient and not to be totally independent of each other going solo and to risk too much in our own actions. We all know our limitations. We do all this because we know exactly when to REST in peace during our life so that we can be alert for what tomorrow may bring. I am sure that you understand. Please be wise and careful with your words and weigh them well. Never let your emotions trump your logic, but always respect those who make mistakes, and as Christ said, "Please forgive them for they know not what they do! " I am not a religious man, but there were many wise people in the past who lived as we do and hence we are still alive and happy with what we are, even with our age topping four scores and six!. .
Thanh you for sharing your broken heart and this miraculous last flight He died doing what he loved. So he lives forever Blue skies cloud warrior Blue skies 🙏🏻🌈💔
I don't remember this incident merely because it occurred shortly after my 3rd Stroke. However, as a former Pilot in various Military and Civilian Aircraft its still difficult to watch one of our own go down. Steve was a wonderful pilot and Excellent Aviator. I was in OKC back when Tom Jones also went down in his Soviet Built Sukhoi Aircraft. Words can't express the feelings of loss. All I can contribute is the exact sentiment's that the Air Show Announcer gave. "Blue Skies Steve!" I'm very grateful for you sharing this video.
so many great aerobatic pilots have been lost over the years...Ive been going to airshows for 50 years with my dad...My dad owned a Taylorcraft for 50 years until he died in 2008...I remember all the greats..Rip to Steve O'berg
The Reaper is never far away. He waits for us. Sooner or later, we'll meet. The question is "Did we get a chance to enjoy life?" RIP to this amazing pilot.
--I bumped into Steve the July 4th Field of Flight in Battle Creek, Michigan some years back. His plane and my Mustang shared a hangar. I can't claim him a friend, but we'd walk around our aircrafts before each flight that weekend, kick back and talk shop in some lawn chairs. Cool dude to meet, and a great driver.
Bonjour . La passion amène toujours la fois de trop heureusement pas toujours tragique . Merci à ce pilote pour son dévouement pour donner du plaisir . Paix à son âme et vous êtes allé rejoindre Saint- Exupéry et bien d'autres
I used to watch Clancy Spiel with his Pitts Special. He was also a fantastic pilot. His plane went down in the river after a wing spar broke. Another tragedy. RIP
I learned to fly at the University of Illinois in 1962. We learned acrobatics in a Stearman PT-17, we always started at 7,000 ft. It took a little while to get there with a full tank of gas.
Thank you for watching and commenting. Because so many comments questioned why this accident occurred, it induced me to make an evaluation video. I hope to have it uploaded to RU-vid soon. If interested, watch the evaluation video once I have uploaded it, and I welcome any additional comments you may have.
Thank you for watching. This accident has plagued me from the day I videoed it. When I uploaded the tribute to Steve, I didn’t anticipate viewers’ overwhelming responses and comments. Because so many wondered why it happened to such a talented pilot or they speculated about the cause, it induced me to make an evaluation video. Finishing it has taken me longer than I anticipated, but that’s good because, in the delay, I have discovered additional information that is making it more accurate. I was disappointed with the NTSB report that simply stated the obvious yet made no safety recommendations. Conversely, my evaluation video will offer some awareness of safety issues that may help other pilots to avoid a similar tragedy, whether performing acrobatic maneuvers or during basic general aviation flight. Again, your comment is greatly appreciated. I hope you will watch this new video once I have uploaded it, and I welcome any additional comments you may have.
Sad, but with all respect. For me, it looked like he got her all squared-up and nosed out of the precarious maneuver at 17:39, he just didn't have the sky. But no matter what I hope other great pilots walk away humbly but strictly remembering the Golden Rule that..."Altitude is Life"
Thank you for watching and commenting. Because so many comments questioned why this accident occurred, it induced me to make an evaluation video. I hope to have it uploaded to RU-vid soon. If interested, watch the evaluation video once I have uploaded it, and I welcome any additional comments you may have.
Steve died doing what he loved most in life. A man with talent most of us would love to have. How many smiles and ahhhs did he put on the faces of so many. What a great pilot and made so many smile. RIP
That sucks...made me weep up a bit. Knowing what it feels like to lose someone in an aircraft crash, the only solace is that he went doing what he loved and he will always be remembered that way and not as some old man in a hospital bed....RIP.
Prob the last thing he wanted to experience was to know in his finale second his family,friends,fans and his beautiful flying machine were all destroyed sadness and fear were the part of the love he hoped to never know.
Very sad moment. A great pilot and will be missed by many. The silver lining is he died doing what he loved. Which is something most of us will not be doing when we pass. May God bless his soul.
Tragic as this is - having it on film is important for pilots to study and evaluate to avoid future mishaps. I think I noticed a factor that may have mis-shaped Steve's judgement. His performance was so lengthy that he really got into the groove. My experience is that we pilots sometimes get to hot dogging it a bit when we feel good about a great flight. Notice Steve's last turn around just before entering this maneuver. He virtually over banks the aircraft and snaps it into a very hot rodded turn around. I can see that his joy is high in that moment. As he banks the aircraft left he hesitates a bit long and then throws it into a lomchevek at too low an altitude should anything go wrong... and it did. The aircraft over rotated and developed too much side torque to effect a recovery from the stall.
Charles, I think you "nailed it" - the aircraft began "gyrating" in almost a flat spin as he was beginning recovery from the "lomcovak" (I believe that's Polish for "headache").
Looking at this tragic footage several times and having watched similar accidents of highly skilled aerobatic pilots, I get the impression that he’s action is getting sluggish a few seconds before the accident. That observation leads me to beliefe that just like fatigue on an airframe constant g-stress is causing fatigue to the human body and organs. I also believe that we still lack technologies to investigate and research my suspicion adequately. And like airframes some bodies are tougher and some weaker. Would restricting flight time performance and restricting max performance times over certain time periods be a solution, like the hour limits for commercial pilots in order to give the human body time to recover and heal? I think that to be a valid question, that should be addressed and researched. It is so very sad to see such great talent to be lost, my condolences to his family and friends.
You make an interesting point. Steve had a specific maneuver plan, and of the two flights, he did not follow the plan on the second day for some reason. In the series of maneuvers the first day he was at a much higher altitude when he performed the Lomcevak. Actually, at the time he performed it I was shocked. I thought he was on downwind and preparing to come around and land. Technically, I don't currently know how to run two comparison videos side by side, but if I learn to do it I will make and post such a video.
Well, I'm not sure if rules cause accidents by adding confusion. Not sure confusion was the item. He pulled the smoke, and then turned it off because he changed intentions and that was because of the engine. I noticed a lot of black smoke and whatever caused the engine to behave unexpectedly caused him to rethink at a time when there was no room. But that's in my opinion but it sure looked like he got into a stall and lost the engine at the same time.
Do people get tired from physical activities? Yes. Do bodies fatigue from g stress like airframes? Absolutely not. Our bodies and organs are soft and pliable. Airframes aren't. Repeated stress in metal causes fatigue and eventual failure. Repeated stress in bodies make them stronger over time, not weaker. Use your brain. There's not data on it because it's too obvious to convince a grant committee to grant money to study something so obvious.
@@lambdaman3228 you obviously never ever flew any aerobatics, well I have! At +6 g‘s blood vessels do bust particular in your eye balls! Exercise has very limited effect on your cardio vascular system. So my suggestion to you go exercise your brain get a medical degree and than let‘s talk again!
@@samaipata4756 I have an MD in cardiology with a specialization in occupational therapy for military pilots. I think I might know a little something about this topic.
I flew a sponsored aerobatic flight with Andy Wallbridge of the British Rothmans Aerobatic Team early 1980s. He was killed a short while later whilst practicing a close opposite pass manoeuvre with another Pitts Special. Exceptional pilots who operate on the edge. Respect.
Even performed correctly the 'lomcevak' is essentially an out of control manoeuvre and should only be performed at a safe altitude. The sound of the engine suggested no change in engine power. It is possible that the engine torque and precession reduced the chance of spin recovery at such a low altitude.
So very Sad for Family and the hundreds of friends. We watch a very skilled pilot and aircraft, bright red here in Buffalo Mn,, gets everyone's attention watching him perform. I helped build a Christian Eagle that took 7 years, and what a sky street rod. How these guys make it look so effortless is magic skill. Edited: Was it ever determined if engine failure was cause?
Hey man....I've seen tailslides, and I've seen tailslides, but the tailslide at 12:05 is the Tailslide of ALL Tailslides. That right there is total perfection. He rips up the vertical... rolling and rolling... then hangs... and hangs... lollygaging around...starts sliding ...and sliding .....and sliding some more (you're thinking to yourself, "oh man! how in the hell is that horizontal stab staying connected to that plane?) And then he bursts thru the smoke and slides some MORE! Totally and perfectly vertical! Excellent camera operator, right place at the right time. The best you'll ever see! Take it from me... "Tailslide Terry" I've seen it all.
Thank you for watching and commenting. Because so many comments questioned why this accident occurred, it induced me to make an evaluation video. I hope to have it uploaded to RU-vid soon. If interested, watch the evaluation video once I have uploaded it, and I welcome any additional comments you may have.
That really brought a tear to my eye, these pilots giving tribute to a fellow aviator who lost his life. You can also hear the emotion in the voice of the announcer, the way she said "Blue skies..."
Agreed - it's ingrained in pilot lore for those that understand the significance. When my father (a private pilot) passed from illness, the local flying club did a formation fly over above the funeral home in late afternoon. When the "missing man" plane (a float plane among various small planes) peeled off, the sun glared off the bottom of the wings for a momentary flash, as if to signal his departure to the heavens compared to the others. It will always remind me of the loss of someone who relished the human determination to celebrate freedom, to advance in our pursuits and the ongoing will to conquer the challenges of our fragile bodies.
It's better to go the way he did than to die from the toxic Covid vaccines. Soon enough, all the idiots that took it will understand what population control is all about....sadly
