J_Earnie

They were counting on lateral deconfliction for a flight path that reversed directions using 90-270 turns at each end, comprised of aircraft with widely disparate performance and visibility characteristics.

Not enough.

Skypark

Sounds like first the fighter / bomber flight sequencing process got a little bunched up, then…a flight track crossover at the same altitude. Ouch.

goldsteinjd

500 feet of lateral separation and no vertical separation seems woefully inadequate to me for dissimilar aircraft formations maneuvering at low altitude. I’d like to ask any performers and/or Air Bosses out there if this is a common/accepted practice.

gliders

For the sake of clarification - Do the 1000 foot show line and 500 foot show line refer to distance from the edge of the crowd line? If the video of the collision was from the crowd, then it appeared the P-63 pilot was outside the 1000 foot line and would have had to cross it to get into position on the 500 foot line. Correct?

1 reply

gmbfly98

AOPA did an analysis that showed the P-63 did indeed get outside of the 1000 foot line and crossed into the 500 foot line that the bomber was flying in. It sounded like the P-63 pilot may have been focused on his formation positioning to the other fighters and possibly wasn’t even looking for other traffic.

2 replies

gliders

Thanks

mjkobb

The report actually says that the fighters were directed to the 500’ line, and the bombers to the 1000’ line. That would mean that the fighters would have to cross over the bombers’ line, if I’m reading it right.

1 reply

500ks

That is my understanding also. It also appears that the B-17 came to rest on about a 1,000ft line.

MplsRich

More regs to follow for these types of events. Rules written in blood.