Mike Mangold, who flew in the Red Bull Air Races from 2004 till 2010, died Sunday in a plane crash in California. Mangold, age 60, was flying an L-39 aerobatic jet from the Apple Valley Airport. The jet reportedly crashed shortly after takeoff, exploded on impact and burned. A second person in the airplane, who has not been identified, also died. The Aero L-39 is a jet trainer developed in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/news/red-bull-pilot-killed-in-l-39-crash