Duxford air show crash: Pilot ‘lost sight of other plane’

A pilot lost sight of another plane at a Cambridgeshire air show resulting in a mid-air collision, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.

The accident, involving a P-51 Mustang and a Skyraider, took place at Duxford Flying Legends show on 10 July 2011.

The Skyraider landed but the Mustang pilot was forced to use his parachute.

Investigators concluded that the Skyraider pilot lost sight of the Mustang and made a tight turn resulting in the collision.

The Mustang pilot received minor injuries after striking the plane's tail section as he exited.

The plane crashed into a field 1 mile (2km) south west of the airfield at the Imperial War Museum Duxford.

The AAIB report said: "The accident occurred after the Skyraider pilot had lost sight of his leader (the Mustang) and continued to make a tighter turn than his leader's aircraft, which had slowed down.

"This caused their respective flight paths to converge, resulting in the collision."

The AAIB report concluded that the Mustang pilot was able to jettison the canopy and safely deploy his parachute because he had practised the emergency escape routine many times.

It recommended the Civil Aviation Authority consider "whether the provision of an automatic means of operating parachutes would provide a safety benefit to pilots".

It also suggested that pilots wearing parachutes should regularly rehearse "aircraft abandonment drills".