The NTSB has issued the preliminary investigation report on May 4’s Stearman biplane crash at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California.
The plane crashed when the 77 year old pilot, Edward Andreini, was attempting a ribbon cutting stunt during the Thunder Over Solano air show.
According to the report, “The planned maneuver consisted of a total of three passes…The first two passes were successful, but on the third pass, the airplane was too high, and did not cut the ribbon. The pilot came around for a fourth pass, and rolled the airplane inverted after aligning with the runway. The airplane contacted the runway prior to reaching the ribbon, slid inverted between the ground crew personnel holding the poles, and came to a stop a few hundred feet beyond them.”
The report also revealed that within 50 seconds of coming to rest, the plane’s right side was completely engulfed by flames but the firefighters took 3 to 4 minutes before they arrived at the scene to extinguish the fire.
This post is an update of ‘Biplane Crashed during Thunder Over Solano Air Show in California; Pilot Killed‘
