It's being reported that the two pilots were planning on doing aerobatics. The crash site photos are textbook spin at impact. Notice how the engine is buried in the dirt in front of the aircraft.
The Firefly is a very safe aircraft
I flew the T-3A at the Air Force Academy and was the flight safety officer during the first fatal accident. I also was a member of that first safety investigation.
The T-67/T-3A fleet has over a 10% hull loss--280 built, 28 fatal accidents, 35 killed and I know of at least two hull losses without injury.
Speaking of which,
I would like to get details of a Hondo Texas T-3A (3rd Flying Training Squadron) landing accident that resulted in no injury but the aircraft was destroyed. It happened around 95 or 96. I believe the student was attempting a no-flap full stop but jerked the aircraft back into the air after touchdown. The civilian instructor took the controls but couldn't avoid the crash. It is not listed on the Aviation Safety Network list of T67/T-3 accidents. There's some interesting reading in those reports. Any help would be appreciated.
Keep in mind that pretty much every one of the dead Firefly pilots thought it was a safe airplane until just before impact so don't tell me, "I fly the T67 and it's a safe airplane." It's not. It's statistics are shockingly bad. It's got to be right up there with the F-104 Starfighter.
From a
UK Fatal Stall or Spin Accident summary (1980-2008) report:
The accident rate for the Slingsby T67 was throughout the period much greater than any other certified type and has been treated as a special case.
The Slingsby T67, (8 fatal accidents) was excluded from the main numerical analysis but was studied as a special case. (See Appendix 2 of the full Report).
Here's my T-3 story:
https://robrobinette.com/T-3A_Firefly.htm
Rob Robinette