Grumman OV-1 Crash at Stuart Airshow

[w1pf]

https://www.wptv.com/news/region-mar...tuart-air-show
FAA, NTSB investigating deadly plane crash at Stuart Air Show

STUART, Fla. — The Martin County Sheriff's Office says one person died when a plane crashed at the Stuart Air Show on Friday afternoon.The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board said they're investigating the crash of a Grumman OV-1 Mohawk.The FAA said the Mohawk, with only the pilot aboard, crashed on the approach end of Runway 1 at Witham Field, located at 2011 SE Airport Rd., around 1:15 p.m.Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said the victim is an adult male. It's unclear what caused the plane to go down."Fire Rescue personnel were already on the scene and had extinguished the flames which, by all appearances, had fully engulfed the airplane," said Sheriff Snyder at a news conference on Friday afternoon.

[ATC Watcher]

very sad news . Is it normal to fly this aircraft single pilot ?

[capngrog]

Originally Posted by ATC Watcher

very sad news . Is it normal to fly this aircraft single pilot ?

Yes. The OV-1 was designed for single pilot operation, and there were no flight controls for the right seat. The right seat was occupied by an "observer" who operated the aircraft's fairly sophisticated suite of electronics, which included Side Looking Radar (SLR). The aircraft was operated in Vietnam by the U.S. Army.

Cheers,
Grog

[cujet]

Dr. Joe Masessa was a close friend of mine. I helped him out with his strikemaster jet and his Citation, mostly at F45, but some at PBI. I spoke with him shortly before the crash. I have no input, other than the wish to express my sadness at the loss of another good friend. I'm in Jupiter, FL and the airshow was right up the road in Stuart, FL. My family and friends had planned on going today (Sat Nov 2, 2019) . I've spent the last day on the phone with his friends and various girlfriends. Not my words, but they describe him perfectly: Joe was "Brilliant, Different, Bold". He was a well known surgeon, owned a series of Dermatology offices and owned 5 aircraft.

I heard from a friend who works at the Stuart field, he was "test flying" after some maintenance.

I don't have 10 posts so I can't post a picture.

[Tailspin Turtle]

Originally Posted by capngrog

Yes. The OV-1 was designed for single pilot operation, and there were no flight controls for the right seat. The right seat was occupied by an "observer" who operated the aircraft's fairly sophisticated suite of electronics, which included Side Looking Radar (SLR). The aircraft was operated in Vietnam by the U.S. Army.

Cheers,
Grog

There were, however, provisions for dual controls for checking out pilots transitioning into the Mohawk. It was quite a step up for the average Army pilot in terms of performance and system complexity.

[Cubs2jets]

I'm interested in the history of the airplane. In the last 15 years I'm only aware of 3 potentially flyable OV-1 Mohawks. 2 with the (now closed) Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, NC and one with the (now closed) American Wings Air Museum in Minnesota. Does anybody know if this plane was one of these or another OV-1 brought back to life?

Thanks

C2j

[pattern_is_full]

@ cujet - sorry for the very personal loss to you and anyone else who knew Dr. Masessa.

There's cellphone video out there of the final seconds - rolling turning dive - and as we know, there must be a dozen things that can put a twin-turboprop into such a situation. Sometimes very fast. Especially one of "a certain age." Not often - but rattlesnakes when they do.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/230334

[capngrog]

A good guy and a loss to the Warbird aviation community. I was privileged to see the airplane at the Ocean Reef Vintage Weekend some years ago, and again, as I recall, at the Sun 'N' Fun Airshow.

A video;

You Tube

God bless.

Regards,
Grog

[Machinbird]

Unfortunately, No Kick in the Pants Available

When the OV-1 came out, they were equipped with the Martin Baker MkJ5B ejection seats, which were a pretty reliable seat to be riding in. Unfortunately, Martin Baker is no longer supplying the life limited life Pyrotechnics for these seats, so it is almost certain that the seats in this aircraft were disarmed. There would be no bailout from this type of aircraft with those big props right next to the cockpit.
I believe I talked to this pilot at one of the Oshkosh airshows. I definitely remember seeing the aircraft there. A sad loss from the aviation scene.

[DaveReidUK]

Originally Posted by Cubs2jets

I'm interested in the history of the airplane. In the last 15 years I'm only aware of 3 potentially flyable OV-1 Mohawks. 2 with the (now closed) Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, NC and one with the (now closed) American Wings Air Museum in Minnesota. Does anybody know if this plane was one of these or another OV-1 brought back to life?

From Joe Baugher's website:

"68-15958 built as OV-1C. Converted in September 1980 to OV-1D. Acquired on unknown date by Richard Spencer in Rockford Illinois. Sold on Unknown Date to MD Aviation Ltd, Rockaway New Jersey. FAA issued registration number N10VD on December 18, 2008. FAA Certified it Airworthy on July 23, 1993. Used for exhibition. Seen at 2011 Sun n Fun Mar 30, 2011."

[Cubs2jets]

Thanks Dave.

C2j

[misd-agin]

https://mohawkairshows.com/video/

[Tailspin Turtle]

Dual Controls

Originally Posted by misd-agin

https://mohawkairshows.com/video/

Thanks for posting that. Note the stick for the right seat-occupant. The right seat was a bit more conventional from a flight controls standpoint because the left seat required the pilot to fly with his left hand on the stick (as opposed to a wheel) and his right hand on the throttles. The Army Aviation Test Board had a stripped Charlie model (no mission avionics) with dual controls in the early 1970s. It was a hoot to fly with light stick forces and an excellent roll rate.

[cujet]

One of the things that worried me was that I've seen Joe carry his little Honda Generator on the passenger side when he travels to airshows. Strapped in of course, but if it were to come loose, it could cause a problem. So I went over to his hangars, and found the generator there. I took a video of each hangar, shut off the lights and locked the doors. I don't expect much from the NTSB, as they've already carried off the crash debris. It was simply piled up on 2 flatbeds and carted away. But at least I know it was not the generator.

[cappt]

You Tube

Watching this low level routine really made me nervous, nuts to be doing it in a Mohawk. R.I.P. good sir.

[tcasblue]

The very brief video of the accident does remind me of other videos I have seen that involve loss of control due to maneuvering. The NTSB will no doubt look further into that aspect but also keep in mind that it could just as easily have been due to a mechanical failure. At least now we know that the airshow involves significant low level maneuvering. Practice routines typically are similar to the airshow routine.

[misd-agin]

Originally Posted by cappt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vq_zWRCmmU

Watching this low level routine really made me nervous, nuts to be doing it in a Mohawk. R.I.P. good sir.

Fairly benign. Limited rolls (almost none) past 90 degrees. Small barrel roll with positive climb and didn't dish out (common beginner mistake). Looks like a minimum of maybe 200' for the flybys.

[India Four Two]

I agree with misd-agin. Very mild maneuvers compared with what the Mohawk was designed for. No looping maneuvers and only two, well-executed rolls, otherwise just steep turns.

[cujet]

I tried to listen to LiveATC tower/ground at 16:00z and there is only 47 seconds of blank audio. The crash happened about 1:10 PM on Nov 1, 2019 at SUA.

[cappt]

A steep dive with a noticeable pitch up around 100' followed by a a slight nose drop until ground contact.

https://www.local10.com/news/florida...tuart-air-show