Bombardier F-86E MK.6 N86EX

Summary

On 1 June 1997 at about 19:21 local time, a Bombardier F-86E MK.6 registered N86EX was involved in an accident near Broomfield, Colorado, United States. 3 people were on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 June 1997 at 19:21

Classification

Accident

Location

Broomfield, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Jefferson County (BJC)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Bombardier F-86E MK.6

Registration

N86EX

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW97FA207

1 person died.

Inadequate planning and decision making by the pilot in starting the aerobatic maneuver at an insufficient altitude to successfully complete the maneuver.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During an airshow, the pilot was performing a reverse half-Cuban eight. He flew down the runway at approximately 400 feet above ground level (agl) and pulled up using a 45-degree nose up attitude. At approximately 2,500 feet agl, the pilot rolled the aircraft inverted and pulled to a vertical nose down attitude. He failed to recover from the dive and the aircraft struck the ground in a 5-degree nose down attitude with a high sink rate. Ground speed at the time of impact was approximately 485 knots. According to persons at the airshow who are aerobatics pilots, the maneuver being performed by this aircraft should be started no lower than 4,000 feet agl, and part of the altitude gain should be used to bleed off excess airspeed. Videos of the performance depict the speed brakes deployed, the vertical stabilizer moving up and down, and the leading edge devices deployed while the aircraft was in the dive.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.