I recall the American Lt Col B 52 pilot that flew hot shot crazy and crashed his jet killing everyone on board. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-S_NM—evM
I saw a similar situation as I was approaching the airport where we were hangaring our airplane only on a much smaller scale. I saw a large single engine general aviation aircraft departing the airport at a high angle of attack, it then made a steeply banked turn just off the end of the runway. It’s nose dropped and the plane went straight into the ground. I drove directly to the still burning wreckage directly and assisted the lone firefighter/maintenance man with the foam truck.
The plane had been filled with 7 skydivers and the pilot. The pilot was a young guy who was showing off. Everyone we saw in the wreckage was of course dead and burned beyond recognition. Plane crashes can often be very ugly business.
The families of the dead skydivers sued the engine manufacturer claiming that it had malfunctioned, causing the crash. As an eye witness I was deposed by a group of attorneys. What a spectacle that was! Every attorney present knew that the lawsuit was a farce but the attorneys looking for the big payoff went after me with a vengeance. But I was told afterwards that it was all for show. Despite the bent up prop indicating that the engine was producing full power on impact, the engine company still paid to keep the suit out of court.
For all that knew him this was the final flight. He was renowned for pushing or exceeding the limits of that aircraft for many years. There were those afraid to fly with him, which is why the ops officer was in the right seat on that day, giving his life for the scheduled co-pilot he saved from the disaster. Low altitude left wing stall is a guaranteed killer.
One other thing, it wasn’t HIS jet. It belonged to all of us who paid for it. It is unfortunate that so many of his commanders over the years enamored of his flying skills failed to reign in his egotistical flying that broke numerous regulations, exceeded published aircraft limits, scaring the crap out of crewmembers while flying normal training missions and as a demonstration pilot.
I didn’t fly the B-52, but I was in Strategic Air Command, and knew of his reputation years before the final flight. It came as no surprise that he happened to be the pilot on that final flight. It was not a good legacy for a soon to be retired AF Officer. The accident report was great for aviators in the AF and those just coming in as to why there are safety regulations, and very few old bold pilots.
I recall the American Lt Col B 52 pilot ...
The wing config on a C-17 is rather different from the B-52. The B-52 pilot was a doofus for trying it.