Air show pilot makes emergency landing

Minneapolis RED Star ^ | May 30, 2004 | Liz Fedor

[Aeronaut]

BAY CITY, WIS. -- A pilot flying in the Wings of Freedom air show was injured Saturday after making an emergency landing.

The pilot, who was hospitalized in serious condition, was forced to land the P-51 Mustang west of the airport where the three-day show was being held, said a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

The aircraft encountered a mechanical problem, and the pilot indicated he needed to make an emergency landing because of a "power loss," said Brad Lang, an air show spokesman and pilot. The plane landed near several houses, power lines and a row of trees.

Lang and Tim Barzen, a commercial pilot and air show spokesman, viewed the site.

[Aeronaut]

Meticulously restored P51-C painted in the "Red Tail" scheme of the Tuskegee Airmen.

[Aeronaut]

[Clara Lou]

Bless the pilot for his courage. I hope the plane can be restored.

[Aeronaut]

I hope the plane can be restored.

It looked pretty bad on the TV news. They can really do a lot from a little with enough dedication (and money).

[kylaka]

I think the pilot might diagree with your priority and request that he be restored first. A P51 without power is pretty much a stone. He must have done a bit of fancy flying, to make it out alive.

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

Famous test pilot and P-51 aerial acrobat, Bob Hoover, told me the Mustang is a dangerous airplane to fly. America lost a lot of pilots just training young men to fly it in World War II. My own flight instructor, who got me through my solo, was killed on take-off in a restored P-51. He had previously said it was a dangerous airplane. The airplane requires expert skill and is completely unforgiving.

[martin_fierro]

One of the Air Force Thunderbirds also had to cut it short at Moffett Field's Air Show.

I'll be posting photos later.

[pageonetoo]

he pilot chose to maintain control of the airplane all the way to impact by flying under the wires rather than hitting the wires and becoming uncontrollable and risking the loss of life to other people," Barzen said. "What this individual did in my mind is heroic. He knew he could avoid the houses if he flew into the ground."

"What this individual did in my mind is heroic."

[Clara Lou]

Why would the pilot "diagree" with my priority, since I specifically mentioned him and his courage first? Had your morning coffee yet?

[norton]

I take it that "the Minnesota wing of the Commemorative Air Force" used to be the Confed***te Air Force.

I miss the bad old days.

Hope the pilotm [not named?] comes out well.

[GBA]

A sad day bump.

[Aeronaut]

Hope the pilot [not named?] comes out well.

Sad news. I just heard on the radio that the pilot died.

[Criminal Number 18F]

The pilot's name was Donald Hinz. He was sixty years old. He was a mustang officer who served in the submarine service as an enlisted man before getting commissioned and flying A-4s and A-7s for the Navy.

More info from aero-news.net below the line. (If you go to aero-news it also has a couple of small pics of the mishap plane pre-accident).

Here is Hinz's bio and picture:
http://www.fighterpilotsusa.com/Bios/bios.htm

Here is a page on the airplane.
http://www.fighterpilotsusa.com/redtail/redtail.htm

It was part of Legacy Flight, a project which teams active Air Force jets with restored American warplanes from the past... this particular machine was dedicated to recognize black Americans' contribution to American airpower, a popular notion these days (one of the other two surviving C-model Mustangs, Kermit Weeks's, is also painted as a Tuskeegee Airman's plane). If you don't know who the TA's were, you oughta learn... come to think of it, I will ping mhking to see if he wants to put this on his black conservative list too.


Re: the hazards of the P-51. The -1 says that remedial action for a spin under 10,000 feet (or with fuel in the fuselage tank, at any altitude) is to bail out. Every AAF plane had an altitude below which you were advised to be in control, or in your chute -- no middle ground.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

---

http://www.aero-news.net/

CAF Mustang Down in WI

Sun, 30 May '04
Rare CAF P-51C Lost In Accident

Update: We have just learned that the pilot in this accident, Donald Hinz, has passed away due to his injuries. ANN sends our condolences to this family and friends...

One of the most rare of P-51s, a P-51C adorned in Tuskegee Airmen livery, went down during flights for the Wings of Freedom airshow at Red Wing Municipal airport, WI, on Saturday.

The pilot survived the accident, and was listed late Saturday, in serious condition at a Twin Cities hospital, and later died due to his injuries. Saturday's show was canceled shortly thereafter though Sunday's show is scheduled to continue, as scheduled. The 60 year-old pilot, ID'ed as Donald Hinz, is reported as having communicated some kind of aircraft emergency and went down in a rural area close to housing. The impact did extensive damage to the aircraft, separating the wings from the fuselage but thankfully with no post-crash fire.

An ANN reader reported that, "The landing was not seen from the airport due to terrain, I saw the Mustang flying low, but not alarmingly so, I turned away for a few moments and when I turned back the P-51C was gone from site. Shortly after the Mustang disappeared I saw an emergency vehicle heading west at high speed with lights and sirens. At this point another Mustang which had been recovered was launched again, I assume to assist in locating the P-51C..."

The P-51C that went down was rebuilt by a Minnesota Wing of the Commemorative Air Force after the CAF acquired the badly damaged bird from a tech school. The aircraft, P-51C-5 S/N 42-103645, was originally built in 1944 at North American Aviation in Dallas, TX, and delivered to the US Army Air Corps on 7 April, 1944. It saw duty with the 341st AAF Base Unit Pinellas, Florida; the 378th AAF Base Unit, Venice, Florida; and the 339th AAF Base Unit, Thomasville, Georgia. It was surplused in October 1945 and flown to Montana State College, Bozeman Montana until it was donated the Confederate Air Force in 1970. Prior to it's rebuild, the airframe traveled to Minneapolis MN, back to Harlingen, TX, and then to the Great Planes Wing of CAF in Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1983. It eventually wound up under the care of the Minnesota Wing of the CAF. The rebuild required an entirely new set of wings and spars since the originals had literally been sawed from the aircraft at some point and welded back on to facilitate its movement. Corrosion did additional damage to the fuselage and required extensive work to bring the aircraft to flying condition. It returned to flying status in May of 2001. (P-51C Mustang photo courtesy of The Redtail Project)
Official CAF Statement: CAF P-51C Mustang Makes An Off-Airport Emergency Landing

A Commemorative Air Force (CAF) operated single-engine World War II North American P-51C Mustang, N61429, made an off-airport emergency landing at approximately 2:10 p.m. (Central Daylight Savings Time) on Saturday, May 29, 2004. The airplane was participating in the Wings of Freedom Airshow at the Red Wing Regional Airport located between Red Wing, Minn. and Bay City, Wis.

Emergency medical, law enforcement and fire crews were on site at the airport and responded immediately. The pilot of the airplane, a CAF member, was air lifted to a local hospital. The pilot’s condition is unknown at this time. The FAA is currently investigating the accident.

The airshow was cancelled for the rest of the day, however, will continue as scheduled for Sunday, May 30, 2004.

The P-51C Mustang, named “Tuskegee Airmen” after the well known Tuskegee Airmen who flew P-51Cs in World War II, is based out of Fleming Field in So. Saint Paul, Minn., and operated by the Minnesota Wing of the CAF. Manufactured by North American Aviation in Dallas, Texas, the airplane was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1944 and is one of four P-51C models left in existence. According to CAF records the aircraft was donated to the CAF sometime during 1970. The Minnesota Wing of the CAF acquired the airplane in 1988 and completed restoration of the airplane in 2001.

The CAF has two other P-51 Mustangs in its collection. The P-51D known as “Red Nose” and the P-51D known as “Gunfighter.” The P-51 “Gunfighter” was also appearing at the airshow at the time of the accident.

The CAF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to flying and restoring World War II aircraft. Based in Midland, Texas, the organization has over 10,000 members and operates a fleet of over 150 World War II aircraft.
FMI:
http://www.commemorativeairforce.org
http://www.redtail.org
http://www.cafsmw.org

[bootless]

Hi - This is so sad... thanks for posting all the information. I picked up the following on the RV Matronics email list, when someone had asked whether one of their listers had been flying the P-51. He responded in the following email:

It was not me. I was flying the B-25 landing and Don Hinz was flying the Redtail. He said he was losing the engine, Larry Lumpkin was on the ground in the Gunfighter and told Don to turn on the boost pump, I said get the prop back, Don said, that is all done. Larry said, Fly it to the ground Don, Fly it to the ground."

That is exactly what he did.

The airplane landed in a wings level low speed low angle condition, as survivable as it could be. He hit one tree which took off one wing, and then another which spun him around and the airplane came to rest on it right side with both wings severed.

The Crash crews were there with in 4 minutes. Larry took off imeadiately to locate the wreckage incase the crash crews could not find it, and by the time he was overhead they were there.

Gerry Beck came down this morning and went with the FAA to the wreckage. Early indications are that the V drive which powers the cam failed. Both cams would quit turning and there was nothing that Don could have done but fly it to the ground. He did that.

Your thoughts and prayer for his family are appreciated. Don would never forgive us if we let this setback stop the Redtail project which he gave the last 10 years, and ultimately his life for. With a million bucks and 18 months we could be flying again. Don would want that. Wish us luck. You can learn more at www.redtail.org.

If anyone is so inclined, please keep Don and his family in your prayers, and if you are able to keep the project going, any help would be valued. God bless him ...

[Criminal Number 18F]

You're right, amiga. This is just ineffably sad. So close! Don did everything right, and he saved the plane, but not himself.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F