# P-51 crash in Camarillo, pilot killed



## evangilder (Jul 16, 2007)

I haven't heard who the pilot was yet, but I may know him. Damn shame...



> Man killed in Camarillo plane crash
> Student pilot from Thousand Oaks dies after aircraft hits ground, flips
> 
> By Jenni Mintz
> ...


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## Thorlifter (Jul 16, 2007)

I hope it wasn't your friend.


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## Heinz (Jul 16, 2007)

very sad news indeed.


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## timshatz (Jul 16, 2007)

Bummer. First solo too. Did it say he tried to power out of a landing? Torque roll it or something like that?


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## R-2800 (Jul 16, 2007)

so sad


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jul 16, 2007)

Damn that sucks. Sorry to hear this.


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## FLYBOYJ (Jul 16, 2007)

Likewise - let's see how the media jumps on this....


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## ToughOmbre (Jul 16, 2007)




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## evangilder (Jul 16, 2007)

The plane is registered to John McKittrick. I don't know if he was flying it at the time though. Here it was at Camarillo last year.


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## drgondog (Jul 16, 2007)

evangilder said:


> The plane is registered to John McKittrick. I don't know if he was flying it at the time though. Here it was at Camarillo last year.



Sigh. It really doesn't matter what happened other than pilot and bird lost.

If he was doing touch and go's at low speed we know what could have happened, particularly if he didn't have any rudder trim cranked in - left side splash awfully familiar but sounds like he hit hard and flat, with left wing down a bit - more like a stall than a torque roll


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## trackend (Jul 16, 2007)

Sorry to here that Eric, It must be making the atmosphere around the hangers very somber .


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## Erich (Jul 16, 2007)

how ingly nauseating............. my condolences to the family.

NO MORE ACCIDENTS please !


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## evangilder (Jul 16, 2007)

It was John McKittrick.



> Pilot killed in Sunday crash identified
> 
> staff reports
> Originally published 10:07 a.m., July 16, 2007
> ...



Rest well and god-speed, John.


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## v2 (Jul 16, 2007)




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## FLYBOYJ (Jul 16, 2007)




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## Gnomey (Jul 16, 2007)

Shame to hear about these events.


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## Soundbreaker Welch? (Jul 16, 2007)

It's really sad.

I guess this can sound kind of cold, since the real loss is the death of a man, but I wonder if pilots on their first solo flight should not choose the P-51 Mustang? For one it was a tricky plane to fly in WWII, even for novices of a few solo flights. Also, there aren't many left for accidents. 

I guess the thrill of a first flight in a WWII plane was what he was hoping for.


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## FLYBOYJ (Jul 16, 2007)

Soundbreaker Welch? said:


> It's really sad.
> 
> I guess this can sound kind of cold, since the real loss is the death of a man, but I wonder if pilots on their first solo flight should not choose the P-51 Mustang? For one it was a tricky plane to fly in WWII, even for novices of a few solo flights. Also, there aren't many left for accidents.
> 
> I guess the thrill of a first flight in a WWII plane was what he was hoping for.



This wasn't his first solo flight - the article appears to read that way. It was his first solo in a P-51.


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## Njaco (Jul 16, 2007)

I had the same thought as Soundbreaker just didn't want to sound so callous. Thanks Flyboy for straightening that out.


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## FLYBOYJ (Jul 16, 2007)

I looked him up on the FAA data base - an instrument rated private pilot.


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## lesofprimus (Jul 16, 2007)

What a huge shame... My sincere feelings to the family....


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## evangilder (Jul 16, 2007)

Yeah, the article made it sound like it was his first airplane solo. I figured that couldn't be right. Freakin' press...


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## Bf109_g (Jul 17, 2007)




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## Soundbreaker Welch? (Jul 17, 2007)

> Thanks Flyboy for straightening that out.



Yeah, Ok. Accidents happen.


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## evangilder (Jul 17, 2007)

What's really amazing is that the page on my website with pictures of that airplane typically gets about a dozen hits a week. Now there is a surge on that page. I am sure there are many reasons for it, but still, it's sad that people really appreciate aircraft like that when they are gone...


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## Heinz (Jul 17, 2007)

that is true........its an unfortunate human trait.

 to the pilot........


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## evangilder (Jul 17, 2007)

I should have worded that better. Many people, in times of grief, try to find something to help them with that grief. I know he was a good guy, lived locally to me and was a rated, experienced pilot. I just find it an item of interest that there is a sudden surge on that one page. I have consistent high counts on other parts, it does get my attention when there is a surge like that. I know there is a curiosity factor for some, to come and see what the airplane looked like. For others, they come to pay homage to John, that is why I updated the page. It didn't seem right to leave it as is, like nothing happened.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jul 17, 2007)

Well my condolences to the family...

This is truely a tragedy.


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## Lucky13 (Jul 17, 2007)

Very sad news indeed, my condolences to the family....


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## Denniss (Jul 17, 2007)

Very sad, indeed.

Is there anything known about the cause of the crash ?
Mechanical failure, pilot error, crosswinds ?


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## evangilder (Jul 18, 2007)

A lot of speculation at this point, but in speaking to some guys that were there, they said it looked like he hit tailwheel first on the landing. He then applied power to go around again and the plane torque-rolled. Again, this is speculation at this point. There may have been a mechanical malfunction, or any other of a number of factors that have not been taken into account.


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## AV8 (Jul 22, 2007)

The pilot was McKittrick. Apparently, he bounced a landing, applied too much power, and torque-rolled it (local assessment). Tragic, and he had just recorded several perfect landings with an instructor in the plane; it had dual-controls, and did just fine.

If you are an instructor, have a student who does it right 3 to 5 times in a row, just before soloing, you tend to let them have a go at it solo. In this case, the student simply mismanaged the power on the go-around.

Maybe a bounced-landing go-around should be practiced several times before solo? Maybe, even probably, it WAS.

In any case, tragic. I have a friend who has 30 or so solo hours his own, new, baby P-51 and he has no trouble with this, mostly due to practice of same.

Wish Mr. McKittrick had the same experiences with the aircraft ...


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## FLYBOYJ (Jul 22, 2007)

That's the one thing I'm a perfectionist with my students is landings. A low time VFR pilot will kill himself either on landings or flying into IMC. With a taildragger the demand is more intense and I could imagine how difficult it could be with 1400 horses under you!!!

I don't let any of my primary students solo until they have at least a good 10 - 15 landings under their belts. In this case the IP probably felt this guy had it down.


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## AV8 (Jul 26, 2007)

As stated above, not the best landing followed by too much power at too low a speed for the attempted go-around ... torque roll.

That assessment is from pilot-qualified witnesses.


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## evangilder (Jul 27, 2007)

I have heard the same from guys that were there that morning. Do you fly out of KCMA, AV8?


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