A-20 Crash

[GregP]

The only remaining airworthy Douglas A-20 Havoc crash-landed during an airshow in Texas on Sunday, 18 Feb 2025, injuring the pilot, Stewart Dawson.

During the WBCA Stars & Stripes Air Show Spectacular on Sunday afternoon at the Laredo International Airport in Laredo, Texas, the last flying A-20 was forced to make an emergency landing. The FAA said the A-20 crashed on the departure end of the runway.

WBCA Laredo said that the highly experienced and well-respected warbird pilot, Stewart Dawson, had completed his performance and was heading home when he noticed something was wrong with the plane. He made the swift decision to return to LRD and make an emergency landing, with emergency personnel standing by. Lewis Air Legends, which owns the plane, said that because of Dawson's quick actions, there were no casualties. Dawson was taken to the hospital and in stable condition.

For those who don't know, the A-20 can fly on one engine, but not unless the failed engine's propeller has been feathered. The prop is a hydromatic, meaning it can feather when there is oil pressure, but not without oil pressure. When the right engine had issues, apparently Stewart didn't have oil pressure and could not feather it. He put it in the only place he could so as to have no casualties.

Best wishes to Stewart Dawson and Lewis Air Legends. I hear Rod Lewis has decided to rebuild the airplane, but don't take that as gospel ... I heard that, and it is likely as accurate as repeated idle speculation gets.

 

[MIflyer]

In Europe, when the USAAF replaced all their A-20 with A-26, the A-20 crews were ordered to fly then to an airfield in Scotland, get out of the airplane without shutting down the engines, and before jumping clear to advance the throttles and let them sail off the end of the runway into the ocean.

No doubt the ones in the Pacific theater were not brought back to the USA.

And unlike B-25's the A-20's were not much good for any civilian or government uses after the war.

No wonder there are so few around now. Not many B-26's, either; the A-26 replaced them as well in the ETO.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I'm glad Dawson brought the guys to ground safely. It's a shame to lose a warbird, but better the plane than the lives.

The only info I could dig up was:

The aircraft developed what appeared to be an engine problem near the very end of its routine, and when the pilot attempted to execute an emergency landing, the aircraft's right engine was trailing smoke and the aircraft decelerated below its minimum controllable airspeed. It impacted terrain short of the runway threshold with its landing gear retracted and a subsequent fire began.

Prelim Report On February A-20G Crash At Laredo | Aero-News Network

Engine Problem Led To Attempted Emergency Landing The National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, has released a preliminary report on the F| Published: Tue, Apr 29, 2025 | Aero-News Network

www.aero-news.net

 

[Big Jake]

The only remaining airworthy Douglas A-20 Havoc crash-landed during an airshow in Texas on Sunday, 18 Feb 2025, injuring the pilot, Stewart Dawson.

During the WBCA Stars & Stripes Air Show Spectacular on Sunday afternoon at the Laredo International Airport in Laredo, Texas, the last flying A-20 was forced to make an emergency landing. The FAA said the A-20 crashed on the departure end of the runway.

WBCA Laredo said that the highly experienced and well-respected warbird pilot, Stewart Dawson, had completed his performance and was heading home when he noticed something was wrong with the plane. He made the swift decision to return to LRD and make an emergency landing, with emergency personnel standing by. Lewis Air Legends, which owns the plane, said that because of Dawson's quick actions, there were no casualties. Dawson was taken to the hospital and in stable condition.

For those who don't know, the A-20 can fly on one engine, but not unless the failed engine's propeller has been feathered. The prop is a hydromatic, meaning it can feather when there is oil pressure, but not without oil pressure. When the right engine had issues, apparently Stewart didn't have oil pressure and could not feather it. He put it in the only place he could so as to have no casualties.

Best wishes to Stewart Dawson and Lewis Air Legends. I hear Rod Lewis has decided to rebuild the airplane, but don't take that as gospel ... I heard that, and it is likely as accurate as repeated idle speculation gets.

Sad to hear about the accident and wish Stewart quick and complete recovery.

The A-20 propeller is feathered by the pilot pushing the feathering button of the relevant propeller. This activates a dedicated pump (feathering pump) that supplies oil under pressure directly to the propeller where it will push the the internal piston thus causing the propeller blades to turn into the feather position. The system is independent of the engine and will operate whether the engine has oil pressure or not.