As Sugimoto approached Weaver from behind, Weaver radioed he was attacked and cut inside of the turn to present a more difficult shot. McGuire eased up on his turn rate in an effort to draw the attacker off of his wingman and onto himself. Sugimoto took the bait and switched his attack to McGuire. As Sugimoto approached from behind, McGuire rapidly increased his turn rate. This extremely dangerous maneuver, performed at only 300 ft (90 m) above the ground, caused McGuire's P-38 to stall. It snap-rolled to an inverted position and nosed down into the ground. He was killed on impact. At the start of the dogfight, McGuire had radioed to keep their auxiliary fuel tanks, as they would need them to reach their main objective in the sweep. Many P-38 pilots believe that this order, which was contrary to standard operating procedures, was the cause of McGuire's death. The auxiliary fuel tank added extra weight and encumbered the aircraft, making it less maneuverable and more prone to stall and spin at low speeds.